Over the next week or so we are delighted to publish four blog posts on public anthropology written by Josh Connolly as part of his Honours coursework at Victoria University of Wellington. Josh undertook an internship with ASAA/NZ as part of his studies in 2016. His specific task was to research and produce a report assessing the feasibility and practicalities of introducing anthropology into New Zealand high schools as part of the NCEA curriculum. This project was ultimately in the spirit of public anthropology and, after some discussion, Josh and his supervisor (Lorena Gibson) thought it prudent to continue in a similar vein for his final project.

The four forthcoming posts constitute Josh's final project and are his attempts to engage in public anthropology as a means of explaining what public anthropology is, why it’s relevant, what it offers when compared to journalism, and the role, value, and state of public anthropology within New Zealand. In doing so he hopes to offer insights as to the nature of public anthropology in a way that is accessible to a wide range of people.

Check out his first post here.