Anthropologists will surely be familiar with the often repeated question, “but what is anthropology?” which may take them down a path of theoretical debate, consideration of the discipline’s colonial histories and a dissection of the unique theoretical and ethical influences to our practice.

Even more broad, however, is the answer to the often asked question ‘but what does an anthropologist do?” Our time in the field is hugely varied not only in terms of geographic location but in occupation, gender, sexuality, ethnic and racial identity, not to mention the ways we fill our days. In this section you will find a selection of writing specially curated to begin to answer this elusive question of what an anthropologist does, exhibiting the diversity of writing styles as well as daily routines and research strategies from China, India, Peru, Palestine and beyond.