Anthropology: General features
During my college years I have encountered a series of questions that left me somewhat baffled, though that confusion then gave way to an immediate understanding of the reasons for such questions.
The first of these questions, for not to mention the classic of classics, is the eternal question of a no anthropologist about what is anthropology itself.
I must confess that I also wondered about that when I was in high school, I did it when I was on the college, and, as far as incredible it could sound, I'm currently wondering about it. You will be wondering how it is possible that someone who studied precisely that career is in that shameful situation. Well, I would answer that it is not shameful at; on the contrary, is very valid for an anthropologist to arise that question at the time in which we are currently living.
And, if you allow me, I would like to illustrate what is anthropology and what are the applications of the discipline in the current era.
Definition of "Anthropology"
Etymologically, the word anthropology means "study of man". In a more practical sense, the Anthropology is the science that studies the entirety of the human condition: its past, its present and its future, as well as the biology, the society, the language and the culture formed by man (Varios, 2010: 288). It is, in my own words, a science that studies the social and cultural aspects that surround the human being; it is a science that examines the politics, religion, oral tradition, art, cuisine and even the language.
Applications in the current era
From the beginning, Anthropology was born along with Archaeology, reaching the point of being the complement of the latter by providing a cultural and social vision on cases where the same History could not do so (Francovich and Manacorda, 2001: 10).
In our current era, however, Anthropology is no longer limited to help Archaeology to visualize what could have been the daily life of the inhabitants of a tomb abandoned in the middle of Mexico City. Now Anthropology focuses on social phenomena; it is focused on the study of migration, violence, urban spaces, mythology, even in politics and environment.
In these moments we could find an anthropologist studying the niche market to which a company intends to sell its product; advising the municipal, state or federal government about a project of social welfare; or, as a teacher, transmitting the acquired knowledge to his/her students.
Even at this moment we could find with an anthropologist writing an article on a blog or writing any novel to publish on Amazon or a traditional publishing house...
Consulted sources
- Autores, Varios. 2010. Enciclopedia de conocimientos fundamentales. México: UNAM - Editorial Siglo XXI.
- Francovich, Riccardo, y Daniele Manacorda (editores). 2001. Diccionario de Arqueología. España: Editorial Crítica.
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