For a little background, I graduated from the university in 1995 as an anthropology major and a politics and international studies double minor. Through my extensive involvement as a anthropology major, I was able to access resources, knowledge and partnerships that are unique to the anthropology department. Specifically, I was a research assistant to David Evans, a professor of anthropolohy, for the majority of my time at the university, Through the Overseas Research Center, Evans and I worked together on an annotated bibliography that went to press in 1995, I attended the ethnographic field school in the summer of 1992 and returned the three following summers (including the one after my graduation) to assist him and complete my own research in Central America. These are just a sampling of my experiences through the anthropology department that helped shape me and my career.
I will be completing my Masters degree in anthropology at the University of Memphis next month. When I came to graduate school, I realized how well Wake Forest's department of anthropology prepared me. I have truly been able to excel. I owe much of my success to my friends and colleagues at the university, especially Evans, Ned Woodall, a professor of anthropology, the late Professor Emeritus Pen Banks, and Dorothy Cattle, a former visiting assistant professor of anthropology, for their time, dedication and guidance. My skills are top-notch and my perspective is broad and deep.
What is important when assessing the success of a legacy: the problems or the assets? We all have our various deficiencies and problems -- every one of us. Yet, we also have a diversity of assets, capacities, talents and strengths that empower us to rise to the occasion. As a discipline, anthropology observes, studies and critiques the differences and commonalities among humankind. Through this process, anthropology's vision of humanity's place in the world emerges. As a humanistic and interdisciplinary science, its holistic, comparative and contextual approach to analyzing humankind is unique to its discipline. The ethnographic database spans a century and the world. The diversity of perspectives, approaches, data and theories is an asset to any social, behavioral, physical and biological scientist as well as to the scholars in the humanities. As we approach the new millennium, anthropology's role in public policy will gain strength and visibility. Why? Anthropology addresses issues ranging from human nature to medicine, health and disease to resource management, community building, sustainable development and cultural diversity. What other discipline on campus addresses these subjects from an interrelated perspective?
I have some critical questions to ask regarding the upcoming decision. Is the university cutting a program that supports its liberal arts tradition? This is the very tradition that has propelled the university into the national rankings. Is the university cutting a discipline that is inherently international in scope and interdisciplinary in practice for the physical space and/or money? Who or what philosophy is manning the helm of the university? What issues are important to the school: quality of life and an understanding of humanity's history and change, or economics and the almighty dollar? If this department's destruction occurs, the university's changing identity will be one many graduates will not be proud of, if they are not already dismayed at the thought of such actions by their alma mater.
John Dempsey Parker