About the Value of Anthropology - A Mission Statement

Anthropology is the scientific study of humankind based on the comparative analysis of and subsequent generalizations about humankind's physical and behavioral characteristics (Cormack et al. 1971).

Why is Anthropology such a unique discipline in United States academic institutions?

Anthropology is unique because it clarifies/emphasizes/explains the critical relationship between the interpersonal relations and an international cultural perspective, both indispensable in our contemporary and interdependent global society. American society and its urban academic institutions are increasingly diverse, reflecting the demography of global society. Houston Community College must meet this current challenge by teaching our students ways to deal with diversity in positive and constructive ways.

Anthropology must use its theories and concepts to help students embrace diversity--not to fear it. From its inception as an academic discipline in the late 19th Century, Anthropology has been devoted to the question of “What does it mean to be human?" Anthropology is specifically comparative, holistic, scientific and critical with a long time line that puts the present into the context of a rich human cultural experience. Anthropology alerts students to their own ethnocentrism and expands their cultural awareness – of themselves and others. Anthropology provides students with cultural and problem-solving perspectives. It encourages cultural knowledge and competence in engaging diverse cultures and peoples.

Anthropology fosters essential “cultural literacy” and reduces the negative effects of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. This is essential for both minority and mainstream students in developing positive ethnic and global identities. Anthropology is broad-based and interdisciplinary by definition and practice. It is the true “cross-cultural” course in that it explores how cultures are integrated wholes with regard to economy and technology, family, religious life, education, political processes, conflict resolution, the arts and humanities, language and history. It also examines humans' place in nature as primates, as well as surveys human origins and Hominin evolution amidst its major cultural transitions from Paleolithic times to the present.

The introduction of college students to this academic discipline contributes to a general liberal arts education, helping them develop personally, intellectually, professionally, and with skills and knowledge essential for living in a global community. Anthropology creates in students a deep understanding and appreciation of humanity, both past and present. By evaluating anthropological data, students are trained to develop critical-thinking skills. The nature of anthropological research (participant observation) teaches students the lessons of tolerance, perseverance, and evaluating people the way they see themselves.

Anthropology enables students to have an expanding global awareness and an appreciation for cultures other than their own. In an age of rapid communication, increasing world-wide travel, and economic interconnections, young people preparing for careers in the Twenty-first Century must recognize and show sensitivity towards the cultural, gender, and class differences that exist among people, while understanding the fundamental similarities that unite all human beings as members of the same species. Because of continuing and profound conflict in many parts of the world, the continuous survival and happiness of the human species depends on our greater mutual understanding. The very essence of Anthropology is to promote such survival and mutual understanding.

Anthropology casts a wide net to students, enabling them to understand ancient and contemporary peoples, their biological and behavioral developments, and human diversity and similarity throughout the entire world, both past and present.

Prepared by Anthropology Discipline Committee Faculty (2009)

What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the broad study of humankind around the world and throughout time. It is concerned with both the biological and the cultural aspects of humans. Included in anthropology are four main subdivisions:

Biological (or Physical) Anthropology



Mechanisms of biological evolution, genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology, the study of human origins and the fossil record of human evolution.



Cultural Anthropology



Culture, ethnocentrism, cultural aspects of language and communication, subsistence and other economic patterns, kinship, sex and marriage, socialization, social control, political organization, class, ethnicity, gender, religion, and culture change.



Archaeology



Prehistory and early history of cultures around the world; major trends in cultural evolution; and techniques for finding, excavating, dating, and analyzing material remains of past societies.



Linguistic Anthropology



The human communication process focusing on the importance of socio-cultural influences; nonverbal communication; and the structure, function, and history of languages, dialects, pidgins, and creoles.

ANTH2346 **General Anthropology [Introduction to the 4-Fields of Anthropology]