Applied Anthropology, Mary LaLone

Examples of Dr. LaLone's
Applied Anthropology Class Projects:

Spring 2007 class project:
Mt. View Cemetery Project
Spring 2005 class project: Coal Mining Heritage Museum & Video Documentary Project
Spring 2003 class project: Farm Heritage & Community Park Project
Spring 2001 class project: The Selu Living History Museum Project
Fall 1999 class project: The Coal Mining Heritage Park Project

Click on the connections above to
see what classes have done.

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		Examples of Dr. LaLone's Applied Anthropology Class Projects: Spring 2007 class project: Mt. View Cemetery Project Spring 2005 class project: Coal Mining Heritage Museum & Video Documentary Project Spring 2003 class project: Farm Heritage & Community Park Project Spring 2001 class project: The Selu Living History Museum Project Fall 1999 class project: The Coal Mining Heritage Park Project Click on the connections above to see what classes have done. _______________________________________		Class Description: The purpose of this course is to provide an understanding of the ways in which anthropological knowledge, methods, perspectives, and research can be applied in dealing with real-world problems. Applied Anthropology involves putting anthropology "to work," or into "practice" or "action," to work with the public and solve contemporary human problems. While Applied Anthropology is the most commonly used term, today it is also referred to as Practicing Anthropology and Public Anthropology. Applied work spans all four fields of anthropology. Applied Anthropology practitioners work in economic development, community planning, business, tourism, refugee camps, in programs providing health care and educational assistance to communities and groups, in cultural preservation and resource management, in forensics, as well as in many other areas in which anthropological knowledge of human behavior and cultures can be put to use. Former coal miner Fred Lawson demonstrates mining equipment for the Applied Anthropology class team.
		Throughout the semester we do two activities concurrently: 1) A survey of Applied Anthropology through class seminar/discussions/readings. The topics covered include: - the history of developments in Applied Anthropology; - methods and ethics; - survey of the variety of topics/research in which Applied Anthropology practitioners work; - exploration of current directions and career opportunities in Applied Anthropology. 2) Applied Anthropology Class Project: At the same time, the class participates in a full-semester class project designed to give actual hands-on experience doing Applied Anthropology. The projects usually involve hands-on work in the fields of anthro-planning and cultural heritage preservation/interpretation (the professor's specialties). Our class assumes the role of an applied anthropology consulting firm that has been commissioned to investigate the possibilities for developing a specific community project and for proposing a set of potential planning ideas for that project. The class members work as a collaborative "consulting team," under Dr. LaLone's direction, to tackle the project and write a consulting report which presents the team's recommendations. The final consulting report is presented to our community clients and also provides student team members with excellent resume entries. See the box above for examples of the projects undertaken by previous classes.
		Author: Mary B. LaLone, mlalone@radford.edu Radford University Please request permission before using photos from this site.