Welcome to the Associate Degree Anthropology
Anthropology is the systematic study of humanity, with the goal of understanding our evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social existence across the world and through time.
Characteristics of anthropology
Anthropology is a distinctive field of study and perspective on humanity. It is characterized by the following elements:
- Holistic. Anthropology seeks to explore every facet of an issue or topic, making it inherently interdisciplinary.
- A global perspective. Anthropology compares cultures in order to make generalizations and develop theories that apply to all societies in all times and places.
- Evolutionary. Anthropology seeks to discover the origins of humanity and human institutions, and how people and cultures change over time.
- Study of culture. Anthropology explores the learned and shared bodies of knowledge that humans have developed to adapt to their environments.
- Biocultural. Anthropologists study biological as well as cultural factors, seeking to discover relationships between “nature” and “nurture.”
- Fieldwork. Anthropology relies on gathering information through extended periods of intense empirical investigation, which include observation of behaviors, excavation of artifacts and interaction with the peoples of the world.
- A natural science, a social science and one of the humanities. As the anthropologist Eric Wolf said, it is “the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences.”
- Respect for human diversity. Ruth Benedict, one of the founders of American anthropology, said the mission of anthropology is “to make the world safe for human differences.”
Career options
Social worker, Anthropologist, Human Resources, Market Researcher, Public Relations Manager, Archeologist, Museum curator, Policy analysis, Researcher, Diversity Manager, Forensics, Librarian, Archivist, Cultural Resource Manager, Teaching, Writer, Foreign Service, Historian.
