Applies anthropological techniques to the study of contemporary American behavior

Description

Conducting original fieldwork is a science and an art.  Anthropology students can easily get an A in Aborigines without ever understanding their own tribal behavior.  American culture, like all others, has its share of ritual and myths, ranging from singles bars to sports events.  This volume guides undergraduate students to correct scientific methods and successful personal approaches in their work.
Researching American Culture covers the universe of ethnography: the researcher’s role, interviewing, questionnaire construction, ethics, coping with the limitations of time and space.  Guides for researchers, original research papers by undergraduates, and essays by professional anthropologists are all included. By applying anthropological techniques to today’’s behavior, students learn to be objective about their own culture and skeptical about practices rarely questioned.
 

Conrad Phillip Kottak holds a doctorate from Columbia University and is chairman of the graduate program in anthropology at the University of Michigan.  He is author of two major introductory textbooks, Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity and Cultural Anthropology, and an advanced study, The Past in the Present: History, Ecology, and Cultural Variation in Highland Madagascar.