Dolly Kikon on intricacies of Anthropology as a field of study

Featuring Dolly Kikon and her insight into research careers with a focus on Anthropology in an interview with Eastern Mirror

DIMAPUR — Anthropologist Dolly Kikon’s journey is a tale of what education and supportive teachers can do in the face of adversity, inspiring her to become an educator as well. She said, “Good teachers saved my life, guided me, and believed in me.”

Kikon, an associate professor in Anthropology and Development Studies Programme at the University of Melbourne, earned her PhD from Stanford University in 2013 and was a Postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University from 2013-2015. She also has a degree in Bachelor of Law (LLB) from Faculty of Law at University of Delhi and practiced in the Supreme Court of India as well as the Gauhati High Court in Assam. Her legal advocacy and research centred on land ownership and resource management in Northeast India, including extra constitutional regulations like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (1958); broad research interests span resource extraction, militarisation, development, human rights, migration, gender, and political economy.

The scholar gives an insight into research careers with a focus on Anthropology in an interview with Eastern Mirror.

What steps can a student take to embark on a journey into the field of Anthropology?

There are two ways to do this. The first one is to take up Anthropology course at the undergraduate level and figure out what the discipline is all about. Anthropology is a four field discipline where a student can specialize in one of the following fields: (a) social/cultural; (b) linguistic; (c) archaeology; (d) physical/biological. After students graduate with a bachelor’s degree, they can pursue a master’s in Anthropology and focus on writing their Master of Arts thesis on a topic according to their research interest. In India, often there is a rigid requirement to have a single discipline from the undergraduate level all the way to the doctoral program. This is not the case overseas or at least in the United States where I was trained as an anthropologist. With a bachelor’s in law and an MPhil in Social Sciences, I was able to switch to Anthropology.

Share us some crucial skills required for students aiming academic or research careers, and misconceptions students should be aware of when navigating academic pursuits in the Social Sciences?

The only skill required to become a good researcher is discipline. One must be devoted to what they are studying and this means seeking early guidance and being proactive in asking your teachers about different options. I feel ninety percent of Naga undergraduate students study Political Science and by the time they graduate, many of them are not interested in what they have studied or are simply indifferent. But they are unable to change their discipline because they are uncertain about what other options are out there. Even students in the humanities and social sciences who graduate with Psychology or Literature opt for Political Science because they feel safe and comfortable with this discipline. I suspect there is a feeling that Political Science is about politics and since Naga society is buzzing with all kinds of “politics” and “political processes”, the word becomes a safe zone for students to pick up. And then there is the whole wide world of Naga students gravitating towards competitive exams, and opt for disciplines within the social sciences to succeed in their respective competitive exams. I am here to share about becoming a researcher/an academic, so let me reiterate that discipline and devotion to one’s research work is crucial to opt for a career as an academic.

Are there lesser-known career opportunities in Anthropology, and what advice do you have for students concerned about stable employment in these fields after graduation?

Anthropology is a four field discipline and it is a fascinating way to study human societies and cultures across the world. As a child growing up in Nagaland, I loved watching National Geographic on television and the teams working on excavating ancient relics or the tombs of pharaohs in Egypt. When I was doing my doctoral studies at Stanford University, some of my classmates were being trained as archaeologists and they went to dig ancient ruins and historical sites in Turkey and Tunisia. Today, some of them are academics like me, and others are professionals working in foundations that seek to preserve Indigenous heritage sites. Students who studied linguistic anthropology or social anthropology also became employed in conservation foundations; they also joined the government sector and worked in the field of art/culture/heritage. Anthropology as a discipline allows you to learn about human cultures and societies. But more importantly, it is a chance of a lifetime to learn about human cultures and societies. No matter whether you opt for research in Anthropology, I guarantee that you will treasure the skills and insight Anthropology offers you to understand cultural differences, human diversity, and acquire skills to develop, finetune, and build meaningful projects, studies, and initiatives that center human society and community.

How can students aiming to study anthropology prepare effectively to learn about theory and practical aspects of fieldwork?

Anthropology as a discipline is rigorously grounded in fieldwork. We believe that theory emerges from the field. What is the field? For Anthropologists, the “field” is human societies and cultures and how they interact with their surroundings (animals/forests/nature). Second, we believe that the field (human society where anthropologists go and study) is mediated with power relations. This is where we (as researchers) observe and examine inequality, caste, gender, class, and structural violence. Therefore, the trait of a good researcher is to not sound abstract and be sharp and clear about how theory is connected to human societies and experiences.

Are there internships, or other learning opportunities that students can participate in to gain practical experience in this field?

This depends on the Anthropology departments and the country you study. For master’s level students in Anthropology, as well as for B.A. students as well, we focus on grounded learning which means taking them for fieldwork early on. This allows them the opportunity to communicate and also have experiential learning opportunities. As anthropology students, some departments offer summer grants for students to travel to different countries and write short essays on topics and themes they choose. For instance, I was a visiting Professor at Yale University during the Spring semester in 2023, and students from the Anthropology department applied for summer travel grants to learn languages or render service to specific communities who are involved in some trade (fishing, tailoring, farming). In India, students have to be more proactive and look out for internships themselves, but professors are very encouraging so I request students to be forthcoming and seek out guidance early on.

Could you provide us some guidance on how students can network and connect with professionals in Anthropology? What is your approach to research mentorship?

I think networking is overrated. I say this because it is dangerous to believe that belonging to certain circles, class, fluency to speak English, or going to the right school etc will get you to where you want to be in life. Please don’t misunderstand this. Networking as a professional be it in research or any other fields matters but it should be meaningful and with a commitment. Some departments now encourage students to network blindly, but it is quite detrimental. If the sole aim of networking is to get ahead in life, it will not take you far. Trust me. But if you pursue your goal and research with devotion, commitment, and are determined to write and engage with the broader scholarly world, your work will reach places you might not even dream about. Let the world read and know you through your work first, and then let the networking that follows be focused on something greater and something more profound and something more real, than just an immediate goal of individually aggrandizing.

I would encourage students and researchers to let your work speak for itself. And for that feel free to write to professors and researchers in your field and share it. Attend seminars and conferences too, but above all keep time for writing and reading. No matter how many amazing opinions and speeches you deliver, as an academic your scholarship matters. This means what kinds of books are you writing/have written, which essays are you publishing/have published, how well do you plan your teaching/lesson plans, do you devote time for service to university/college, what is your leadership role in coordinating academic committees, and most importantly how do you nurture and care for students. All these commitments take a lot of patience and time. It takes decades to become a committed teacher and a reasonable researcher. As a professor, we are teachers at the end of the day, and our job is to teach well, and also contribute to the respective disciplines and engage with the larger society.

As a mentor, I am very hands on and extremely disciplined with my masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral researchers. I never encourage them to come to me and bad mouth any books or articles written by another scholar. I tell them to write a better book/a better article and show me. I am weary of a research culture that trashes fellow researchers, and I teach my students very early that they cannot get away with that kind of intellectual arrogance. It is not okay to gossip or ‘character assassinate’ a researcher’s work and call it “intellectual debate”. My research standards for my mentees are high. I don’t care if they can write perfect English or struggle with structure. Academic writing is an acquired skill, and I guide them towards that but they need to be committed to become engaged scholars. None of us as Naga students were born from our mother’s wombs speaking the Queen’s English. So it is all about keeping it real, be honest to learn academic writing, and also remember that Naga research does matter to the world. But for that to manifest, we must put in the hard work and discipline.

What motivated you to pursue such an accomplished academic and professional journey, considering your challenging upbringing and societal obstacles? Any word of advice for young people?

Thank you for calling me an accomplished academic. It is an honour coming from the Eastern Mirror Newspaper team. I will take that as a compliment! Yes, I have shared about growing up with a single mother and in a household where the adults in my family struggled with addiction. It was hard, but I could go to school and learn from some amazing teachers. I went to Christian English School in Dimapur. I was there from Class A till Class X. From there I went to Patkai Christian College and found some very committed teachers there too. Good teachers saved my life, guided me, and believed in me.

So if there is any advice from my end, it is for teachers out there who might be disillusioned sometimes given the challenges of teaching big classes and also at times feeling unappreciated. I am that student who failed in Class II and had to sit another year to be promoted to Class III. I am that student who nearly didn’t make it in my board exam in Class VIII because I was not able to study at home due to the dysfunctional and violent family life. I am that student who never had the confidence to come up and say hello because I felt ashamed that my family was so pathetic. I was that student you nurtured and cared for. Look what became of me. I took all the love and the nurturing you showed since I was in Class A and it was your love that took me across the oceans and brought me back with education and made me a teacher too. For all the young students out there who are facing hardships in your family life and thinking of giving up on your dreams. Remember to talk to your teachers, to reach out for counselling, for support. There are so many amazing Naga elders and professionals today who are supporting and reaching out to vulnerable students who need mentoring and support. Family violence is not okay, and there are amazing Naga champions out there to come and be your guide. Reach out.

Rapid Insights:

View from your window

The onset of winter and misty.

A book or resource that has had a profound impact on you

Seamus Heaney: New Selected Poems 1988-2013.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I will tell my younger self to learn how to dance because I really believe that bodywork is essential for writers to be in the zone and free their mind.

To learn more about Kikon’s current research and publications, visit the University of Melbourne staff website or her personal site www.dollykikon.com for details on research collaborations and engagements.    

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