PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropologists from Franz Boas to Margaret Mead to Paul Farmer have worked to explain the relevance of anthropological concepts to the wider world. Public and applied anthropologies, like those advocated for by these scholars, engage with a range of theories, concepts, and methods drawn from across the anthropological subdisciplines. This course provides a reflection on the  social, economic, ecological, and cultural value of these anthropological hybrids, as well as an experiential learning space for transforming anthropological information into material for the non- academic public. Students investigate how to communicate anthropological ideas in a variety of genres, using an array of media, tailoring their intended messages to the audiences they wish to
reach. Additionally, students consider the ethical implications of anthropologies that set out to be public, engaged, collaborative, activist, and/or applied.