MASTERS INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM IN PUBLIC HEALTH ANTHROPOLOGY PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Fall 2011 Students earn an MA degree from Washington State University in partnership with Peace Corps Master s International Program. Peace Corps Area for which participants may qualify: Environment, Public Health. Peace Corps Regional Office: Seattle The Program The Department of Anthropology s Cultural Program at Washington State University (WSU) is partnered with the Peace Corps in offering Masters International (MI) Programs in Environmental and Public Health Anthropology. These programs grant an MA degree in anthropology. All WSU Anthropology MA students complete 33 credit hours, an original research project, and a thesis based on that research. MI students undertake the required field research conjunction with Peace Corps service. Field work through the Peace Corps service offers student-volunteers the following benefits: the opportunity to live overseas for a substantial period of time; Peace Corps exceptional language training; service-oriented learning; paid airfare; paid living expenses, and medical coverage. MI MA students build international work experience in applied anthropology, and familiarity and rapport in a foreign community, which enhances future anthropological PhD and work prospects. Our program combines training in ecological and medical anthropology, cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity, and the conceptual and practical aspects of international development, particularly as costs and benefits of globalization affect environmental and health issues in developing countries. Students may specialize in public health (medical) anthropology. The distribution of credits and courses will be as follows: Curriculum MI in Public Health Anthropology Students are required to take the following courses (19 credits) in Anthropology ANTH 507 Advanced Studies in Culture Theory 3 ANTH 510 Fundamentals of Cultural Anthropology 3 ANTH 537 Quantitative Methods in Anthropology 4 ANTH 554 Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology 3 ANTH 562 Evolutionary Methods & Theory 3 ANTH 591 Topics: Medical Anthropology 3 Subtotal 19 Credits 1
Students will select two Anthropology Elective Courses (6 credits) from the following in Anthropology ANTH 504 Indigenous Peoples & International Development 3 ANTH 519 Human Resources and International Development 3 ANTH 528 Ethnography 3 ANTH 550 Descriptive Linguistics 3 Subtotal 6 Credits Students will select one Health Elective Course (3 credits) from the following in Anthropology ANTH 521 Psychological Anthropology ANTH 563 Anthropology of Life and Death ANTH 406 Anthropology of Epidemic Disease and Bioterrorism Subtotal 3 Credits SUBTOTAL Peace Corps Service TOTAL 28 CREDITS 6 CREDITS 34 CREDITS Program Implementation Students apply to the Department of Anthropology s Cultural stream online through the Graduate School of WSU. The application deadline is January 10 for admission in the subsequent August, and Department of Anthropology only admits students for the Fall Semester. The department requires a statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, GRE scores, transcripts of all colleges and universities previously attended, and a writing sample for the application. Acceptance in the program is decided by a committee that includes all permanent tenured or tenure-track cultural faculty. Applicants are notified of their acceptance in early March. Once students have been accepted into the WSU program, they can apply to the Peace Corps as an MI volunteer. MI students will be on campus for a minimum of 3 semesters 2 semesters of coursework before the Peace Corps experience and 1 semester afterward to write and defend the master s thesis. A total of 6 credits will be awarded for Peace Corps service. Students will not be continuously registered during their PC service to avoid payment of fees during that time. They will however retain access to library, e-mail, and other appropriate student services. During their Peace Corps service, and depending on their selection of courses within this option their and experiential background, PCMI volunteers in this program will be prepared to serve effectively in the following general Peace Corps areas : - Environmental education and awareness - Natural resource conservation/ management 2
- Sanitation and water projects/education - Research to identify health education needs - Community health or nutrition promoters From their anthropology coursework and guidance from the anthropology faculty, MI students will be trained in cross-cultural living and communication, quantitative and qualitative research methods (including rapid rural assessment, participatory rural assessment, surveys, participant observation and interviewing), proposal writing, team work, and conceptual and theoretical approaches to development. In addition their anthropology training will provide them with a broad but solid background in the ways in which cultural factors impact development agendas and can be used as resources for sustainable development. They will acquire a respect for indigenous knowledge, particularly concerning health, environment and resource use. They will be familiar with methods to elicit this knowledge and use it to enhance development projects and goals. The Peace Corps experience will be directly integrated into students academic program in that they are expected to complete a research project that concerns their Peace Corps assignment and its results. Students are most likely to be available for departure overseas in the months of June, July and August. The contingency plan for MI students who are deemed ineligible for Peace Corps service, who elect to terminate their Peace Corps experience, or who must do so for reasons outside their control, is for these students to complete their MA in Anthropology through devising another thesis research project. Outcomes After completing their Peace Corps assignment and the MI degree, we envision that students may a) go on for the Ph.D., b) seek a teaching position in a community college, c) seek employment in domestic environmental or health agencies, or d) seek employment in international development with bilateral or multilateral agencies or nongovernmental organizations. Program Support WSU offers MI students an out-of-state tuition waiver so that all MI students receive the WA in-state rate. We offer at least 4 teaching assistantships for new students each year in the general Cultural Anthropology program. MI students are eligible for this support on a competitive basis. Students may also qualify for teaching assistantships in related departments (general education, biology, environmental sciences, geology, etc.). All WSU teaching assistants receive tuition waivers, a stipend, and health insurance. Students are also eligible to apply for financial aid or grants through the WSU Financial Aid office or Office of Grants and Research Development. When they enter the Anthropology Department, MI students will be assigned a faculty advisor who shares their interests. Students are free to change their advisors any time. The advisor helps the student to decide coursework for each semester, gives advice and 3
suggestions on research topics, helps the student to form an academic thesis committee that includes other faculty, and generally encourages and helps the student through the program. Our department s Cultural Graduate Coordinator also gives an orientation to incoming students and serves as a person to consult should any problems arise. Finally, our cultural faculty is uniquely qualified to assist MI students with preparation for crosscultural living and preparation for work with international development. Our faculty includes specialists in South Asia, Central Africa, Samoa, Latin America and the Caribbean. We have all lived for a number of years in our respective field sites. Some of us have worked directly with international development programs in the areas of health and nutrition as well as resource conservation and watershed management. Contact Person Marsha Quinlan Assistant Professor of Anthropology Department of Anthropology Washington State University Pullman, WA 99164-4910 E-mail <mquinlan@wsu.edu> Phone: 509-335-5405 Fax: 509-335-3999 Dr. Marsha Quinlan serves as the Department of Anthropology s MI Program Coordinator. She serves as the liaison between the policy and procedures of the Graduate School, the U.S. Peace Corps, the Department of Anthropology, and MI Anthropology students. She will oversee and monitor the success of the program, and work with the Cultural Program Graduate Coordinator and the Department Chair in administering and maintaining the quality and viability of the MI program. She will orient MI students. Any faculty in the department s cultural program is available to chair or serve on MI student committees. 4
Appendix 1: Course of Study REQUIRED AND ELECTIVE COURSES FOR MI STUDENTS Required ANTH 510 FUNDAMENTALS OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY - Overview of basic concepts and theory in cultural anthropology based on in-depth analysis of selected theoretical and ethnographic materials. Offered every fall semester. ANTH 554- RESEARCH METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY- This course provides students with training and experience in cultural anthropology research methods (e.g. participant observation, structured and unstructured interviewing, sample surveys). It also covers research design; research ethics; and how to set up research, gain the necessary permissions, etc. Offered every fall semester. ANTH 519- INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES- This course provides training for participation in international development projects. The course covers the history of international development and US foreign aid, cross-cultural living and communication, case studies and critiques of development projects, the role of NGOs, participatory development approaches, and 'women in development' issues. Familiarizes students with development problems and issues and gives them training in team work, so essential in development planning and implementation. Offered every other year. ANTH 562- EVOLUTIONARY METHOD AND THEORY IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY - A graduate-level seminar-based course focusing on the evolutionary analysis of past and present human behavior. Offered every spring semester. ANTH 507 ADVANCED STUDIES IN CULTURE THEORY - Evaluation of major theories and methods and their relationship to problems in cultural-social analysis. Offered every other year. ANTH 591- TOPICS: MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Relationships among disease, curing, culture and environment; non-western medical systems; political economy of health care. Electives ANTH 406 ANTHROPOLOGY OF EPIDEMIC DISEASE AND BIOTERRORISM- Human and world response to epidemics, cultural contexts terrorism, biocultural approaches to epidemic disease, bioterrorism in human history. ANTH 504- INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND DEVELOPMENT- This class gives global and historic perspectives on the complex issues surrounding indigenous peoples and development. It covers the impact of development on indigenous peoples, state policies, and the institutional structures of development. Offered every other year. 5
ANTH 529 SEMINAR IN ETHNOGRAPHY - Methodological, stylistic and craft issues in the process and product of ethnography. Offered every other year. ANTH 537- QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN ANTHROPOLOGY - Prereq undergraduate Stat course. Sampling, exploratory data analysis, inferential statistics, and use statistical software in anthropological research. ANTH 550- DESCRIPTIVE LINGUISTICS- This course covers the basics of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and linguistic analysis. Aside from introducing students to the field of linguistics, training in descriptive linguistics can assist students in either learning second languages or teaching first languages. In addition the course covers sociolinguistics, or the study of culture through language. Offered every spring semester. ANTH 563 ANTHROPOLOGY OF LIFE AND DEATH- Demography, dynamics of evolution, human ecology, and their relationships to the biology of living, historical, and archaeological populations. ANTH 591- TOPICS: CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY Relationships between culture, and mental states including attitudes, temperament, deviance and normalcy, mental health and mental illness. SOC 321- QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES IN SOCIOLOGY- Levels of measurement; measures of central tendency; dispersion and association; normal curve, statistical inference; logic of quantitative comparison and decision making. Offered every semester. SoilS 301- ECOLOGICAL SOIL MANAGEMENT. Soil and water conservation and management; land classification and reclamation; soils and environmental quality; sustainable agroecosystems. SoilS 441- SOIL FERTILITY. Nutrient management impacts on crop productivity, soil and water quality; mineral requirements; soil testing; plant analysis; inorganic and organic fertilizers. SoilS 545- FIELD ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS. Experiential course visiting farms, food processing and marketing facilities to develop understanding of issues and relationships of sustainable food systems. 6