Growing Under an Acacia Tree: An Open Letter On How To Raise an Anthropologist

Abstract

Although fieldwork is foundational to socio-cultural anthropology, field methods are rarely incorporated into undergraduate classroom curricula. Drawing on experiences from a semester-long field school in East Africa, we provide a student’s perspective on the importance of fieldwork. We argue that bringing the field into the classroom will enrich students’ theoretical understanding, enhance practical skills within and beyond anthropology, and foster an appreciation for cultural difference. We suggest concrete ways in which field methods can be integrated into classroom settings. Finally, we argue that providing access to field methods outside field school settings may work to reduce the economic barriers to the cultivation of an “ethnographic sensibility”.