cathywhiteA biweekly look at recent stories on anthropology and practicing anthropologists in the popular media
The Usual Suspects
- Genevieve Bell is interviewed yet again by the New York Times and ranges over a number of topics while not being allowed to go deep. It’s unfortunate. It is refreshing to hear someone talk realistically about technological change—just because we haven’t developed social norms forbidding people from staring at their phones during business meetings doesn’t mean that we won’t (hopefully soon). TechFestNW is happening August 15-16, and Bell will be speaking on “The Prehistory of Robots and Why It Still Matters.”
- Anthropologist Robin Nagle is quoted in Motherboard’s examination of the history of New York City trash. It’s easy to forget that these huge systems exist when they run well. Note: according to this article Dubai does not have a sewer system. This doesn’t appear to be the case anymore.
Outliers
- You may have heard something about the latest encounter with an “uncontacted” Amazonian tribe in Brazil. There is even a video. Luckily for me, Savage Minds linked to the best article I’ve read about the encounter over at the BBC.
- Portland State University Anthropologist Cameron Smith estimates that between 20,000 – 40,000 people will be required to populate any colonies formed on other planets. The numbers are the result of calculating genetic diversity and adequate breeding population, but that figure is also suspiciously close to the student population of… Portland State University. Hollywood, you know where to contact me.
More
- Philippe Bourgois (Righteous Dopefiend) is an excellent person to talk to when one wants to understand the complexities around/drivers of heroin use. SFGate spoke to him when reporting on the increase in homelessness in the Kensington area of Philadelphia.
- Anthropologist Kate Browne has followed a family scattered by Katrina for the past nine years and is quoted in Next City’s piece looking at the ongoing Katrina recovery
- The Boston Globe reports (stick with them, it’s a good way into the article) on a new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry concluding that the voices heard in the minds of schizophrenics are shaped by their culture.
Hi Coleen
Forgive me–I removed your link and email address from the post before I approved it to protect your anonymity. I’m excited that a student your age is aware of anthropology and is interested in it. I do have some information to share, and I hope others do too, although because this post is from a few months ago, do not be discouraged if others do not find it.
Here’s what you should know:
Very few anthropologists actually have jobs where their business card says “Anthropologist.” They often use the knowledge they have gained in anthropology to fill jobs with different titles. I have worked in book publishing, creating Internet content, computer programming, and now education, all with my anthropology degree. An important point is that I did not get into any of those jobs because I specifically had an anthropology degree. Having a bachelor’s degree (4-year college degree–mine was in anthropology) was a requirement, and you really need a good work ethic and a willingness to learn among other “soft skills” to take a degree of any kind and make a career out of it.
I am a parent, too, so I wanted to point out that your parents have your best interests at heart. They want you to be financially secure. They are likely hearing a lot of news stories about college students graduating and not being able to find a job. They feel more comfortable when they can tie a program of study to an actual job title. College is expensive, so parents deal with a lot of anxiety when they think about these things for their children.
You are 15, so you have time to think before you decide on a career path. You may have to wait until college until you are able to take any anthropology courses and see if that is the major for you. Just know that no matter what direction you take, there should be no expectation that a college diploma will automatically translate into job offer. That takes work on your part, no matter what you study. You have to build work experience, constantly learn new things, and build relationships with people (sometimes people you don’t like!) to succeed.
Research the kind of work you want to do and look at the job requirements. Try indeed.com and search on “anthropology” and see what you get (and where–we often have to move to get the dream job).
Good luck!
Hi, I am currently 15 years old. It may be a bit too early in finindg out what career I want. I’ve always been interested about Anthropology. I would love to travel and learn about certain places. Although my parents have a different view. They rather have me pursue in being a optometrist. I want have a job that I would actually enjoy waking up to then to hate it for the rest of my life.Would anthropology be right for me?