CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE CLIENT KIND
Am I ready for this? What will they be like? What will I be like? Nothing is more equally exciting and frightening for a young anthropologist than entering into the field for the first time. As I imagine Margaret Mead daydreamed about the exotic South Pacific before she arrived in person, I fantasize about the corporate world with both excitement and horror. What will it be like? Am I ready?
Field projects and the dilemma of distance
The challenges of online teaching are many and difficult. An important challenge for an applied anthropology graduate program is how to provide the students with a valid, team, field experience. In this article the authors discuss the many issues they are finding in constructing a virtual ethnographic field experience. Both authors teach a course in the online program which requires such a field experience, and both have taught their courses in the face-to-face environment. Henry teaches the Qualitative Methods course, which obviously benefits from a field project working for a specific client. Jordan teaches an Organizational Anthropology course which includes a field project wherein the students conduct an organizational evaluation for a client. Both authors are committed to the need for a field project in their courses. They feel strongly that professional training for applied anthropologists must include hands on experiences in projects with clients who are outside the academy. Not only are these vita...
Using Skills from Art in Surgical Practice and Research-Surgery and Art
Many aspects of surgery and the arts are inexorably linked together, and the use of artistic techniques or ideas to improve surgical practice is present throughout the history of medicine. In all forms of surgery, throughout the ages, artists have been used to illustrate new ideas, new techniques and to document surgical practice. Some of the most successful art originated from surgeons who were also artists; perhaps due to their innate understanding of what they were portraying. Studying art and developing creative skills can enhance modern surgical practice in many different ways.