Elitism in Anthropology

[khulshi11]

Does anyone else feel really frustrated by elitism in anthropology? It seems like such an ugly circle - everyone tells you "only get a PhD if its funded" and the only programs that seem to offer funding are elite ones. So you feel pressured to buy into the myth that these programs are somehow "better" while feel unworthy of studying anthropology if you don't get in. (And realizing, sadly, how many more resources these programs have to offer you so in some ways they are "better"). And at the same time, the consolation "no it's about fit!" is everyone's response, but who inhabits fit is clearly a racialized, gendered, classed thing etc. I'm wondering if it's even possible to engage in academia while rejecting its prestige politics or changing them in some ways. 

Sorry it all feels very weighty on my mind and I'm basically struggling to choose between "prestige" or not. Advice? Similar situations? 

 

[Fantasmapocalypse]

I think there are ways to change the system, but it will probably be initiated/maintained by people who wield the most/enough privilege to speak up and risk changing the power structures they are able to navigate/engage it. The other thing to consider is that academia is not just "the work of the mind", which should be seen as an altruistic/noble pursuit beyond the mundane world... but it is most certainly embedded in capitalism. Again, the problem is that these programs and the people in them are juggling their ideals with the realities of economics, cost of living, exploitation, the privatization of the very institutions that are supposed to be "above" such concerns. Problem is, they rely on those systems (endowments, funding, etc) to exist...

[yezzy123]

I see what you're saying. And I am also guilty of saying "only go if it's funded." Here's why: chances of getting a job in the field that pays even decently after graduation are slim to none. The point is not that going to a funded program is going to a better one. The point is that an anthropology degree is genuinely not worth paying tuition AND not earning any salary at all for 5-8 years. 

[madlebean]

I just want to echo the above post—My understanding was the funded programs aren't inherently better, but that getting a job with a PhD is such a crapshoot that there is no point in graduating with debt. And that grad school should be a full-time job, so if you have to work to support yourself doing something other than TA/RA-ing, you won't be able to put in enough time to learn the skills that make you employable afterwards. The advice is pragmatic; what's elitist is that the name-brand schools are the ones that have enough funding to fund their students.