ANTH 392D Applied
Anthropology
Spring 2009
Dr. William Smith
Hours: MW
9-10, TR2-3, or by appointment
Email:
smithw@wou.edu
This course explores the efficacy of cultural
anthropology in addressing social problems.
The applications of anthropology range from sociopolitical and social
justice issues, such as forms of discrimination and human rights, to various
practical arenas, such as development strategies, resource conservation,
education, and public health policy. We
will begin with an introduction to the field and a critical look at the ethics
of intervention in social science. Then,
with an eye toward practical and policy implications, we will critically
explore three social domains in which applied anthropology has been active:
public health, human-environment relations, and gender and social power.
COURSE
OBJECTIVES
REQUIRED
There is one required text, available in the
bookstore:
Kidder, Tracy
2004 Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr.
Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure they World.
All
other readings are on e-reserve at Hamersly Library or posted on the Human
Organization journal website. Please refer to the course schedule and have
readings completed for the day they are indicated.
REQUIREMENTS
AND ASSIGNMENTS
For the most part we will follow a seminar
format. Students must therefore come prepared to actively engage in discussions
of material. Students will take
responsibility for both choosing readings and leading discussions according to
a schedule we will establish early in the term.
Class participation will account for 20% of your final grade.
Midterm
Take-home
At the end of week 6, you
will be asked to demonstrate your mastery of the first half of the term’s
course material in a five-page take-home midterm paper. I will hand the exam out at least one week
prior to its due date, and you will have the opportunity to choose one question
from among a set having to do with applied anthropology in Native America, and/or
on health, environment, immigration, and economic development. Paper guidelines will encourage you to discuss
research methods, ethics, and policy implications.
Main
Project: Applied Research Proposal (200
points possible)
The spirit of the course’s main assignment is to push
deeply into an issue you care about.
For example, you could choose:
Substantively, the assignment is basically a
10-page research paper in proposal form.
To a greater degree than in a research paper proper, the proposal format
will enable you to demonstrate your knowledge of how an applied anthropologist
goes about his or her work. It will
reflect your sensitivity to the audience
for applied anthropology, the theory
that guides applied fieldwork, the research
methods used to carry out research, and the significance to the world of whatever research you “plan” to carry
out. Apart from those concerns, grant
writing is essential to work in applied anthropology. Applied anthropologists generally write many
more grant proposals and reports than journal articles. Indeed, grant writing
is becoming an essential skill in an increasing number of fields.
The project will contain the following parts:
An abstract (10 points), or synopsis, of the
project, briefly describing the import of the research, the population (or
“stakeholders”) at issue, and the methods appropriate for conducting the work,
will be due April 16. Proposal
abstracts are typically no longer than a substantial paragraph (~ 250
words).
A draft of your
Problem Statement and Research Site (20 points) is due
April 30. The Problem Statement summarizes the
project: what is the problem you are
investigating; where will you carry out the research; what are your major
hypotheses; and why is this research significant for the local and/or scholarly
community? The research site section,
separate from the Problem Statement, should flesh out a description of where
you intend to carry out the work.
Whatever information you deem important as to geographic or ecological
context, political and economic context, profile of the population under study,
etc. should be included in the Research Site section.
A Literature
Review (20 points) is due May 14. The review should be written in
narrative form and reflect your (even if partial) knowledge of the body of work
in which you locate your own proposed research.
The review should contain a handful of sources (5-10 or more articles, books, chapters from edited
volumes, films, etc., cited in appropriate AAA form) significant to your specific field. Some of these sources may be drawn from
course readings. A short explanation of
each source should make clear:
A draft of your Methodology section (20
points) is due May 19. Here
you demonstrate your familiarity with the applied anthropological research
methods to which you have been exposed in the course and your discrimination as
to appropriate methods for carrying out your project. Be precise and explicit. Reiterate the question(s) are you asking, and
describe the data collection strategies that will best yield information under
the circumstances of the project.
Final
Presentations (30 points) will take place the final week of classes. You will have 15 minutes to present your work to the class,
followed by a short Q and A period. In
the presentation you should describe your research site, your particular
research topic, the major methods you are using, the data you intend to gather,
and ways in which your project represents a contribution to applied
anthropology. Students will provide
critical and constructive comments on classmates’ work.
The final draft of your proposal (100
points) falls due on the last day of class, June 4. Your final draft should constitute a tight,
polished revision based on feedback from other students and myself.
All assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on which they are scheduled for submission. Late assignments will lose the point-equivalent of one letter grade for each day past due except in the event of severe, properly documented illness or emergency. Requests for extensions must be made in advance of the due date. In the interests of fairness to all students, I will be extremely firm on this (i.e. if your request for an extension does not meet the above criteria, please do not make the request).
Applied
Anthropology Websites
Society for Applied
Anthropology
http://www.sfaa.net/
National Association for the
Practice of Anthropology
http://www.practicinganthropology.org/
Public Anthropology
http://www.publicanthropology.org/
Cultural Survival
http://www.cs.org/
Grade Breakdown
Proposal Project 50%
Class Participation 20%
CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to some change)
Week 1
Mar 31
Introduction:
What is Applied Anthropology?
April 2
Roles and Domains of Application
Kedia and van Willigen,
“Applied Anthropology: Context for
Domains of Application”; Nader, “Thinking Public Interest Anthropology
1890s-1990s”
Week 2
April 7
Ervin, “Needs Assessment”;
Schensul, “Commando Research...”; Singer, “Toward the Use of Ethnography in
Health Care Program Evaluation”
Activity: Social Issue Case Studies and Methodologies
April 9
Policy Formulation
Hackenberg and Hackenberg, ”You
CAN Do Something…”
Video: Anthropologists at Work
Choose from among:
Week 3
April 14
April 16
No Class, I am out of town
Week 4
April 21
April 23
Week 5
April 28
April 30
Week 6
May 7
Screening: Rx for Survival: Rise of the Superbugs
Due Friday, May 8, by 5 p.m.: Midterm take-home
Week 7
May 12
Kidder, Part 1
May 14
Kidder, Part 2 (part 1)
Lecture: Slums:
Ground Zero for Applied Anthropology?
Due:
Literature Review
Week 8
May 19
Kidder,
Part 2 (part 2)
Due: Draft of
Methodology Section
May 21
Week 9
May 26
Kidder, Part 4
May 28
Due: Rough
Draft, Entire Proposal
Week 10
June 2 Presentations
June 4 Presentations