Edited by Alan S. Ryan Bergin and Garvey 2002 CONTENTS Introduction vii Alan S. Ryan 1. The Meaning of Physical Anthropology 1 Alan S. Ryan 2. Teaching Physical Anthropology in a University: The Traditional Career 21 Curtis W. Wienker 3. Teaching Physical Anthropology in the Community College 43 Philip L. Stein 4. The Practice of Physical Anthropology in a Museum Environment 53 Douglas H. Ubelaker 5. Paleoanthropology at Home and in the Field 65 Andrew Kramer 6. Primatology as a Career 85 Kevin D. Hunt 7. The Post-Doc Experience: Is There a Light at the End of the Tunnel? 109 Anne C. Stone 8. Krogman, His Cleft Palate Collection, and Me: or, What Can an Auxologist Do Today? 115 Evelyn J. Bowers-Bienkowski 9. Teaching Anatomy at a University 129 Mark F. Teaford 10. Research Faculty in Medical, Nursing, and Public Health Schools 137 Stephen T. McGarvey and Gary D. James 11. Physical Anthropology, Medical Genetics, and Research 151 Bert B. Little 12. Opportunities in Public Health and International Nutrition 169 Reynaldo Martorell 13. Having Fun-A Jock in Two Worlds: Kinesiology and Human Biology 189 Robert M. Malina 14. Government Research: Links to Biomedicine and Public Health 219 Ralph M. Garruto 15. Private Industry: Research for Profit 241 Alan S. Ryan 16. Independent Consulting: Making Your Own Rules 265 Marilyn R. London 17. Journalism: Bringing Science to the Public 279 Kate Wong 18. Forensic Science as a New Arena for a Human Biologist 285 Moses S. Schanfield Index 297 About the Editor and Contributors 303 EXERPT FROM THE INTRODUCTION Alan S. Ryan The field of physical or biological anthropology is intrinsically interesting and compelling. Students are drawn to the discipline because it sheds light on fundamental questions of interest to everyone. Answers to questions such as What makes us human?, How do we differ from other animals and from one another?, How did we evolve?, and What is the relationship between human biology and culture? provide clues to our understanding of human nature and the evolutionary history of our species since its origins. Interest in physical anthropology has benefited greatly from increased attention from the media, from popular books, and from television series such as NOVA, National Geographic, and Discovery. In the media, the physical anthropologist is often portrayed as a pith-helmeted adventurer, tracking chimpanzees through the forest or discovering bones of our million-year-old ancestors. Although some physical anthropologists truly study chimpanzees and the fossils of human ancestors, many others consider different fascinating subjects. The diversity of topics investigated by physical anthropologists seems endless. Research interests include human and primate origins, primate societies, growth and development, genetics, osteology, human reproduction, forensic science, and nutrition, to name a few. What pulls these different subjects together is that they share interest in the same subject- human beings. Physical anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology. Other sub-fields include cultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. As a whole, anthropology has a wider scope than its sub-fields and encompasses almost everything pertaining to humans. In fact, the traditional textbook definition of anthropology is "the study of humans." What makes anthropology different from other subjects that study human beings and human behavior, such as history, geography, political science, philosophy, sociology, economics, and psychology, is that anthropology considers both biology and culture. Culture is learned behavior. Culture includes the social and economic systems, customs, religion, and other behaviors that are acquired through the process of learning. The joint emphasis on both culture and biology is central to anthropology and vital to our understanding of the human condition. The biocultural perspective of anthropology establishes its strength as a science: it is holistic, in that it takes into consideration all aspects of human life. Another important strength of the discipline is that it is temporally unbounded-it considers humans today and in the remote past. Physical anthropology focuses on biological evolution of humans and their ancestors, the relationship of humans to other organisms, and patterns of biological variation within and among human populations. Physical anthropology is sometimes referred to by another name-biological anthropology. There are several specialties of physical anthropology including primate studies (primatology), paleoanthropology, and human variation, which will be further described in Chapter 1. Because of its broad scope, physical anthropology has borrowed principles from evolutionary biology, comparative anatomy, genetics, medicine, paleontology, zoology, geology, and demography. The knowledge and skills needed for one specialization, such as primatology, may differ greatly from those needed to study another specialization. There is, however, agreement over what basic principles should be taught in physical anthropology coursework. Thus, students acquiring an undergraduate or graduate degree in physical anthropology not only learn the fundamentals of the discipline but also obtain additional training according to their specialization and requirements of the departmental program. The subject of this book is careers in physical anthropology. Most physical anthropology graduate students have traditionally aspired to a career as a college or university faculty member in an anthropology department. Until the early 1970s, such a career was a reasonable expectation. However, during the last decade there has been increased interest in alternative careers. This is largely due to the fact that in the mid-1970s the number of new Ph.D.s in physical anthropology that were produced exceeded the job market for positions in U.S. anthropology departments. Formal recognition of this crisis was made in 1982 when the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) established an ad hoc committee to study and act upon the problem. In 1985, the ad hoc committee was elevated to the status of a standing committee (Career Development) and in 1990, the AAPA gave the committee funds to produce a brochure devoted to describing nonacademic careers for physical anthropologists. The brochure was distributed to every anthropology department in the United States. Subsequently, the Career Development Committee has presented a series of symposia at the annual meeting of the AAPA that consider the nature of the academic job market and ways to help graduate students prepare for and find satisfying alternative positions. Because physical anthropology has a strong biocultural emphasis and its subject matter is enormously diversified, today's students of physical anthropology have a wealth of potential nontraditional career opportunities. WHERE TO ORDER Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881 Phone: 800-225-5800 Fax: 203-750-9790 Website: www.greenwood.com PRICE: $69.95 ISBN: 0-89789-693-9 Book received: 8-20-02 Posted date: 9-12-02
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