My friend and fellow anthropologist Dori Turnstall has just started a blog. She always has interesting things to say, and I think she will be taking it on the road with her as she tours Europe as a Marshall Scholar. Should be an interesting trip!
I read an interesting article on trend forecasting today. I've always found this fascinating (and wonder how much anybody checks later to see if the forecasters were right). The only thing that bothered me about this one, and this is not new, is the claim that what they do is like cultural anthropology. This is not a diss on advertising, marketing, trend forecasting, or any of the other fields that claim to be like anthropology--these folks to interesting work. I am just annoyed at the claim itself. Granted, we anthropologists are not always good at advertising ourselves...in that we offer a holistic approach, and theoretical insight based on our training. So anybody who observes people is now an anthropologist. Or is it just that Americans are so used to sound bites that they don't understand the nuanced differences in anything? Sigh.
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Im trying to figure out a few thngs in hopes that you can help me. Please.
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