November 18, 2010

Anthropology Group Restyles Its Offerings to Lure Nonacademics

Nonacademic Members Push Changes in Anthropology Group 1

Susana Raab for The Chronicle

Cathleen Crain, an anthropologist who runs a consulting firm near Washington: "There is a growing vision of a unified anthropology, where academics informs practice and practice informs academics."

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close Nonacademic Members Push Changes in Anthropology Group 1

Susana Raab for The Chronicle

Cathleen Crain, an anthropologist who runs a consulting firm near Washington: "There is a growing vision of a unified anthropology, where academics informs practice and practice informs academics."

By Audrey Williams June

Scenes from museums, hospitals, federal government agencies, factory floors, and even a bank play on a DVD distributed by the American Anthropological Association, highlighting a host of career options for anthropologists.

But one potential workplace is purposely missing: a college campus. That's because roughly half of all anthropologists work outside of academe—a number that is fundamentally changing an 11,000-member association that has historically catered to college