ATH 111 Week 1 Discussion

In your first discussion, you will introduce yourself to your peers and explore the basic structure of the field of anthropology, including its subfields, methods of gathering information, and several key concepts.

To prepare for your initial post, be sure to read the required sections in MindEdge, listed under Required Resources in the Readings and Resources section.

After reading the assigned sections, imagine that you work in the human resources department of a very large, multinational organization working on a growing international health crisis. The new director of the organization has decided to eliminate some positions to save money, and some of the first positions the director has suggested cutting are the anthropologists.

Based on the assignments below, your job is to convince the director why your assigned type of anthropologist (based on the first letter of your last name) is a vital member of the organization.

Introduce yourself to your peers and compose your initial post as an email to the director. Be sure to accomplish the following:

·         Define the broad field of anthropology and include an appropriately formatted citation.

·         Define the specific subfield you have been assigned based on your last name and include an appropriately formatted citation for your definition.

·         Identify three specific tasks or ways in which your assigned type of anthropologist could add value to this imaginary multinational organization.

·         Explain why cultural relativism is valuable to the employees of this imaginary organization and why ethnocentrism should be avoided.

Peer Response Guidance: Continue the conversation by responding to the initial posts of at least two peers who were assigned to different subfields. Just as the initials posts were written like emails to the director justifying the anthropologists' positions, the peer responses should be written as if you are the director responding to the email appeals to keep the anthropologist positions.

What else would you, as the director of this imaginary multinational organization, want to know about this type of anthropologist? Did your peers' initial posts include enough details to articulate the value of the anthropologists and save the positions?