The Future of Anthropology

I am now coming to the end of my undergraduate degree and even though I have a general idea about going on to postgraduate study it is still terrifying to have to consider everything that I have learnt and how I can apply this in the real world and what options there are in anthropology.

The latest issue of Social Anthropology begins with an assessment by Don Brenneis, a past president of the American Anthropological Association of the future of Anthropology within academia. Ok so I know this doesn't sound like the most interesting article ever written but for students of the modern discipline it is pretty damn important.

Rather a lot of the article concentrates on criticisms of the current academic scene, such as the way peer reviewing works, funding problems or the 'centralisation, standardisation and transformation' of universities. These are all very real issues for anyone wanting to stay within education past an undergraduate level, made all the more acute by the current economic climate and the relatively tiny size of anthropology departments. Overall the article is quite negative, although Brenneis does conclude that anthropology has a lot to offer institutions.

I personally feel rather more optimistic than that (perhaps because I have never worked within a university). I know that universities and other institutions don't quite have the freedoms and supplies of money that they used to but times have changed and they probably never will again, so there is not much we can do about it. The issues that Brenneis raises are real, but again they are by and large the best solutions we have for very complex problems, such as peer reviewing.

There is another, slightly different article, written by Spencer, Jepson and Mills, published by the ASA, which looks at what happens to anthropology PhD students when they leave academia. This report is much more positive and concludes that the majority of students make very successful applicants in the real world and that only a few stay within universities. Judging by the tone of Brenneis' article, I would say that they made a very wise choice.

So, I want to know what you guys think.

• Is there anyone planning a career in academia?
• Have you encountered any of the issues Brenneis discusses or do you think they are exaggerated?
• Do you think post-graduate study is worth it in anthropology?

I would also recommend both the articles I have discussed here:
Where do all the Anthropologists go? Research training and ‘Careers’ in Social Anthropology, by Jonathan Spencer, Anne Jepson, David Mills
www.theasa.org/news/careers_research.doc

Anthropology in and of the academy: globalization, assessment and our field’s future, by Don Brenneis.
Social Anthropology, 17: 261 - 275.