AP/ANTH 2210 6.00 Advocate and Educate for Change: Applying Anthropology
How does social science make social change? What do anthropologists have to offer the communities we work with and the world at large? Can we meet the current moment? This course is all about harnessing scholarship for public ends. Through advocacy, policy, and community engagement, it’s about applying anthropology’s methods and insights to matters of local and global magnitude. It’s about doing research that doesn’t just study the world, but engages with it.
Anthropology is often critiqued for its role in colonialism, racial stratification, and for taking community knowledge without community benefit. Reflecting on this troubling history, this course shines a light on research done for and with community. Fittingly, it is an experiential course. While learning about diverse approaches to applied, professional, and ‘public’ anthropology, students experiment with collaborative,
participatory, and decolonial research methods. We reflect on the ethical questions that arise from public, applied, and community-based research.
Course Director (Fall/Winter 24-25): E. Feltes – erfeltes@yorku.ca