AN101 Lecture Notes - Sociocultural Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, Biological Anthropology
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Anthropology
Greek etymology
- Anthropo: human being
- Logy: science
Science of human being
Comparative discipline
- Not western focus
- Studies what it is to be human in its diversity
Studies what it means to be human
- Diachronically: over time
- Synchronically: across space
4 subfields of anthropology
- Archeology
- Biological anthropology
- Linguistic anthropology
- Sociocultural anthropology
Archeology – studies the human past through the analysis of material remains
Biological anthropology – studies the biological evolution of the human specie
Subfields of biological anthropology
- Primatology: studies primates, the closest living relatives to human beings
- Paleoanthropology: studies fossilized bones of our early ancestors
Linguistic anthropology – studies the relationship between language and culture
Sociocultural anthropology – focuses on learned behaviours and ideas that human
beings acquire as members of society
Methodology of sociocultural anthropology
- Fieldwork: getting immersed for a long period of time in other people’s
everyday life
- Participant observation: getting involved in the everyday routine of other
people’s culture
Differences between anthropology and sociology
- Comparative approach: anthropology compares different cultural settings
(not western focused)