What do anthropologists do nowadays?

Question

I've always been interested in culture, especially subculture, but I'm not sure what kind of secure careers exist in this area.

I thought about anthropology, but what do most anthropologists do now? Teach, research? What I'm interested in mostly is traveling somewhere to study a certain subculture, then write about it. But would anyone read it?

So lost right now...

Answer 1

What don't they do?  There is a ton of areas an anthropology you can explore.  Generally, it is a subject that is usually subdivided into 4 other general fields of study.  They are physical anthropology (early humans, primate studies, forensics, etc.), linguistics (preserving languages, study of slang, ancient languages, etc.), archeology, and cultural anthropology (this is more what you are describing).  Most colleges have you earn a bachelors in anthropology and you have to take courses in all of the sub-fields.  However, I would also recommend that although you may like to do cultural anthropology, you should take as many classes as you can in another field as you can reasonably too though.  This will give you something to fall on.

Also, I'd like to go back to my first question.  Anthropology teaches you such a broad scope of skills and draws from so many other field.  You can technically use it to enter an innumerable number of professions.  People with a BS in anthropology are also teachers, project managers, human resource personnel, cultural resource workers, and much more.  Here is a study done by Berkeley that may give you a better look at the picture.

http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Anthro....

Answer 2

If it's what you want to do, do it.

You never know where you'll end up -- it might be doing something different from what you now think.

But if that has always been an interest of yours pursue it.

If you want to know what's going on, and what antrhoplogists do, you've got the tool right at your fingertips.

Use your favorite search engine and see what you get.

After searching for the words 'antrhopology' and 'anthropologist', and the phrase "careers in anthropology", go to some university sites, and look at their anthropology departments and faculty.

If you want the general public to read your work, then learn to write for the general public, and not only for other anthropologists.

If you just mean will ANYONE read it?

Yes, I'm sure anthropologists, and people interested in anthropology would.

If you don't go for this, you will always regret it.

One's working life is such a huge chunk of your life.

If there's something you're really in to (that isn't, like "popular singer" for which there are a gazillion starving people for every one who makes a living at it), then you should go for it.

Answer 3

Anthropologists pretty much roam through Y!A looking for questions to answer.  It's always great to have "top contributor" behind the PhD in your name....

But, really, you can travel and write about other cultures.  Many anthropologists are still studying "primitive" cultures where they do exist.  Anthropologists can also do research on more pressing issues confronting society today.  Either way, you could write and teach, although there probably is not much call for professors of anthropology today.  In the end, you must follow your dream!

Answer 4

GYPSY indeed!

Wander lust is part of the Youth dreams. If the q***r world of Anthropology is added to the field of concern, it becomes a heady mixture.

Anthropologists do both teaching and writing. They may teach formally in class room settings or train their juniors while at work. Writing is an inevitable part of the Anthropologist's work

As you rightly said, writing is worth nothing if there is no one to read it. But you can never know when and who will read the valuable contents that you write about.There are two ways to deal with it... you can either write something as you feel strongly about it and leave it to Chance for some good reader to some day run into and profit from it; or you can be pro-active and do the writing in a manner that here and now someone or the other reads it and the matter gets discussed.

Most of the Religious Texts carry a mixture of both these styles in their contents. At regular intervals in the narratives something that appeals to the common  man's taste is added or discussed so that a sense of belonging is created in the reader and the habit of reading the texts regularly is encouraged. Before the interest wanes, another such bait is added.  Sandwitched in between two such baits you find the texts of the higher truths of life and the core teachings of the religion. This ensures that the reader gets a fair chance to run into the core matter while pursuing his/her routine interests.

In the field of Anthropology and History, the successful writers, (as opposed to the best professionals in the field) have been the ones who employed this tactic. They create a sensational controversy over some trivia of history that has emotional appeal for a large section of the public and curiosity makes the readers to come to the reading table. The sad side effect is that truth gets side tracked ,while the writer makes hay as the controversy shines.

Anthropologyoffers wide scope for investigating the  many enigmas of the Epics. Hidden behind cryptic texts are the Gems of Paleological truths and evolutionary clues. Arabic and western civilisational texts,including religious ones , have references to an age of deluge submerging practically all of the Earth after the emergence of human settlements( Refer Noah's Ark, et al ). But Eastern cultures refer to several such cycles of emergence of civilisations and high degree of development followed by destructions by Deluge , only to be re-started again and developed to full glory. Instead of classifying all the Archeological, Anthropological   and Paleological evidence as belonging to one continuum, we can investigate whether in fact there were more than one cycles of evolution and, if so how many?. It can also be investigated whether the cycles were different in time spans  and impacts and, if so, for what reasons. There is enough work waiting for young  gYpSy to do. Go ahead!

Answer 5

Many of the anthropologists do just that - travel to subcultures, study them, and write about them - many times they have graduate Degrees (Master's or Ph.D.), or are working on graduate degrees.  Many times people who are working on degrees use grants and other financial aid to pay for these trips.  Other anthropologists work with or even as archaeologists in studying past cultures and do fieldwork excavations.  Something that is important to remember is that careers such as Archaeology, Anthropology etc. often are not what normal people call "secure" jobs... they usually don't come with a pension, 401K, much less health coverage etc.  if you go in for research and study something intently, you can become an expert on it, and write books about it, and even get a Ph.D. and teach in college.  There are always people that will read your book as long as you get a publisher that promotes it in the right areas.  I would suggest that if you are not already enrolled in a college program, go and talk to the Anthropolgy department on what kinds of jobs there are, and perhaps if you can find one, talk to a practicing athropologist - college professors usually know a couple - about it too.  Also going to a conference for anthropology or archaology would be an excellent way for you to see what real people are doing in the field because they are giving the reports on what they have found.