student looking for a bit of advice

[al_aaraaf]

hi there - I've been poking around in various LJ social science communities for a while now, trying to figure out what I want to do for grad school. anthropology is tempting me right now

Comments

[wagrobanite]

I don't know about those two (But I'm excited to you that you know about Heifer Project)but I know that Forensic Anthropologists have worked for the UN for helping with genocide and war crimes.

[al_aaraaf]

heh, Heifer is great - more than a few times it's been "well, I didn't know what to get you for christmas so a ukrainian widow got a flock of geese instead" (Heifer's HQ is also in my home town...they've got a great big new eco-friendly building and generally rock)

while I doubt I'd have the stomach for genocide investigations (and I'd have moral qualms about being in any way involved with the military or the death penalty) that's definitely a step in the right direction. hrm...

[jen92373]

I am currently studying forensic anthro. Your job would be to identify the dead so that their families could have closure. You might be asked to testify in court as to HOW you identified the bodies and how they were killed, but that would be for civilian authorities. The military (I have also been an army reservist for nearly ten years) does not do that. However, even if they did, there is never anything immoral about helping the proper authority seek justice for murder victims.

[al_aaraaf]

However, even if they did, there is never anything immoral about helping the proper authority seek justice for murder victims.

I'm a pacifist and don't believe in retributive "justice". to be frank, one of the main reasons I'm interested in a career that would allow me to travel internationally is so I can find a country where my taxes would not support a military whose existence (as an institution) I find morally repulsive.

I commend you for a spirit of service, but do not for a moment agree that coercive, violent force is ever morally justifiable. please understand I'm not trying to insult or devalue you as a person - this is an ethical and religious conviction of mine.

if you'd like to discuss it, we can, but I'm not sure this is the appropriate place.

[galileah_galile]

my undergrad was in anthro and I'm in the middle of an msw. If you are really interested in working with immigrant populations and exploring culture, I really do think that social work is great for that, and it's a very flexable degree.

sorry, that totally didn't answer your question, but I went through the same thing, wondering if a grad degree in anthro was going to get me what I want.

[al_aaraaf]

yeah, I'm strongly considering an MSW. I wish there was some way to combine the two! I realized a while ago that social work was way more flexible and closer to my interests than psychology (my original major - a bit too much esoteric research and not enough class-conflict or cultural awareness stuff)...I'm just wondering if there's a way to fit in guilty pleasures like dead languages (and very guilty pleasures like adoring museums, art history, and archaeology...less than relevant to solving modern social problems) or a lot of international travel. I'm also realizing my chances of financial aid are rather slim for an MSW program. now that I've cut myself loose from the psychology focus I'm just exploring all the options.

do you have any social work jobs in mind that relate to your interest in anthropology?

[galileah_galile]

internationally, I know there are jobs educating people about infectious disease and family planning, there are always certificates you can get in addition to an msw. I'm thinking of getting a gender studies to help me get a job with transgendered and intersexed populations. But net every job is going to incorporate all your talents. But that's why people do volunteer work, and have part time gigs on the side working with populations they enjoy. I know in my city there are a lot of refugees from the sudan and from serbia, and you probobly have similar populations near you. I just think the msw is really adaptable to so much, but you've got to follow your own heart :)

[al_aaraaf]

I'm thinking of getting a gender studies to help me get a job with transgendered and intersexed populations.

as a complete aside, you get a million brownie points for saying that. heh, I'm going to be doing my honors thesis on third-gender identity and social roles =)

[maiabee8]

I have an undergrad degree in anthro and am getting an MSW, with a focus on women's health (same focus as the anthro degree incidently).

You could get an MSW with an international concentration and then work for an NGO in India. Or other organization, or heck, start an organization. That's what an MSW can prepare you to do.

As far as I know, anthropologists do not work for any NGOs, at least not as "anthropologists." There is also definitely a big ethics issue with anthropologists working to "help" the people they study. People with anthro backgrounds are important to the work of NGOs, but anthropology is an academic subject not a profession (that's where social work comes in for me). If you want to study people, then study them, publish and increase the knowledge in the world - that is noble and good. If you want to teach people and help them, don't do it under the guise of studying them, that's just a big can of worms.

[greensword]

If you want to study people, then study them, publish and increase the knowledge in the world - that is noble and good. If you want to teach people and help them, don't do it under the guise of studying them, that's just a big can of worms.

But shouldn't how you teach/help others be informed by knowledge of their culture and backgrounds? Where do you draw the line?

[maiabee8]

And that's why I am not a professional ethics consult board. Where do you draw the line? I have no clue. Another difficult question is if it is unbearably paternalistic to think it is my place to teach and help people of other cultural backgrounds, if we're ok with that, then is it ethical? Maybe

[kenosis]

I agree with you completely.

[kenosis]

I worked with mapping food distribution to the poor in Chicago for awhile. Not as an anthropologist, though. Interesting stuff that I thought came out of it.

About food aid, you might want to read this article. Maybe this one too.

[al_aaraaf]

cool, thanks for the links

[al_aaraaf]

I just read them both. I'm curious, do you think heifer, for example, is contributing to the problem? I'm not trying to argue, I'd sincerely like your opinion. does the fact they're not, to my knowledge, just giving away food unconditionally, change anything?

[kenosis]

I'm of the mindset that institutions are the creators of famine, not a lack of "sustainable agriculture".

[stateofwonder]

Hey, I'm pretty much at the same junction as you are... wondering what I'd need to do to get where I want to be. I have an undergraduate degree in anthro, and have been wondering where I should be looking to continue my work on women's rights in sub-Saharan Africa (and in North America!). I guess it matters more what experience you have than what your degree is, and how transferable your skills are. During my undergrad, I did an internship with an indigenous rights organization in Kenya, and now that I've graduated, I'm going back to work with them for a year. I have good contacts there and am fairly certain that no matter what degree I take in grad school, I would probably be able to find a job there if I needed to. I do think that there is anthropological presence in many humanitarian organizations, but that your experience outside of school (volunteer work, internships, community building, etc) is key in landing those kinds of positions

[al_aaraaf]

aw, thank you =)