Module 'Skills' in Zürich, organised by Prof. Mareile Flitsch, Völkerkunde Museum Zürich,

with Tim Ingold and Trevor Marchand.

Date: Sept. 9./10., 2010 

Issues like practical knowledge and skill have in recent years re-emerged as a field for anthropologists who see the separation of the social and the technical in social sciences as problematic. Such a separation too often implies a neglect of the embeddedness of practical knowledge into social life and may lead to a rather superficial understanding of crucial everyday concerns of the people we study.

In focussing on the topic of skill, in particular of the characteristics of skill in crafts, this module proposes to reconsider the way in which people organize, embody and transmit their practical knowledge, the processes through which they develop skilled practice. We will discuss the communication, interpretation and acquisition of skilled practices, as well as the consequences of a deteriorating skill set (de-skilling) due to socio-technical or economic change, as well as to alienation, ageing and physical impairment.