2025/02/25 by Steven Jay Rhue · 1 voice · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/08884552.2025.2462681
The field of anthropology has been changing for some time, accelerated by deepening socio-political divides, the impact of Covid-19, and the increasingly uncertain nature of academic employment. Graduate students and mentoring faculty are re-evaluating the purpose and course of anthropology, expressing a renewed interest in careers outside the academy, a need to reconceptualize the field, and a desire to communicate research beyond peer-reviewed papers. However, this is far from universally appreciated or supported. Graduate students rarely receive training outside of research and preparation for an academic career; find themselves pressured into lengthy field work that strains relationships and personal resources; and are often discourage from publishing outside of academic journals. Yet, a more interdisciplinary and applied education would enable graduate students to explore how their anthropological training is applicable in a variety of contexts; conducting field work in shorter intervals, structured more consciously around the circumstances of graduate student’s lives, would alleviate the unnecessary stress of research; and encouraging graduate students to disseminate their research in media and public writing affords new avenues of outreach and science communication. The next generation of anthropologists are looking for more, and this paper considers the future possibilities of graduate training in anthropology.