Astrid Countee's guest appearances

Astrid Countee

This Anthro Life

Greater Than Code

Response-ability.Tech

Anthro to UX with Matt Artz

Rachel Katz

Brian Hogan

Jonan Scheffler

Ryan Smith

Daniel Miller

Will Larson

Hannah Brencher

Helen Fisher

Hamilton Morris

Cheryl Schaefer

Ashe Dryden

Jerome Hardaway

Christina Morillo

Bryan Liles

Amir Rajan

OwlTail

My guest today is Astrid Countee. Astrid is an anthropologist and technologist based in Houston, Texas. She is co-founder of Missing Link Studios. In 2016, Astrid wrote an article for Ethnography Matters on why tech companies need to hire software developers with ethnographic skills, and it's this article I explore with her during our conversation.Astrid shares her journey from dreaming of being a surgeon to studying forensic science and then medical anthropology before becoming a software engineer.Astrid explains what she thinks the skills are that anthropologists and ethnographers bring to a development team and we talk about the benefits of technologists who have social understanding.Astrid shares some advice and tips for social scientists and researchers working alongside technologists and how we can work together.We also discuss the topic of whether anthropologists need to learn to code and she likens it to learning a language, which anthropologists doing fieldwork often have to do.Lastly, Astrid discusses how anthropologists might be seen as more than the people who 'make technology usable', and that anthropologists should play a bigger part in tackling the wicked problems of this century.You can find Astrid on Twitter or LinkedIn.

My guest today is Astrid Countee. Astrid is an anthropologist and technologist based in Houston, Texas. She is co-founder of <a href="https://www.missinglink.studio" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Missing Link Studios</a>. In 2016, Astrid wrote an article for Ethnography Matters on <a href="http://ethnographymatters.net/blog/2016/06/22/an-engineering-anthropologist-why-tech-companies-need-to-hire-software-developers-with-ethnographic-skills/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">why tech companies need to hire software developers with ethnographic skills</a>, and it's this article I explore with her during our conversation. Astrid shares her journey from dreaming of being a surgeon to studying forensic science and then medical anthropology before becoming a software engineer. Astrid explains what she thinks the skills are that anthropologists and ethnographers bring to a development team and we talk about the benefits of technologists who have social understanding. Astrid shares some advice and tips for social scientists and researchers working alongside technologists and how we can work together. We also discuss the topic of whether anthropologists need to learn to code and she likens it to learning a language, which anthropologists doing fieldwork often have to do. Lastly, Astrid discusses how anthropologists might be seen as more than the people who 'make technology usable', and that anthropologists should play a bigger part in tackling the wicked problems of this century. You can find Astrid on <a href="https://twitter.com/ianthro" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/astridcountee/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.

An Engineering Anthropologist. With Astrid Countee

Why More Security Never Feels like EnoughStoryslamming Anthropology Series, Story 3. Written and Performed by Astrid CounteeIn recent years, the terms Public and Anthropology have been paired with more frequency. Yet, what this seemingly suspect partnership is, how it could function, and what goals it could have are still in relative formation. Today, public anthropology might mean several different things ranging from jargony lectures that are “open to the public”, digital media (like blogs, videos, or podcasts) that are generally accessible online, or presentations given to an informant public on work produced by a researcher. Large voids remain. We ask, then, why not turn to already publicly oriented writing for inspiration? What if “Guns, Germs and Steel” (Diamond 1999), “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”, (Harai 2015) or “Freakonomics” (Levitt and Dubner 2009) were written by anthropologists?What if we told you that once upon a time, they were? When Margaret Mead wrote “Coming of Age in Samoa” in 1928, anthropologists and non-anthropologists alike flocked to her work because of its accessibility - and felt topical relevance. Could such an achievement be attainable today?While some scholars might reject an approach based on “popular” writing, we argue that the enormous success of the above books (as well as the podcasts, YouTube videos and Netflix series based on them) demonstrates a general interest in theories of humankind, what it means to be human in the contemporary world, and throughout history. We ask why have anthropologists not followed suit? Despite the massive amount of scholarship published each year by anthropologists, none seem to crack that elusive space between rigorous research and “pop-science.” While there are trade offs between academic complexity and writing for a lay audience, the theme of the 2017 American Anthropological Association conference, "Anthropology Matters!" speaks to our need to talk across (and storytell) different worlds. Our goal with this experimental panel was to invoke the public spirit of Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Melville Herskovits and others to speak to 21st century concerns from a comparative perspective in clear language. We picked papers that revealed juxtapositions, seemingly counter- or non- intuitive links between subjects, objects, ideas, emotions, practices, or traditions that we felt can intrigue, educate, and delight participants. The goal of this series of to expand our genres of sharing ethnographic and anthropological insight. We hope you enjoy!Story 1: #MeToo: Stories in the Age of Survivorship by Emma BackeStory 2: Fear and Loathing in Truth or Consequences by Taylor Genovese--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thisanthrolife/messageThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5168968/advertisement

Why More Security Never Feels like Enough Storyslamming Anthropology Series, Story 3. Written and Performed by Astrid Countee In recent years, the terms Public and Anthropology have been paired with more frequency. Yet, what this seemingly suspect partnership is, how it could function, and what goals it could have are still in relative formation. Today, public anthropology might mean several different things ranging from jargony lectures that are “open to the public”, digital media (like blogs, videos, or podcasts) that are generally accessible online, or presentations given to an informant public on work produced by a researcher. Large voids remain. We ask, then, why not turn to already publicly oriented writing for inspiration? What if “Guns, Germs and Steel” (Diamond 1999), “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”, (Harai 2015) or “Freakonomics” (Levitt and Dubner 2009) were written by anthropologists? What if we told you that once upon a time, they were? When Margaret Mead wrote “Coming of Age in Samoa” in 1928, anthropologists and non-anthropologists alike flocked to her work because of its accessibility - and felt topical relevance. Could such an achievement be attainable today? While some scholars might reject an approach based on “popular” writing, we argue that the enormous success of the above books (as well as the podcasts, YouTube videos and Netflix series based on them) demonstrates a general interest in theories of humankind, what it means to be human in the contemporary world, and throughout history. We ask why have anthropologists not followed suit? Despite the massive amount of scholarship published each year by anthropologists, none seem to crack that elusive space between rigorous research and “pop-science.” While there are trade offs between academic complexity and writing for a lay audience, the theme of the 2017 American Anthropological Association conference, "Anthropology Matters!" speaks to our need to talk across (and storytell) different worlds. Our goal with this experimental panel was to invoke the public spirit of Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, Melville Herskovits and others to speak to 21st century concerns from a comparative perspective in clear language. We picked papers that revealed juxtapositions, seemingly counter- or non- intuitive links between subjects, objects, ideas, emotions, practices, or traditions that we felt can intrigue, educate, and delight participants. The goal of this series of to expand our genres of sharing ethnographic and anthropological insight. We hope you enjoy! Story 1: #MeToo: Stories in the Age of Survivorship by Emma Backe Story 2: Fear and Loathing in Truth or Consequences by Taylor Genovese --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/thisanthrolife/message" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/thisanthrolife/message</a> This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/5168968/advertisement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.spreaker.com/show/5168968/advertisement</a>

Why More Security Never Feels Like Enough, by Astrid Countee: Storyslamming Anthropology Series #3

01:41 – Astrid’s Superpower: Being Analytical and Logical 04:33 – Social Scientists and Technology 12:47 – Professionalization The Code of Ethics Project: Data For Democracy 20:00 – A Day in the Life of a Social Scientist 25:39 – Social Science and Design 32:13 – Working in Numbers-based Environments Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly 46:41 – Influence and Control 55:05 – Social Media 58:59 – Work/Life Balance and Prioritization This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep of DevReps, LLC. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode. To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!Sponsored By:O'Reilly Media: Support for the Greater Than Code podcast comes from O’Reilly Fluent and Velocity conferences, happening in San Jose, CA, June 11-14. Don’t miss your chance to get double the exposure to practical knowledge, expert speakers, and networking opportunities that can immediately boost your own skill set, and elevate team performance. Save on your pass using code GTC20. Learn more at http://oreil.ly/2o07Ufw. Promo Code: GTC20Support Greater Than Code

01:41 – Astrid’s Superpower: Being Analytical and Logical 04:33 – Social Scientists and Technology 12:47 – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professionalization" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Professionalization</a> <a href="https://www.datafordemocracy.org/projects/ethics.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Code of Ethics Project: Data For Democracy</a> 20:00 – A Day in the Life of a Social Scientist 25:39 – Social Science and Design 32:13 – Working in Numbers-based Environments <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143120557/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=therubyrep-20&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=0143120557&amp;linkId=cbbebebf974e18281676e2fe51693b88" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly</a> 46:41 – Influence and Control 55:05 – Social Media 58:59 – Work/Life Balance and Prioritization This episode was brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/therubyrep" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@therubyrep</a> of <a href="http://www.devreps.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DevReps, LLC</a>. To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit <a href="https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/greaterthancode</a>. To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at <a href="https://www.paypal.me/devreps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">paypal.me/devreps</a>. You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Amazon links may be affiliate links, which means you’re supporting the show when you purchase our recommendations. Thanks!Sponsored By:<ul><li><a href="http://oreil.ly/2o07Ufw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">O'Reilly Media</a>: <a href="http://oreil.ly/2o07Ufw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Support for the Greater Than Code podcast comes from O’Reilly Fluent and Velocity conferences, happening in San Jose, CA, June 11-14. Don’t miss your chance to get double the exposure to practical knowledge, expert speakers, and networking opportunities that can immediately boost your own skill set, and elevate team performance. Save on your pass using code GTC20. Learn more at http://oreil.ly/2o07Ufw.</a> Promo Code: GTC20</li></ul><a href="https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">Support Greater Than Code</a>

074: Be Your Own Hero with Astrid Countee