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Evan Luciano
Dr.Guenzel
ENC 1102-002
March 18, 2013
The Future of Our Past: The Future of Anthropology
One of the biggest problems America faces today is the impact of our national debt on
our daily lives and jobs. It is at a point where adults might not get to retire and their children
might end up starting their lives with a big negative sign in their bank account. Our debt not only
affects us and our pockets it might also affect our education and the discovery of our history.
That’s right, our education about the past! The American debt crisis should not affect the
advancement of the field of Anthropology, but rather aid it; however there is some debate to the
affects of America’s debt on the field as whole whether good or bad. It’s hard to even believe
that this field could take a dramatic turn for the worst, but if history tells us anything, when
money depletes in a country so does its resources, in this case the resource is the field of
anthropology, and for this paper we have anthropologists, government’s, and the public’s
perspective on the issue. Nevertheless to understand the affects of our debt one must understand
what is being affected and that my friends, is the complex study of anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of humans in the past and in the present. Anthropologists aim
to discover the principles of social organization at every level from the most particular to the
universal” (Hann 2). “To understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of
human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological
sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences”(AAA, What is Anthropology?).
Addressing the numerous questions of our past and present, contemporary spread and treatment
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of infectious disease, or globalization, requires us to analyze information and research from the
four subfields on anthropology. Anthropologists are highly specialized in their research interests,
yet they remain generalists in our observations of the human condition and we advocate for a
public anthropology that is committed to bringing knowledge to broad audiences.
“Anthropologists collaborate closely with people whose cultural patterns and processes we seek
to understand or whose living conditions require amelioration. Collaboration helps bridge social
distances and gives greater voice to the people whose cultures and behaviors anthropologists
study, enabling them to represent themselves in their own words” (AAA, What is
Anthropology?). In other words Anthropology provides us with numerous amounts of
information on other cultures, not to mention it allows us to proceed in advancements, which
everyone regardless of race, thought, or political affiliation can agree on, is a good thing for
society. One of the many concerns of anthropologists is the use of knowledge for the solution of
human problems and errors. Historically speaking, anthropologists in the United States have
been instructed in at least one of the four areas: socio-cultural anthropology, biological/physical
anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Anthropologists often integrate the perspectives of
these areas into their research, teaching, and professional as well as in their personal lives.
Strictly speaking, anthropological research is for the good of society as anthropologists
themselves are essentially just solving the problems of the human race. Is it worth it?
According to Hann, many anthropologists have a mutual notion in regards to the affects
of the nation’s debt on anthropology and it’s not a good one. The main concern with
anthropologists is not necessarily if the field of anthropology will continue, but if the lack of
funds will affect the equipment that will be used. As I interviewed anthropology majors across
our campus, I found this statement to be quite well thought of, however there was also a
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resounding answer to not really play into my question due to the fact that many of them believed
that our Nations’ debt was not really going to have that big of an impact. According to them
anthropology has too many positives for the society as a whole that our debt cannot truly
overwhelm the positives we get from this field. One of the key points made in regards to this was
watching how the powers of politics and science played major roles in ancient societies. The
intricacy of the powers worked is a most excellent lesson for our modern-day counterparts. The
major roles that science played in ancient times, is very interesting and could bring hope to their
societies, or devastation. Alongside with it, political powers could make or break their ruling
lands. The two of these worked so well together, it is interesting to see the similarities to modern
day politics and science, and to see how little the concepts have changed. I personally find this
particularly useful; perhaps there are lessons to be learned from our ancestors in this particular
situation that one must delve into more. As originally thought, studying these ancient societies
would aid peoples in better understanding their general situation, and how to deal with the
situations that could arise. I’ve pondered this theory as well as many anthropologists, and must
admit that studying their modern day counter-parts would be more efficient in handling this debt
issue, as they’ve already took the wisdom from their direct ancestors, and the lessons they’ve
learned have evolved with the society to better succeed with the technology that has arisen over
time. This in turn, is why anthropologists believe that the nation’s debt will not have a major
effect of the field of Anthropology, simply because the field displays and provides so much
feedback to the greater cause that our nation as a whole cannot afford to get rid of such a field,
This is anthropologists biggest point in their opinion, simply the importance of their field.
The government themselves however seem to have a slightly different opinion.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment of anthropologists and archeologists
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is expected to grow 21 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations”
(see table 1) (BLS.gov).
Table 1: Anthropologists and Archeologists, Percent change in employment, projected 2010-20
Anthropologists and Archeologists:
Percent change in employment, projected 2010-20
Anthropologists and Archeologists
21%
Social Scientists and Related Workers
18%
Total, All Occupations
14%
Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program
However, because it is a small occupation, the fast growth will result in only about 1,300
new jobs over the 10-year period. More anthropologists will be needed to research human life,
history, and culture, and apply that knowledge to current issues. The government tends to take a
relaxed position on the availability of jobs in the anthropological field itself, but one has to feel
that the government does this all too much. Although the projected employment for
anthropologist is supposed to grow quite significantly, anthropological research is highly
dependent on the amount of research funding; federal budgetary decisions will affect the rate of
employment growth in research. Henceforth, “Outside of research, employment of archeologists
will be largely influenced by the level of construction activity. As construction projects increase,
more archeologists will be needed to ensure that builders comply with federal regulations
regarding the preservation of archeological and historical artifacts” (BLS.gov). It is these
stipulations that anthropologists will make a living. In addition to these traditional research areas,
a growing number of corporations are increasingly relying on anthropological research.
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Specifically, corporations are expected to use anthropologists’ analyses to understand
increasingly diverse workforces and markets, allowing businesses to better serve their clients or
to target new customers. As shown on the Bureau of Labor statistics, the government’s
perspective is pretty sugar-coated however it briefly delineates between the realistic job market
for anthropologists and what they previously portray. “Overall job prospects for anthropologists
and archeologists are expected to be competitive. Those with a Ph.D. and extensive experience
doing anthropological or archeological fieldwork will have the best job opportunities. Although
job opportunities for anthropologists will expand in businesses, consulting firms, and other nontraditional settings, workers will face strong competition for jobs because of the small number of
positions. Archeologists should have the best job prospects in cultural resource management
(CRM) firms, however due to the large number of qualified graduates and relatively few
positions available, jobseekers may face very strong competition” (see table 2) (www.bls.gov).
Table 2: Employment projections data for anthropologists and archeologists, 2010-20
Employment projections data for anthropologists and archeologists, 2010-20
Change, 2010-20
Occupational Title
Anthropologists and
Archeologists
SOC
Code
19-3091
Employment,
2010
6,100
Projected
Employment, 2020
7,400
Percent Numeric
21
Employment by
Industry
1,300
[XLS]
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program
In the public’s eyes everything is affected by the nation’s debt. It is usually overhyped in
the media and Americans tend to take the things we see on TV and hear on the radio too
seriously. Of the people surveyed on campus, most people to tend to think that anthropology as
well as other sciences will take a major hit due to the expenses of research and pursuing new
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discovery. However, in terms of the consumer I got many different opinions regarding the
subject varying from “I don’t care” to a thirty minute long speech advocating the continuing of
anthropology and the implementation of anthropology in third world countries, for third-world
countries not just for the benefit of the US. On another more interesting outlook, I decided to go
to someone a little higher on the political ladder than just UCF students. I conducted a less than
formal interview with none other than former republican candidate Herman Cain. Although I was
only able to talk to him over his show at 3am, he did provide an interesting perspective.
According to Mr. Cain, anthropology is one of many fields that could take a hit if our economy
continues to plummet. Although Mr. Cain focused more on the fact that the job market is already
hard to break into for just about anyone even with a strong college education, not to mention
anthropologists. He also mentioned the change in the US’s minimum requirements for certain
jobs, he states, “the new diploma is a bachelor’s degree and in America nowadays one needs to
achieve much more just to stay afloat, we are robbing from our future generations and it is
despicable” and I, for one, am inclined to agree. Between Mr. Cain and the wonderful students at
UCF one can speculate a change for the worst. All in all, the public’s view on this subject was
enthralling to say the least.
In conclusion the American debt crisis should not affect the advancement of the field of
Anthropology, but rather aid it and in my findings I found that most anthropologists believe there
will be little to no affect, the government believes in little to no affect, and the American
consumer is as sporadic as a chicken without a head. Conversely, we can only speculate for now
the fate of Anthropology. In the end, the mass majorities believe in the future existence of
Anthropology and thank heavens for that. In my own personal opinion, to learn how humanity
worked together to form such mighty, intricate societies is an excellent experience that can truly
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help bring our societies back into a perspective much needed to be seen. However, as for
explaining them we may never. “For we are still very far from any powerful comprehensive
explanation of them-and there is little agreement about how we might analyze these processes or
even about the usefulness of trying to analyze them. If that summary sounds somewhat nihilistic,
it is well to recall that there is much about the pyramids of Egypt, the first written texts of
Mesopotamian civilization, the glory that was Greece and even the grandeur that was Rome, and
so on, that is interesting and rewarding to consider, even if we can’t ultimately and utterly
explain their origins” (Wenke and Olszewski 2007). After all, I hope the public realizes one of
my dad’s old sayings, “you have to know where you come from to know where you are going”
and there is no better field to research where you came from than anthropology itself.
Annotated Bibliography
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1. "Anthropology: The Original Affluent Society." Time 25 July 1969: n. pag. Time
Inc.Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
2. Cain, Herman. Personal Interview. 27 March. 2013
3. Hann, Christopher M., and Keith Hart. Economic Anthropology. Cambridge: Polity,
2010. Print.
4. “Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web.
20 Mar. 2013.
5. "What Is Anthropology?" Anthropology. American Anthropology of Association, n.d. 20
Mar. 2013.
6. Wenke, J. Robert and Deborah I. Olszewski. 2007 Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind’s
First Three Million Years. 5th ed.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York