Anthropology
What is Anthropology?
Anthropology in the broadest sense, is the study of people. It is concerned with the commonalities that make us all human, and the extraordinary forms in which that shared humanity has been expressed.
Understanding human diversity entails stepping back from our own interpretations of the world to ask how and why these may differ from those of other people. A broad comparative knowledge of other ways of interpreting and acting in the world is essential if we are to understand the general processes by which the social and cultural patterns that shape people's lives and give them meaning are produced. Anthropologists have thus been led to examine in detail societies which are very different from their own, in scale and in modes of life and thought. Such differences, of course, are to be found at home as well as abroad, and between the multiple spheres in which people conduct their lives.
Why study Anthropology?
A concern with the emergence of diversity out of common humanity means that anthropologists are fundamentally concerned with processes of social stability and social change, and with the often competing interests and interactions that shape these processes.
In a world where calls for change and appeals to tradition are growing louder, anthropology's comparative approach to understanding humanity is increasingly important. Movements that stress a sense of shared identity and assert differences on the basis of factors such as ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and status as indigenous peoples, cut across social and geographical boundaries. Globalisation draws us all into a common world of interdependence, even as it pits local interests against each other in new ways.
Concerns about issues of social justice and of environmental degradation demand that we explore alternative ways of organising our lives. Anthropology offers vital insights into the importance of cultural difference in all of these domains.
How to take Anthropology at the University of Melbourne
Anthropology can be taken as a major in the Bachelor of Arts, fourth-year Honours, as a postgraduate coursework program or a higher degree by research.
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