What Did You Do Today?: Notes From A Politically Engaged Anthropologist

Abstract

Debates continue regarding the efficacy of politically engaged anthropology, but when research agendas address issues of inequity, there is a responsibility to use the information in the service of social change. This article narrates the connection between practice and academics to illustrate what is encompassed in a politically engaged anthropology. In the service of social justice, anthropological research on girls' empowerment and poverty necessarily requires that anthropologists make commitments to social change. Yet the process is as important as the outcome. Using three examples, I explore the content of being politically engaged: the first example draws on the use of participatory research with lowincome girls and young women. The second example focuses on the applicability of a research-subject focused methodology, photovoice, as a community-organizing tool around welfare reform. Finally, this article describes the dissemination of data to progressive organizations working on welfare reform issues. Theoretically grounded in Black feminist theory, this article seeks to shape the contours of pr academics, that is, using research for change.