Involves Talking to Random People :O

I think it’s almost decided that I will leave university with a degree in Social Anthropology (single honours as opposed to joint with Art History) just a matter of clicking the degree change button. However, with this anti-discipline which I will be calling it as of now, after I believe an anthropologist called Keith Hart with whom I whole-heartedly agree because it is a discipline of everything, contradicting the very notion of a discipline. Anyhow, this term is all about ethnography which means we are meant to do our own mini-fieldwork project on pretty much whatever we like, and based on wherever we are during Easter Break. Of course we could have done it whenever, but the ideal timing is meant to be fieldwork in Easter, 3000 word nightmare post-Easter. Well technically it’s spring break because we go on break after Easter Sunday. So, how flippin’ EXCITING would this be? Mini fieldwork project on well- anything?
And I would agree, if I didn’t happen to be confined in St. Andrews over break and will need to go look at coffee shop or something and have to talk to random people “So I study social anthropology here, would it be ok if I watched you?” Weird much? “So what determines the choice- Starbucks or Costa?” ARGHHHHHHHHHHH…..

Somehow, going and living with Amazonian head hunters with cannibalistic tendencies, shrunken head necklaces and giant machetes (I am perpetuating the myth of what an anthropologist does- but to be fair, that is kind of how it started. We’re talking Napoleon Chagnon and Yanomami here…) seems more appealing than making a participant-observer spectacle of myself in St. Andrews.

There’s a really great cartoon by Gary Larson called “Anthropologists! Anthropologists!” which I cannot post here at the risk of copyright violations and whatnot. But google it, if you’re really interested. Sums up part of this myth of anthropology.