Palestine as Method: A Public Anthropology against Empire

Abstract The European Association of Social Anthropologists was the first anthropological association to speak out against the genocide taking place in Gaza. On the 25th of October 2023, the Executive Committee published a statement unequivocally condemning the violence perpetrated by the state of Israel against Gazans. Following the publication of the statement, easa received a number of reactions, both positive and negative. In this text, I reflect on what the statement and some of the negative reactions to it revealed about empire anthropology within the context of the association. I dwell on one reaction, formulated by a group of former members of easa ’s past executive committees, which stated that easa should not express political stances, and conceptualize it as a form of empire anthropology. I explore what is at stake (and for whom) in speaking out and conclude with a reflection on the kinds of public anthropology that can emerge from the current moment.