Kevin Anderson Yelvington

One consequence of the rethinking of anthropology and the reflexive, postmodern turn starting in the 1970s was the emergence of the history of anthropology as a specialization. Numerous publications and interest groups demonstrate this interest. However, despite efforts at documentation and interpretation, histories of anthropology have mostly been devoid of serious attempts to engage theoretical models from the history of science, itself a developed field of inquiry. Funding secured from the School of Advanced Research and the workshop funding applied for here would facilitate dialogue between anthropologist historians of anthropology and historians of science to ask: What are the theoretical models current in the history of science appropriate for the study of the history of anthropology? How can historically conscious working anthropologists inform perspectives in the history of science? And how can the history of science attend to theory-building with respect to the current concerns of anthropology and related disciplines? The proposed workshop is needed now to provide direction for the integration of disciplinary histories into the reproduction of anthropological knowledge so as to be able to evaluate that knowledge. The workshop as conceived emphasizes a diversity of perspectives through an interdisciplinary approach a diverse and international group of scholars.