Anthropological Theories for the Twenty-First Century: A Road Map

Abstract

This “Forum” considers attitudes towards theories and theoretical knowledge among ethnologists and anthropologists. Answering questions from the forum organisers, its participants discuss the need for a common “grand theory” that would unite the entire anthropological community, the tense relationship between theory and description, the causes, manifestations and effects of theory fatigue — and also the need for it, its shortage — and overproduction. The most promising theoretical concepts are noted in the responses (in particular, different opinions are given on the post-anthropocentric vector in humanitarian studies). The authors discuss the extent to which the “vitality” of theories depends on external and internal factors, share their personal experience and strategies for dealing with theories: their selection, combination, transformation and production. The responses of the participants reveal significant differences in approaches to understanding the essence and functions of theory in anthropology. In part, these differences are due to the different understanding of the subject of anthropology by the participants (as the history of the emergence of culture and society — or of their functioning). An important issue of the “Forum” is the (im)possibility of theory’s becoming a space for common conversation in anthropology. Hopes for the realization of this possibility are associated with overcoming the subject-object paradigm, and the obstacle to it is the generative model of theorising, which prescribes not working with existing concepts, but generating new ones.