Frequently anthropology faculty point out that they do not know how to include examples from anthropological practice into the courses they are teaching. Fortunately, making this pedagogical change is not difficult and well worth it. As someone who has split his career between the academy and advertising agencies, I offer this case study as an example.  First, you ignite students’ interest by starting with a real-life problem. The Art of Shaving is a high-end men’s shaving brand sold at Macy’s and other stores for $120.00. It has a small but growing following of men who purchase it. Their purchasing behavior, however, [...]

My Job Interview for Fordham Business School Back in 2011, as an anthropologist, I was employed at BBDO advertising, after years of working in similar agencies as director of consumer insights. I wanted to make the ‘jump’ to academia. I thought the skills and practices that I learned in consumer research could be taught in a business school. So, to make an academic connection, I contacted one of the senior account directors at BBDO, Paul Reilly, who had received his undergraduate degree at Fordham and was on the Fordham Business School advisory board in NYC. I asked Paul if he could [...]