Bringing Practice In: A Workshop for Faculty Seeking Ways to Improve Anthropological Training for Applied and Practice-O

1. Bringing Practice In:A Workshop for Faculty Seeking Ways to Improve Anthropological Training for Applied and Practice-Oriented Students Riall W. Nolan University of Cincinnati November 2002

2. Different Kinds of Anthropology Academic Anthropologists Applied Anthropologists Practicing Anthropologists University- Based Externally- Based THE DISCIPLINE OF ANTHROPOLOGY

3. Program Implementation & Service Delivery Research Other Academy- Based 44% Non-Profit Sector 11% 6% 37% 18% Public Sector Teaching 14% 22% Administration & Management Private Sector 25% 26% The World of Practice What Practitioners Do Where Practitioners Work

4. Main Practice Options (Bases) Freelancer Business Head Private Sector Employee - Main Practice Options Public Sector Employee - Consultant Non - Profit Employee University Employee

5. Technicians Highly skilled in very specific areas Work in data collection and analysis, area and ethnic expertise, languages Tend to be short-term Assignments are sequential Managers Hire and supervise the technicians Involved in policy, program and project work Tend to be full-time Career arc involves progressively responsible assignments Technician or Manager?

6. Base: Government Corporate Non-Profit Independent/freelance Sole proprietorship Small business University Sector: Social services Public administration Agriculture Environment/nat. resources International development Manufacturing Advertising Public relations Marketing Planning Function: Management Production/implementation Design Evaluation/impact assessment Data collection/analysis Needs assessment Advocacy Policy formulation The Components of a Practitioner’s Job

7. Types of Practitioner Training Programs • Programs which offer only the MA • Programs offering the MA as a terminal degree, but also the PhD • Programs offering the PhD, with the MA as a ‘consolation prize’

8. MA or PhD? Factors in the Choice • Time • Average time to doctorate – 12.4 years • Money • Money spent on the degree • Money earned with the degree • Outlook • research vs application • academic vs outside orientation • specialist vs generalist • pure anthropology vs multidisciplinary

9. Core Program Requirements • NAPA Guidelines: • Program should be named • Program should have a specialty • Responsibility should be fixed with a PhD holder • There should be an integrated organized plan of study • Students should be identified as belonging to the program • Funding and support should be adequate

10. Components of An Applied Curriculum Advising/Mentoring Thesis or Project Work Career Guidance Cognate Area Courses Elective Courses Core Courses Field Experience Extracurricular Activities

11. SWOT Analysis • SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats • The external environment presents you with opportunities and threats • The internal environment consists of your own strengths and weaknesses • You combine these to determine strategy

12. The SWOT Matrix

13. Combining Environmental Conditions

14. Qualifications, Skills and Competencies • Qualifications: basic parts to your background • Skills: things you know how to do • Competencies: collections of skills focused on specific areas

15. Threshold Qualifications • Academic Training: • a Master’s degree in anthropology • Language Proficiency: • at least one world language • Field Experience: • oriented toward practice • Workplace Competencies: • self-management skills • functional skills • technical skills

16. Competencies for Anthropological Practice • Finding Out Things • Analyzing and Learning Things • Communicating Things • Planning and Designing Things • Managing Things • Judging Things

17. Site Visits • Looking at the School • size & location • reputation and ranking • tuition/cost of living • facilities and programs • student body • Looking at the Program • applied emphasis • international and cross-cultural emphasis • record in career development • practitioner involvement • outside links • externally-based performance criteria • Looking at the Department • faculty • students • climate

18. How Advisors Help Students • Orientation to school and program • Cultural key informant • Role model for performance standards • Provide wisdom, insight, perspective • Help them make crucial choices • Connect them with others

19. The Ideal Advisor • Should know useful things • Should be willing to share these • Should be honest with advisees • Should challenge them • Should have a compatible workstyle • Should be mature, tenured, stable

20. Managing the Advisor-Advisee Relationship • It is reciprocal • Avoid the “black halo” effect • Beware of Pygmalion or Svengali-type relationships • Discuss the needs of both sides openly and honestly • Learn to negotiate and compromise

21. Work in Organizations Work on a Project Cross-Cultural Contexts Using what you’ve learned Learning new things Training in application Career and job information Working with others Network-building Key Aspects of Field Experience

22. Experiencing (The “Activity” Phase) Applying Publishing (Deciding How to Use (Sharing Reactions and Learning) Observations) Processing Generalizing (Discussing Patterns and (Developing Principles) Dynamics) Experiential Learning in the Field

23. Customizing Learning with Learning Contracts • Objectives: What do you want to learn and why? • Strategies: How will you learn these things? • Products: What will the results look like? • Outcomes: How will the results be judged? Strategies, Resources and Activities Products to be Assessed Assessment Pro- cedures and Criteria Learning Objectives

24. Considerations in Designing Field Experiences • Timing • Type of assignment • Supervision and evaluation • Academic credit • Documentation and outcomes

25. Cross-Cultural Field Experience • Can include: • A new or different frame of reference • An unfamiliar or uncertain environment • People of a different background • Different value systems • Intersecting value systems • Scarce resources • Ambiguity or uncertainly • Flexibility • Performance under pressure

26. Learning Outside the Program • Career Counseling • Professional Conferences • Consulting and Research Opportunities • Grant-writing • Language Learning

27. The Non-Academic Job Market • Relatively unstructured • No master list of jobs • Opportunities are often hidden • Interview and negotiation skills are key • The range of jobs is enormous • No job lasts forever

28. Visioning • Networking • Info. Interviewing • SWOT Analysis • Portfolio Prep. • More Networking • More Info. Interviewing • Interviewing • Negotiating The Job Search Strategy 1. Get on the List 2. Stay on the List 3. Get Chosen

29. Sector Setting Functions Level of Effort Filters Perks and Lurks A Graduate’s Career Vision What general area is this: health, education, industry, etc? Your Values • What things do you feel strongly about? • How do you strive to live? • What do you respect in others? Where is this job: public, private, or non-profit sector; domestic, international, etc? What does the job involve: data collection, management, planning, policymaking, etc? Your Interests • What do you like to do? • What do you already know a lot about? • What would you like to know more about? Is the job clerical, managerial or technical? Full-time or part-time? Permanent or temporary? Your Skills What qualifications do you need? PhD? Language? Citizenship? Gender? Age? Ethnicity? Politics? • What can you do that is useful in several different areas? • What things do you think you’re particularly good at doing? Salary? Title? Rank? Mobility? Connections? Visibility? Security? Power? Fringe Benefits?

30. Anthropological Skills in the Job Hunt • You can define the shape of the world of work and locate significant nodes and actors within it • You can quickly research the relevant literature and extract significance from it • You can learn the “local language” of the workplace • You can analyze and operate within work cultures • You are skilled at asking good questions • You are comfortable with ambiguity • You can modify your frameworks as you learn

31. Creates a web of professional relationships Provides information, insight, advice, and access Connects you with role models and mentors Is a form of reality testing Lasts throughout your professional lifetime Can be a source of support and feedback Connects you with “insiders” Through insiders, you connect to many others Industries rely on peer judgments Industry networks communicate constantly about people and events Professionals in your network are highly mobile Networking

32. The Goals of Informational Interviewing • What does this organization do and how does it do it? • What are working conditions like here? • What qualifications do you need to work here? • How do they make hiring decisions?

33. A Graduate’s Professional Portfolio • A resume of no more than 1-2 pages • A 1-2 page career summary • A list of people who can provide references • An inventory of professional work

34. Resumes • A resume is not a CV • It is a brief account of one’s skills and accomplishments • It has only one purpose: to get someone an interview • It is not about you: it is about you in relation to them and their needs

35. Components of the Resume • Your personal data • Your education • Your job history • Your outside activities • Any special honors, skills, interests or qualifications you may have

36. Creating Your Resume • The best predictor of future performance is past performance • Stress therefore what you have accomplished, not just what you know • Of particular value: • Presentation and communication skills • Project and team management experience • Creative leadership and problem-solving • A range of research skills • The ability to “get things done”

37. “Getting Things Done” • Solving problems • Producing results • Getting along with people • Helping them to get along with each other • Generating and using resources efficiently • Finding new ways to do things

38. Preparing Your Accomplishments • Pick 3-6 of your best examples. Include difficult or “challenging” situations. • For each: • State the problem, tasks, issues or opportunities • Describe your strategy or approach • State the skills and abilities you used • Describe the outcomes you achieved • Your actions are central to the story. • Connect to your listeners’ specific needs. • Stress your fit with, and enthusiasm for, the job.

39. Selling Them on Anthropology • We understand the centrality of culture. • We develop understanding inductively. • We are holistic in our outlook. • We search for comparisons and contrasts. • We are highly interactive. BUT: • Don’t propose research as the answer to everything.

40. Common Stereotypes of “Academics” • Lack common sense • Can’t meet deadlines • Don’t take direction well • Can’t write clearly • Aren’t practical • Aren’t team players • Aren’t results-oriented • Aren’t loyal to the organization

41. A Hierarchy of Professional Development • 4. PROFESSIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: • Managing others • Dealing with stress and failure • Retraining and re-skilling • Making your work count • Changing jobs or careers • 3. MASTERING BASIC TASKS: • Working with projects • Working with consultants • Decision-making • Communication • Proposal and report-writing • 2. CONNECTING TO OTHERS: • Dealing with your boss • Dealing with counterparts • Managing conflict • Working in teams • 1. BASIC SURVIVAL: • Analyzing the organization • Understanding your job • Performing

42. Your First Year at Work Use These Competencies: To Do These Things: • Interaction: • Dealing tactfully and persuasively with co-workers • Coordination: • Aligning your efforts to the overall needs of the organization • Responsiveness: • Assessing your boss’s needs and providing satisfactory performance • Conflict Management: • Getting difficulties and disputes ironed out • Communication: • Exchanging information in positive and productive ways • Perform • Sufficient solutions, not optimal ones • Seek opportunities, not problems • Connect • Develop relationships • Build acceptance, reputation, and respect • Learn • Optimal ignorance • Appropriate imprecision