Doing Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology is a social science that explores how people understand - and act in - the world. But what, exactly, is it that Cultural Anthropologists do? How do they approach their research? In this short film, three members of MIT's Anthropology Department, Stefan Helmreich, Erica James, and Heather Paxson, talk about their current work and the process of doing fieldwork.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• anthropology
• fieldwork
• cultural
• social
• mit
• science

[MrSmiles4miles]

Anthropologists dont just study native cultures. Cultural Anthropologists study everything in society, wether modern or native. From waitresses, to company structures to medical settings...everything.

[theNimboo]

I'm in my junior year of college, on my way to an anthro degree. Nice video.

[TheDailyCrazy]

Thumbs up if you were assigned to watch this as a homework assignment. :P

[Powowo]

greetings from a Chilean Anthropologist!

[Starkardur]

@ReginaMuse93 that is one of the thing that attracted me for Anthropology. I also think its a good basis for journalism.

[foiran]

@RachelHC good point on the contemporaneous-ness of “natives”

[capitansudamerica]

@minus30outside Anthropologists try to understand the social life of humans from a cultural perspective.

[RachelHC]

@MrSmiles4miles Indigenous peoples aren't less modern than industrialized society...the exist n the same timespace we do. And the idea of what a "native" culture is is completely relative. Good point, though. Anthropology and sociology can be really similar at times.

[minus30outside]

I still don't get, what's the point of things that anthropologists do?

[ReginaMuse93]

I love anthropology-cultural, linguistics, and archaeology. I'd like to ask anyone: Couldn't anthropologists work for a magazine or a tv show as a travel writer?