ANTROPOLOGIA ZAANGAŻOWANA W POLSCE. POZA POSTMODERNISTYCZNĄ KONCEPCJĘ NAUKI
ENGAGED ANTHROPOLOGY IN POLAND. BEYOND THE POSTMODERN CONCEPT OF SCIENCE

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a discussion on engaged anthropology, conducted since 2004 by ethnologists in Poland, which addresses the issue of the discipline’s identity. The purpose of this article is to look at how researchers redefine anthropology in the spirit of commitment and responsibility, and to place these considerations in a broader social and historical context. The author argues that the reception of postmodernism had the greatest influence on the development of reflection on the engagement in Polish ethnology. Postmodern anthropology is characterised by a critical reflection on fundamental anthropological issues such as: fieldwork research methods, knowledge and modes of its legitimation, the research subject, and methodological procedures. This critical approach contributed to the emergence of a new paradigm of knowledge. At the same time it caused a lot of tension and concerns related to the status of anthropology as a science, and triggered the reflection centred on the question: how should modern anthropology be characterised? One of the answers is that anthropology should be engaged. This proposal can be seen as an attempt to break the cognitive scepticism which is associated with postmodern reflection. It is also an attempt, taken up by Polish ethnologists, to deal with the dilemma of reconstructing the discipline’s identity in the face of contemporary challenges.

• Details
• Contents