The Undisciplined Anthropology Research Unit (ZAND) was formally established in 2020 at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology PAS. Since its inception, it has expanded beyond the organisational framework to include in discussions and research collaborators from outside IAE PAS interested in transdisciplinary approaches, interspecies ethnography, as well as methodological and theoretical experiments. ZAND is a network of independent researchers who, freely shaping their academic careers , stay in touch and support each other through discussions, intellectual exchange and collaboration. It is a space for the creation of research that is not afraid of controversy, constructive and based on empirical study.

The starting point for our discussions was a reflection on the critique of elements of the social ontology on which social/cultural anthropology as a discipline has grown up – above all the division between nature and culture. The change of orientation was influenced by the development of new technologies, ecological crises, advances in biological sciences, etc. We see a need for in-depth reflection on the place of anthropology in this new set-up and especially on the methodology used within anthropological research.

We are keen to work across disciplinary divides and always invite undisciplined representatives of other scientific disciplines to collaborate with us.