Applied Anthropology : The Forgotten Discipline!

Anthropology is the scientific study of human behavior and society. It is an important discipline of Social Sciences. Anthropology has played a significant role in aiding us to understand human behavior and society for a long time. It has developed into an academic discipline with its own distinctive characteristics and features.

Applied Anthropology is the application of anthropological research to solving practical problems in development, public health, administration, industry etc. In other words, it is the application of anthropological knowledge and research methodologies to practical issues, born out of anthropologists’ involvement in administration and development policy.  It was initiated in  the mid twentieth century.

There is a rise in deploying anthropologists in the social field. Anthropologists have taken a step ahead by getting into practical research. Anthropologists, these days, are being hired by government and non-profit organizations to study and evaluate certain issues. They are serving as policy researchers, evaluators, impact assessors, needs assessor, planners, research analysts, advocates, trainers, culture brokers, expert witness, public participation specialists, administrators/managers, changes agent and therapists.

Moreover, working in above mentioned positions has opened vast fields for anthropologists to do applied studies i.e. preserving cultural heritage, linguistics, medicine, economics, human rights, population, women empowerment, urban development, policy making etc.

It is evident that the applied anthropologists can be very helpful in human problem solving. There are two aspects of anthropology; 

Applied anthropologists tend to explore changes and stability in specific cultural systems through provision of data, initiation of direct action and formation of policy. All this is based upon the methodologies that an applied anthropologist applies to draw a relationship between information, policy and action. Information is collected through research to formulate policies in order to initiate an action accordingly. All this process is later evaluated by social impact assessment strategies.

Lastly, it is evident that applied anthropology is a significant discipline which can play an important role for society. Applied anthropology has developed into quite a professional branch after all these years of improvement. It can be pivotal for community development through advocacy and adequate social marketing. Applied anthropology has successfully addressed many issues through its specialized techniques in the fields like child literacy, women empowerment, gender violence, domestic abuse, mass awareness campaign, unemployment etc.