Writing Public Anthropology
Why writing public anthropology matters? And what are some practical considerations and tips for scholars who want to pursue it? In this webinar held on March 3, 2021, I talked to Laurence Ralph, Jason de León, and Kate Marshall about what it takes for an academic book to reach a broad audience. You can watch the recording on YouTube.
In my role as the editor of the California Series in Public Anthropology, I am interested in publishing books that use ethnography as a mode of inquiry to tell stories that illuminate social problems through writing that appeals to a wide audience. Books in the series intervene in ongoing public debates on issues that matter to society and launch new ones. As Wole Soyinka, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, once said, "A book if necessary should be a hammer, a hand grenade which you detonate under a stagnant way of looking at the world."
The series was founded by Robert Borofsky, the Director of the Center for a Public Anthropology, in 2001, and includes some of the most influential ethnographies published since (see full list here).
You can read an interview, in which I outline my vision for the series here.
Prospective authors are encouraged to send their inquiries directly to me (ieva_jusionyte@brown.edu) or to UC Press anthropology editor Kate Marshall (kmarshall@ucpress.edu). Guidelines for preparing a book proposal can be found here.