What is this project?
Shifting Stereotypes is a project conceived to invite participants to think about, and interact with, the concept of stereotypes and stereotyping language from both a personal and anthropological perspective.
This interactive documentary is a growing and ongoing project. It began in late 2015 and took the form of live interactive installations in two parts: in the first, participants were recorded reading aloud from scripts of stereotyping language and then interviewed about their experience and, in the second, participants sorted terms taken from those interviews and answered questions about their stereotyping experiences. The live experiences were documented, discussed and transformed into the stories you are now exploring. You are invited to guide yourself through the journey into stereotyping, sharing your stories and viewing the contributions and concepts through an anthropological lens.
We ask that you deeply consider that this is not simply a project of these political times. This project began during the Obama era, when these social movements rooted and grew strong. The concepts and ideas we address are deeply embedded in our society and have been part of the daily lives of people in the US- and around the world- for decades.
Where did this project come from?
The Shifting Stereotypes project is generously funded by the Wenner Gren Innovations in the Public Awareness of Anthropology Grant Program and was conceived and facilitated by Cool Anthropology. It has also received support and resources from the City University of New York and CUNY Guttman.
Cool Anthropology is a collaborative organization dedicated to breaking down the closed-circuits of academic and artistic circles to bring the benefits of the anthropological perspective to a wide and public audience. We are dedicated to translating credible anthropological research into accessible forms. We work with anthropologists conducting research around the world in addition to students, multi-media artists, activists and public participants from our in-person installations and on our website @ coolanthropology.com.
What do we hope to accomplish?
With all our projects, Cool Anthropology hopes to blur the lines between researcher and participant, and data collection and data dissemination. We hope to provoke thought through embodied experience- we want participants to become part of the research process and to increase understanding through this engaged experience.
Through the Shifting Stereotypes project, we hope to provoke understanding and, ultimately, a change in the conversation. We hope to inspire deep thoughts, new ideas and bring those to a wide public. We hope that individuals, communities and societies will consider what constitutes stereotypes and why they perpetuate. We deeply believe that the understanding that is brought about through anthropological research, coupled with an interactive and engaging format, can inspire more considered, conscious human interaction.