Business Anthropology on the Road

In practice and scholarship, the application of anthropology in and on business has seen substantial growth in recent years. Beyond the industries that employ anthropologists and the scholarly studies, the sheer number of people engaged in the field appears to be increasing exponentially. With so much activity emanating from business anthropology, it is surprising that so few anthropology departments in the United States offer courses on the topic, or any preparation at all for students who want to enter industry or engage in other organizational work. To bolster the number of US-based anthropology departments capable of teaching business anthropology and preparing their students for business careers as well as organizational careers generally, a new initiative, Business Anthropology on the Road, was designed in 2018. Under the auspices of the Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology (COPAA), Business Anthropology on the Road aims to help fill a gap in anthropology departments lacking dedicated courses on business anthropology and/or with limited ability to guide students in pursuing careers outside the academy.