I can’t resist jumping on the bandwagon of bloggers and reporters reacting to Rick Scott’s comments about reducing funding to programs other than science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees. He specifically referred to decreasing funding to programs ‘like anthropology’. Of course, he also missed the fact that anthropology is a science. Well, it seems that Scott just did anthropologists a favour. The result of his comment has been an outpouring of support for anthropology from within and outside of the field.
For those of us teaching introductory anthropology, this means we now have more resources describing ‘what anthropologists do’ that we can use with our students. The best of these is a prezi called This is Anthropology created by students at the University of South Florida. The presentation includes great visuals and information ‘bites’ about what anthropologist do, and is also a nice example of how Prezi can be used.
The blog post by Alexander Phillips will also be of interest to students. Alexander is an aspiring physician and ‘STEM’ major, and he addresses why every undergraduate should study anthropology.
Teachers might be interested in the ‘official responses’ by the American Anthropological Association and the Association of Physical Anthropologists. Neuroanthropology also has an incredibly detailed summary of all articles posted about anthropology in Florida.
Finally, these YouTube videos are not linked to the Florida debate, but may prove useful to teachers wishing to explain what anthropologists do…
-Why teach anthropology
-Doing Anthropology
-Carolyn Nordstrom on the Global Economy
-The Anthropology Song: A little bit anthropologist (and the song’s author Dai Cooper at her university graduation ceremony)
-Futurist Mike Walsh interviews Genevieve Bell (chief anthroplogist at INTEL) about why companies need anthropologists
-Thinking like an anthropologist
-Grant McCracken on Chief Cultural Officers
I can’t resist jumping on the bandwagon of bloggers and reporters reacting to Rick Scott’s comments about reducing funding to programs other than science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees. He specifically referred to decreasing funding to programs ‘like anthropology’. Of course, he also missed the fact that anthropology is a science. Well, it seems that Scott just did anthropologists a favour. The result of his comment has been an outpouring of support for anthropology from within and outside of the field.
Tags: anthropology, Florida, introductory anthropology, Rick Scott, teaching anthropology, This is Anthropology, why study anthropology
“When people argue that ‘There is no alternative,’ it’s because they cannot imagine a life without scarcity, debt, and the familiar social facts that so torment us. Maybe that’s one reason that folks like Governor Scott don’t think we need imagination, or anthropology, for that matter. Of course the person without an imagination can’t imagine the use of having one.” Anthropoligist David Graeber
Thanks once again, Laura. I’ve just referred TOK teachers reading my own “TOK meets global citizenship” to this posting and the resources that you list. You provide some very good materials for TOK teachers dealing with the human sciences.