Chapter 13 - Practicing and Applying Anthropology Flashcards
Practicing or applied anthropology
A profession is explicitly concerned with making anthropological knowledge useful. Applying anthropological knowledge to achieve practical goals, usually in the service of an agency outside the traditional academic setting.
They work for a variety of organizations, government, agencies, international development agencies, private consulting firms, public health organizations, medical schools, etc.
Tasks of an anthropologist in applied anthropology? (7)
- Assembling relevant knowledge,
- Collecting data,
- Developing plans and policies,
- Assessing the likely social and environmental impacts,
- Implementing the project,
- Evaluating the project and its effects
- Most often involved in gathering information (rather than constructing policy or initiating action)
Development anthropology?
One of the main sub fields of applied or practicing anthropology, aimed at improving people’s lives, particularly decreasing poverty and hunger.
Ethics of Applied Anthropology?
- we need basic research to understand how the conditions might be successfully treated,
- certain principles of responsibility,
- everything should be done to ensure that their welfare and dignity will be protected,
- responsibility to those who will read about their research,
- research findings should be reported openly and truthfully,
What are some important ethical issues and dilemmas facing those practicing applied anthropology? (6)
- ethnical responsibility can become complicated,
- some of the problems result from the fact that anthropologists are not often involved until after a decision is made to go ahead with a change program,
- anthropologists are increasingly asked to participate in earlier stages of the planning process,
- anthropologists are increasingly asked to help in projects initiated by the affected party,
- If the anthropologist is in a ethical dilemma, large-scale projects are almost impossible to stop,
- Because the project is consistent with the wishes of the affected population, the results are not likely to put the anthropologist into an ethical dilemma.
- did the Society of Applied Anthropology establish the specific code of ethics for professional applied anthropologists?
- When was the statement on ethical responsibilities finally adopted?
- May, 1946
2. 1948
What does the code of ethics say? (3)
- targeted community should be included as much as possible in the formulation of the policy, so that the people in the community may know in advance how the program will affect them,
- the pledge not to recommend or take any action that is harmful to the interest of the community,
- If the work the employer expects of the employee violates the ethical principles of the profession, the practicing anthropologist has the obligation to try to change those practices or, if change cannot be brought about, to withdraw from the work.
What factors may be important in bringing about successful change? + Example (5)
- Even if the a program of planned change has beneficial consequences in the short run, a great deal of thought and investigation has to be given to its long-term effects.
- unanticipated negative effects
- not anthropologists fault: sometimes planned change by government or agencies
- Anthropologists can help with their experiences
- Example: health innovation, more children survive, enough food and resources for the extra population? Might be not enough resources to feed more people, higher death rate: starvation
In what way are anthropologists mediators between affected communities and those initiating change? Give an example
- Whether a program of planned change can be successfully implemented depends largely on wether the people want the proposed change and like the proposed program.
- the innovators must determine whether the population is aware of the benefits of the proposed change,
- Lack of awareness can be a temporary barrier to solving the problem
- Example: Water example, People often do not believe that disease can be transmitted by water, they need to get convinced. Opposite can happen to: People are aware of the main problem.
Environmental Anthropology
- has become a rapidly growing field,
- focuses on issues relating to the interaction of humans with their environments, at the local, regional and global levels, particularly on how to understand and alleviate the degradation of the environment.
What kind of questions do environmental anthropologists ask?
How do local people view the environment?
What are the affects of those views?
How can needed resources be sustained?
Does participation by communities in change programs lead to better outcomes?
What kinds of programs can help to improve the lives of those living in the worst environments?
What issues related to globalization affect the work of business and organizational anthropologists?
Important:
- Understanding businesses to assess the needs of potential customers and users. Understanding cultures becomes even more important as trade becomes more global, international investments and joint ventures increase, and the multinational corporations spread their reach.
- A. Have to come up with a “rapid assessment” - not enough time for a long study
- Differences between people from different cultures can have effects on how people work together.
Differences in their nonverbal and verbal communication
Cultural resource management (CRM)？
This branch of applied anthropology seeks to:
Recovering and preserving the archaeological record before programs of planned change disturb or destroy it.
Archaeologists are called: “contract archaeologists”
Why is it important for cultural resource management anthropologists to educate the public? (8)
- public archaeology
- most CRM archaeology is done with public money,
- that the public benefits from the results of archaeological research (not always the case)
- working directly with the public (“open houses”)
- to learn more about the past to overcome popular misconceptions of the past.
- to undertake work that is meaningful to local communities (public gets information and A. Get help)
- reestablish successful strategies to maintain their resources,
- engaging in the interests and needs of local communities
How have practices in museum anthropology changed in the past several decades? Give an example
- public education = very important
- “Marae”: used by groups (in museums) seeking to discuss difficult issues in a context of mutual respect.
- before: non-Western artifacts were not considered art; today: we recognize this as an ethnocentric, perhaps even racist, view on non-western people.
