1st Edition

Applied Anthropology Unexpected Spaces, Topics and Methods

Edited By Sheena Nahm, Cortney Hughes Rinker Copyright 2016
    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    This collection brings together recent innovative work in applied and practicing anthropology. Organised around the theme of unexpectedness, it examines some of the novel spaces, topics, and methods that anthropologists are involved with. The volume emphasises non-traditional settings and demonstrates the important role of anthropology in addressing some of the pressing issues facing society today. The contributors offer detailed ethnographic examples from their own research and work that give students valuable insight and advice. Drawn mainly from the United States, the case studies illustrate the diverse arenas in which anthropologists operate, from law and finance to education and health care. Simultaneous consideration is given to practical applications, theoretical reflections, and professional experiences.

    Introduction: What is Unexpected Anthropology? (Sheena Nahm and Cortney Hughes Rinker) Part One: Unexpected Spaces 1. Otherworldly Anthropology: Past, Present, and Future Contributions of Ethnographers to Space Exploration (Jo Aiken) 2. Remembering and Re-Membering: Lived Experience of Military Service Members in Rehabilitation (Deborah A. Murphy) 3. Navigating the Boundaries of an Anthropological Education in a Non-Profit World (Chelsey Dyer) Part Two: Unexpected Topics 4. The FAIR Money Collective (Michael Scroggins) 5. On Embedded Action Anthropology and How One Thing Leads to Another by Chance (Jonathan L. Zilberg) 6. Faculty Development as Applied Educational Anthropology (Lauren Miller Griffith) 7. Islam and Dying in the United States: How Anthropology Contributes to Culturally Competent Care at the End-of-Life (Cortney Hughes Rinker) Part Three: Unexpected Methods 8. Time and the Method of the Unexpected (Sheena Nahm) 9. Ethnographic Explorations of Intellectual Property Claims to Yoga: A Series of Unexpected Events (Allison E. Fish) 10. Surviving Academia 2.0: Lessons Learned from Practicing Hybrid Anthropology (Sheena Nahm and Cortney Hughes Rinker) Conclusion: The Unexpected and The Future of Anthropology (Susan Trencher)

    Biography

    Sheena Nahm is an Adjunct Professor (Anthropology and Sociology) at The New School for Public Engagement, USA. She is also Director of Senderos, a parent and community engagement program.

    Cortney Hughes Rinker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University, USA.

    "...the book (...) manages to present in a coherent and innovative way the contemporary relevance of anthropology in the profit and non-profit sectors and provides a fresh perspective on the value of anthropological methods outside academia and “traditional” research institutions. It can be especially useful for students and graduates who have to face the reality that academic institutions are overcrowded and will have to carve their own path in the industry, governmental sector, NGOs – or in some other, often unexpected spaces and contexts."

    - Dan Podjed, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Slovenia