On 12 February 2026, the World Anthropological Union (WAU), through its scientific chamber, the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), established the IUAES Commission on the History of Anthropology (CHOA), addressing a thematic gap among existing commissions. The Chair and Deputy Chair of the new IAEUS Commission on the History of Anthropology are, respectively, Celso Castro (Fundação Getulio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro) and Frederico Delgado Rosa (Nova University, Lisbon).
CHOA’s overall objective is to reflect on the complex trajectories of anthropology as a plural discipline encompassing a diversity of professional practices and shifting scholarly boundaries. It aims to uncover both the scholarly legacies—theoretical, methodological, and ethnographic—and the broader biographies of individuals who dedicated themselves to anthropology, as well as the histories of organizations related to anthropological knowledge, such as higher education and research institutions, museums, journals and archives, governmental or professional bodies, etc.
The Commission strives to go beyond canonical historical narratives around established authors and classic texts, incorporating neglected regional, national and local traditions. It is attentive to processes of silencing, exclusion, or forgetting based on gender, race, social origin, nationality, or other markers of social differentiation.
The Commission encourages the exchange of experiences among researchers dedicated to the history of anthropology in its multifarious dimensions and settings, across and within theoretical, methodological, organizational and practical paradigms. There is a special focus on connecting practitioners of this subfield, while mapping the constantly growing sources of disciplinary history and overcoming geographic and linguistic barriers.
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The CHOA Chairs welcome new members. Membership is free of charge. CHOA’s webpage:
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Contact the CHOA Chairs at: historyofanthropology@gmail.com
WAU, IUAES and WCAA
The World Anthropological Union (WAU) is an umbrella organization established in 2017–2018 as a bicameral structure bringing together two pre-existing international anthropological bodies: the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) and the World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA). The IUAES is a global scientific union founded in 1948 that promotes international cooperation in anthropology and ethnology through research commissions and congresses, while the WCAA is a network founded in 2004 that brings together national and regional anthropological associations worldwide. The global hub for anthropology WAU does not replace or subordinate either organization; rather, it integrates them as two autonomous chambers within a single framework designed to coordinate collaboration, representation, and major international events in anthropology.
The IUAES Commissions are permanent, theme-based international research networks. Formally established as IUAES Commissions, they bring together scholars from around the world around specific fields of anthropology—such as medical anthropology, legal anthropology, migration, heritage, urban studies, Indigenous issues, and, from January 2026 onwards, the history of anthropology—fostering sustained international collaboration. These commissions organize workshops and webinars, panels and symposia at global congresses, develop research initiatives, support scholarly publications, and maintain transnational academic networks. While they retain a degree of organizational autonomy, they operate under the statutes of the IUAES and integrate its Council of Commissions within the broader institutional framework of the WAU.
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