Integrating Anthropologists into Nonacademic Work Settings

Cris JohnsrudSouthern Technology Applications Center

A friend and I have a long-running argument about whether or not heis really an anthropologist. We were both graduate students in anthropol-ogy at the same institution, and after earning our degrees, he took a posi-tion in community college administration while I became associated with aregional technology transfer center headquartered at a university. Al-though we were both associated with academic institutions, he did notview himself as an anthropologist or feel that what he was doing involvedanthropology. I, on the other hand, have always felt myself to be an an-thropologist, despite the fact that I do not teach, am not associated withan anthropology department, and am principally involved with programdesign and development, management, and strategic planning.

The image of what anthropology is and what anthropologists do iscentral to many of the issues facing the discipline as growing numbers ofgraduates seek employment in nonacademic settings. Creating and main-taining a strong "market niche" outside academe are critical if anthropol-ogy is to have a recognizable, sustained, and positive impact on local,national, and global issues and programs. Yet, like my friend, there aremany successful professional individuals with both undergraduate andgraduate degrees in anthropology who.do not consider themselves to beanthropologists and, perhaps most important, who do not recognize or ac-knowledge the contributions of the anthropological training, perspectives,and approaches to their successes. How, then, is anthropology to be-come recognized by outside employers as an important and valuableorganizational asset? How can anthropologists create, expand, andstrengthen anthropology's presence outside the academy?

Significantly, the barriers encountered by the anthropology com-munity in attempts to build a substantial and sizable presence outsidethe academy are largely the result of the organizational and structuralcharacteristics of anthropology inside the academy. The values, ex-pectations, rewards and incentives, and career development mechanismsthat make for successful careers inside the academy are in many casesmaladaptive outside it. This is not to criticize academic anthropology. Weteach what we know. Unfortunately, what we know is often insufficient fornonacademic career development.

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Several elements are necessary for integrating anthropologistsand anthropology much more strongly into nonacademic settings: (1)network development, (2) participant-observation and entrepreneur-ship, (3) "market" research, and (4) endorsement of anthropologistswithin the academy. These elements have been identified during the pastseveral years from my own experiences as a practicing anthropologistwho works with engineers and business professionals and supervises an-thropology and engineering students working on funding projects.

Network Development

A primary strategy for integrating anthropology and anthropolo-gists into nonacademic sectors is the development of networks out-side anthropology and outside the academy. This can create opportuni-ties for employment of anthropology graduates and help faculty membersidentify new research and funding opportunities. Encouraging anthropol-ogy students to attend conferences and other special events organized byand for nonanthropological professional groups helps them identify poten-tial career development arenas and establish such networks. Theseevents provide preliminary views of the field of career interest, yield impor-tant insights into areas in which anthropological perspectives are absentbut needed, serve as an introduction to the cultural attributes (language,dress, behavior, social organization, power hierarchies, etc.) of the area ofinterest, and provide opportunities for developing professional networksfor career development. Additionally, they provide anthropology with visi-bility and a "presence" outside the academy.

Participant-Observation and Entrepreneurship

One of the most powerful tools acquired by anthropologists is the abil-ity to organize research using ethnographic methods. It provides practi-tioners with a way to understand events and contexts, identify opportuni-ties, develop ways to become involved in those opportunities, andillustrate the value of anthropological contributions to potential employers.Participant-observation flavored with what might be called "en-trepreneurship" can help establish rewarding careers. That is, in orderto apply anthropological knowledge and perspective to solving or helpingto solve a particular problem, practitioners can utilize participant-observa-tion and conduct various levels of fieldwork to learn as much as possibleabout the problem, the actors (both individual and organizational), thecontext, program goals, and potential outcomes/impacts. Further, thisknowledge is useful in identifying opportunities for career development asan employee or as an external consultant.

Most practitioners today must be extremely entrepreneurial in de-veloping practitioner careers. This requires several skills, including anappropriate degree of assertiveness, excellent fieldwork skills to interpret

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organizational contexts and recognize opportunities when they arise, theability to communicate in nonanthropological terms, tenacity, and the abil-ity to project an image, especially in the private sector, of willingness tolearn. Indeed, it may be the last skill that is the most important for thosewishing to establish practitioner careers in business and industry.

How can students acquire these skills? There are no easy answers, forsome of these skills are inherent in the personality of the would-be practi-tioner. Despite this, course work that includes presentations from practi-tioners, role playing, case studies, and simulations of anthropological in-volvement in nonacademic scenarios can provide students with someappreciation of what they will face outside the academy. Alternatively,there are several resources available through college and university ca-reer resource centers and through privately offered seminars, although thelatter tend to have price tags that are beyond the means of many students.

"Market" Research

Establishing a nonacademic market for anthropology graduatesis extremely problematic, and the primary activity has been to rely onthe entrepreneurial efforts of individual anthropologists who, throughtheir own ingenuity and diligence, have forged a path that others can followinto government and/or industry career settings. This has reinforced theneed for network development among practitioners with significant assis-tance from NAPA, local practitioner organizations, and other formal and in-formal organizations. Despite these efforts, this process is still slow andhaphazard. Serendipity plays as much a part in the formation of a practi-tioner career as do networks and training. Most practitioners stumble onopportunities, and many other opportunities go unrecognized.

In contrast to cultural anthropology, other professions utilize differ-ent approaches to developing employment opportunities for theirgraduates. It may be useful to study these different approaches for appli-cability to anthropology departments. For example, the College of Engi-neering at the University of Florida utilizes strategies at both the individualfaculty level and the department and college levels to assist engineeringgraduates to find employment. Close watch is kept on hiring trends,emerging opportunities, and comparisons of employment rates of the uni-versity's engineering graduates with those of other colleges and universi-ties. Also, external industry advisory boards provide additional insightsinto emerging employment needs.

Whether or not such measures could be effective for departments ofanthropology is a matter that requires considerable scrutiny. However, forsuch measures to be implemented on a wide scale within anthropol-ogy, there must be endorsement by the anthropological communitywithin the academy. It is to that consideration that I now turn.

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For anthropology students who wish to be practitioners, a number ofskills must be taught along with the established curriculum. Much of an-thropological training stresses critique, and this is one of the majorstrengths of the discipline. Yet this by itself is insufficient to those seekingto develop practitioner careers outside the academy. This is because aprevailing attitude outside the academy is, "Don't be part of the problem;be part of the solution." The ability to provide critical thinking is essen-tial in industry and government, so that problems are understood.However, without the concomitant skill of suggesting ways to "fix it"(which implies taking risks and making decisions), critique alone is in-adequate. Simply pointing out flaws in arguments, program designs, andother decisions leads to a perception that the anthropologist is just anothercritic. Negativity is not tolerated for long in industry or government settings.

Another essential skill is the ability to work in teams, a capabilitythat cannot be overemphasized. Working in applied settings is aboutteamwork, and anthropologists are often at a significant disadvantage inthis regard. Teaming is difficult yet necessary. Teamwork must be inte-grated into curricular activities at both the graduate and the under-graduate levels, even though the concept is generally not part of thecultural anthropological ethos.

Third, anthropology students must learn to meet deadlines. Miss-ing the window effectively silences the anthropologist's contributions to im-portant issues and maintains the marginality of the discipline in the eyes ofpower holders and decision makers in all sectors of society, including theuniversity.

Conclusion

Anthropology is just now beginning to address in an organizedmanner the issues of creating a strong, viable "market" for graduatesoutside the academy. The absence of existing external niches for anthro-pology graduates, training that can help students acquire needed job-related skills, public understanding of what anthropology is and what an-thropologists can do, and networks that span academic, private, andgovernment sectors must be addressed immediately if anthropology is togrow rather than fade into obscurity as interesting but irrelevant.

Note

Editor's note: This article is excerpted from a longer essay of the same name publishedin Transforming Academia: Challenges and Opportunities for an Engaged Anthropology, ed-ited by Linda Basch, Lucie Wood Saunders, Jagna Wojcicka Sharff, and James Peacock(American Ethnological Society Monograph, 8, Arlington, VA: American Anthropological As-sociation, 1999).

Originally appeared in Anthropology Newsletter, March 1997Revised, spring 1998 and summer 1999