A commonly heard refrain among anthropologists internationally is that the world would be so much better if only the voices of anthropologists were heard and listened to more often in the public sphere. There are however a number of all too familiar new and old structural impediments to what is known as ‘public anthropology’ in our time. But apart from that, instead of complaining about the state of the world and the silencing of our voices in it, what could anthropologist do better in order to communicate more efficiently to the general public and to have a greater impact on public discourse? As the initiator and organizer of a series in public anthropology at the House Of Literature in Oslo, Norway from 2009 to 2014 which brought a number of leading international anthropologists to Oslo and Norway to address non-specialist audiences, Sindre Bangstad in his new edited volume Anthropology Of Our Times: An Edited Anthology in Public Anthropology (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) reflects on the challenges and opportunities of public anthropology in and of our times.

Venue: August 31, Moesgaard, building 4206-121

Time: 13.15-15.00