Why law and anthropology?“The benefits of an empirically enriched approach to questions of religious diversity and the law cannot be overstated. In the diverse reality of today, if we want to understand minorities (let alone accept and accommodate) we cannot turn a blind eye to other people’s stories, perspectives, relationships and values. In the past, social anthropological inquiries were initiated in exotic locales but this methodology and approach is now more and more applied to locales closer to home, offering concepts and frameworks (e.g. legal pluralism) which are highly constructive when exploring and analyzing such situations. Considering and reconsidering positions, interests, laws and rights with the curiosity which has been paramount in the social anthropological success-story could at times offer ways out of deadlock debates and hard-fraught dilemma’s related to law, religion, cultural diversity and society.”
More on the Max Planck Institute for Social AnthropologyThe Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is one of the world’s leading centers for research in socio-cultural anthropology. It was established in 1999 in Halle/Saale, Germany (about two hours away from Berlin) and in 2012 the Department of Law & Anthropology was created to offer a much-needed forum for interdisciplinary and innovative work done by both anthropologists and legal scholars. Fieldwork is an essential part of almost all projects.
The Institute, which is currently home to some 180 researchers from across Europe and the world, sponsors fully-funded doctoral research projects and offer post-doctoral positions to promising scholars. It also offers short-term research visits and hosts a large variety of talks, symposia and conferences each year. For more information on the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, the Law & Anthropology Department, and its researchers, see the recent published report on the activities during 2014-2016: |