Anthropology and the Public Interest

Fieldwork and Theory

1st Edition - January 1, 1976
Editor: Peggy Reeves Sanday
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 7 0 3 9 - 5

Anthropology and the Public Interest: Field work and Theory provides an understanding of how culture affects human lives, and uses this understanding in formulating and… Read more

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Anthropology and the Public Interest: Field work and Theory provides an understanding of how culture affects human lives, and uses this understanding in formulating and implementing domestic social policy. This book defines basic research as contributing to theory, knowledge, and method that contributes to the advancement of social science. Organized into four parts encompassing 19 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the greatest potential payoff for the advancement of social science and for enlightened social programming. This text then presents an insightful discussion of why cultural differences among people have gone so largely unrecognized. Other chapters consider the cultural or language processes of contemporary U.S. populations. This book discusses as well the changing environment that gave rise to the tremendous growth in academic anthropology. The final chapter deals with social indicators research and discusses the potential role of anthropology in such work. This book is a valuable resource for anthropologists.

List of Contributors

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I Anthropologists' Role

1 Some Reflections on the Contributions of Anthropologists to Public Policy

Introduction

Policy-Related Research in Our Past

Types of Policy-Related Professional Activity

Problems and Frustrations

Opportunities for Clarification

2 Intercultural Expertise and Public Policy

3 The Past, the Present, the Future: Public Policy as a Dynamic Interface

4 Training Anthropologists for Effective Roles in Public Policy

II The U. S. Public Culture: Attitudes, Themes, and Behavior

5 A Sense of Success: Heredity, Intelligence, and Race in American History and Culture

Hereditarian Thought and European Expansion

English Assessments of Africans

Anglo-American Assessments of Afro-Americans

Change and Permanence in American Culture

References

6 Cultural and Structural Pluralism in the United States

Can the Schools Make a Difference?

Impact of Social Science Knowledge on School Legislation

Meaning and Use of the Concepts Cultural and Structural Pluralism in the Social Sciences

Cultural Pluralism in the United States

Structural Pluralism in the United States

Strategies for Change

Conclusion

References

7 The Cultural Context of American Education

The Cultural Context of American Education

Discussion: A Simultaneous Equations Approach to the Analysis of the Educational Process

Conclusion

Appendix: Brief Description of Variables Used in Table 7.1

References

8 Dropping Out: A Strategy for Coping with Cultural Pluralism

Some Behavioral Consequences of Cultural Pluralism

The Effects of Cultural Pluralism on the School Behavior of Puerto Rican Children

Procedure

Results

Discussion

References

9 Gatekeeping Encounters: A Social Selection Process

Introduction

The Fieldwork Experience: Discovering the Gatekeeping Encounter

Collecting Evidence on Gatekeeping Encounters

Converting Raw Data into Evidence

Asymmetry Segments Code

Implications for Policy and for the Cumulation of Larger Samples

References

10 Two Theories of Discrimination

Introduction

Definitions

Employer Discrimination: A Traditional View

Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility

Employer Discrimination: Interdependent Utilities

Discrimination Models

Employee Discrimination

Conclusions

References

11 The Plight of the Ethnic Candidate: A Spatial Analysis

Introduction

Theoretical Foundations

A Model of Ethnic Politics

Implications and Conclusions

Appendix

References

12 The ERA: Law, Custom, and Change

The Arguments

Assumptions Underlying Anti-ERA Arguments

Conclusions

References

13 Economically Cooperating Units in an Urban Black Community

Introduction

Setting

The Structure of Economically Cooperating Units

The Functions of Reciprocity

Conclusions: The Functions of Poverty in a Complex Society

References

14 Policy Planning and Poverty: Notes on a Mexican Case

Introduction

The Mexican Research

Conclusion

References

III The Issues of Language

15 The Language Debate: Education in First or Second Language?

Introduction

A Review of the Major Issues

Empirical Comparisons of the Two Approaches

Summary and Conclusions

References

16 Language, Communication, and Public Negotiation

17 National Policy Programming: A Prototype Model from Language Planning

Introduction and Historical Background

An Optimization Model: The Case Study

A Prototype Model

Postoptimality Analysis

References

IV Government and Policy

18 Behavioral Simulation as a Tool for the Analysis of Policy Problems

Introduction

Simulation of the Budgetary Process

A Behavioral Simulation of Changes in a Zoning Ordinance

Introduction to the Simulation of the Granting of Broadcast Licenses

A Sketch of the Behavioral Simulation

Simulation Parameters and Weights

Simulation Performance: Preferences and Decisions

Concluding Remarks on the FCC Simulation

Concluding Remarks on Behavioral Simulation

References

19 Social Indicators: A Focus for the Social Sciences

Social Indicators: A Focus on Measurement

Social Indicators and the Social Sciences

References

Author Index

Subject Index