 |
1127 Park Street -- Grinnell, IA 50112-1690 Phone 641-269-4940; FAX 641-269-4946 Contact Us |
| |
1127 Park Street -- Grinnell, IA 50112-1690 Phone 641-269-4940; FAX 641-269-4946 Contact Us |
|
|
American
Studies
|
Anthropology
Choosing your major was one of the most significant decisions of your college career. Your passion for anthropology is one you share with your peers, professors, and alumni/ae. Students choose to major in anthropology for different reasons. Read some of the reasons alumni/ae chose an anthropology major: Alumni/ae Comments "Anthropology was a good choice. I tried out two other majors before that in science and in English but I found those too constricting. Anthropology allowed me to think freely." "While choosing my second semester freshman schedule, my sister (who also went to Grinnell) suggested that I try out anthropology. I had never heard of it before I went to Grinnell. I had selected a Native American subject for my tutorial (therefore my advisor was Mr. Jon Andelson) which familiarized me with anthropology. I tried a few classes and enjoyed it a great deal. I come from a Native American background and thought this would help me learn more about Native Americans. Being an anthropology major has led me in a roundabout way to learning more than I ever could have hoped about my Oneida heritage. " "I originally planned on being an English major but that involved only reading, writing, and research, and I wanted to apply what I learned toward something. Anthropology as a major is no more outdated than English is outdated because it's a basic discipline that is applied to many aspects of life as well as business. I've used what I learned in anthropology in my career as a reporter, then as an international market researcher, then as a cross-cultural trainer." "I've always done things that I found interesting. Anthropology is inherently fascinating to me." "Anthropology offers the broadest kind of training you can get. It's a good way to tie down social studies into concrete examples." "Anthropology was a great choice. I was a math major for the first three years and switched late. I fell in love with archaeology." "I had considered either sociology, anthropology, or economics as majors at Grinnell. Anthropology was the most interesting because of my background growing up in West Texas, and pre-college experiences working on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in southern New Mexico during the summers. I was most interested in a broad liberal arts background, so the choice at the time didn't seem so relevant. It was a good choice for me overall. I knew I would go on to graduate school to develop some more specific skills, but at least received a very solid broad-based education at Grinnell." Faculty Comments "What type of student should major in anthropology? A student who is stimulated by diversity, including a diversity of cultures, of approaches to the study of the human condition, and of time frames. A student who enjoys working with living people (and other primates!). A student who enjoys both humanistic and scientific approaches to a field. A student ready to examine his or her own values and world view with a critical eye. A student interested in other times and places." "It
is almost a truism today to observe that we live in a shrinking
and interconnected world. Anthropology has always looked at other
cultures, even when other disciplines were not. We have a long
tradition of studying the other, and of studying how Western
culture has impacted other cultures (and vice versa) over time.
The world today needs 'cultural brokers,' people able to work
in one culture and translate its reality to another, and anthropology
prepares you for this. We are also in need of a 'long view' of
the human condition in order to assess better where we are today
and where we are tending. Anthropology provides this as well." You will use the skills you develop as an anthropology major every day in whatever environment you decide to work. Alumni/ae and faculty offer their thoughts about the kinds of skills a major in anthropology will provide: Alumni/ae Comments "Anthropology
developed my analytical skills, writing skills, and my ability
to interact with people. I learned to work as a member of team.
Everything in my job is focused on teamwork." "My major helped me develop a sound foundation in anthropology and the ability to write well. I use both of these regularly in my job." "Two of the most important skills necessary to perform as a paralegal involve the ability to organize a variety of complex information and the ability to complete research projects and communicate the results, both orally and in writing. Every day, I either have research I do for my attorneys or I review incoming cases and draft legal documents. My Grinnell education gave me the opportunity to do this in a classroom setting. I have found my anthropology degree to be helpful in learning about my client agency's work environment and their corporate 'culture.'" "Anthropology gave me the ability to ask questions. Linked within that, it gave me the ability to understand the real meaning behind words that people use to talk about culture." "Anthropology helped broaden horizons and helped me be more open-minded to other cultures." "It gave me the background to hone my skills later." "Anthropology teaches you how to deal with people. In my work, we work with five different native tribal groups." "My major, and especially some world-class professors I had, taught me important critical thinking skills, improved my very raw writing skills, and analytical skills. I also learned very useful lessons about academic rigor and integrity. The intrinsic value in doing a good job and maintaining certain standards was drilled into me at Grinnell - something that has proved invaluable to me to this day working for the federal government in Washington, D.C." Faculty Comments "Students
learn to think comparatively, learn field research skills (ethnographic,
ethological, archeological), learn to approach topics and problems
both empirically and theoretically. And of course students learn
oral and written communication skills. " Anthropology majors have selected a wide variety of careers from physician to editor, from archaeologist to attorney. As you can see from the following list of alumni/ae job titles of anthropology majors, you are not your major! Alumni/ae Job Titles Physician How will
you decide what kind of career to pursue? Will it follow your
major? In what way? Both alumni/ae and faculty emphasize the
importance of researching different kinds of careers. There are many ways to research career fields of interest to you. The most common way is to complete an internship. Alumni/ae who have held internships or participated in career previews have lots of advice to offer. Here are some samples of previous American studies majors who have completed internships in a variety of areas: Alumni/ae Comments "I
did an internship working with the Hmong in Des Moines. This
was very useful and I almost went to Vietnam because of it." "I did not do an internship while a student at Grinnell, but I found that the internships I did in graduate school were instrumental in career development. They give great experience and it's a start at networking within your chosen field. They can lead to real jobs and the experience gives you an idea of what it is really like to work in that field." "I did an internship with MICA in Grinnell which was interesting and gave me a sense of some of the biases people have here. It was an important personal development experience." "I interned in Washington D.C. at the National Museum of American History, working with the military history division and the Native American Indian division. Great experience!" Faculty Comments "Anthropology majors do all kinds of internships: social service agencies, museums, environmental organizations, women's health organizations, Planned Parenthood. Many do an internship on a study-abroad program (e.g. ICADS in Costa Rica) that opens up additional possibilities." Alumni/ae Comments "Diversify. This is the only time you'll have to take such a diversity of courses - Russian literature, French, etc." "Choose
anthropology because you love it! There are not many high-paying
jobs in the field, so make sure it is what you really want to
do. Also, try lots of different areas withing anthropology; there
is a wide variety of things to do. Talk frankly with your advisor
and to others about the different ways to pursue an anthro-related
career. If there is a topic you would like to explore that Grinnell
might not offer, develop an independent study course. And finally,
definitely do at least one internship or get some kind of practical
experience early on (before graduate school) to get a better
idea of what it might be like." "Study abroad is important. Don't lock yourself in. I focused on ethnography and urban planning. Since I've been in the work world, I've realized how many interesting jobs there are out there." "I recommend thinking of how you can apply your love of other cultures and other people in a real life setting." "Follow your heart. Be practical and consider your options. Don't get away from what you enjoy. What keeps you going eight hours a day is something that you really find interesting and important." "Internships, volunteering, and seasonal employment will open a lot of doors for you." "It's a great decision to major in anthropology! Understanding different groups is so vitally important today for industry, government and society. It is so important to learn how to 'step away' from one's own culture to try and take a long-term view of where we are going. I think that is very hard for many people in the business world to do, partly because they don't have free time to think, and partly because they have not been trained to look on the horizon beyond the confines of just their business sector, taking into account the larger society in which they are nested. Understanding more about other cultures, or the collapse of ancient great civilization centers such as Tikal is not irrelevant to understanding how our own mores, system of government, industrial organization set the path today for future failure or success." Faculty Comments "There is no substitute for trying something through internships, summer jobs, career previews. Students should do as many of these as they can, along with taking a diversity of courses in anthropology and across the liberal arts." If you are thinking about graduate school, there are a vast number of graduate programs in the field of anthropology alone. These links provide more information about the different paths you can follow: graduate school, jobs, or other paths. The faculty in the Anthropology Department emphasize the benefits of this major. "Anthropology has always looked at other cutures, even when other disciplines were not. We have a long tradition of studying the other, and of studying how Western culture has impacted other cultures (and vice versa) over time. The world today needs 'cultural brokers,' people able to work in one culture and translate its reality to another, and anthropology prepares you for this." The following are first-hand accounts of the experiences of alumni/ae after Grinnell who have graduated with an American studies major: Alumni/ae Comments "I happened upon my career. I was a grad student in anthropology and there was a need for consulting." "The last three credits I obtained at Grinnell were in Archaeological Field School with Kathy Kamp and John Whittaker. What a blast we had doing some really hard work! We were out in the frost, sun, heat and sometimes rain doing tough physical labor and research for intellectual purposes and having great fun at it! I couldn't keep from loving a career where I was getting in shape, getting a tan, seeing beautiful country, and learning a great deal about Native Americans all at the same time. All in all, I chose this career because of the diversity it offers and because of the love of learning about Native Americans and the past and because I loved field school so much." "I originally thought that I wanted to go into urban planning, but after working in a government agency found I did not like this. Then I remembered my writing interest and secured a reporter job. This led me back into ethnographic researching, analyzing, and writing. At a party, someone told my husband about a market research analyst position that matched my skills and interests." "I
wanted to impact families positively. I was always interested
in business and this is a great way to make business palatable." "I completed a lot of school after Grinnell. I kept doing things that interested me. My first job developed from a graduate assistantship." "Immediately after Grinnell, I worked at an airport in Texas, supervising ground crews, earning a little money that would help pay for the eventual grad school route I wanted to take. In grad school, I earned an MBA in hopes of doing some international work. After my MBA, I gained further international experience serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in Guatemala (one of the best decisions I ever made!), and am now working on domestic and international outreach on the climate change issue for U.S. EPA in Washington, D.C. Peace Corps was valuable to me in helping me obtain my current job with the government. Grinnell was invaluable to me in setting the initial course." Faculty Comments "The imagination is the limit as to what kinds of careers are open to anthropology majors, though I think this would be true of the liberal arts in general. Our students do a wide range of things after they graduate. Among fields which are especially suitable, I would name: urban planning, regional planning, health care delivery, teaching, museum work, work for corporations with an international bent, medicine, public health, social work, environmental work." Of course, Grinnell's Anthropology Department provides advising as you consider questions about your major, internships, gaining experience, and making career decisions. The departmental web page also offers detailed information about the Anthropology major, outlines requirements for its completion, and lists courses. |
| Back to CDO Home Page | Career Development Office (career@grinnell.edu) Steve Langerud, Director 1127 Park Street -- P.O. Box 805 Grinnell, IA 50112 |
Back
to Grinnell Home Page |