Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Annals of Anthropological Practice

Volume

40

Issue

2

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Publication Date

11-2016

First Page

258

Last Page

269

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

This paper tells the story of how undergraduate researchers participating in an applied and participatory anthropological research project at Utah State University have used their research experience to help make our campus a more welcoming place for all who orient around religion and spirituality differently. The campus-climate research project described herein was designed to investigate the relationship between diverse religious and spiritual commitments and feelings of discomfort or well-being on our campus. Students who worked on this project gained valuable skills as researchers. Additionally, they became student leaders of a movement to promote a more welcoming climate on campus. Both kinds of experience—as student researchers and as campus-change-agents— have provided these students with value-added skills and knowledge that will increase employability. Far from a “degree to nowhere,” applied and participatory anthropology has prepared these undergraduates to meet the challenges of a world that needs the anthropological lens now more than ever before.

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