Anthropologists study some of the most debated issues of our time, but with notable exceptions tend to ‘keep it within the family’. The new blog and journal Public Anthropologist aims to push anthropology beyond academic elitism and into the public sphere, and to show how it can influence public awareness and political change.

Why establish Public Anthropologist?
Public Anthropologist is a journal accompanied by a blog.  It breaks down the wall between traditional academic journals and the immediacy of blogs, social media and newspapers, and opens the possibility for dialogue.

The journal and blog will engage established academics, students and anyone with an interest in anthropology. It offers a forum for scholars who care about the broader impact of their research beyond academia.

The idea behind Public Anthropologist is to create space for academic publications to encounter the vitality and dynamism of different publication outlets and to bring anthropology into the public sphere.

There is also an increasing public interest in anthropology. There are book series, university courses, conferences, and online fora dedicated to public anthropology. Public Anthropologist responds to this transitional shift in public demand.

Bringing anthropology to the centre of public debate
The journal embraces diversity and creative writing. It invites articles, special issues, reviews, interviews and conversations with a focus on war, rights, poverty, security, access to resources, new technologies, freedom, human exploitation, health, humanitarianism, violence, racism, migration and diaspora, crime, social class, hegemony, environmental challenges, social movements, activism.

The journal welcomes submissions of interviews or conversations between anthropologists and journalists, activists, political actors or artists on different topics at the core of the journal’s interests. Although the journal will only be available behind a paywall, the blog will remain open for all. The blog will actively post original articles, conversations with authors and contemporary anthropological research. For the first two years, individuals who subscribe to the journal on Brill’s platform will get free access and this will give the Editor-in-Chief time to seek funding. The aim is to have at least some of the contents regularly available as open access, continuing into the future.

Our hope is that Public Anthropologist  will contribute to the growing awareness of the importance of anthropology in understanding and confronting today’s challenges and dilemmas.