Chapter 3, Applied Anthropology

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Chapter 3, Applied Anthropology
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Chapter Outline

• Applied Versus Pure Anthropology
• Applied Anthropology in theTwentieth Century
• Special Features of Anthropology
• Examples of Applied Anthropology
• The Greater Use of AnthropologicalKnowledge

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Pure and Applied Anthropology

• Pure anthropology - aimed at refining the
  disciplines theory, methods, and data.
• Applied anthropology - focused on using
  anthropological insights toward the solution of
  practical social problems.

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Special Features of Anthropology

• Participant-Observation
• The Holistic Perspective
• Regional Expertise
• The Emic View
• Cultural Relativism
• Topical Expertise

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Specialized Rolesof Applied Anthropologists

• Policy researcher provide cultural data to
  policymakers so they can make informed policy
  decisions.
• Evaluator use research skills to determine how
  well a program has succeeded.
• Impact assessor measuring the effect of a
  particular project, program, or policy on local
  peoples.

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Specialized Rolesof Applied Anthropologists

• Planner participate in the design of various
  programs and policies.
• Research analyst interprets research findings so
  policymakers, planners, and administrators can
  make culturally sensitive decisions.
• Needs assessor conduct research to determine
  ahead of time the need for a proposed program or
  project.

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Specialized Rolesof Applied Anthropologists

• Trainer imparts cultural knowledge about certain
  populations to professional groups working in
  cross-cultural situations.
• Advocate becoming an active supporter of a
  particular group of people.
• Administrator/manager assumes direct
  administrative responsibility for a particular
  project.

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Specialized Rolesof Applied Anthropologists

• Expert witness presents culturally relevant
  research findings as part of judicial
  proceedings through legal briefs, depositions, or
  direct testimony.
• Cultural broker serves as a liaison between
  program planner and administrators on one hand
  and local ethnic communities on the other.

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Examples of Applied Anthropology

• Penny Van Esteriks advocacy involvement in the
  Nestlé baby formula controversy.
• Elizabeth Grobsmiths work with Native American
  prison inmates.

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Examples of Applied Anthropology

• Richard Dembos ethnographic research on teenage
  cocaine dealing in Florida.
• Warren Herns work with the Shipibo of the
  Peruvian Amazon, which had important policy
  implications for programs of population control.