The distinctive approach of anthropology relies on a central narrative, or story, about humanity as well as a set of scholarly commitments. But the way that scholars in the other social disciplines approach their subject matter is different from the way anthropologists approach those same subjects. Certainly, anthropologists are frequently multidisciplinary, meaning that while their research and teaching are focused within the discipline of anthropology, they also engage with other disciplines and work with researchers and teachers in other fields. You may be thinking, If anthropology is the human aspect of absolutely everything, then does anthropology encompass the other social disciplines, such as political science, religious studies, and economics? This is not the case. Even engagement with nonhuman realms such as astronomy and botany is conditioned by our human senses and human cognition and thus varies across different societies and different time periods. Human as we are, we can only engage in social and natural worlds through our human minds and human bodies. Anthropologists study every possible realm of human experience, thought, activity, and organization. Put simply, anthropology is the study of humanity across time and space. And so on.Īnthropologists study all of these things. Environmental scientists study the environment. In the arts and sciences, each discipline focuses on a discrete field of social life or physical phenomena. Anthropology is unique in its enormous breadth and its distinctive focus.
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