Anthropology's Fitness
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ANTHROPOLOGY’S FITNESS: COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL PATHS FORWARD By CHAD R. MAXWELL A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Chad R. Maxwell To those who helped push me ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Dr. Chris McCarty for leading my committee and Dr. Russ Bernard for partnering with him. Without their coaching, pushing, and cheerleading, this day would never have come. Sometimes they believed in me more than I believed in myself and for that my gratitude is significant. I would also like to thank Dr. Jeff Johnson and Dr. Rich Lutz for serving on my committee. These scholars offered great insight, perspective, and collaboration as well. A large part of this work is connected with my career experience in business, advertising, media, and marketing. Dr. Russ Bernard equipped me with the technical skills, anthropological knowledge, and business savvy to help me be successful in that space. He was a consistent career advocate and I’m very thankful for that. A special appreciation goes to my departed friend and anthropologist Dr. Brigitte Jordan. Her wisdom, strength, and spirit continue to be an inspiration to this date. I miss you. I also extend gratitude to the University of Florida Anthropology department for supporting me during my academic pursuits in terms of curriculum exposure, scholarly support, and funding. I am also thankful to Dr. Mark House and Dr. Anna Vick who provided either direct data help or acted as great soundboards during this process. My work is smarter for their help and perspective. And a thank you to Dr. Rebecca Gearhart and Dr. Chuck Springwood of Illinois Wesleyan University who helped me discover and love anthropology. And last but not least, an enormous amount of gratitude goes out to my family and friends who not only encouraged me but helped direct my energy and efforts to 4 achieve this dream. Thank you, Brian Dailey, Lincoln Dailey, Heather Maxwell, Don Maxwell, Linda Bailey, Helen Katz, Amy Ferranti, Matt Soble, Molly Murray, Carole Bernard, Jennifer Coopmans, Alyson Stevens, Jason Leigh, Cristy Levengood, and Judy Maxwell. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 14 Overview of the Problem ......................................................................................... 14 Research Question and Analytical Areas................................................................ 18 2 THE DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION OF ANTHROPOLOGY .............................. 21 Understanding History, Growth, and Divisions ........................................................ 21 Anthropology’s History and Growth Background .................................................... 22 Early Anthropology and the Pioneers of Applied Anthropology (Before 1860s) ........................................................................................................... 23 Ethnology and Cultural Preservation (1860s–1930s) ....................................... 23 Government Anthropology and Policy Research (1930s–1945) ....................... 24 Role Expansion and Policy Work (1946–1972) ................................................ 25 Extension and Division (1973–2000) ................................................................ 27 Abundance, Convergence and Commercialization (2000-Present) .................. 29 The Practitioner-Academic Split .............................................................................. 30 Ethical Complications of Applied Anthropology ................................................ 33 Lack of Reciprocal Engagement between Academic and Practitioner ............. 34 Value-Judgments on Applied and Practicing Anthropology .............................. 34 Perpetuating and Protecting the Academy .............................................................. 36 Academic Reproduction and Replication .......................................................... 36 Unpreparedness and/or Disinterest in Grooming Applied Anthropologists ....... 38 Theoretical and Representation Breakdowns ......................................................... 39 Anthropology’s Purpose and Value Fragmentation ................................................. 41 Discipline and Department Separations .................................................................. 45 The Promise of Four-Field Anthropology .......................................................... 48 The Reality of Four-Field Anthropology ............................................................ 49 Resolving Four-Field Anthropology .................................................................. 52 Summary and Discussion: The Discipline and Profession of Anthropology ............ 54 3 THE BUSINESS AND BRAND OF ANTHROPOLOGY .......................................... 56 Understanding the Brand, Product, and Competition .............................................. 56 6 Anthropology’s Brand: Examining Definitions, Status, and Marketing..................... 57 Defining Brand Personality and Brand Relationships. ...................................... 57 The State of Anthropology’s Brand ................................................................... 58 Anthropology’s Brand Marketing and Communications .......................................... 63 Products of Anthropology ........................................................................................ 67 General Anthropological Products .................................................................... 68 Anthropology Practitioners as Product ............................................................. 70 Skills as Products ............................................................................................. 73 Ethnography as Anthropological Product ......................................................... 76 Ethnography and anthropology are not synonyms ..................................... 81 Quality control and ethnography ................................................................ 82 Certification and the ethnographic product................................................. 84 The ROI on Anthropological Product and Brand ..................................................... 86 Anthropology’s Competitors and Competitive Landscape....................................... 88 Other Professionals as Competitors of Anthropology ....................................... 89 Interdisciplinary, Transdisciplinary, and Multidisciplinary as Competitors and Collaborators ................................................................................................. 91 Summary and Discussion: The Business and Brand of Anthropology .................... 93 4 THE HIGHER EDUCATION MARKETPLACE ........................................................ 95 Understanding Structural and Economic Forces and Anthropology ........................ 95 Anthropology and Higher Education Commercialism .............................................. 97 Misconceptions on Careers and Employment in Anthropology ............................. 100 Creating Competitive Faculty and Department Policy ........................................... 103 Summary and Discussion: Understanding Structural and Economic Forces and Anthropology ..................................................................................................... 107 5 DATA METHODS AND ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 110 American Anthropologist Title Analysis ................................................................. 111 Data Collection and Cleaning ......................................................................... 111 Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................ 113 Web of Science Title Analysis of Ethnography and Culture Titles ........................ 127 Data Collection and Cleaning ......................................................................... 128 Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................ 128 Social Listening Analysis ...................................................................................... 133 Data Collection and Cleaning ......................................................................... 133 Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................ 136 The Pull of Anthropology: Google Search Trends Analysis .................................. 152 Data Collection and Cleaning ......................................................................... 152 Data Analysis and Findings ............................................................................ 153 Summary and Discussion ..................................................................................... 157 6 STRATEGIES AND TACTICS TO MOVE