European Association of Social Anthropologists

European Association of Social Anthropologists
Name	European Association of Social Anthropologists
Formation	1989
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	Europe
Region served	Europe
Language	English
Leader title	President

Contents

European Association of Social Anthropologists is a professional association connecting scholars across Europe and beyond to advance research in social anthropology, ethnography, and related fields. It engages with universities, museums, funding bodies and learned societies to coordinate conferences, publications and policy dialogues across institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, University College London, Humboldt University of Berlin and Sorbonne University. The association interacts with regional actors like European Commission, Council of Europe, NATO and global networks including International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Royal Anthropological Institute and American Anthropological Association.

History

The association was formed in the late 20th century with founders drawn from departments at University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, Leiden University, University of Barcelona and University of Vienna following debates triggered by conferences at Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Early milestones included collaboration with editorial teams at journals such as Man (journal), Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Anthropology Today and interactions with veteran scholars associated with Claude Lévi-Strauss, Bronisław Malinowski, Margaret Mead, Victor Turner and networks around Cambridge Social Anthropology. Institutional anchoring occurred alongside partnerships with British Academy, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and pan-European projects funded by Horizon 2020 and predecessor programmes like Framework Programme.

The association's mission emphasizes support for comparative ethnography, pedagogical innovation and policy-relevant research through links to European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, UNESCO, World Bank and cultural heritage bodies like ICOM and UNIDROIT. Objectives include promoting collaboration among departments at University of Copenhagen, Stockholm University, Trinity College Dublin, Universität Zürich and Università di Bologna, fostering methodological exchange rooted in traditions associated with Franz Boas, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, Ernest Gellner and Mary Douglas, and advocating for funding via agencies such as Nesta, Wellcome Trust, Swiss National Science Foundation and Norwegian Research Council.

Membership comprises individual scholars, postgraduate researchers and institutional members from centres like Max Planck Society, CNRS, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales and museums such as the British Museum and Musée de l'Homme. Governance structures mirror committees found at European University Association, Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth and International Sociological Association, with elected officers including presidents who have held positions at University of Oxford, University College London, University of Amsterdam and SOAS University of London. Governance interacts with legal frameworks in jurisdictions such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Sweden and adheres to standards promoted by European Court of Human Rights and professional codes from Royal Anthropological Institute.

The association organizes biennial congresses rotating among host cities including Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Prague, Budapest, Athens and Istanbul, often co-located with events at British Museum, Tate Modern, Venice Biennale and academic meetings at Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Programmes feature keynote speakers affiliated with Oxford University, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale University and Columbia University, and include panel strands that intersect with themes addressed at European Social Science History Conference, Society for Applied Anthropology meetings and ASA gatherings. Workshops frequently collaborate with training initiatives from Marie Curie Actions, doctoral networks such as COST Action and summer schools hosted by Central European University.

The association supports edited volumes published by houses like Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Berghahn Books and journal special issues in venues such as Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Ethnos (journal), Social Anthropology and Anthropological Theory. It sponsors research clusters that have produced comparative work on migration with partners at International Organization for Migration, studies of heritage with UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and collaborative grants with European Research Council projects and bilateral programmes involving Agence Nationale de la Recherche and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Digital initiatives include collaboration with repositories at AHRC, digitization projects with Europeana, and open access platforms supported by DOAJ and OpenAIRE.

The association confers awards for early career researchers, lifetime achievement prizes and best paper distinctions modeled after prizes given by Royal Anthropological Institute, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust and Wenner-Gren Foundation. Recipients have included scholars affiliated with University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, SOAS University of London, Leiden University and Universität Wien, and award ceremonies have been hosted at venues such as British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France and The Hague Conference Centre.

Partnerships extend to policy forums at European Parliament, collaborative teaching with University of Barcelona, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and public engagement with cultural institutions like Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of European Cultures, Kunsthistorisches Museum and media outlets such as BBC, The Guardian and Le Monde. Outreach includes capacity building with institutions in Balkans, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and collaborations with international NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on ethnographically informed advocacy.

Category:Anthropology organizations in Europe