When I say ... anthropological gaze William Ventres 1 & Jerome Crowder 2 When trying to make sense of the world around them, specifically concerning how culture influences and is expressed through complex human behaviours, anthropologists use what is commonly termed an anthropological gaze. Specific to medical contexts, whether exploring the nature of encounters between clinicians and patients, 1 the social milieu of health professional education 2 or the health and illness-related behaviours of people in communities both nearby and far away, 3 anthropologists use this gaze to look beyond the surface of human interactions and ask questions such as: (i) What is really going on here? (ii) Why is it happening now? (iii) What can I learn from this situation? (iv) How is this similar or different when compared with other interactions I have observed? Using such an anthropological gaze is critical to answering these questions, as it can help uncover the layers of meaning that frame the commonly held understandings of people’s beliefs and actions. An awareness of the characteristics of this gaze is important for scholars interested in appreciating the significance of any research using anthropological methodologies. What is an anthropological gaze? It is the inquisitive stance anthropologists take when learning from and about others. In whatever situation involving human interactions, sociocultural anthropologists take on the position of curious subjects, and the objects of their attention are other people. Anthropologists investigate what these other people think and how they act in relation to the biological, psychological, social and existential environments in which they live. Whether while exploring the thoughts and actions of people living in ‘exotic’ locations, far distant from their cultures of origin, or while conducting investigations in much more familiar settings nearer to home, anthropologists also realise that their mere presence affects how other people behave and what they say. As subjects in search of meaning, anthropologists first try to position themselves in places full of action, rich in opportunity to explore people’s perceptions of what is going on, and why. Although traditionally they enter into situations markedly different to those they know well in order to challenge their accustomed ways of thinking, anthropologists may also explore environments with which they feel more acquainted. In such surroundings, they endeavour to both acknowledge and suspend their own tacit cultural assumptions. Second, as inquisitive subjects, anthropologists use their multiple senses to witness and record how people in these settings behave and subsequently try to interpret the individual and collective ideas that underlie the behaviours they observe. They ask questions about how and why people act the way they do. They explore people’s reasoning and solicit reflection by scratching their heads, gently probing: ‘Tell me more’ and ‘Can you explain that to me again?’ Third, anthropologists reflect inwardly and ask of themselves, as best they are able, such questions as: ‘What is my history, and how has that influenced how I see the world around me?’; ‘What are my explicit biases, and can I at least become more aware of my implicit ones?’; and, with humility, ‘Am I being an honest observer, fair in my attempts to comprehend how other people see and understand their life circumstances?’ Over time, anthropologists grow in 1 Little Rock, Arkansas, USA 2 Galveston, Texas, USA Medical Education 2017 doi: 10.1111/medu.13502 Correspondence: William Ventres, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot 530, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, USA. Tel: 203 738 9077; E-mail: wventres@gmail.com 1 ª 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education. MEDICAL EDUCATION 2017 when i say