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CHAPTER 12 Applying Anthropology. Applying Anthropology. Dimensions of American anthropology: Academic or theoretical anthropology Applied anthropology Applied anthropology
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CHAPTER 12 Applying Anthropology
Applying Anthropology • Dimensions of American anthropology: • Academic or theoretical anthropology • Applied anthropology • Applied anthropology • Application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary social problems • All four subdisciplines
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
Academic and applied anthropology • Academic anthropology expanded after World War II • Applied anthropology began to grow in the 1970s
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
Development anthropology • Branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development
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
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
Strategies for innovationThird World models • Best models for economic development are to be found in target communities
Urban anthropology • Cross-cultural and ethnographic study of global urbanization and life in cities
Medical anthropology • 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
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
Careers and Anthropology • Anthropology’s breadth provides an excellent foundation for many careers