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Re: whither anthropology?
hjmartin (hatch@RICHMOND.INFI.NET)
Wed, 6 Dec 1995 09:17:43 -0500
In response to Ruby Rohrlich's message:
>Although I deplore the salary cuts and all the other hazards attending
>college teaching these days
What is the departmental response to salary cuts? How are they negotiated?
Have people/departments developed effective means to avoid salary cuts (or
the "other hazards attending college teaching"). If salaries are cut, does
this mean that teaching loads and other expectations are cut also (not
likely); however, what is the quid pro quo, the leavening or sweetener?
, I agree that anthropology is very
>inter-disciplinary, which is the basis of the four-fields approach,
>especially the attempt to integrate the social and physical sciences.
>Isn't that the way it was initially, before the breakdown into all the
>various disciplines? Isuppose that was inevitable for analytical
>purposes, but synthesis is even more important.
I agree with this point, but wonder if departments, conceived of as a
collection of competing individual interests, act this way with regard to
'outsiders'. Given difficult times, spare budgets and other hazards, is the
customary response to put competition aside and present a united front?
My sense of what was reported in the AAA session was that this is not
necessarily so and that people who work together on a daily basis often
cannot understand that factionalism and personal self-interest are
detrimantal to all when the anthropology department is considered as a unit
in a larger organization.
Regards,
Jim Martin
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HJMartin
901 Pump Rd, 193
Richmond, VA 23233
(804) 740-0170 home
(804) 786-5188 work
internet:
hatch@richmond.infi.net
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