A sea of anchors: towards (more) global psychological anthropologies—Introduction to a virtual special issue

Author(s)

Thomas Stodulka, Anni Kajanus, Suzana Jovicic

Abstract

This commentary reflects on the contemporary trajectories and futures of psychological anthropology through the metaphor of a “sea of anchors.” Rather than reproducing binaries of center and margin, we conceptualize “anchors” as temporary and dynamic points of orientation through which theories, methods, collaborations, and infrastructures condense and circulate unevenly across regions and disciplines. Building on contributions to the 2026 Ethos virtual issue, we argue for more decentralized, accessible, and collaborative forms of psychological anthropology that move beyond disciplinary silos while remaining attentive to enduring asymmetries in global knowledge production. We examine how psychological anthropologists navigate critical and often marginal positions between anthropology, psychology, and related fields, and how this intermediary position enables productive forms of interdisciplinary mediation, critique, and collaboration. At the same time, we emphasize that decolonizing psychological anthropology requires more than theoretical critique alone: it demands transformations in citation practices, research infrastructures, collaboration, and institutional accessibility. Contemporary psychological anthropology, we suggest, is uniquely positioned to engage constructively with both the humanities and sciences while critically interrogating universalizing psychologies, extractive epistemologies, and emerging global inequalities. By advocating for a plurality of interconnected “anchors,” we envision psychological anthropology as a politically engaged, empirically grounded, and globally collaborative field capable of fostering alternative forms of scholarly exchange and future-oriented anthropological practice.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

External organisation(s)

Universität Münster, University of Helsinki

Journal

Ethos: Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology

Volume

54

ISSN

0091-2131

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/etho.70035

Publication date

06-2026

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504017 Cultural anthropology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Anthropology, Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous), Sociology and Political Science

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/d496a2ee-2ada-4300-acf8-216ecea8d0a7