Precollege Education as Applied Anthropology

Abstract

Teaching anthropology, and particularly teaching it to precollege teachers, is an important part of applied anthropology as Erve Chambers writes. Yet most professors of anthropology probably do not see themselves as engaging in applied work. For many, teaching competes with scholarly research, and it is primarily the latter which defines their "professionalism." Worse yet, precollegiate anthropology enjoys even less prestige or professional weight than college or university teaching, even though it is an endeavor in which university or college faculty might be engaged. But anthropology's future depends in part on public recognition. By undervaluing the importance of precollegiate anthropology, therefore, we may undermine the future of the discipline. The core of the problem may well be a failure to recognize precollegiate anthropology as the applied anthropology it is.