Welcome to The Familiar Strange, an anthropology social engagement project.

We are proudly brought to you with the support from the Australian Anthropological Society, the American Anthropological Association, and the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, the College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Centre for Public Awareness of Science. 

You might first be asking, “what is anthropology?” We define anthropology as the pursuit of uncommon knowledge about humans and culture. It can, and should, happen everywhere. Instead, it’s mostly been estranged, to ‘field sites’ and the Ivory Tower. There are plenty of misconceptions about what anthropologists do, what they know, and why anyone should care.

So, we’re here to make what anthropologists know and do familiar. We also want to pull anthropologists out of their sub-disciplinary pigeonholes. It’s a time of jarring social and political change. No one has the luxury of ignoring that. We ask anthropologists to bring their tools to bear, to help each other and the world make some sense.

We, too, are wary of excessive navel-gazing in formal anthropology. That’s why this outreach is not just about the four of us. We have both blogs and podcasts to give the thoughts and lives of anthropologists some more critical – but informal – exposure.  Early-career anthropologists: blog with us. Senior scholars: talk to us, on the podcast.

Together, let’s make the strange familiar, and the Familiar Strange.

Thanks for your curiosity in stopping by, and we hope you’ll keep engaging with us.

– Your Familiar Strangers (Julia, Ian, Simon & Jodie)