The Importance of Anthropology in Fighting Poverty

Anthropology is the study of the ways people live, how civilizations are organized, and each of these have changed through time. It is a way of looking at the world – a methodology of studying all things distinctly human through space and time, and which analyses political, religious, writing, linguistic, and cultural systems. The importance of bringing the anthropological perspective is obvious: human beings are biocultural beings- nothing is ever 100% biological- every person shares similar needs, but the ways in which we provide for those needs changes across time and space, and is largely determined by the frames of reference, experiences, and shared understandings undertaken by our people. What is important to understand here is that culture is learned, shared, symbolic, patterned, and adaptive, and anything that goes without saying came without saying. Thus, it is imperative that our colleagues on this project understand the importance of symbols, rituals, belief-structu res, structural violence, and frames of reference for the people we aim to help. Without this crucial lens, it is quite plausible that the project would be unsuccessful as oftentimes individuals in the fields of government, economics, medicine, agriculture, education, and engineering rely on the best practices within their respective fields and apply almost a cookie-cutter method to the solutions offered when the understanding offered through anthropological analysis could make success significantlyShow MoreRelatedThe And Opportunity : Integrating Anthropology, Ecology, And Policy Through Adaptive Experimentation1221 Words   |  5 PagesScott Yabiku, and Charles Redman. Problem and opportunity: integrating anthropology, ecology, and policy through adaptive experimentation in the urban US Southwest. Human Organization 66, no. 2 (2007): 125-139. 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