What Anthropologists Do

by Strang, Veronica

• ISBN13: 9781845203542
• ISBN10: 1845203542
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-06-15
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

What is Anthropology? Why should you study it? What will you learn? And what can you do with it? What Anthropologists Do answers all these questions. And more. Anthropology is an astonishingly diverse and engaged subject that seeks to understand human social behaviour. What Anthropologists Do presents a lively introduction to the ways in which anthropology's unique research methods and cutting-edge thinking contribute to a very wide range of fields: environmental issues, aid and development, advocacy, human rights, social policy, the creative arts, museums, health, education, crime, communications technology, design, marketing, and business. In short, a training in Anthropology provides highly transferable skills of investigation and analysis. The book will be ideal for any readers who want to know what Anthropology is all about and especially for students coming to the study of Anthropology for the first time.

Author Biography

Veronica Strang is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Auckland. An environmental anthropologist, she has written extensively on water, land and resource issues in Australia and the UK, and is the author of Uncommon Ground: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Values (Berg 1997), and The Meaning of Water (Berg 2004).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
What Do Anthropologists Do?	p. 1
Employing Anthropology	p. 4
Conducting Research	p. 5
Anthropology and Advocacy	p. 9
Balancing Acts	p. 9
Facilitating Cross-cultural Communication	p. 12
Defending Livelihoods and Knowledge	p. 14
Human Rights	p. 17
Land Rights	p. 18
Participatory Action	p. 21
Anthropology and Aid	p. 26
Crossing Boundaries	p. 26
Aid and Ambiguity	p. 27
NGO-graphy	p. 30
Assisting Aid	p. 32
Dealing with Displacement	p. 33
Understanding Race and Racism	p. 34
Anthropology and Development	p. 37
Critiquing Development	p. 37
In Development	p. 40
Connecting Multiple Realities	p. 43
Conserving Cultural Diversity	p. 50
Globalization	p. 53
Anthropology and the Environment	p. 58
'Environmental' Problems	p. 58
Indigenous Knowledges	p. 62
Political Ecology	p. 63
Unpacking Garbage	p. 66
Human-Animal Relations	p. 67
Anthropology and Environmentalism	p. 70
Anthropology and Governance	p. 76
The Big Picture	p. 76
The Not So Big Picture	p. 81
Home Work	p. 84
Prescription and Persuasion	p. 85
Education	p. 88
Anthropology, Business and Industry	p. 93
Money Matters	p. 93
Anthropologists in Business	p. 99
Multinational and Multicultural Communication	p. 103
Anthropology and Communications Media	p. 106
Marketing Anthropology	p. 109
Designing Anthropology	p. 112
Anthropology and Health	p. 116
Health in a Cultural Context	p. 116
From the Cradle to the Grave	p. 118
Food and Lifestyle	p. 124
Understanding Disease	p. 129
Drug Cultures and Crime	p. 130
Managing Health	p. 135
Anthropology, Art and Identity	p. 138
Defining Identity	p. 138
Gender and Sexuality	p. 139
Race, Nationalism and Social Movements	p. 141
Representing Identity	p. 143
Art and Performance	p. 145
Museums and Cultural Heritage	p. 151
Film and Photography	p. 154
Conclusion	p. 157
Applying Anthropology	p. 157
Interdisciplinary Anthropology	p. 158
Transferring Anthropology	p. 159
What Kind of People Become Anthropologists?	p. 162
Studying Anthropology	p. 164
Further Reading	p. 166
Other Resources	p. 173
Glossary	p. 176
Notes	p. 178
Bibliography	p. 181
Index	p. 204
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