Translating Law and Anthropology
- Location: Yale Law School, Frontiers in the Anthropology of Law
- Research area: Legal profession
Nov 2008, Elizabeth Mertz
The legal academy is currently in the midst of a period of renewed interest in empirical research on law. Yet despite growing interdisciplinary fervor, we have yet to develop a considered theory or practice of translation between disciplines. In this presentation, I use the example of anthropology to suggest why such a combined theory and practice might be important. At the same time, I draw on the methods of anthropological linguistics to highlight some of the limits of translation across disciplinary boundaries. I conclude by suggesting that humility about the possibilities of translation is a necessary part of any truly "scientific" approach to interdisciplinary work in law.