Mid-Term Exam
Anthropology A201, Survey of Applied Anthropology
Spring 2001, Dr. Mullins

The midterm exam is a take-home, open-book, open-notes exam.  You can use any of your course notes to complete the exam, you can consult with me or share drafts prior to the due date, and you can huddle with classmates as long as you do not turn in substantively similar essay responses.  You will be unable to answer the essay questions without full class notes, so obtain them from classmates or visit me during office hours to fill in days that you may have missed.

There are three sections to the midterm.  Your completed exam must include one essay from section I, one essay from Section II, and ALL three essays from Section III.

Answer the questions thoroughly and clearly, and all essays should be grammatically sound and free of spelling errors.  I expect each essay to minimally be a page long.  All exams must be typed, double-spaced, with 1" margins on all sides, and no larger than a 12-pitch font.   You are not required to cite from readings or lectures but should if this improves the clarity of an essay.  Your midterm is due by the end of the day on March 21.  There will be no extensions except for an illness or other reasonable calamity.  All late papers will be penalized significantly.

SECTION I
You MUST answer the first essay.

1.  What are the key elements of applied anthropology as defined in class and by guest lecturers?  How does this appear to differ from "basic" anthropological research that is typically conducted in academic settings?  Many anthropologists had a clear commitment to the people they studied and worked to change inequality long before applied anthropology was really defined, so how and why has applied anthropology so clearly emerged since the 1960's?

SECTION II
You MUST answer ANY ONE of the following FOUR  questions.

2. What does it mean for an anthropologist to be "engaged"?  How is this different from the once-cherished notion of scientific objectivity that all anthropologists were meant to obey in their research?  If applied anthropologists place engagement, critical analysis, and power at the heart of what we do, then how might it change the way we practice anthropology?

3. What is ideology?  Why would applied anthropologists care about ideology?  What is an example of an ideology?  How could anthropologists examine and change the ideology that you have identified?

4. Some applied anthropologists call their research subjects "constituents."  What does it mean to call a group a "constituency"?  How does re-defining the relationship between a researcher and their subjects potentially change the way applied anthropological research is conducted?

5. What are anthropological ethics?  Why would applied anthropologists care about ethics at all?  Anthropologists' primary ethical responsibilities are typically believed to be to the people we are studying.  Why would this be?  Can all anthropological research conform to the interests of the group being studied?  How can anthropologists minimize potential research dilemmas?

SECTION III
You MUST answer ALL of the following three essays.

6. What are the two basic definitions of nationalism?  When did the notion of nations as modern states emerge?  Why did it emerge at that time?  What are the implications of anthropological researchers ignoring nationalism?  Using examples from Loring Danforth and Florence Babb, what is the difference between "civil society" and "neo-liberal" nationalism?

7. What is the difference between "biological race" and "social race"?  Who "has race?:  that is, who is defined by racial categories?  What is "Whiteness"?  What are some potential problems with racial categorization?  Why do Mukhopadhay and Moses aspire to institute a dialogue between physical anthropologists and cultural anthropologists studying race?  How would they spread this understanding of race to other disciplines?

8.  What is NAGPRA?  How does NAGPRA impact research on native Americans in museums, archaeology, and ethnography?  Why do some museum professionals lament repatriation and the research conditions imposed by NAGPRA?  How will NAGPRA impact the interpretation of native American heritage in museums?