Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Practicing Anthropology
Volume
39
Issue
2
Publisher
Society for Applied Anthropology
Publication Date
4-1-2017
First Page
26
Last Page
29
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
We live in an era where xenophobia, Islamophobia, and dangerous “Othering” is gaining ground in our communities. If anthropology's purpose still is, as Ruth Benedict once said, “to make the world safe for human differences,” it is more important now than ever for colleges and universities to provide our students with the necessary tools to do so. This report documents how a new initiative is building capacity for positive interaction among all who orient around religion differently while building bridges of interfaith cooperation at Utah State University. After summarizing campus climate research that led to the initiative's emergence in 2014, this report summarizes some of the major changes on campus that have come about as a result of these efforts. It then discusses the pros and cons of implementing positive institutional change from the “bottom-up” versus “top-down.” It concludes by asserting that we need applied and engaged anthropology in higher education now, more than ever, to prepare our students for the challenges of living and working in the 21st century.
Recommended Citation
Bonnie Glass-Coffin; The Role of Anthropology in Promoting Diversity on a Public University Campus. Practicing Anthropology 1 April 2017; 39 (2): 26–29. doi: https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552.39.2.26