Anthropology:

8-1 Discussion: Being an Anthropologist Every Day Discussion Topic 

As a child, you probably did not say you wanted to be an anthropologist when you grew up. Nonetheless, this course has probably influenced your understanding of what anthropologists do and how anthropology can be applied in our everyday lives. This discussion offers you the opportunity to share your insights.

To prepare for your initial post, review the “Areas of Anthropological Study” section on the Careers in Anthropology page from the American Anthropological Association. Choose two of the ways anthropologists are working outside of an academic context. In your initial post, be sure to do the following:

• Identify which two types of nonacademic work you selected.
• State why you selected these two work environments. (What stood out to you about how anthropology is used in this context?)
• Explain what an anthropologist does in each of the work environments you chose.
• Reflect on how you will apply what you have learned in this course to your everyday observations and interactions, using specific examples to help your peers understand.

Peer Response Guidelines: For your responses to the initial posts of at least two of your peers, look first for those peers who selected different types of nonacademic work than you selected. Did your peers accurately describe what anthropologists do in those work environments? How might the anthropologists in those work environments practice the principles of cultural relativism?

Refer to the Discussion Rubric for directions on completing these discussions.