Time: 1:30 PM-3:30 PM, April 24
Location: LIB 2033
Guest Speakers:
Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology, University College London
Xiaolin Li, Post-doc Researcher
Event Description
This lecture considers three of the major contributions of anthropology. The first comes from deep ethnographic research and will be illustrated mainly through case studies drawn from the book 人间烟火2.0：人类学家眼中的数字中国. The second, using material from the same book, exemplifies the comparative dimension of anthropology. Evidence from China is employed to expose the ideological foundations of Western concepts of and attitudes to the digital. The third examines the claim that anthropology can provide contributions to our understanding of humanity and society more generally. Taking examples from the forthcoming book不卷人生 it considers why anthropology may prove a better guide than philosophy, in considering one of the key aims of philosophy, which is to inform us as to the possibilities and the form of a good life
About the Speakers
Xiaolin Li is currently a postdoctoral researcher on the ERC-funded ReWorkChange project, conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Shanghai on remote and hybrid work practices. Li’s research more broadly explores how digital technologies and material cultures shape embodied experiences, gender, and everyday life. Li’s PhD project, The Menstrual Body Reimagined: Menstruation, Sexuality and Digital Period-Tracking in Urban China, examines the design and use of period-tracking apps within broader contexts of menstruation, sexuality, and medical practice in contemporary China and is being prepared for publication as a book.
Daniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology at University College London and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the co-convenor of the master’s programme in Digital Anthropology. Recent books include forthcoming不卷人生, The Good Enough Life. 2026 Ed. with Xinyuan Wang, 人间烟火2.0：人类学家眼中的数字中国, Understanding China through Digital Anthropology. 2025 Ed. with Pauline Garvey, The Age of Retirement: An Anthropological Perspective. 2025 Ed. with Charlotte Hawkins and Patrick Awondo, An Anthropological Approach to mHealth. 2021 (with ten others),The Global Smartphone: Beyond a youth technology. 2021 With Pauline Garvey, Ageing with Smartphones in Ireland.
@Dannyanth
Recent Publications:-
