Individual skill
curranthro-topic-selection
Use when deciding whether an anthropology project fits Current Anthropology (CA) and which article type to target. CA is the transnational, all-fields Wenner-Gren journal whose Major Articles receive the CA✩ comment-and-reply Treatment, so the test is field-shaping significance worth international debate, not single-subfield novelty. Helps frame the question and pick an article type; it does not collect data or conduct fieldwork.
Current-Anthropology-Skills/skills/curranthro-topic-selection/SKILL.md
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- Last checked
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# Topic Selection & Fit (curranthro-topic-selection)
CA publishes for a **worldwide audience across all subfields** of anthropology, and its flagship Major
Articles undergo the **CA✩ Treatment** — solicited Comments from international scholars, then the
author's Reply, all printed together. So the bar is higher than "new to my subfield": a CA Major Article
should make a **theoretical or methodological intervention** that **sets the terms of future research**
and that commentators around the world would *want to argue about*. Use this skill to pressure-test fit
and article type before you invest.
## When to trigger
- Choosing among possible projects or framings for a CA submission
- A reviewer/colleague said the paper feels "too narrow" or "a solid case but not field-shaping"
- Deciding between a **Major Article** (CA✩) and a **Report**, **Forum**, or **Discussion item**