Reporter Volume 25, No.10 November 4, 1993

By DAVID HIMMELGREEN
Reporter Staff
Anthropology has often been viewed as a science of the exotic and
esoteric. Anthropologists have been described, in the popular
literature, as Indiana Jones in search of isolated tribes, lost
treasures, magic elixirs, and that ever-elusive Big Foot. In reality,
while anthropologists do go to far-off settings to conduct scientific
research, many others stay at home and study real-life problems in our
own backyards. 
	"For a long time I have felt that professional anthropology
was not worth much if it couldn't be applied to the lives of real
people," said Phillips Stevens, Jr., associate professor in the
Department of Anthropology and recent recipient of the Chancellor's
Award for Excellence in Teaching. "Anthropology is uniquely equipped
to address contemporary American problems and issues.," he said.
	Anthropological theory and practice provide a framework for
understanding social issues in a new course, "Anthropological
Approaches to Contemporary Social Issues" that Stevens is currently
teaching to 16 seniors. 
	With their ethnological training and an appreciation for the
importance of culture as a shaper of worldview, anthropologists have
the perspective and methodology to look at contemporary problems in
America in the context of its ethnic and religious diversity, Stevens
said. "This is something that is lacking in many of the other social
sciences," he noted, adding "there is not a single culture for which
anthropology hasn't studied."
	Stevens pointed out that more anthropology is being done in
the U.S. because of its heterogeneity and the fact that it is becoming
increasingly difficult for anthropologists to study traditional
societies. They are difficult to find and political and economic
considerations make international fieldwork difficult to conduct.
	"The aim of this senior seminar is to expose a group of
graduating seniors to the idea that anthropological theory and
methodology can be used to understand the societal problems that are
of great concern to all of us," Stevens said. 
	While the first part of the course covers the traditional
subareas of anthropology such as economic anthropology, political
anthropology, kinship, and cultural ecology, the remainder of the
course is being dedicated to the discussion of contemporary U.S.
issues and problems such as social/economic problems in the inner
city, suburbs, and rural areas; the breakdown of the family and
"family values", gender relations; public education and the schools;
ecology and the market system; treatment of the elderly; child abuse
and neglect; alcoholism and other addictions; violence; incest;
homosexuality and homophobia; racism; anti-Semitism; xenophobia; and
hate crimes.
	Other topics covered in the course include "New Age"
ideologies; alternative medicine and religions; cults; religious
fundamentalism; and satanism, Stevens explained, adding that "as the
Millennium approaches there will be a lot of important religious
activity occurring."
	One of the seminar requirements is for students to get
hands-on experience by doing a research project. "Each student comes
up with a project, writes a proposal which includes a research plan
and proposed methodology," Stevens said. They then go out into the
university or community and become anthropologists, he added. By
conducting these research projects students learn about the "nature of
science and scientific inquiry," Stevens noted, adding that all
college students need this type of training. Hopefully, in the end
they come to understand that "science is a way of knowing," he said.
	The students have chosen a wide range of topics to research,
Stevens said. One is working with a group of AIDS sufferers who are
also victims of a new strain of tuberculosis. Another student is
looking at resettlement of families in Love Canal. One is looking at
attitudes toward abortion and the culture of Operation Rescue, while
another student is sitting in on the meetings of a homosexual support
group in order to examine how homosexuals cope in a homophobic
society.
	"The course has been very beneficial for me," said Kirsten
Hedlund, an anthropology major, who transferred to UB from Cornell.
"The first part of the course has been great because we're getting a
broad overview of anthropology, which is something I didn't get at
Cornell," Hedlund said.
	"Dr. Stevens shows a great interest in what he's doing, and he
explains things well." Hedlund noted, adding that "there is a lot of
open discussion and the students care about what they're learning."
Hedlund, who is working as a volunteer at "Friends of the Night
People" for her research on alcoholism among the homeless, is hoping
to continue her studies in cultural anthropology as a graduate student
at the University of Michigan next year.
	Craig Herman, another member of the class, noted that "While
many other courses don't make you think, this one does. Dr. Stevens
sometimes won't give a direct answer to a question. He wants us to
find the answers ourselves. He's really an incredible teacher who
takes time for students and cares about them," Herman added.
	Herman, who hopes to study osteopathic medicine, is
researching how osteopathic medicine is viewed by physicians and
patients.