Christopher Shaffer Interview Essay

Recently, I had an interview with Dr. Christopher Shaffer. I selected Dr. Shaffer because his main focus is anthropology, which is my intended major. Even though Dr. Shaffer specializes in biological anthropology, which is one of the four sub-fields of anthropology (I want to specialize in cultural/linguistic anthropology), his knowledge of anthropology and what it requires being an anthropologist, is still influential and insightful to my future. Dr. Shaffer’s terminal degree is a Ph.D., a doctorate in philosophy and biological anthropology, and he has a Master’s in anthropology. He currently works at Grand Valley State University as an assistant professor, which means he is on track for tenured faculty. Dr. Shaffer has held this position
for the last year and a half. I was particularly eager to find out more about the profession of anthropology. Flowing from one question to the next, with the occasional question that I came up with during conversation, Dr. Shaffer answered each one to the best of his ability. Dr. Shaffer was a well of information concerning the profession of anthropology. Three pieces of information he mentioned were exactly what I was looking for in the profession of anthropology. The first piece of information was that an anthropologist must have “curiosity.” Dr. Shaffer stated that curiosity is one thing that not only motivates him to pursue further in his research but it motivates all anthropologists. He stated that anthropologists are “basically children that always ask why?” I like this about anthropology because I have a natural curiosity to discover more about human nature, past and present. This information intrigued me because I have a quest for knowledge. Out of curiosity, I was lead to the next piece of information that I learned from Dr.
Shaffer and that is anthropology is a broad field of study. This I already knew from taking anthropology courses (anthropology is a broad, holistic field that is separated into four sub-fields: linguistic, biological, cultural, and archaeology). However, I leaned towards the cultural/linguistic side of anthropology, but Dr. Shaffer stated that as an anthropologist “you need to broaden out into the other sub-fields as anthropology is also an interdisciplinary study.” An interdisciplinary study means that even though a person specializes in one field (for an example biological anthropology) that person still has to cross over into the other fields (practically cultural anthropology) to build a “whole picture” understanding of his or her own research. Anthropology being a broad study and an interdisciplinary study interests me because I have always enjoyed various topics from the understanding of the human mind and composition to understanding human culture and ways of life. Anthropology allows me to explore all subjects without infringing upon my main interest of cultural
anthropology. The third piece of information that interested me was that the top graduate colleges in the country will actually pay anthropology graduate-seeking students to work at the school while enrolled in the graduate program. This information surprised me because this would mean that while someone is pursuing a Ph.D. or a Master’s in anthropology the institution is actually paying them to attend. In other words, the student would not have to take out student loans to attend. While discussing the topic of institutions paying the graduate student to attend, Dr. Shaffer recommended that the student should take off a year in between his or her undergraduate years and graduate years. His reasoning behind this is that the student then can gain more experience in their field, and decide whether or not the path that they are following with an anthropology degree is right. I took note of his recommendation, even though, I am not sure yet if I would take a year off in between my undergraduate and graduate years, but if the graduate school is willing to pay for me to attend their institution then I am highly interested. Along with these three pieces of information that peak my interest, there were two pieces that did not fit well with my ideal career choice. The first piece of information is that to become a researcher like Dr. Shaffer, a person would have to enter the world of academia. In other words, the person has to become a teacher. I want to become a researcher like Dr. Shaffer, but in turn, that would mean I would have to become a teacher. Becoming a teacher has always been the last option for me. Personally, I am not good at speaking in front of people, therefore, figured I would not be a good teacher. That is why this aspect did not fit with me too well. The last piece of information that I learned from Dr.
Shaffer about being an anthropologist that did not fit with me was that an anthropologist must have patience. It does not matter which of the four sub-fields a person is working in as “all anthropologist must have patience.” Dr. Shaffer said that while he is observing monkeys (monkeys being a focus of biological anthropology because they are our closest ancestor) in the rainforest it could be a couple of days or it could be a couple of months before he sees something occur. When I asked him if my field of interest, cultural/linguistic anthropology, would have to require as much patience, he responded, “yes.” The reason being I would have to wait for more information to be presented to further my own cultural and linguistic studies. For me, patience has never been a strong suit, which is why when Dr. Shaffer said that anthropologist must have patience it did not compute with my thought for an ideal career. Now, these pieces of information I did not favor (becoming a teacher and patience). However, I was not discouraged from my future goal of becoming an anthropologist. The aspects that I found favorable (curiosity, a broad field of study, and graduate institutions willing to pay the student to attend) outweighed the unfavorable aspects. From these favorable aspects of anthropology, I found many more favorable aspects about anthropology, which leads me to my conclusion that anthropology will be a perfect career for
me, and I cannot wait to discover more about my future.