I was wrong about theory

Abstract Theory occupies a central, if curious place in contemporary anthropology. It is needed and valuable, enabling the articulation and use of insights from field research. But it is also feared at times as hard, and also used in exclusionary ways. In this commentary, I review how my understanding of and relationship to theory have changed over time, primarily through an understanding of ethnography as always already theoretical. After considering what theory and ethnography are, as well as the importance of story to theory, I then offer 10 lessons I've learned that shape my theoretical practice.