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.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill curranthro-topic-selection --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# 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** - A field or community partner has reframed what the project is *for* ## The CA fit test A strong CA Major Article usually clears all five: 1. **All-fields reach.** A scholar in a *different* subfield should see why it matters — the shared stakes are anthropology's enduring questions: culture, power, kinship, exchan
- When to trigger
- The CA fit test
- Reach past your home subfield
- Article type choice
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
- Supplementary resources
What does the curranthro-topic-selection skill do?
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.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill curranthro-topic-selection --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.