Dorothy Louise Zinn

On the centenary of the publication of “Argonauts of the Western Pacific”, this Workshop in 2022 aims to de-center anthropology in a seeming paradox, by way of express reference to one of its most canonical names: that of Bronislaw Malinowski. By considering Malinowski as a metonym for the discipline, we can directly relate him to the theme of de-centering as regards many of the specific aspects addressed in current debates on world anthropologies and the decolonization of anthropological knowledge, production, and careers. Organized by the Malinowski Forum for Ethnography and Anthropology (MFEA) at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano — a trilingual university at the crossroad between Italy and Austria, with a mission of intercultural scholarly exchange— the Workshop brings together a group of scholars located in places around the globe associated with Malinowski’s name. We will take stock of how Malinowksi’s canon is currently received, using it as a prism for reflecting on the power configurations in the discipline today. The aim of the Workshop is neither to celebrate nor “cancel” the figure of Malinowski: rather, we intend to draw together diverse scholars in South Tyrol – recreating the spirit of the gatherings Malinowski had with students and colleagues in Oberbozen, where Malinowski and his family lived for a decade – to create a space for disciplinary introspection and debate.