Interview with Mike Orbach, July 10, 2015

Interview Summary

Orbach gives a brief personal history and discusses how he came to enter the study of anthropology, noting the fledgling status of the social sciences department at UC Irvine. Orbach discusses his years in graduate school at UC San Diego. He discusses how his adviser gave him free reign to explore applied anthropology topics, when most work in the discipline at that point was more theoretical. Orbach relates an amusing story about how he came to research the tuna fishing industry of California. He discusses his years after completing graduate school, both his first year of teaching as well as his entry into public anthropology and policy making in Washington D.C.

Orbach discusses his return to the academic profession after working in Washington. In holding teaching positions at both UC Santa Cruz and East Carolina University, Orbach was able to balance teaching with continued service in creating state marine policy. He describes a project he undertook involving lobster fishers of American and Cuban nationality off the Florida coast. He finds this project particularly memorable for its perfect sequence of research and policy implementation, which he believes to be key in applied anthropology. Orbach discusses the applied anthropologist's role as an advocate, which he believes is an essential part of the profession, but one that must be acted on cautiously, so as not to compromise the integrity of research, analysis, and policy implementation. He talks about his work after leaving Duke University, which consisted mainly of high-level administration positions for private environmental justice groups around the world. Orbach speaks generally on the field of anthropology, what it has taught him, and the uses it can offer to aspiring students.

Interview Keyword

University of California, Santa Cruz University of California, San Diego Quantitative studies Qualitative studies Fisheries Tuna fisheries Classical anthropology National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association National Marine Fisheries Service Sea Grant Washington (D.C.) East Carolina University North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Inc. Advocacy Duke University Surfrider Foundation Ocean conservancy Climate change

Interview LC Subject

Universities and colleges Applied anthropology Social sciences Humanities Maritime anthropology Anthropology--Fieldwork Anthropology--Research Anthropology--Methodology Tuna fishing Public policy Research grants Anthropology and education Anthropology publishing Lobbying Anthropologists

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Interview Usage

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