Anthropology Put to Work

Hardback

Main Details

Title Anthropology Put to Work
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Les Field
Edited by Richard G. Fox
SeriesWenner-Gren International Symposium Series
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:272
Dimensions(mm): Height 234,Width 156
ISBN/Barcode 9781845206000
ClassificationsDewey:301
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Berg Publishers
Publication Date 1 May 2007
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

How do anthropologists work today and how will they work in future? While some anthropologists have recently called for a new "public" or "engaged" anthropology, profound changes have already occurred, leading to new kinds of work for a large number of anthropologists. The image of anthropologists "reaching out" from protected academic positions to a vaguely defined "public" is out of touch with the working conditions of these anthropologists, especially those junior and untenured. The papers in this volume show that anthropology is put to work in diverse ways today. They indicate that the new conditions of anthropological work require significant departures from canonical principles of cultural anthropology, such as replacing ethnographic rapport with multiple forms of collaboration. This volume's goal is to help graduate students and early-career scholars accept these changes without feeling something essential to anthropology has been lost. There really is no other choice for most young anthropologists.

Author Biography

Les Field is Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico. Richard G. Fox is President Emeritus, Wenner-Gren Foundation and an Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Reviews

'An eye opener: Field, Fox and their contributors convincingly demonstrate to interested laypersons, to students, and to established academics from all fields how young anthropologists today pursue their profession in a whole range of creative new ways.' Andre Gingrich, University of Vienna and Austrian Academy of Sciences 'Readers of these essays on the 'work' of anthropology will not agree with all of them. But they will find them all refreshingly free of moral grandstanding, disarmingly modest in their claims and yet also challenging of many of our most cherished assumptions about the discipline.' Joel S. Kahn, La Trobe University, Australia 'Anthropology Put to Work charts a clear course of action for engagement and collaboration within the context of contemporary anthropological work. Students, young professionals, and seasoned practitioners alike will no doubt find this volume inspiring.' Luke Eric Lassiter, Marshall University Graduate College, USA 'Richard G. Fox (...) and Les Field have edited an interesting and stimulation book, which shows different alternatives on how anthropology is put to work. (...) The book is a timely contribution to the current debate anthropologists have about their place in society as well as their future in a world exposed to a quickening pace of transformation.' Fernando Monge, UNED, Spain