WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY? The term originates from two words in Greek: (1) anthropos meaning “man” as in “human being” (2) logos meaning “study”.

Consequently we can determine that anthropology can be defined as: “the study of human beings”. Yet many other humanities, sciences and social sciences could also be defined as “the study of human beings” since the definition itself is so broad.

SO WHAT IS UNIQUE OR DIFFERENT ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGY?

(a). anthropology is transcultural; looks at all human groups, large and small; distant and near.

(b). anthropology spans all of human history, the ancient and the modern. We must know past to understand present.

(c). anthropology is holistic; seeks to demonstrate how aspects of cultures are linked. It analyzes how the different aspects of culture affect one another; seeks to understand all aspects of human behavior. It is a diverse approach to the study of human behavior.

Anthropology seeks to find the generalities about human life while also explaining the differences.

Anthropology seeks to understand and explain why people do the things they do and say the things they say. A goal is create better understanding among people.

WHAT ARE THE SUB-FIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE?

THE TWO MAIN SUB-FIELD DIVISIONS WITHIN ANTHROPOLOGY ARE:  (1) biological anthropology  (2) cultural anthropology. In this course we will be focusing on cultural anthropology.

Biological anthropology seeks to understand human behavior from a biological base especially focusing upon human evolutionary history and biological variation among human populations.

Cultural anthropology seeks to understand universals and variations in human cultures both past and present.

Archaeology seeks to understand human history through the study (primarily) of materials remains.

Linguistics seeks to understand human language, written and non-written, spoken and non-verbal and to see how they have changed over time.

Ethnology seeks to understand the patterns of human thought and behavior over time.

FURTHER COMMON DIVISIONS WITHIN ANTHROPOLOGY INCLUDE:  (1) area specializations (SE Asia, Europe, Latin American, etc.; areas which share some cultural-historical characteristics )  (2) topic specializations (medical, ecological, gender, etc.; themes upon which to focus within a holistic and deeply contextual framework of a culture)