Anthropology
More Than Grass Shacks and
Exotic Sunsets
Defined
• Anthropology is
the study of the
human condition, in
all of its forms and
splendors
Derivation of Name
• Anthropos…from
the Greek for man
– We extend this
today to mean all of
humanity
• -ology…(logos) the
study of…
Place in Modern
Academia
• Usually a Social Science
• Developed in the 19th century as part
of the birth of social sciences, along
with
– Sociology
– Psychology
– Political Sciecne
Anthropology’s Scope of
Study
• If humans are involved, we study it
• This is very broad, perhaps too broad
to get a handle on…
• So we break it into 4 subfields
– This organization is called the
quadripartite approach
Quadripartite Approach
• Cultural Anthropology
– Anthropology 1100
• Linguistic Anthropology
– Anthropology 1115 (new course in Spring)
• Biological Anthropology
(Race, Sex, & Human Evolution)
– Anthropology 1125
• Archaeology
(Discovering Archaeology)
– Anthropology 1120
Cultural Anthropology
• Focuses on living (or recently living)
cultures
• Identifies rules of social behavior
• Studies the ways people identify
themselves in their societies and the
world
Linguistic Anthropology
• Focuses on human communication
• Studies the ways we structure our
communication
• Includes components on how the
brain and speech emerged together
• Covers the ways to be effective in
communication
Biological Anthropology
• Studies the human animal
• Evolution
• Population and breeding histories and
how people create ideas of race and
racism
• Forensic anthropology
Archaeology
• Studies humanity through the
remains left behind by people
• Provides a unique view across time of
culture, language, and physical forms
• Explores the lost civilizations &
cultures of the past
4 Fields Unified By…
• Their connection to human-kind
• Cannot speak of archaeology without
referring to culture, or language
without referring to biology and
culture
• They all interrelate when we put
people in the picture
They Also Share…
• An emphasis on
Holism
• An emphasis on
Application
(sometimes called
Applied
Anthropology and
treated as a 5th
sub-discipline)
Holism
• The notion that sets us apart from
other social sciences
• We add factors and look for
interrelatedness
– Other social sciences often look for
prime movers and single causal factors
– They tend to be reductive
Application
• About 70% of all jobs in anthropology
are in the private sector
• Corporations hire anthropologists to
study their structure and to improve
efficiency
• Cultural Resource Management
archaeology is commonplace
But There Is More
• Anthropology is typically listed as
one of the top 5 or 6 most desirable
skill areas by employers
– Everything from personnel management
to international business and
government positions
And Still There is More
• Anthropology provides you with tools
you can use every day!
• Understanding how people and
systems function can help you run a
business, serve clients and patients,
even navigate the COD bureaucracy