Anthropology

ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGY Definition and Distinctive Characteristics of Anthropology Anthropology as an Integrative Interdisciplinary Discipline: The Four Fields Education for the 21st Century: The Need for Anthropology Real World Anthropology Definition and Distinctive Characteristics of Anthropology • Anthropology is the study of humankind. Of all the disciplines that examine aspects of human existence and accomplishments, only Anthropology explores the entire panorama of the human experience from human origins to contemporary forms of culture and social life. Anthropology is a generalizing and comparative discipline with a concern for understanding human diversity on a global scale. Anthropologists engage in empirical research with established theories, methods, and analytical techniques. They conduct field-based research as well as laboratory analyses and archival investigations. A hallmark of Anthropology is its holistic perspective–understanding humankind in terms of the dynamic interrelationships of all aspects of human existence. Different aspects of culture and society exhibit patterned interrelationships (e.g., political economy, social configurations, religion and ideology). Culture cannot be divorced from biology and adaptation, nor language from culture. Contemporary societies cannot be understood without consideration of historical and evolutionary processes. Anthropological research is typically conducted via immersion within the community or context under study (including virtual communities and archaeological sites). The “participant-observer” method of research was developed early in the discipline of Anthropology and remains one of its cornerstones. Anthropology transcends such distinctions in research and applications as macro- and microscale (e.g., global-local), the exotic and the familiar, the past and the present. Its distinct epistemology respects the disparities between “our” views of the “other” and their views of us. Anthropologists typically... [continues]

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