Towards a Regenerative Anthropology: Our Discipline's Role in Navigating Intersecting Crises and Transformation

In a time of escalating environmental, political and social crises, Anthropology has transformative potential yet faces existential threats. This article argues for a regenerative Anthropology – one that not only critiques the colonial-capitalist systems driving breakdown, but also actively contributes to alternative, life-affirming futures. Drawing on insights from regenerative agriculture, activism and multispecies ethnography, we explore how Anthropology can support transformations towards more sustainable futures by reviving diverse knowledges, practices and ways of being. At the same time, Anthropology itself must evolve. As universities undergo neoliberal restructuring and departments shrink, we propose a fuller shift towards engagement and accessibility, and a pedagogy that balances critique with practice, and imagination with action. In an era of upheaval, Anthropology can – and must – become a force for regeneration, both within and beyond the academy.