You're studying a multicultural neighbourhood where traditional Indigenous landowners live alongside recent immigrants and people who have been living there for generations but are originally from elsewhere.
Each community has different ways of using the same public spaces and of expressing their cultural identities through storytelling, rituals, festivals, clothing, murals, and graffiti art. How do you want to understand these differences?
A major tech company is developing AI-powered forest monitoring systems for South Korea's forests, which were destroyed during World War 2 and are being regenerated.
Different groups have different reactions to this new technology: forest scientists are excited about the detailed data it could provide, while local communities worry about how it might change their relationship with the forests. How do you want to approach understanding this?
Cities across Asia are dealing with severe air pollution. In Bangkok, different communities cope in various ways, from wearing masks and growing food indoors to changing when and where they go outside.
Air pollution is also changing how people relate to their city, their government, and each other. Some groups are organising for cleaner air, while others focus on individual strategies.
The government is studying how Fiji and the Solomon Islands manage air quality, wanting to draw on Pacific countries' expertise in environmental resilience. How do you want to approach understanding this?
An international NGO is running educational development programmes for women in urban slums across India. However, the programme is facing unexpected challenges in slum areas with high numbers of migrant families.
In some communities, families don't want women participating, citing cultural and religious concerns. Other women don't like the programmes on offer and are organising their own.
The NGO coordinators – who often come from different cultural or religious backgrounds – want to understand why their programmes aren't working as planned. How do you want to approach this?
A large hospital in Auckland is seeing increasing numbers of patients from diverse cultural backgrounds who aren't responding well to standard treatments.
Doctors are puzzled when patients don't follow medical advice or bring family members to make decisions. Some families insist on preparing traditional foods for hospitalised relatives, while other patients are experiencing what medical staff describe as "unexplained" symptoms that seem connected to family conflicts or spiritual concerns.
Doctors want to improve patient outcomes but don't understand why their medical protocols aren't working effectively. How do you want to approach this?
You're interested in understanding how people build communities and navigate cultural differences in their lives. You want to explore how different groups maintain their traditions in new and changing environments, how they form cross-cultural relationships, and what rituals help them feel connected to their culture and communities.
You want to explore how people tell stories about identity, belonging, and cultural values through visual media. You see visual expression as a powerful language that reveals how communities represent themselves and connect with others across cultural boundaries.
You want to explore how different groups – scientists, communities, governments – develop different relationships with technology, and how scientific knowledge influences social life. You see science and technology not just as neutral tools, but as cultural forces that change how societies understand themselves, their environment, and their place in the world.
You want to explore how people's cultural knowledge and lived experiences can inform the development of new approaches to real-world challenges. You see design as a way to bring together different perspectives and knowledge systems to create solutions that respect both cultural values and practical needs, fostering positive social change through design solutions.
You want to explore how environmental issues shape social life, food systems, community organising, and relationships between citizens and governments. You see urban environmental problems as social and cultural challenges that show how different groups understand health and their place in the city.
You want to explore how Pacific communities navigate environmental challenges while maintaining cultural connections and community relationships. You see Oceanic experiences as offering unique cultural perspectives on sustainable city living and environmental management that can inform policy and practice in other regions.
You want to explore how development programmes are designed, implemented, and received by different communities, and why there are often gaps between programme goals and outcomes. You see international development work as a complex cultural encounter where good intentions can have unexpected consequences, and you want to help to make development interventions more effective and culturally appropriate.
You want to explore how communities develop their own education strategies and organise for social change. You see anthropology as a tool for supporting community-led initiatives and amplifying the voices of those who are often excluded from decision-making processes.
You want to explore how family relationships and spiritual practices influence health decisions, and how medical professionals can work more effectively with diverse communities. You see health and medicine as deeply connected to cultural values, social relationships, and community support systems.
You want to explore how different communities use food for healing and how food practices connect culture, identity, health, and wellbeing. You see food as a powerful lens for understanding how people create meaning, build relationships, and maintain cultural traditions in changing environments.