Applied Anthropology: A Career-Oriented Approach

This is a textbook, written for junior/senior level courses in applied anthropology offered at universities. As such, it is very good. I found it to be clear and easy to read and interesting too. I used it in a graduate course, where students found it to be too basic. The book accomplishes two things. First, it is an account of the history and practice of applied anthropology. Second, it introduces students to a wide array of possible career paths. This should be part of every anthropology curriculum. The book focuses almost entirely on cultural anthropology. Frankly, at the undergraduate level, I think we need a four-field applied text. The book begins with chapters on method and theory, the history of applied anthropology, and ethical practice. It offers very good coverage of the anthropology of development, health and medicine, and business. it is unusual to have chapters on the uses of anthropology in advocacy, social marketing, social work, and law enforcement, but I think this is at the expense of more relevant topics, such as environmental anthropology. The book concludes with a chapter on "finding a job," with some useful advice. Like most textbooks produced by textbook companies, it is grossly overpriced. Hopefully, someone will write a good introduction to applied anthropology and publish it through a university press for half this price, because it needs to be accessible to every anthropology major.