Inside Higher Ed: If CIA Calls, Should Anthropology Answer?
Anthropologists have a long history of being uncertain about how close they should get to the U.S. government. Many anthropologists helped intelligence agencies in World War I and World War II, but from Vietnam on, most have resisted any such work. And for most of that time, the Pentagon and CIA have not exactly been calling anthropology departments looking for guidance.
But post-9/11, everything is different. New federal fellowships aim to provide government support for graduate work in anthropology (and other fields helpful for understanding global cultures) in return for pledges of working for the government. This year, the Central Intelligence Agency posted some job ads on the American Anthropological Association Web site, and when the CIA tried to have those ads appear in the association’s journals, some took them and others turned them down — amid considerable debate among members.
Follow
