Anthropology

Few disciplines are as ideologically corrupt as that of cultural anthropology. Since the birth and rise of post-colonial theory, the discpline has drifted away from understanding man and culture to "making the world a better place". It has even gone so far that the American Anthropological Association (AAA) has scrapped the word 'science' from their discription and replaced it with humanitarian fluffiness and cutesy cliches. Even their slogan sounds more like something you would hear from Unicef than from an academic organisation; "Advancing Knowledge, Solving Human Problems".

Furthermore, the last few decades have seen the birth of the "Writing Against Culture"-movement which basically identifies the term "culture" as oppressive and advocates cultural anthropologists stop using it altogether. Yes, you did read that correctly - cultural anthropologist do not believe in culture!

Add to this that the AAA also consists of obscure and openly political sub-divisions such as *Associat

Hello! I have some questions but I am more so looking for advice. If this is the wrong place to ask please let me know. I am the President of the Anthropology Club for undergraduate students and I want to make it fun and inviting for those in and out of the major/minor. Our last president was great but she did not execute things well and made us buttheads with the archaeology club. We want to collaborate and make our clubs work as one so that students can enjoy the many sides of anthropology the field has to offer. What would you suggest in terms of holding events, trips, and meetings? What are things that you would want undergrad students to look into and learn more about? I could really use advice and guidance since this is my first time being the president of a club. Thank you to those who took the time to read this as well ❤️

Hi everyone.

I am posting to get advice/resources on what to do. I just finished the second year of my masters as part of an Anthropology department. Recently, a professor in my department showed me a substantial collection of Native American remains the department has. When I started to ask questions about the collection, he told me that it was fine and legal for him to own the remains because "the man who owned them before me gifted them to me when he died". He never mentioned anything about attempting to repatriate the remains to the proper tribe(s).

I don't know if I am over reacting but I don't want to stay silent if indeed these remains need to be repatriated. However, if I report my department I am worried that they will make the rest of my time at school a living hell.

I am wondering if there are any ways to anonymously report this to either NAGPRA or a similar institution. I am not 100% positive that us having the collection at our university is wrong, but the whole thing

I have a B.A in History (with a focus on Latin America)and have recently been accepted for a M.A in Anthropology of Latin America for the Fall semester.

I am curious to know if anyone else has taken this specific route and specialized in Latin America? Where has this choice taken you (career wise)?

Also, please share what your favourite Latin American Anthropology topics are! I'd love to know!

For one reason or another, most of the anthropology majors I know became teachers. My guess is that anthropology is closely tied with academia and these people are interested in the pursuit of knowledge, but is there any more to it than that? I've seen the whole range of teaching from the elementary level to the college level; what is it about the teaching career path that's so related to anthropology?

I want to hear people's thoughts and opinions about the anthropology students that came in during this episode. It was honestly fascinating to see their observations. Also amazing to watch the Brown's almost delusion that they thought the anthropology students would come in and say that they had this picture perfect and amazingly functional family.

Another interesting thing to watch was the drastic change in Kody's general behavior when they arrived. Just overall a fascinating episode.

Hi, I've recently been reading about Game Theory and decision making strategies. It got me thinking about whether it had any application in the field of Anthropology. Google hasn't been much help. Does anyone of any attempts to apply it to anthropology? And, if possible, critiques of its application?

Asking this here because I can’t post in the pinned thread.

I’m specifically interested in the environment (animals), as well as social justice.

Hi!

I wanted to know if any of you went back to school to pursue a degree in anthropology as an adult & how you managed it? If you have any tips for starting the process as an adult student?
I'm having difficulty navigating resources or even just guides for non traditional adult students, in general, who don't already have a graduate degree. Also, I'm not certain how to search for programs that offer classes where I could focus on some of my interests. (Sumer, Mesopotamia & Egyptian relations, Scythians & other steppe tribes, Aboriginal culture, Minoa & Mycenae, The Celts, ancient Polynesia, precolonial Caribbean.)
I only earned a few prerequisite college credits before I left because I didn't have a set idea on what type of degree I wanted when it came time to declare a major.

Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Economics, Political Science, Linguistics, Anthropology

Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".

Asking Questions:

Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions.

The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-the

Hi all,

I am trying to plan out my courses for transfer registration this month and I was hoping to get into some Anthropology classes. Almost all of them are full! Is it a popular major at WWU or do a lot of people fill their GURs with it?

My previous supervisor, Professor Zei, has extended his absence for quite some time now. The University was left with no choice but to press forward and continue research for our department without him. We are grateful for his contributions over the years, and I am excited to take the mantle.

AMA!

Hi. My five year old son is deeply interested in ancient people. He wants to know what their homes looked like, what tools they had, modes of transportation, when things were invented/discovered/innovated, what clothes they wore, etc. He wants to know about early humans and more recent history. He also wants to know about how people around the world live today. I'm looking for any suggestions of books or other resources so we can learn about this together. I think it would help to have a lot of pictures/illustrations but the writing doesn't have to be at a kindergarten level because I can read it and summarize it to him.

This was an impressive read (the author draws on his previous work around pandemic politics/media), and was one of the first critiques of lockdown in a holistic way and from a point of view closer to my own political outlook that I read.

Lots here for everyone, though, and a great piece to share, especially for those of you who are also in liberal/progressive-leaning social and professional settings.

Some choice quotations:

>What makes this pandemic unprecedented is not the virus but the response to it.

>SARS-CoV-2 is less lethal than every single scenario exercise that has been conducted for preparedness planning by governments in Europe and North America. It will be important to understand why key preparedness concepts were sidelined in this pandemic, despite the attention that “preparedness” received and the substantial resources it consumed for over a decade.

>The fear of death is powerful in societies eager to repress the inescapable reality of death. In such a c

I am looking to get an online degree in anthropology, and I am wondering 1) if this is a bad idea, if Anthropology is generally more hands-on, and 2) if it is not a bad idea, what schools I should check out. I am not entirely sure what branch of anthropology I need to pursue. I am looking for an online classroom setting that is mostly assigned readings with in-depth forum discussions of those readings, not much else besides that. Am I grasping at straws here or is there something for me down this path? I am very new to the idea of studying anthropology so I may be totally off-base here. Halp.

[EDIT: I am thinking more of the sociocultural and linguistic fields, if that helps! (Also, I just looked up what fields there are on Wikipedia, to give you an idea how clueless I am. But very passionate! Feeling like I finally maybe found my path 4 yrs after dropping out of a liberal arts creative writing program.)]

You know this thing people tend to do where they compare huts to castles, like "Africans are primitive because they live on huts", but that makes no sense because there is no one linear timeline for how humans are supposed to "advance", if you get what i mean.

It's hard for me to explain this, so I want to read about it, so I can have the right words to use when i want to explain it to someone.

I want a source that's accessible and goes into detail.

Thank you :)

Ask further questions if you want clarification.

I will be going into my Junior year as an undergrad Anthropology major. I find myself still lost when it comes to the specific theories, and how they work in Anthropology. I recently bought an older edition of culture and society to read over the summer. I was originally focused in Bioarchaeology,or osteology, but have shifted interest to Cultural Anthropology, and am looking for books to expand my knowledge of the field.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Hey! I just wanted to share a thought I've had for a few months, studying sociology and anthropology: I believe that being Aspie can help us in these fields. Indeed, I noticed that, maybe because we have learned them with more awareness, we can be better at giving an explicit and scientificic description of social facts, structures, rituals etc. Furthermore, I suppose that some of us might have had a scientific interest in some of those subjects for a long time, which gives us a greater background in them: personally, I started reading books about manners, cultures and etiquette when I was a young teenager. That's why I think that studying social sciences might actually fit us. What do you guys think about it? Does it resonate with some of you, or do you have criticisms?

Hello! I'm trying to decide what career might interest me. I want to get information from people who do it for a living. If anyone here is an archaeologist, can you please tell me what your job includes and what kind of a person excels in the roll? I am someone who likes to be hands on and interact with people. I love understanding people and their nature. I also love delving into the past and understanding cultures. I already have a degree in Psychology. Any help you can provide would be appreciated!

By naturalistic I mean not science fiction, fantasy, or speculative fiction. I'd like something really informed my the author's own life, so not something that takes place in a time before or after the author's lifetime.

The book can be post-modern or such, like Virginia Woolf or Faulkener, it doesn't need to be simple or straight-forward, just not in a setting that is made-up, and is focused on the characters. The whole book can be one day's inner thoughts or a person or a conversation between two people over a set of years.

Today we continue with: Season 2, Episode 1: Anthropology 101

Every Thursday we watch an episode of Community from the beginning.

Discuss the episode here in the comments and/or watch live with us on the Discord server where we host live rewatch sessions! Click here for an invite. We host a US and EU based rewatch (on discord) at the times below:

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Cheers to another Thursday and a week of discussion!

I am a 30 years old Software engineer , I finished my bachelor's in Computer Science 8 years ago , was doing my master's in Data engineering , dropped out , I am really skilled at my job and it is making my finincially secured.

However I don't see my self doing this for the rest of my life , I have a huge interest in anthropology and would like study anthropology and to specialize in cultural anthropology, I work as a free lancer so I can manage my own time .

I'm thinking about doing an online bachelor's degree and then go from there , what are your thoughts and advice?!

Tldr: Software engineer would like to make a career shift to anthropology, needs advice

I was doing more research during the summer breaks and realized that I would be more suited toward Anthropology but my major right now is currently sociology. What should I do? I'm an incoming freshman for Fall and major changes deadline was January. Would this cause me to take a little longer to graduate? Also, I'm in an LLC for my major so would I get kicked out of my dorm?

Feel free to delete this if it’s not allowed.

So, this coming fall semester, I’ll officially be majoring in anthropology and minoring in archaeology. I already have an AAS degree in funeral service technology, and scholarships for that were pretty easy to find. However, I’m having trouble finding any anthropology/archaeology scholarships. Basically my entire university is still shut down due to COVID, so I can’t really go to my admissions counselor and ask there.

Just for clarification, I’m starting an undergraduate degree and am searching for national scholarships.

I'm considering doing a Master's in Biological Anthropology in the UK. What kinds of career paths would this open up for me? My main worry is that it wouldn't lead to a well-paying job, but I'm from the US and really don't know much about how marketable the degree would be over there. Any advice on what my post-graduation options would be? Thanks!

Hi guys, need some help...i am a literature student applying for an anthropology doctoral research fellowship. i am feeling quite discouraged because my anthropology proposal does not have any field work component as in it is quite theoretical. Is this a huge disadvantage? Also, if anyone can refer me to sample anthro proposals that would be great. I know this is too specific but i am desperate.

How important is it to procure letters of affiliation from host institutions? I have cold-emailed 3 but i am feeling so nervous.

Following on from Monday’s session on emerging technology, ask us questions on electronic devices, moving away from silicon based tech and the sustainable materials being created to drive functional improvements, using gravitational waves to discover new sources of materials like gold, the periodic table as inspiration for new drug discovery and tackling antibiotic resistance, and history of human health, evolution, and genetics.

Our presenters: Dr Krzysztof Bolejko Reddit ID: u/pintofscienceau https://twitter.com/pintofscienceAU/status/1258622658939219971?s=19

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Ankur Sharma Reddit ID: u/prof_sharma https://twitter.com/pintofscienceAU/status/1258607557666463745?s=19

Has Anyone taken Kalina Kassadjikova's ANTH 1? Is the teacher good? Is it an easy class for non-Anthropology major students?

So I have this question because I really want to get 4.0 gpa so I can apply to graduate schools, which means I need to get 85+ or at least 80+ for my tests and assignments. Since both subjects are essay focused, I’m just wondering how to score a 80+ or 85+ on assignments, what do u think are differences of A- / A and B+. I can get B+ but not really A- for my exams, thank you guys 🙏

I've read a few works in anthropology discussing how people feel like they are "becoming modern" by adopting certain goods, like technologies or fashion (James Ferguson on Zambian factory workers, Xinyuan Wang on Chinese migrants, Katherin Rankin on neoliberal Nepal).

But what about people who feel they are "already modern"? Like, are they drawing distinction who fits to be called as "modern" and who doesn't? Or something? I'd like to know if there is any work discussing this.

has anyone taken this class? if so, what kind of material was taught

i’m trying to decide if i want to keep it or switch it to psychology(which i took as an ap in hs) , sociology, geology, sts or econ

i read a description of the class and it sounds similar to sociology 🙁

So I've always been interested in fantasy, but I didn't actually start getting down to writing seriously until after college, and now I'm running into a very annoying problem.

See, I took anthropology and history classes at college, and its honestly ruining my world building because every time I try to create a fun, cool fantasy world, I end up making a serious, anthropologically oriented clone of earth!

For example, I just tried to create a cool nomadic fantasy group (think the Edema Ruh, or something like that) and ended up making a relatively realistic nomadic group of arid climate goat herders.

It doesn't help that I'm horrible at coming up with magic systems, which might give me a better jumping off point than the cultures themselves.

Anyway, I just can't seem to let go of the realism. Does anyone have any advice on how to lean away from realism so I don't just keep recreating the Ottomans every time I try to create my awesome desert empire? Maybe some kind of exercise I co

Hello!

My question is basically the title, but I wanted to receive a more concise idea of the difference between the 2 different fields/degrees? For example, two semesters ago, I took an Intro to Humanities course and I loved it because we went over a lot of different aspects of culture (such as literature, language, music, art, religion, and philosophy). Therefore, I was curious to what exactly the difference is between the two fields of study? If a Humanities degree (which is under the Philosophy department at my university) involves things such as music, art, religion, and other aspects of human culture and Cultural Anthropology is a study of culture, then what is the difference between the two fields of study?

Thank you in advance for any insightful, positive feedback on the question!

(for the out of towners, the two bars are literally 50 m apart)

I am not looking to move mountians here. I graduated "older" than most and I'm simply looking for a job that my degree may help me get. I have a bachelors in anthropology with a focus in archaeology and a minor in Judaic studies. Yeah I kinda screwed myself over with that lol. Now at age 28 I'm simply trying to find a career path I can get into and make more than my 10 bucks an hour. I currently work at a museum in housekeeping. We had plans to move me into resesrch but with budget cuts from the pandemic I don't think I have time to wait around. This is why I said "realistic" in the title. I'd love to work my way through a museum, get into curatorial work but for the time being I need to stop chasing a dream and start looking into other work. In this economy I am not willing to get any additional degrees. So I do understand my typical jobs I'd love like museum work is off the table unless I get really really lucky. I was looking into social work, cultural resource management, things li

Hi everyone! I'm researching anthropology grad programs I'm interested in and wanted to see if anyone here had extra suggestions. Any and all help is appreciated :)

Goal:

To become a skilled qual and quant social researcher and to thrive in a learning environment with other passionate people. After graduating, to do private sector research and design in understanding how people across the world live. create better social programs, products, and tech. Like this guy! Or Jan Chipchase.

Does anyone have suggestions for schools/programs that are known for the following areas?

• Anthropology and social media
• Anthropology of technology (not picky about which continental focus)
• Studying national identity and how that forms in cross-cultural relations
• Contemporary and Republican China and effects on modern day China
• Flexible, experimental, or dual deg

I've always thought that you need to understand the social base of an insurgent group in order to really understand it.

like a couple of times in the series societies experience revolutions then SC steps to try and push the new government in a benevolent direction.

Are the academics on those worlds going to end up concluding that it's super easy to stage a revolution then install a better regime? IE even though it rarely works out that way in the absence of benevolent super AI pulling the strings?

Hello! I studied psychology and then worked in some cross cultural research projects. However I found the experimental model limiting and also my interests changed a little bit and it seems that If I would be lucky enough to work as a researcher I would rather look for a PhD position in anthropology then in psychology. I read a lot of papers written by anthropologists and took an introduction course however I would like to read more to prepare myself. The University is offering an extra course for people with background in other fields but they also expect me to have an understanding of basic concepts and methods and at this point my knowledge is very unstructured.

What readings, online courses or podcasts, would you suggest?

I am looking for any books on the story of human ancestors and how it become so successful on earth. It is more like out of the cradle documentary, or the sapiens book by Yuval Harari Some of the possible question can be

1. How life progresses on earth, the challenges and the evolution from one to another
2. The rise of human and other hominids
3. The anthropological and historical exploration of human civilisation
4. The cultural and physical evolution of human species, like language, bigger brain, learning to tame fire, stories that forms cultures, so forth
5. The moral evolution, through commune and religion And anything that you think may explore these ideas like the geologic timescale, the jarring similarities between human and animals, the concept of race in human race, so forth Thanks

Hello everyone, I have a PhD in nursing and teach full time at a university in nursing. Recently I heard Philippe Bourgois speak and I feel in love with the subject of medical anthropology. I live in the Los Angeles area but I'm willing to take a program online. If anyone could give me some ideas where to look for programs I'd appreciate it!

Hi! Does anybody have any suggestions for readings or information on the sociology/anthropology of protest? Thanks!

Hi! What are some books on anthropology you would recommend to someone new to the topic?

I am on my last 22 credits. I've been really struggling for the last couple semesters and was put on academic suspension a semester ago. I was just told that I have been put on financial suspension untill further notice. If I do go this fall semester, I dont know how I will finance myself.

Im not even certain what to do if I do graduate. I've never even spoke to anyone that has completed my course or has a degree in my field other than my professors. When I go to my counselors for help, they basically tell me to take more classes.

Is this degree worth the struggle and will I at least be able to find a job in my field?

I can only recommend the reading of After Dark, written by one of the few anthropologists who study sleep ecology across societies. It’s the chapter 16 of the book Evolutionary Medicine and Health.

Circadian rhythm disorders are not really the subject (it goes more towards insomnia), but it should still be very enlightening and give some ideas.

After Dark: The Evolutionary Ecology of Human Sleep by Carol M. Worthman

http://anthropology.emory.edu/home/documents/worthman-lab/AfterDark.pdf

There is much more in the text, this is only a small part:

Contemporary Western sleep model stand out: solitary sleep, “lie down and die” model with consolidated sleep and sensory deprivation.

>“Perplexing paradoxes of sleep and health”
>
>“Across cultures, humans also show a range of arousal states that blur binary sleep-wake distinctions […]”
>
>“Sleep debt is never fully repaid in the c

Weird question but mh grades depends on it. I don't think a real animal would work and idk what mythical animal i should choose and why?

I’m a little conflicted about what subject to do next semester, either ANTH10001 (studying self and other) or POLS10003 (intro to political ideas). I already covered a little of the political ideas this semester in another subject (mult10018 - power) and i really enjoyed it. However, I also have somewhat of an interest in anthropology (though i’ve never done it before).

Should I do what I know I’ll enjoy or take a chance with anthropology? I’m worried I might get bored and then be stuck doing it the whole semester.

Any reviews of these subjects are welcome!! I’d love to know your thoughts.

(for context i’m doing a bachelor of arts majoring in history, minoring in italian)

I'm entering this year to the career and I'd like to start with a more developed outlook and knowledge. Anything to start will be useful, it doesn't have to be just Linguistic Anthropology, but everything you consider helpful.

Hi everyone.

I am posting to get advice/resources on what to do. I just finished the second year of my masters as part of an Anthropology department. Recently, a professor in my department showed me a substantial collection of Native American remains the department has. When I started to ask questions about the collection, he told me that it was fine and legal for him to own the remains because "the man who owned them before me gifted them to me when he died". He never mentioned anything about attempting to repatriate the remains to the proper tribe(s).

I don't know if I am over reacting but I don't want to stay silent if indeed these remains need to be repatriated. However, if I report my department I am worried that they will make the rest of my time at school a living hell.

I am wondering if there are any ways to anonymously report this to either NAGPRA or a similar institution. I am not 100% positive that us having the collection at our university is wrong, but the whole thing f

Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Economics, Political Science, Linguistics, Anthropology

Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".

Asking Questions:

Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions.

The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-the

Hello! I'm trying to decide what career might interest me. I want to get information from people who do it for a living. If anyone here is an anthropologist, can you please tell me what your job includes and what kind of a person excels in the roll? I am someone who likes to be hands on and interact with people. I love understanding people and their nature. I also love delving into the past and understanding cultures. I already have a degree in Psychology. Any help you can provide would be appreciated!