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The (so-called) Quantitative-Qualitative Divide

With the advent and proliferation of digital technologies into nearly every facet of life today there is almost no research topic in the modern world that doesn’t include a virtual or technological component. While these practices raise issues of privacy and power, the notion that vast amounts of data can be automatically and immediately collected with little cost or training is an alluring proposition for many businesses.

Brandon Meyer January 14, 2019 No Comments

Business Needs Anthropology More Than Ever, But May Not Know It

Anthropologists are trained to find solutions to problems by approaching them holistically—from all sides—and through critical thinking, grounded in our theories and methods. Few disciplines prepare their practitioners so well to tackle the problems of the modern world by incorporating our broad knowledge of human evolution, history, biology, and behavior across the world’s cultures. Unfortunately, and to our discipline’s detriment, not enough people or businesses are informed of what anthropologists do and how we can help.

Melissa Vogel October 2, 2018 No Comments

AnthroCurrents December 22, 2017

I apologize for not having happier stories to lift the spirits at this time of year. But I hope you’ll take a critical look at some of these issues, and, if they interest you, find a way to contribute to these conversations. I included a few more than usual since you’re all most likely at “home” reading this over a

Julia Wignall December 22, 2017 No Comments

AnthroCurrents December 7, 2017

Hi, practicing community! It’s been a whirlwind of a Fall and I hope you can forgive me for my sparse updates. I hope all of you who made it to AAA this year had a great time and reconnected with your anthro community. If you have any pressing news or stories that came out of AAA that you’d like to

Julia Wignall December 7, 2017 No Comments

AnthroCurrents November 17, 2017

Hi all! It’s been another crazy week over here but wanted to share a few things I spotted in the news… One anthropologist is studying ageist hiring practices. An article written by a social anthropologist about “cloudbusting”. Provides a interesting reflection on something we don’t think much about. Where is all our data stored and is it a secret? The

Julia Wignall November 17, 2017 No Comments

AnthroCurrents – October 31, 2017

Happy Halloween, fellow practitioners! If you want to read about this history and interpretation of our hallows day celebrations, I recommend this and this. The ABC Australia Boyer Lectures most current series feature renowned anthropologist Genevieve Bell. He series explores the role of technology in Australia’s future and is called: Fast, Smart and Connected: What is it to be Human,

Julia Wignall October 31, 2017 No Comments

Stepping into Consulting

By Ruth Sando I have recently (2017) retired after a long career in private industry, working both as an employee and an outside consultant. After earning my Ph.D., I spent over 20 years in the financial services industry (in banking and insurance), and then for five years was a senior international housing finance manager before starting my own firm, Sando

admin October 21, 2017 No Comments

Getting Started in International Consulting

by Laurie Krieger I have consulted internationally in health, gender, policy, research, and even once in irrigation (that was weird). Here are some tips for getting started: Use your networks; in international work, people are hired through whom they know. Carefully research how much consultants get paid by the organization or donor for whom you will work (e.g., U.S. government

admin October 17, 2017 No Comments

Successful Consulting: Networking is the Key

By Elizabeth K. Briody I started Cultural Keys, LLC (culturalkeys.us) in 2009. At that time, I had a PhD and 24 years of work experience as an anthropologist at General Motors Research & Development. The mechanics of setting up the consulting practice were relatively simple; it included such steps as registering my LLC with the state of Michigan, creating a

admin October 17, 2017 No Comments

AnthroCurrents – October 16, 2017

Hey all, sorry for the sudden radio silence and lack of posts. I know there isn’t a reason good enough to have abandoned you all so recklessly, so without further adieu… As I’m sure most of you know, Anthropologist Jason de Leon was recently awarded the MacArthur Genius award. Check out this video about his work and read about other

Julia Wignall October 16, 2017 No Comments

2017: Zelda Harrison and Sophie Goodman

NAPA is happy to announce that Zelda Harrison has been named NAPA’s Volunteer of the Year! Zelda launched and has been instrumental in developing NAPA’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NAPA.Anthro), which is a prominent “public face” of NAPA. Also receiving a Special Recognition from NAPA is Sophie Goodman, who is Zelda’s partner in keeping the Facebook content lively and current. [Excerpted from

admin October 4, 2017 No Comments

AnthroCurrents September 7, 2017

A fascinating read about Canadian university’s efforts to decolonize education, including topics typically considered “neutral” such as design. The article includes highlights from design anthropologist Dori Tunstall who is infusing indigenous awareness, history and unconscious bias education into design curriculum. The student examples are powerful representations of how we can reimagine education and design by understanding other worldviews. I’m pretty

Julia Wignall September 7, 2017 No Comments