Thinking outside anthropology's box: Socializing undergraduates through collaborative research, teaching, and service

Abstract

Most undergraduate anthropology majors will not pursue postgraduate careers in the discipline, so the greatest value of anthropological training is in providing a holistic sense of cultural relativity and appreciation for human diversity. However, translating anthropology's value to other career paths is frequently hindered by students’ limited exposure to theory and methods and further complicated by the discipline's emphasis on individualistic fieldwork models and research outcomes. We argue these obstacles can be overcome by engaging students in mixed‐methods collaborative groups that integrate students and faculty in local research, teaching, and outreach. This socializes undergraduates to view anthropology as naturally collaborative and applicable beyond careers in research. In this article, we outline a program that fuses experimental and field approaches to train students in qualitative and quantitative methods and critical thinking. We then detail implementation of this pedagogical model as a generalizable template that trains students for postgraduate careers outside anthropology.

“Involve me and I learn”: Teaching and applying anthropology

“…; Snodgrass ; Stein et al. ). The contributors work to teach students research methods and processes by actually involving them in research.…”

“…Stein et al. () discuss experiences from creating an interdisciplinary research group aimed at providing undergraduate students an appreciation for human diversity. Here, they integrate human behavioral ecology, evolutionary theory, and anthropology in their Human Behavioral Ecology Research Group (HBERG) to educate students through hands‐on experiences outside the classroom in participation in various research projects.…”

Making anthropology relevant: Collaborative assessment in support of graduate and undergraduate success beyond the university

“…Yet, larger class sizes present challenges for faculty in providing substantive feedback and experience that will help undergraduate students from various disciplines acquire critical‐thinking writing skills. At the same time, scholars within anthropology have pointed out the need for more interdisciplinary and team‐based training in undergraduate and graduate courses and increased mentorship of undergraduates that illustrate the applicability of anthropology (e.g., Copeland and Dengah ; Stein et al ). Toni Copeland shows how a project idea that is developed in one anthropology class by undergraduate and graduate students and transformed into longitudinal student‐involved research projects can address these needs at the undergraduate and graduate‐level ().…”

Undergraduates deserve methods too: Using a research laboratory model to engage students in cognitive anthropological research

“…Even then, it is not uncommon for graduate students to learn specific methods only after they are in the field, doing their own thesis or dissertation fieldwork (see Stein et al. ). We contend that there are practical ways to improve the undergraduate educational experience within anthropology (e.g., see Copeland ; Glass‐Coffin ; Snodgrass , Stein et al.…”