Introduction

Welcome to Teaching Anthropology for 21st Century Learners. This textbook is the result of years of conversation and collaboration as both editors gleaned insights from teaching at two year and four-year institutions in higher education, working in nonprofit and government settings, and conducting our own research in cultural anthropology. Across all these experiences, we came to see a need for a no-cost option for learners of any background to: 1) easily access core concepts in cultural anthropology and 2) see what those concepts look like when explored through updated contexts and topics. We also saw the need for content to be accessible across diverse settings from regions that do not always have access to high-speed Internet to students and teachers who do not have access to media content behind paywalls.

There were a lot of decisions we had to make along the way. For example, we knew we had to align with core competencies presented in most introduction to cultural anthropology courses in order for this Open Educational Resource to be considered for integration into syllabus development. At times, we were tempted to be more creative and found ways to do this even while retaining some foundational material. Part of the logic behind this decision was informed by the fact that adjunct faculty, lecturers, and other faculty with less power to overhaul syllabi have some flexibility in course design and text selection as long as chosen texts ensure coverage on core competencies. To some extent, this helps to standardize content and quality for students who might be enrolling in introductory courses taught by individuals who represent an often widespread part-time workforce. At the same time, we wanted to push beyond ways that anthropology is sometimes taught and challenge ourselves at every corner to question the notion, “That’s how it’s always taught.” This meant revisiting the discipline’s history to lift up significant contributions from scholars and writers who have not always been included or acknowledged, to engage with multiple perspectives from different geographic contexts, and to create space to feature diverse contemporary anthropologists, including practitioners who are based outside of the United States. Across these efforts, we wanted to challenge the divide that sometimes exists between theory and application, featuring anthropologists who are based inside and outside of the academy.

How to Navigate The Text

Between the launch of this project in February 2020 and through completion in Spring 2023, we have learned so much. We knew we were taking on lofty goals in creating a multi-media set of resources that presented themselves in a cohesive way but could also stand-alone if someone wanted to access the podcasts but not the book or vice versa. Although we planned thoughtfully, we could never have anticipated what 2020-2023 would look like. Like so many of you, we found ourselves juggling personal and professional commitments, all entangled with a range of struggles and successes taking place in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not easy but the partnership between team members that included faculty, practitioners, and student collaborators kept us going as did our shared commitment to the goals of this project. Because a great deal of thought has been integrated into the production of this text, we wanted to provide a few helpful notes to navigate this interactive text. In every chapter, you will find:

• Media resources (blue in-set boxes): These include items such as podcasts, video clips and films that might be useful to integrate into lectures or discussion. Here, we tried to provide a range of formats from video to audio, subscription-based content to free and publicly accessible, and different lengths of time to consume content.
• Current Events & Critical Thinking questions (blue in-set boxes): Here, we have included summaries of each news or popular culture item and full bibliographic reference. You may notice that this section includes full citations for each resource along with summaries rather than embedded hyperlinks. This is intentional. We wanted to provide a section where all readers could engage in discussion, reflection, and critical thinking exercises whether or not they had access to content that might limit access without subscriptions. Where many places in the text have embedded hyperlinks with references in the Appendix, we chose to present all of these items at once so that students and readers could engage in conversations directly while referencing summaries located in one place.
• Podcasts and Profiles (purple in-set boxes): Podcast boxes include a brief description of the anthropologist and the link to the podcast, housed on WGMU’s SoundCloud site, as well as additional publications. Profile boxes appear in question and answer format as we asked practicing anthropologists to reflect on key moments in their career through email exchanges.
• Further Reading (green in-set boxes): This list of resources allows learners to explore additional, related writings if they are particularly interested in the topics covered in this chapter.
• Professional Development (orange in-set boxes): This box includes links to professional development resources for individuals thinking about how to integrate anthropological concepts and methods into their own career development.

Additionally, you might notice that we have included a glossary of terms at the end of the text, compiled by chapter. While some might seem part of everyday language or popular culture at this point, we chose to be explicit in noting a range key terms. This is partly informed by both editors’ experiences teaching diverse student populations, spanning generations, cultural references, and English language fluency. Our hope for all our readers, listeners, and viewers is that you access content in this book and its associated media such as our podcast with growing curiosity and passion for the impact that cultural anthropologists can have as they think about the world and remain active participants in the world.

Commitments to Evolving and Maintaining Resources

Because this is a dynamic resource in digital form, we commit reviewing feedback regularly and updating materials every two years. This includes monitoring links to ensure they are still active, updating examples or revising language to improve clarity and impact based on user feedback. It is important to note that student focus groups led by student researchers were conducted at the inception of this project so that the ultimate users and consumers of these resources drove and informed our design of materials. We also pilot tested this content with students during the second year of the project. We know that this was invaluable in refining and improving our content, but that learning and evolving means we must integrate feedback beyond the publication of this text in 2023. Over time, we want to hear from you so that we can incorporate any recommendations and we learn more about what resonates with individuals exploring these topics for the first time or for the hundredth time.

For more about this project, check out Episode 0 of our podcast which accompanies this book. If you would like to reach out to the team with any questions or feedback, please contact us at: teachingculturalanthropology21@gmail.com