Peer Response Guidelines: For your responses to the initial posts of at least two of your peers, look first for those peers who selected different types of nonacademic work than you selected. Did your peers accurately describe what anthropologists do in those work environments? How might the anthropologists in those work environments practice the principles of cultural relativism?

Classmate # 1 Micheal

I have found this course interesting because of the complexity of what “culture” is. The two fields that I would explore more of, are cultural anthropology and biological anthropology.

Cultural anthropology focuses on the study of human societies and the many elements of the culture. As an organizational leadership major, culture fascinates me and I can view an organization or company similar to a community or society. By using taking some of the knowledge from this course, I will be able to keep an unbiased viewpoint, as I look at company cultures, what makes them great or what makes them poor environments.

Biological anthropology focuses on the study of genetics, health, and evolution within society. The reason I chose biological anthropology is that I have a fascination with genealogy as well as the new DNA mapping tests available. These new tests allow us to learn more about our past through genetics. For example, what regions our ancestors are from, the time frame they migrated etc. I wish there was more time to learn more in-depth biological anthropology. One of the benefits of doing biological anthropology is the potential health implication once research has been completed. It could help us better understand and create a course of action that benefits our community.

Shane McGuire

Classmate # 2 Nicholos

I chose to discuss non-academic anthropology work that is currently being done for our US government. The government employs many anthropologists in non academic fields. The two I chose for this discussion are forensic or physical anthropology and natural resource management. The ladder is the field in which I one day hope to find a career. I chose these two work environments as they both interest me personally.

A forensic or physical anthropologist typically deals with bones and sometimes cadavers, to help identify human remains as well as even cause of death. This is valuable not only to law enforcement but also to archaeological digs or government mandated projects where human remains are involved.

Natural resource management utilizes anthropologists who many times possess a physical anthropology background. These individuals can help manage population movements into natural areas, help create and implement sustainability programs, or even help support fish and game and their efforts in conservation. SNHU has an environmental sustainability focus in the anthropology course of study that aligns with these types of careers.

Upon reflection, I hope to find a career supporting sustainable programs like solar and even forestry, and this course can help me understand the core ideas of a degree in cultural anthropology. I think what I like most about this class is that it is much like Janet Six said: a user's manual for the human race. I grew up similar to Caroline Riviera, in a mostly white culture small town USA. When i went to college and began to travel, I discovered culture. With the help of this class I can now better understand other cultures and exercise cultural relativism in my daily interactions. This is a completely different view vs the one I left high school with, and even the view I held before this program. Courses like this help me add more and more pieces to the puzzle that is the human population. I have a broad, visionary style perspective and cultural anthropology helps me to make sense of what I see and how I interpret it. Great class and nice to have shared these discussions with you all.