Anthropology

Anthropology (/ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/) is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος), "human being", and -logia (-λογία), "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German philosopher Magnus Hundt.

Anthropology's basic concerns are "What defines Homo sapiens?", "Who are the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens?", "What are humans' physical traits?", "How do humans behave?", "Why are there variations and differences among different groups of humans?", "How has the evolutiona Anthropology (/ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/) is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος), "human being", and -logia (-λογία), "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German philosopher Magnus Hundt.

Anthropology's basic concerns are "What defines Homo sapiens?", "Who are the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens?", "What are humans' physical traits?", "How do humans behave?", "Why are there variations and differences among different groups of humans?", "How has the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens influenced its social organization and culture?" and so forth.

In the United States, contemporary anthropology is typically divided into four sub-fields: cultural anthropology also known as social anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and physical (or biological) anthropology. The four-field approach to anthropology is reflected in many undergraduate textbooks as well as anthropology programs (e.g. Michigan, Berkeley, Penn). At universities in the United Kingdom, and much of Europe, these "sub-fields" are frequently housed in separate departments and are seen as distinct disciplines.

The social and cultural sub-field has been heavily influenced by structuralist and post-modern theories, as well as a shift toward the analysis of modern societies (an arena more typically in the remit of sociologists). During the 1970s and 1990s there was an epistemological shift away from the positivist traditions that had largely informed the discipline.During this shift, enduring questions about the nature and production of knowledge came to occupy a central place in cultural and social anthropology. In contrast, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology remained largely positivist. Due to this difference in epistemology, anthropology as a discipline has lacked cohesion over the last several decades. This has even led to departments diverging, for example in the 1998–9 academic year at Stanford University, where the "scientists" and "non-scientists" divided into two departments: anthropological sciences and cultural & social anthropology; these departments later reunified in the 2008–9 academic year. ...more

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Lists

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil

How we see the world

581 books — 159 voters

Who Hears Here? by Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr.

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Friedrich Engels

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin

Critique of cultural studies from within.

113 books — 23 voters

In Search of Respect by Philippe Bourgois

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

Death Without Weeping by Nancy Scheper-Hughes

Argonauts of the Western Pacific by Bronisław Malinowski

Good Ethnography

141 books — 103 voters

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Best Children's and Young Adult Books about Ancient Americas

162 books — 23 voters

ANSGAR AND THE TROLLS by Patricia Stinson

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

The Invisibles, Volume 1 by Grant Morrison

Arks, Crosses and Grails, Oh My: Holy Artifacts in Fiction

39 books — 2 voters

The True Story of Moses by Linda George Christy

The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James

The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade

A History of Religious Ideas, Volume 2 by Mircea Eliade

Religious studies

163 books — 59 voters

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Quotes Tagged “Anthropology”

“ I chose cultural anthropology, since it offered the greatest opportunity to write high-minded balderdash. ”
― Kurt Vonnegut, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage

46 likes

“ It may be in the cultural particularities of people — in their oddities — that some of the most instructive revelations of what it is to be generically human are to be found. ”
― Clifford Geertz

22 likes

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