On this page we have gathered all of the links and tips from
the blog connected to the issue of what you can actually do with a background
in anthropology (label: what
can anthro do?). Learning to think critically about the wider world through
an anthropological lens can bring something more to any workplace.
GENERAL ADVICE AND PERSPECTIVES
The Anxious Anthropologist has
already written a couple of great posts about the value of an anthropological
perspective in general:
- "How does an Anthropologist add value in the workplace?" (Anxious Anthropologist)
- "Why you need an Anthropologist in your organization" (Anxious Anthropologist)
- Media: Journalism, Writing, Entertainment
- Marketing/ Brand & Product Development
- Health Professions
- Technology
- Finance
- Entrepreneurship
- Public Policy & Public Service
- Social Justice, Non-Governmental/ Non-Profit Organizations
MEDIA: JOURNALISM, WRITING, ENTERTAINMENT
- "Why
newsrooms need anthropologists" (journalism.co.uk, 2013)
- Michael
Twitty's work as a writer and activist on African American culinary
history
- Susan
Kresnkica's work as a creative executive in television marketing in
Hollywood
- The work of Sarah Kendzior, and anthropologist who writes about US politics for a number of different outlets. She is also a researcher and consultant.
- Anthropologists everywhere! Filming heavy metal with Sam Dunn (2 October 2017)
MARKETING/ BRAND & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- Big
Data Needs Thick Data (ethnographymatters.net, 2013)
- What
is Thick Data and Why Should You Use it? (brandwatch.com,
2014)
- Anthropology
Inc" (theatlantic.com, 2013)
- How IKEA’s Unconventional Research Methods Inspire TheirNew Products (designtaxi.com, 2015)
- Global Swedish: How the IKEA catalogue cracked what “domestic bliss” means in different cultures (Quartz, 25 July 2017)
- How Not to
Talk to Customers: The Secret to Meaningful Customer Relationships (24 March 2010)
- Ethnography
and anthropology in design (Ways We Work)
- Qualitative
Research Comes of Age (Environics Communications, 28 January
2016)
- The
new buzzword in marketing: Ethnography + Lessons
for marketing to millennials (Globe & Mail, 2011)
- Why
companies are desperate to hire anthropologists (stuff.co.nz,
2015)
- Susan
Kresnkica's work as a creative executive in television marketing in
Hollywood
- An Anthropologist Walks into a Bar… (Harvard Business Review, 2014)
HEALTH PROFESSIONS
- A
background in anthropology comes in handy on the wards (www.kevinmd.com,
2015)
- An
anthropologist on the wards (scopeblog.stanford.edu, 2015)
- Global
health education (original post: From
Mutilation to Alteration...)
- How Anthropology Can Transform Global Health Efforts (AAUW blog, 2015; original post)
- Dave Campbell's accessible Anthropology's Contribution to Public Health Policy Development (McGill Journal of Medicine, 2011)
- HHS CTO: Technology in healthcare is a Trojan Horse for culture change (2016, mobihealthnews) is an interview with Susannah Fox about what her anthropology/ archaeology background brings to her work as Chief Technology Officer for a healthcare company. You may also want to check out the videos gathered by Fox at The Unmentionables of Health: Uncut or some of the posts from Fox' own blog, such as Flashback to the Future, or Love made visible.
- Harnessing the power of ethnography in healthcare"(PMLive, 2016)
- Transition Q & A: Stacy Lockerbie, research associate in family medicine (University Affairs, 2017). You can also read this profile on Lockerbie for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Cummings School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, where she now works: Stacy Lee Lockerbie | From bike trails to community based research: A few paths less travelled
TECHNOLOGY
- That
'Useless' Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech'sHottest Ticket (forbes.com,
2015)
- Amy
Santee on Practicing
Anthropology in User Experience, Design and Business (14
January 2016)
- HHS CTO: Technology in healthcare is a Trojan Horse for culture change (2016, mobihealthnews) is an interview with Susannah Fox about what her anthropology/ archaeology background brings to her work as a Chief Technology Officer.
- Astrid Countee on An Engineering Anthropologist: Why tech companies need to hire software developers with ethnographic skills (2016, Ethnography Matters; anthro everywhere! post 15 September 2016)
- Ethnography and anthropology in design (Ways We Work)
- Charles Pearson is an anthropologist working in tech who has written a few great articles for Medium on Why Every Software Team Needs an Anthropologist (2016, Medium), how Ethnography = Better Design (2015), and My Two Years as an Anthropologist on the Photoshop Team (2015).
- Christine Moellenberndt: Anthropologist & Community Manager at Reddit (24 July 2017)
FINANCE
- More
anthropologists on Wall Street please (24 October 2011)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
- Although this article is not specific to anthropology students, PhDs might be interested to know that More PhDs are leaving academia to launch their own businesses (Globe & Mail, 2016)
PUBLIC POLICY & PUBLIC SERVICE
- As part of Epic's Data, Design and Civics: Ethnographic Perspectives series, check out what an anthropological perspective and ethnographic approach brings to policy making: Human-Centered Research in Policymaking (2016)
- Dave Campbell's accessible Anthropology's Contribution to Public Health Policy Development (McGill Journal of Medicine, 2011)
- Pride Toronto names Olivia Nuamah as executive director (Toronto Star, 17 February 2017)
SOCIAL JUSTICE, NON-GOVERNMENTAL/ NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
- Pride Toronto names Olivia Nuamah as executive director (Toronto Star, 17 February 2017)
Last updated: 24 October 2017