This project asks you to discover how someone around you is “making a living” – working at a job, multiple jobs or in a profession. Work is defined broadly—being a homemaker and being a CEO of a big company are both ways of making a living but involve very different activities.
Locate one person to interview in order to explore “work” through the eyes of a particular individual.You may interview someone you already know, but try to choose someone whose background differs from your own in some way. Find out what kind of work they do, the importance of their job, and how they make ends meet (or not) with the money they make from their activities. All interviews should use the permission sheet below.
Introduction: Who are you interviewing? How do they “make a living”? How do they participate in the United States economy (both formally and informally)?
What making a living entails: What activities are included in their job, from the basic tasks of an ordinary workday to bigger requirements such as earning and maintaining a professional license?
How does this work impact the individual concerned: Do they get satisfaction from their work? Does it enable them to make the living they desire?
How does this profession fit in with the larger cultural landscape and economy: What are the general prospects for this kind of work? Are the jobs easy or difficult to get? Can people in this profession make ends meet? What does looking at this profession say about the status of the entire economy?
Conclusion: What key information did you learn from your research? What concepts from class can help us understand this way of making a living?
Papers should be 2-3 pages, 12 point Times font, 1 inch margins. All papers should incorporate at least two additional sources into the discussion of data from the interview and must include a bibliography.
In addition, papers will be marked on spelling, grammar, organization and adherence to an approved academic writing style guide (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
Research Permission Slip
I, ________________________________________________, give permission to
_______________________________________________ to interview me for their class project
“Making a Living” for their Anthropology Class, Anthro 202: America’s Diverse Cultures and to use
my words in their paper.
Signed___________________________________________ Date_______________________
Initial here if you would like a pseudonym used_________
