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Real
life issues face theoretical concepts
By Aline Ponce
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
Panelists from
three different California State University campuses will
address pressing questions anthropologists face.
The panel discussion entitled,"The Future of Theory in
Applied Anthropology," is at 6:30 p.m. in the LA4 Building,
Room 104.
The four panelists will talk about how applied anthropologists
use theory to address issues in health, poverty and welfare
reform, business and cultural diversity. Other panelists will
follow and the audience will also have a chance to participate
in the discussion.
"I think it is important to dialogue with students and
faculty about the importance of anthropological problems from
the perspective of those most impacted by local and global
policy changes," said Karen Quintiliani, a speaker welfare-reform
and poverty issues panelist and professor from Cal State Long
Beach and UCLA.
The panelists have years of experience in issues such as poverty,
welfare reform, alcoholism and AIDS by working with communities.
They use a method called participant observation by blending
into a community in order to understand an issue through direct
experience. They also work closely with other disciplines
and community members to solve problems.
"I am interested in hearing what the speakers have to
say about their experiences in this field and how they are
carrying out their work," said Cristina Madrigal, applied
anthropology student.
"I also want to learn about anthropological tools they
use to solve problems," she said.
Students who participate also will be given handouts on careers
in anthropology and will learn skills that are helpful to
them.
"I hope that my emphasis on career-building will benefit
students who are concerned about finding a job post-graduation,"
said Christina Von Meyrhauser, an anthropology professor at
Cal State Northridge.
"This event provides me with a wonderful opportunity
for reaching CSU students with my message," Meyrhauser
said.
She hopes to share with students her experience in socio-cultural
and medical anthropology as well as her experience in advising
and teaching CSUN students about their field of interest within
the field of anthropology.
Ken Erickson is one of the speakers and is a current lecturer
in anthropology at CSULB and CEO of an anthropological research
firm. He helps businesses understand the cultural issues in
product design, marketing and business organization.
"I wanted to participate so more students would understand
how practical and useful anthropology can be," Erickson
said.
Attendees will have the chance to learn how anthropological
method and theory can solve their own problems. Erickson also
will discuss some of the recent research findings on mobile
phones, greeting cards and gay and lesbian studies.
All the panelists hope to bring their experiences and findings
to the table and share them with students and other faculty
members.
"Dialogue is the key to better understand what we learn
in books," Quintiliani said. "Together we energize
and inspire each other to continue working towards personal
goals and our hope to promote social change through sound
research."
The other speaker is Michael Garcia, a professor from Cal
State Fullerton.
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