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Common Misconceptions About Anthropology – Anthropology Notes – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
Anthropology as subject is not well known amongst the general population in Britain.Continue Reading Common Misconceptions About Anthropology – Anthropology Notes – For W.B.C.S. Examination.
As anthropology has not until now been taught at secondary school level (except as an option within the International Baccalaureate), the British general public’s exposure to anthropology tends to be limited to museums, occasional newspaper articles, or TV programmes whose primary aim is entertainment.
The result is that many misconceptions about anthropology persist. A common one is that anthropology is mainly about ‘bones and fossils’. These are indeed the special concern of biological and evolutionary anthropologists, who use the evidence of human remains and living sites to reconstruct the bodies, diets and environments of our prehuman ancestors. Social and cultural anthropology, however, is concerned with social relations in the ‘here and now’.
A second misconception is that social anthropologists exclusively study ‘tribal’ peoples in ‘remote’ areas, whose cultural practices are perceived as ‘exotic’.
While it is true that some anthropologists carry out their research in places far from metropolitan centres, there are many others who undertake research in their home towns, in urban settings or in the industrial workplace. A third misconception is that anthropology and archaeology are one and the same.
In North America archaeology is considered a branch of anthropology, whereas in Britain, archaeology is considered as a separate sister discipline to anthropology. Generally speaking, archaeology is about people and cultures in the near or distant past, and social anthropology is about present-day peoples and cultures.
While a few anthropology postgraduates go on to work as lecturers or researchers within academia, a significant number are increasingly finding employment in a variety of sectors, ranging from education, charity and international development, to medicine and health-related professions, film and business. Often anthropologists do not follow linear career trajectories, but become involved in various projects in frequently overlapping career sectors.
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