This course will introduce a number of employment possibilities for anthropologists outside academia: working in or for business or industrial corporations, development agencies, government departments, mining companies, non-government organisations, land councils, cooperatives, health organisations. We will examine the range of possible political positions, from cooperation with state planners to advocacy, client-oriented research and radical anthropology, and examine the ethical issues involved. Where possible anthropologists involved in such work will be invited to share their knowledge and experience with us.

With these applications in mind we will address the practical and methodological skills that anthropology offers. Practical skills include how to gather both quantitative and qualitative data, how to conduct interviews, how to work within time frames and agenda set by commissioning agencies, how to manage fieldwork relations, and how to present findings in appropriate forms. We will put these skills into practice by undertaking a class project.

By negotiation: 6,000 words

Two hours of lectures and one hour of tutorial per week