Larry McGrath on Anthro to UX with Matt Artz

In this episode of the Anthro to UX podcast, Larry McGrath speaks with Matt Artz about his UX journey. Larry earned a Ph.D. in History & Anthropology of Science from Johns Hopkins University and currently works as a Researcher at Facebook. About Larry McGrath Larry leads user research for technology organizations. He has taught anthropology, history, and philosophy and currently works at Facebook. At Facebook, he leads a research team. You can find his articles at Aeon and Medium. He's also the author of Making Spirit Matter: Neurology, Psychology, and Selfhood in Modern France. About Making Spirit Matter In Making Spirit Matter, Larry traces the brain sciences' history, focusing on the vexed relations between mind and body in French society over the past 200 years. ​ Why France? The country's not only home to basic discoveries about the nervous system. France is also where the relations of spirit (esprit) and matter (matière) have remained a persistent philosophical problem; even recent advances in neuroscience haven’t been able to explain it satisfactorily. Recommended Links Larry McGrath's website Larry on Medium Larry on Aeon Making Spirit Matter: Neurology, Psychology, and Selfhood in Modern France Watch the Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKnLOMmtYYM   Episode Transcript Please note this transcript is an automated transcription and may have some errors. Matt Artz: All right. Hi everyone. Today. I'm back with Larry McGrath. He's a researcher at Facebook and has a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in history and anthropology of science, which is something new for the show. So Larry, thanks for joining me today. Look forward to talking with you. Larry McGrath: It's a pleasure to be here, Matt. Matt Artz: You know, I, I gave a very brief introduction there, but I really like to hear everybody's story from the South. So would you maybe tell us all how, you know, what led you to anthropology a little bit about the academic background and then after that, you know, we'll, we'll get into some of the more employment stuff. Sure. Larry McGrath: Well, before I start on my origin story about how I came to anthropology, I should say that I'm here doing this podcast with you because I think that there is a real business need and value to be offered by the critical research skillset that anthropologists in particular, as well as humanists and social scientists generally can bring to the business world. I think I bring it to many worlds, but I work now in the business world. And that's what I'm prepared to talk with you today. About as for my beginnings, I decided to pursue a doctorate in the history of science from Johns Hopkins University back in 2008, because it was a time when there was massive interest and investment from both the Obama administration and the European union in mapping the brain to do to the brain. What had been done to the human genome back in the 1990s. Larry McGrath: And so I se...

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.