Inspiration

Inspiration-sidebar

As Kirin Narayan (2012) puts it, in her brilliant book on writing in anthropology: 'Ethnography is usually written as the result of a defined research project. Yet in the unfolding of everyday life we are all constantly considering – consciously and unconsciously – the complex ways that individual stories are entangled with social processes.’[1]

Being an anthropologist means letting yourself be inspired by the people, events and experiences that might otherwise escape our attention. Still, sometimes we all get stuck while reading a dense article or searching for an interesting way to start our essays. When this happens, don’t despair!  There are plenty of places to look for inspiration. Here are a few:


[1] Narayan, K. 2012. Alive in the Writing. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Podcasts

This Anthro Life - Created by Design Anthropologist, Dr. Adam Gamwell, who explores humans’ creative potential through episodes on design, culture and technology.

Interesting episode: ’They’re not Binging TV, they’re Feasting: Rethinking Media, Honor and American Culture’ with Grant McCracken

Anthropod - A podcast produced by the Society for Cultural Anthropology, featuring in-depth conversations between anthropologists on hot-topics in the field and experiments in ’sonic ethnography’.

Interesting episode: ‘What does Anthropology Sound Like: Activism’.

Kerning Cultures - Stories from the Middle East and North Africa, and the spaces in between.

Interesting episode: ‘Word on the Street’ (Feb 11, 2021).

99% Invisible - Not created by anthropologists BUT very ethnographic in its approach to design and architecture.

Interesting episode: ‘El Gordo’ (Episode 268), ‘a narrative of love, loss and change’ about the one of the world’s oldest lotteries.

Rough Translation - Produced by National Public Radio (USA), showcasing stories about. identity and belonging from around the world, focussing on language, culture and social innovation.

Interesting episodes: 'Our Boxes, Ourselves’ (Jan 27, 2021); ‘How to Speak Bad English’ (April 21, 2021).

Invisibilia - “Explores the intangible forces that shape human behaviour—things like ideas, beliefs, assumptions and emotions.”

Interesting episodes: ‘An Unlikely Superpower’ (March 27, 2020); ‘Eat the Rich’ (April 22, 2021).

Film & video

Malinowski Memorial Lectures, LSE Anthropology – Listen to some of the world’s brightest anthropologists present their ground-breaking work.

RAI Player – new and award-winning ethnographic films available to rent online.

Alexander Street - online database of ethnographic film and audio (with a 30-day free trial available).

‘The Captivating and Curious Careers of Anthropology’, American Anthropological Society - An inspirational, if quite elementary, video suggesting the importance of anthropology to a wide range of careers.

Websites/blogs

The Argonaut – LSE Anthropology’s very own student publication and online magazine! Read through fantastic think-pieces and examples of fieldwork inspired by the department’s faculty and teaching.

Anthropology News - The American Anthropological Association’s (AAA) award-wining member magazine, published bimonthly in print and online. The Anthropology News website (open to the public) publishes stories from the print magazine and much more in the way of topical and timely content, AAA news, in memoriam notices, and submissions from AAA sections.

Visual Anthropology Review - The journal highlights innovative forms of ethnographic production and anthropological practice that explore the potentialities of sensory scholarship.

Visual Ethnography Journal – Don't be turned off by the retro graphics of the homepage! This site has some amazing (free!) photo-essays from anthropologists around the world. Join their Facebook group for updates on the latest visual ethnography.