Applied Anthropology!

Applied Anthropology: the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems

This is the general definition I found when looking it up, however, applied anthropology to me represents using my acquired anthropological skills to analyze life in general. Being my last quarter, I have ate, slept, and breathed anthropology for the last year and a half, I feel that through my intense study of the field I have come out on the other side with a new way of looking at life. I can honestly say that I look for ways to apply anthropology to everyday experiences. Through my experience at the Alameda County Community Food Bank I have definitely used applied anthropology to study the strengths and challenges in the day to day running of the food bank. I have analyzed the relationships of the other volunteers there and recognized how the food bank's treatment of its volunteers lends to increased social diversity and awareness. Additionally, I have recognized the need for a detailed study capturing some of the reasons why the food banks services and social welfare programs to not reach everyone in need. I have also recognized the need to examine structural transformations in the economy and how they may affect those who use the food bank and the capacity at which the food bank is able to provide aid. This experience has allowed me to gain insight into a the economic problem of hunger that plagues one in five families in Alameda county (where I live!), while I had an general idea that hunger was an issue it was not until I have seen the scope of this problem for myself that I was able to appropriately understand it. 

Applied and practicing anthropologists build bridges between cultural worlds.  Through study and research of the sub-cultures that surround the food bank, one may be able to decipher important connections and links. In my understanding it seems applied anthropology recognizes the humanity of people along with recognizing cultural differences that may account for certain actions. Through research methods an applied anthropologist can help make policies, programs, and plans that improve human well-being around the world. In applying anthropological techniques to the plaguing problem of misuse of the food bank's programs I could in fact provide solutions and identify issues that are keeping people away from the social programs that are in place to help.