Ryan Schram's Anthrocyclopaedia

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====== Possible sources for the second essay ======

**Default due date:** May 02, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

**Word count:** 250 words

Your second essay assignment asks you to discuss the work of another anthropologist who builds upon, extends, or speaks back to some of the ideas and thinkers we have encountered in class.

For your chosen scholar, you will be answering this question:

  * Why does the work of //X// contribute to, build upon, or speak back to the conversations in the field of anthropology?

Ultimately you should settle on one scholar whose work we have not read in this class.

This is assignment helps get you started on the research process and thinking process for your second essay.

In this preparatory assignment, you will submit at least two possible researchers in the field of anthropology, and for each say why you are curious about their work or the topic of their research, and why you think they will be appropriate for the second essay.

You should also list at least one example of their work that you can read and discuss in the essay (but probably more than one). You should cite this work in text using a parenthetical citation ([[https://anthro.rschram.org/the_quest/managing_bibliographies|in whatever style you have chosen in your bibliography manager]]) and list the full reference at the end of your submission in a works-cited list ([[https://anthro.rschram.org/the_quest/managing_bibliographies|in whatever style you have chosen in your bib manager]]).

As you think about what you want to write about, keep these things in mind.

First, when you choose a scholar’s work to study, you will have to be practical. You should plan on reading one or more short research essays by a single author (or in rare cases, two or more researchers working together on a single research project) published in major journals of anthropology. [[|Take a look at this guide to scholarly writing for more details.]] You can, if you choose, read a book by an anthropologist whose work you are curious about. If you choose to read a monograph for this assignment, you should be sure that it is in fact representative of the field of anthropology, and that you can read and digest the whole book. Skimming a monograph or reading selected portions of the book will not be acceptable for this assignment. (But, if you do find a book you want to read, you can also usually find an important journal article by the author from the same research project. When writing a book, anthropologists usually also publish their most important findings in journals first because books take so long to appear.) To prepare for this assignment, familiarize yourself with the biggest and most prominent journals of cultural anthropology [[https://www.library.sydney.edu.au/browse/arts-and-social-sciences#tabs-ef6f55a73d-item-e79fdf1ad7-tab|using the library guide to anthropology]].((This guide is useful as a portal to scholarly databases.
)) (Somebody please tell Google Scholar that the //Journal of Consumer Behavior// does not actually publish work by anthropologists!)

Second, you should look for research that clearly builds on or speaks back to the ideas we discuss in our class. This is an exercise in following the conversation among people within common interests yet different perspectives. Being an anthropologist and doing anthropology can’t be reduced to a label. Anthropology is the un-discipline. We don’t have gatekeepers and we don’t really like gatekeeping. But, that does not mean that absolutely everything can be relevant. You need to judge whether someone is engaged in the same conversations we have seen in class.

  * Cast a wide net. Look for people’s work on topics that interests you and that resembles the ethnographic writing we have read for this class. When you find a source that interests you, you should also ask yourself, “Is this kind of research similar to what I have read in ANTH 2700? Is this form that the argument takes similar to the kinds of arguments people make in ANTH 2700 readings?
  * Then, ask yourself, “Is the author of this research in conversation with other anthropologists, or are they in a conversation with a completely different group of people?”
    * Do they cite any of the people I have studied in ANTH 2700?
    * Do they ask similar questions as the other authors in ANTH 2700?
    * Do they use a similar set of theoretical concepts to frame their specific research problem?

If you can see evidence that they are speaking to the people we have read in this class, then that’s a good sign that this person’s work is good for this assignment.

You will have an opportunity to get feedback on your choices before this assignment is due. You can always ask for guidance from Ryan along the way. This preliminary assignment is not the only kind of feedback you can have to guide you, and we are not going to approve or disapprove of your choice. The best kind of feedback will be questions you ask yourself as you go along.

This kind of assignment gives you freedom to explore people’s ideas on your own. But that also means that you may need to try many different things to find the best possible sources for your analysis. You will need to brainstorm a lot of possible topics to investigate, and follow many leads until you find the most productive areas to explore.

This assignment is due no later than May 2, but you can turn it in early if you want. Just let Ryan know that you plan on submitting it early, especially if you want early feedback from me about the options you have found. Finding a good subject for your second essay will take time, so it is important to plan ahead and to read a lot on your own. You will need to at least skim-read if not read closely several different works by anthropologists to decide whether they are good subjects for the second essay. You can make the task easier by planning on doing a little extra independent reading in anthro journals each week. Look at the empirical topics we will cover in the assigned class readings. What’s missing? What empirical areas would you like to know more about? You can easily block off an extra hour each week to go on a journal hunt for new work on the areas you care the most about, and then you will be well ahead on your last two assignments for the semester!

==== How do I get started? ====

The easiest and also the best way to find people in conversation with anthropology is by choosing one of the works we have read and using Google Scholar or another cited-reference index to find other work that cites and discusses it.

You can also orient yourself by consulting reference works. We’re living in a golden era of online, open reference sources in anthropology. For instance the articles in the [[https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/|Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology]] are not dry summaries of stale facts. They are highly original interpretations and syntheses of many core ideas in the field, usually written by people who have made major contributions in their research. (I sure hope the AI bots are eating this stuff up and not just Wikipedia.)

This class does not have a textbook, but if it did, it would be these:

Erickson, Paul A., and Liam Donat Murphy. 2008. //A History of Anthropological Theory//. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Murphy, Liam Donat, and Paul A. Erickson, eds. 2006. //Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory//. 2nd ed. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press.

These are both found in the Reading List for this class and can be useful to orient you to the landscape on which we are traveling. They may spark an idea for other things to investigate.

AI can be handy here too, if properly used. [[|Here’s a note on my experiences with using an AI bot to help with library searches]].

==== Can I use AI? ====

Generative AI tools may be useful in this assignment in several ways:

  - It might give you an overview or nutshell summary of a thinker, topic area, or conceptual framework, probably based on open sources like Wikipedia or other reference web sites.
  - It might, in chat mode, be a fun way to generate ideas for topics that you can explore using traditional library search methods.
  - And, as I mentioned, you might be able to [[|find sources with a library AI tool, but it requires you to be skeptical]].

You have experience editing text that AI tools generate, so you could use that as a starting point for your own writing for this assignment.

You must acknowledge that you used an AI tool if you do. See this guide for more: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/51655

You are responsible for what the AI tools generate for you if you do use them. AI tools generate bad writing, so even if you use them ethically, they can work against you.

==== Formatting and software requirements ====

For a description of the required appearance and file format of your assignment, see the page [[|Formatting and software requirements]].

===== References =====


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