In The Vulnerable Observer, anthropologist Ruth Behar notes “anthropology that doesn’t break your heart just isn’t worth doing anymore.” The theoretical nuances and narrative flourishes achieved by this level of vulnerability notwithstanding, the process of research and writing remains difficult and often painful.
Beyond broken hearts, students and scholars often contend with mental illness, disability, chronic illness, and neurodivergence that are stigmatized in academic and professional spaces. For this reason, we invite ethnographic essays, creative writing, and visual pieces reflecting on the challenges and insights of cultivating mental, emotional, and physical well being as an anthropologist. In doing so, we seek to disrupt disciplinary expectations of productivity and resilience in the face of grief, harm, and trauma experienced in the pursuit of anthropological knowledge. In addition to processes of rupture and repair, we are also interested in perspectives that explore the potential impossibility of wellness and wellbeing. We especially invite submissions from current PhD students, postdoctoral scholars, and independent researchers, as well as work not in English. For those who wish to share and remain anonymous, we welcome submissions under pseudonyms.
Topics of Interest
- Personal essays on the intersection of mental and physical health within anthropological research
- Comparative analysis of indigenous knowledge systems and mental wellbeing
- Audiovisual interpretations of mental and physical health as anthropologists, such as oral, photo, and/or video essays.
- Creative nonfiction that reflect the experience and vulnerability of fieldwork research, such as journal entries or ethnographic jottings.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be 2000 words maximum for written pieces, 3-5 minutes for video submissions, and 8 photos maximum for photography. Please send submissions as a single file to heartbreakanthro@gmail.com by February 14, 2025. If you have questions about the submission guidelines or format, please feel free to contact the editors via email.
