accidental anthros w/bells on

Karen Szala-Meneok (a7526003@MCMAIL.CIS.MCMASTER.CA)
Thu, 9 Jun 1994 12:30:30 -0400

C.Colfer's career route and many others indicate that we NOW need to make
a commitment in graduate curriculum that does not ignore but CELEBRATES
this potential for non-academic applications of anthro. What we have
been doing in anthro. grad. curric. would be akin to say a med. school
that trains all students to be brain surgeons but says thatthose who don't
make it have to be "just family physicians". (So I don't have to don my
asbestos jammies - I do know that some depts don't do this) but.... some
do...
I realize that some long tenured fac. in grad. depts don't have hands-on
experience with say the realities of C. Colfer's, (etal) career track.
Furthermore, budgetary constraints may make it difficult to hire on
applied people this fall. But, within a 50 mile radius of ANY campus
I wager there are at least 10 applied anthropologists (by accident or
design") who could be drawn in for regular involvement, training (credit
or non-credit), mentorship, brown bag talks, networking etc. with grads.
Day one of any graduate programme should lay the possible career
directions plainly on the table. But once that is said - we should follow
through with training oopportunities and commit ourselves to accepting the
reality that this and following generations of anthropologist are Not going
to be necessarily teaching in institutions of higher learning...
Its not enough to say "Oh if you want that you'll have to go to an "applied
department". Whether we want to admit it or not ever department IS training
future applied anthropologists mostly ex post facto. So... if we are already
doing it...lets figure out a way to do it better and out in plain sight with
with our bells on and brass buttons ablazing!!!!

FINALLY... I propose that since we have countless dept chairs, grad.
curric committee members, current grad students and graduands
subscribed to anthro-l that we have an kind of
"applied-anth-grad-curriculum-development-cum-town-meeting-brainstorming-
session right here on the net. No pointing fingers, no flame
wars, no grandiose posturing NO MORE "Ya, buts..." Just some common sense
suggestions. Come on People, what do ya say!!!???
Lets just do it!

Karen Szala-Meneok