The Anthropology Across Ruralities (ACRU) Network was created in 2025 with the goal of re-launching and renewing an epistemological, theoretical, practical and institutional discussion on the ‘rural’ object. We believe that the analysis of rural areas – both as drivers and receivers of (sometimes brutal) global change – is central to understanding contemporary changes and the social, political, economic and ecological dynamics shaping today’s world.
The Network’s working objectives are guided by two main questions: How do people around the world produce, engage, or resist transversal recompositions of rural spaces? What insights does this discussion offer into regional, epistemological, or institutional legacies within anthropology and how can multiscalar ethnographic comparisons foster ways to creatively rethink contemporary rural transformations?
Main goals
The network invites us to think about ruralities from a relational and critical perspective, based on their complexity, heterogeneity and dynamism. By considering how rural worlds relate to other spaces and scales, the aim is to explore how they are reconfigured, whether in terms of the power, class, gender, racial or environmental relations that shape them. This network therefore takes ruralities as its focus, seeing them as an observatory of wider social processes that are not solely determined by their spatial location or by local particularities.
The network also places methodological and epistemological reflection at the heart of its areas of interest. The contributions of the ethnographic method allows us to identify the dynamics and forces shaping the world through attention to the most micro-situational level.
Finally, the network fosters a cross-disciplinary dialogue in and from ruralities, positioning them at the heart of contemporary anthropological concerns and examining how they are redefined based on the emic categories that emerge from our ethnographies. Our goal is not to advance a definitive discussion on or establish a definition of “the rural.” Instead, we seek to contribute to a critical engagement with immersive ethnographic research on multivalent ruralities, by promoting and supporting methodological, epistemological, and historical discussions within the discipline and its dialogue with other social sciences.
The ‘Anthropology Across Ruralities’ Network aims to be :
- A forum for academic debate aimed at updating the anthropological discipline
- A space for convivial exchange and professional networking
- A collective resource for mutual support
- A space for collective work
Network activity
The network is reinforced through the active involvement of its members, establishing a frequency of meetings and activities that will allow for the development of collective debates. In line with the network’s four objectives, we propose activities aimed at creating and developing spaces for reflection, meetings and mutual support resources. The network also maintains a mailing list for sharing news and information among its members. Everyone is welcome to use it to circulate updates on rural-related events and initiatives.
If you’re interested in joining the network — EASA membership is encouraged but not required — or if you have ideas, suggestions for events, or any questions, please feel free to contact us via email.
You can find the full version of the Network’s declaration of intent here, including the theoretical framework of the discussions, team structure and governance, and proposed activities.