The Social Science Library » The Neoliberal State and the Depoliticization of Poverty: Activist Anthropology and “Ethnography from Below”

The Neoliberal State and the Depoliticization of Poverty: Activist Anthropology and “Ethnography from Below”

Author(s)	Lyon-Callo, Vincent; Hyatt, Susan Brin
Abstract	The idea of a politically engaged or activist ethnography has received increased attention in recent years. Yet, such social and economic processes as globalization and neoliberalism would seem to militate against the efficacy of an engaged anthropology. In this article, we argue that, although systemic restructuring and related discursive conditions have fundamentally altered the social and political landscape of cities in the United States and around the world, there still remains much potential for carrying out locally based activist ethnographic work. In fact, we argue for a particular type of ethnographic encounter we refer to as an “ethnography from below” which is built on the notion that studying localities means simultaneously “ethnographazing” and thereby demystifying the nature of the neoliberal state. Using examples from our own involvement in activism and in ethnography, we suggest that through long-term collaborations with community-based activists, engaged ethnographers can contribute to creating a space for the realization of new policies, new subject positions, and the emergence of new political possibilities beyond what the global economy and its neoliberal rationalizations have set for us.
IssueNo	2
Pages	175-205
Article	Access to Article
Source	Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development
VolumeNo	32
PubDate	Summer 2003
ISBN_ISSN	0894-6019

The Neoliberal State and the Depoliticization of Poverty: Activist Anthropology and “Ethnography from Below”