SOC 383 Careers in Social Issues: Applied and Public Anthropology and Sociology

Intended for any student with an interest in careers addressing social problems, this course explores how anthropology and sociology work outside the classroom. Diverse fields like health care, government, corporate research, immigration, international development, and more apply anthropological and sociological insights and methods. Further, publicly-oriented anthropology and sociology professors take lessons from the classroom and apply them to the real world. The course starts by examining case studies from such applied and public work. After identifying a particular social issue they wish to address, students will take an ethnographic approach to exploring it, and create dossiers that include relevant research, lists of organizations, necessary skills and methods, and types of work available. By end of semester, students will have informational interviews with professionals working on their chosen issue.