1. CHAPTER 12 Applying Anthropology

2. Applying Anthropology
Dimensions of American anthropology:
Academic or theoretical anthropology
Applied anthropology
Application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems
All four subdisciplines

3. Role of Applied Anthropologists
Early applications
Application was a central concern of early anthropology in Great Britain (during colonialism) and in the U.S. (Native American policy)
Modern applied anthropology differs from earlier approaches

4. Academic and applied anthropology
Academic anthropology expanded after World War II
Applied anthropology began to grow in the 1970s

5. Applied anthropology today
Appropriate roles for applied anthropologists:
Identifying locally perceived needs for change
Working with local people to design culturally appropriate, socially sensitive change
Protecting interests of local people

6. Development anthropology
Branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development

7. Strategies for innovation
To maximize social and economic benefits, development projects must:
Be culturally compatible
Respond to locally perceived needs
Involve men and women in planning and carrying out the changes that affect them
Harness traditional organizations
Be flexible

8. Strategies for innovation
Overinnovation – too much change
Underdifferentiation – tendency to overlook cultural diversity and view less-developed countries as more alike than they truly are

9. Strategies for innovation Third World models
Best models for economic development are to be found in target communities

10. Anthropology and education

11. Urban anthropology
Cross-cultural and ethnographic study of global urbanization and life in cities

12. Medical anthropology Health Care Systems
Study of disease, health problems, health care systems, and theories about illness in different cultures and ethnic groups
Theories about the causes of illness
Personalistic disease theories
Naturalistic disease theories
Emotionalistic disease theories
Health Care Systems
Western vs. non-Western medicine

13. Anthropology and business
For business, key features of anthropology include:
Ethnography and observation as ways of gathering data
Cross-cultural expertise
Focus on cultural diversity

14. Careers and Anthropology
Anthropology’s breadth provides an excellent foundation for many careers