At its heart, the discipline of anthropology is fascinated with the human condition and the diverse lifeworlds that humans have co-inhabited, created, nurtured, and propagated, under different historical and ecological contexts.
When the conditions and possibilities for human existence and well-being are undermined or threatened, anthropological ways of knowing and doing can play an important role in opening up collaborative engagements and constructive interventions for remedial action.
For the 47th UGAT Annual Conference, we invite anthropologists, scholars from various disciplines, development workers, activists, community leaders, and other practitioners to reflect upon and share their
experiences of doing engaged anthropology or engaging with anthropologists as public intellectuals towards this end. How have these engagements made a difference to affected communities? What does it mean to co-produce and co-mobilize knowledge among academics, community members, and various stakeholders?
What creative, evocative, unsettling, or even militant ways have been deployed in engaging with different publics on raising awareness and catalysing action? What are the prospects, constraints, and ethical dilemmas in an engaged anthropology? How can we reimagine anthropology that shifts from extractive knowledge production to ethically grounded, care-based, community-led action—where stepping back, refusing to research, or dismantling 'knowledge gaps' become valid and necessary forms of engagement?
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We welcome abstracts and panel proposals that focus on, but not limited, to the following, areas:
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Anthropology and law
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Anthropology as critical practice and bearing witness
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Anthropology in crisis and disaster
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Anthropology in Chaotic Globalization
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Archaeology and forensic anthropology
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Coastal and fishing communities and maritime anthropology
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Cultural heritage and preservation
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Digital imaginaries, hopes and futures
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Disease, health and well-being
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Dwelling, place-making and embodiment
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Environmental activism in a Climate Changing World​
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Ethics, praxis, and reflexivity
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Humanitarian, civil society and social movements
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Indigenous Peoples knowledge, beliefs and practices
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Intimacy, well-being, and gender identities
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Labour, precarity and economic justice
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Migration and diasporic identities
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Participatory, representation, and collaborative research methods
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Politics, human rights and governance
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Poverty and poverty alleviation initiatives
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Queering anthropology
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Religion, spirituality, and worldviews
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Urban decay/renewal and gentrification
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Visual anthropology and public engagement
Note: Other areas or topics of interest that do not not fall into these specified categories would still be considered by the conference convenors.
You may submit your abstracts here: https://bit.ly/UGAT47AbstractSubmissions
The conference will be held onsite at the Holy Name University in Tagbilaran City, Bohol Province, Philippines on November 12-15, 2025. As of this time, we will not be accepting any submissions for online presentation.
Please submit an abstract (250 words maximum) by June 30, 2025. In addition to paper presentations, the conference organisers welcome proposals for roundtable discussions (with research partners from engaged communities or among anthropologists) and multimedia presentations (photographic essays, filmed essays, ethnographic documentaries, spoken word poetry, podcasts, interactive exhibitions etc.) addressing the conference theme.
CONFERENCE CONVENORS​
Noreen Sapalo
Department of Anthropology,
University of the Philippines Diliman
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Rachelle Lacea
Head, National Museum Bohol
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Socorro Anne Revilla Zaluaga
Holy Name University, Bohol
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Doms Cordero
Head of Conference Secretariat, UGAT