Title: Towards Reflexivity in the Sciences: Anthropological Reflections on Science and Society
Abstract: Reflexivity, which includes awareness of strengths and limitations of own discipline as well as potential implications of academic endeavor, plays crucial role in developing critical thinking and in proper understanding of scholarly expertise in society. In anthropology, the notion of reflexivity expands to concern positionality of a scholar both as a researcher and as a writer, as well as the awareness of the socio-political context and institutional environment in which one is situated. At the same time, the reflective turn becomes a “paradigm shift” from a “scientific” to a hermeneutic or interpretative approach (Salzman, 2002). In my commentary chapter to this volume, I critically engage with contributions to this section of the volume, while remaining attentive to constrains and assets of my own positionality as a scholar and reflecting on the notions of scientificity, society, and reflexivity from anthropological perspective.