Subtopic Deep Dive
Neoliberal Governmentality in Anthropology
Research Guide
What is Neoliberal Governmentality in Anthropology?
Neoliberal governmentality in anthropology examines how neoliberal policies produce subjectivities, institutional practices, and power dynamics through ethnographic analysis of governance and resistance.
This subtopic traces neoliberalism's cultural effects on everyday life, institutions, and marginalized groups via fieldwork. Key works include Ortner's analysis of dark anthropology amid neoliberal rise (Ortner 2016, 662 citations) and Ganti's review of anthropological critiques (Ganti 2014, 250 citations). Over 10 major papers from 2002-2017 explore temporalities, knowledge, and counter-movements.
Why It Matters
Ethnographic studies reveal neoliberal governance's role in shaping subjectivities in crisis zones, as in Bear's work on modern time under neoliberalism (Bear 2014, 376 citations; Bear 2016, 209 citations). They document indigenous resistance to extractive projects, like Kirsch's Ok Tedi mine campaign (Kirsch 2007, 214 citations), informing policy on global inequalities. Analyses critique knowledge ecologies against abyssal thinking (Santos 2007, 299 citations), guiding activism in racialized and gendered fields (Berry et al. 2017, 312 citations).
Key Research Challenges
Ethnographic Access Barriers
Neoliberal contexts restrict fieldwork in securitized zones, complicating data collection on governance. Ortner notes dark trends since 1980s neoliberal rise (Ortner 2016). Berry et al. highlight violence risks in gendered field sites (Berry et al. 2017).
Temporal Complexity Analysis
Neoliberal time produces conflicting temporalities hard to capture ethnographically. Bear argues modern time remains underexplored despite global discussions (Bear 2014). Her technique framework demands multi-scale methods (Bear 2016).
Resistance Strategy Evaluation
Assessing counterglobalization effectiveness against neoliberal power is empirically challenging. Kirsch tracks indigenous legal campaigns with mixed outcomes (Kirsch 2007). Kleist and Jansen link hope to crisis immobility (Kleist and Jansen 2016).
Essential Papers
Dark anthropology and its others
Sherry B. Ortner · 2016 · Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory · 662 citations
In this article I consider several emergent trends in anthropology since the 1980s against a backdrop of the rise of neoliberalism as both an economic and a governmental formation. I consider first...
An Anthropology of Knowledge
Fredrik Barth · 2002 · Current Anthropology · 457 citations
Whereas previous Sidney Mintz lectures have celebrated Mintzs work on inequality, racism, and ethnicity, I have chosen to speak to the broadest scope of his research and teaching in anthropology. A...
Doubt, conflict, mediation: the anthropology of modern time
Laura Bear · 2014 · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute · 376 citations
In this introduction, I argue that in spite of recent discussions of global and neoliberal time, the anthropology of modern time remains under‐explored. Modern time here is understood to be a compl...
Toward a Fugitive Anthropology: Gender, Race, and Violence in the Field
Maya J. Berry, Claudia Chávez Argüelles, Shanya Cordis et al. · 2017 · Cultural Anthropology · 312 citations
In this essay, we point to the ways in which activist research methodologies have been complicit with the dominant logics of traditional research methods, including notions of fieldwork as a mascul...
Para além do Pensamento Abissal: Das linhas globais a uma ecologia de saberes*
Boaventura de Sousa Santos · 2007 · Revista crítica de ciências sociais/Revista crítica de ciências sociais · 299 citations
Na primeira parte do ensaio, argumenta‑se que as linhas cartográficas “abissais” que \ndemarcavam o Velho e o Novo Mundo na era colonial subsistem estruturalmente no \npensamento moderno oc...
Neoliberalism
Tejaswini Ganti · 2014 · Annual Review of Anthropology · 250 citations
Neoliberalism has been a popular concept within anthropological scholarship over the past decade; this very popularity has also elicited a fair share of criticism. This review examines current anth...
Introduction: Hope over Time—Crisis, Immobility and Future-Making
Nauja Kleist, Stef Jansen · 2016 · History and Anthropology · 223 citations
This introduction discusses the hope boom in anthropological studies, suggesting that it reflects two converging developments: a sense of increasing unpredictability and crisis, and a sense of lack...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Barth (2002) for knowledge anthropology baseline, Ganti (2014) for neoliberalism overview, Bear (2014) for temporal foundations, as they frame later critiques.
Recent Advances
Study Ortner (2016) for dark trends, Berry et al. (2017) for fugitive methods, Lyons (2015) for criminalized ecologies.
Core Methods
Ethnographic fieldwork on time techniques (Bear 2016), counterglobalization tracking (Kirsch 2007), abyssal thinking deconstructions (Santos 2007).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Neoliberal Governmentality in Anthropology
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers and exaSearch to find neoliberal governmentality ethnographies, revealing Ortner (2016) as a hub via citationGraph linking to Bear (2014) and Ganti (2014). findSimilarPapers expands from Kirsch (2007) to counter-movements like Lyons (2015).
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to parse Bear's temporal mediation (Bear 2014), then verifyResponse with CoVe checks claims against Barth's knowledge frameworks (Barth 2002). runPythonAnalysis computes citation networks; GRADE scores evidence strength in Santos' abyssal critique (Santos 2007).
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in neoliberal subjectivity studies post-Ortner (2016), flags contradictions between Ganti (2014) and Barth (2002). Writing Agent uses latexEditText, latexSyncCitations for manuscripts, latexCompile for reports, exportMermaid diagrams temporal power flows.
Use Cases
"Statistical trends in neoliberal time citations across anthropology papers 2000-2020"
Research Agent → searchPapers('neoliberal time anthropology') → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis(pandas citation trends plot) → matplotlib export showing Bear (2014/2016) dominance.
"Draft LaTeX review synthesizing Ortner dark anthropology with Ganti neoliberalism"
Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText(structure review) → latexSyncCitations(Ortner 2016, Ganti 2014) → latexCompile(PDF output with sections on subjectivities).
"Find GitHub repos analyzing ethnographic data from neoliberal governance studies"
Research Agent → paperExtractUrls(Bear 2014) → Code Discovery → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect(yields datasets on temporal mediation for qualitative coding).
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow scans 50+ papers via searchPapers on 'neoliberal governmentality ethnography', producing structured report ranking Ortner (2016), Bear (2014), Ganti (2014) by impact. DeepScan's 7-step chain verifies temporal claims in Bear (2016) with CoVe checkpoints against Barth (2002). Theorizer generates models of resistance from Kirsch (2007) and Lyons (2015) literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines neoliberal governmentality in anthropology?
It analyzes neoliberal policies' ethnographic effects on subjectivities, power, and resistance (Ganti 2014; Ortner 2016).
What methods dominate this subtopic?
Ethnography of temporalities, knowledge systems, and counter-movements, as in Bear's time mediation (Bear 2014) and Kirsch's legal activism (Kirsch 2007).
What are key papers?
Ortner (2016, 662 citations) on dark anthropology; Ganti (2014, 250 citations) reviewing neoliberalism; Barth (2002, 457 citations) on knowledge.
What open problems persist?
Underexplored modern time under neoliberalism (Bear 2014); risks in fugitive field methods (Berry et al. 2017); hope in crisis immobility (Kleist and Jansen 2016).
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