Example of Engaged Anthropology
Beatrice Medicine's advocacy for the rights of women, children, Native Americans, and LGBT people
Nancy Scheper-Hughes's founding of Organs Watch, which facilitates collaboration between anthropologists, surgeons, journalists, and more on the issue of human organ trafficking
Not an Example of Engaged Anthropology
E. E. Evans-Pritchard's ethnography of the life of the Sudanese tribe, the Nuer
Christopher Columbus's voyages to the New World, and his accounts of the peoples and cultures he found there
Which of the following are topics or that anthropologists believe are important to study in relation to the role of individuals in particular cultures?
Cultural anthropologists systematically explore topics such as technology and material culture, social organization, economies, political and legal systems, language, ideologies and religions, health and illness, and social change.
What concept is used to describe a kind of disorientation anthropologists may experience when working with cultures different from their own?
Anthropologists conducting fieldwork may experience a particular kind of disorientation from the "strangeness" they discover. Which term is used to describe this experience? Franz Boas is credited with developing the concept of cultural relativism.
What kind of perspective are anthropologists trying to gain through the use of long term participant observation fieldwork?
Through fieldwork, the social anthropologist seeks a detailed and intimate understanding of the context of social action and relations. Fieldwork in a previously unfamiliar setting has among its aims a deep understanding that encompasses as much as possible of an 'insider's' perspective.
What does the American Anthropological Association's code of ethics mandate for all anthropologists conducting fieldwork?
The American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics states that anthropologists “…have a duty to be informed about ethical codes relating to their work, and ought periodically to receive training on current research activities and ethical issues” (AAA 1996).