Antonio De Lauri

What is the aim of an anthropology of humanitarianism? How is anthropology addressing the merging of militarization, bordering and sovereignty in the realm of humanitarianism? Should anthropology confront, rather than only researching, the growing humanitarian power at the global level? The workshop addresses these questions by developing a comparative reflection along three main axes: 1. the ethnography of humanitarianism; 2. the impact of anthropology on other disciplines in the field of humanitarian studies; 3. the need for a political critique of humanitarianism. The scholars gathered for this workshop have extensive research experience on issues related to humanitarianism as well as fieldwork/work experience in contexts characterized by significant humanitarian interventions. The main aim of the workshop is to assess what anthropology has been able to produce in this field of study and what are/should be the future developments and articulations of the discpline in a world where humanitarian exceptionalism is becoming the rule in a number of spheres of ordinary governance.