Katherine Dettwyler's Dancing Skeletons

Prior to this course I had no idea what Anthropology was, in fact, I thought it was very similar to an archaeologist or philanthropist, but the term “globalization” made me have a peculiar interest. Anthropology focuses on the studies of humankind, past, present and the future of those residing in that community, tribe, or country. It is meant for those interested to understand in a clear manner the complications of cultures throughout history, to draw an understanding of the social, cultural, religious, and give a micro, macro, and mezzo approach. Although Anthropology has been around for many centuries, starting around the 5th-15th century, it wasn’t until recently that it’s becoming a well known term and a field of work, to be more specific …show more content…
A lecture is unlikely to prepare an individual for the exposure that people like Dettwyler visages in African countries. As an example, Dettwyler's honesty and need to do what’s right and moral responsibilities to the population to attempt things that are typically tested throughout her work. At the start of her story she describes how she saved a kid who was on the edge of starvation. Whereas her work there was to strictly document and record feeding practices she couldn't simply sit back and let this infant die if he could be saved. While Dettwyler got concerned and helped during this specific scenario, there are events within which she should’ve not become involved, this is often seen once she describes her interaction with Daouda and her mother. Daouda's mother did not have the resources have the flexibility to properly look after him, however he was all she had. Dettwyler understands that that any effort to avoid wasting Daouda would have neither benefited him or his mother. Sometimes, there are fights not worth fighting (4). To be biased in these scenarios can be common and often complicated, the observer/researcher can become too involved and over see political and government policies to attempt to help other and forgetting their role or position in fieldwork. One can save one child but often times even that one child can be saved and change the approach you …show more content…
My mom picks up things from the garbage, washes them to put in a big box to send over seas for the poor, she also goes to local pantries in her free time and collects food to put inside this big box, which she also has to pay to send. I critiqued her for a long time; she has a good job and has always been able to send things to family without any financial burden but this was for the poor people who lived in the town in which my grandmother grew up. I wouldn’t call this experience fieldwork or social work placement but it was the first time since 1996 that I would visit to spend more than 2 weeks in the country, I stayed a year while my husband was deployed. I visited these areas with my mom and learned so much; I felt ignorant, and often cried whenever my kids asked any questions about why we were there or their living conditions. It was a very stressful and rewarding situation; stressful because some of the things I was seeing I just couldn’t take in, it was a lot for me since I can be wasteful and take for granted things such as clothing or food, the way must of us do in America or in a modern society in which we have access to things. Rewarding, I don’t think I will be able to ever thank them for that experience, the way they appreciated things, the “gracias senora,” the way they smiled, wore things right away as if they