Engaged Anthropology in an Era of Security

Abstract

Do the social sciences need to be publicly relevant? Do the social sciences have a moral responsibility to society? These questions have been present in the discipline right from the start. There still is no consensus on the role of the social sciences in nonacademic life or in anthropology. This paper discusses the debate surrounding the public relevance of the social sciences. There is some controversy between those who write about how, why and if anthropology should be applied, and those who actually apply. Nowadays, anthropological involvement in U.S. military action is one of the most precarious fields of engagement. At the core of this involvement are the ubiquitous arguments surrounding the debate between academic and engaged anthropology. Many critics of engagement also point to the past to substantiate their argument. Therefore, a short history of the relationship between engaged anthropology and academic anthropology will be presented. Afterward, the contemporary arguments in favor of and against applied anthropology will be outlined. In addition, the debate will be contextualized in terms of security. Finally, this paper will conclude with an attempt to suggest the future cooperation and merging of the academic and applied social sciences, specifically regarding anthropology.