Living in Culture

Have you ever wondered why some people eat with chopsticks, others with their hands, and some with forks? Or why holidays and celebrations can look so different around the world? That curiosity is exactly what led me to anthropology, specifically cultural anthropology—the study of how people live, believe, and connect across cultures.

This originally stemmed from my travels. As I was exposed to new cultures, I was fascinated by the unique differences between communities. Wanting to dig deeper, I looked for opportunities to learn more. This brought me to want to learn more about anthropology, but particularly, cultural anthropology.

Definitions and Background

Anthropology is a broad field, but one that is not very commonly discussed. My high school, and many near me, do not offer any cultural anthropology classes. However, I was so interested that I went to a local community college to learn more. I wish more schools included anthropology in their program of studies because it is such an interesting and important field.

The formal definition of anthropology is “the study of human societies and cultures and their development”. Essentially, it is a field that looks at the past and present of humans from a biological, social, and cultural context. Anthropology can then be divided into four major subfields, each with its own unique focus. Each part of anthropology explores a different angle of the human experience. This system was established by Franz Boas who, is often regarded as the founder of modern American anthropology.

• Cultural Anthropology – This is the field of anthropology I am the most interested in. It studies human societies and cultures and focuses on different cultural beliefs, practices, and traditions. This field often involves fieldwork, so cultural anthropologists can fully immerse themselves in a community to understand the unique nuances across different groups.
• Biological Anthropology – If you are interested in all things evolution, adaptations, and biological variations, biological anthropology is the subfield for you. Biological anthropology focuses heavily on the origins and development of humans and the diversity of human populations’ genetic and physical traits.
• Linguistic Anthropology – Linguistic anthropology is exactly what it sounds like – the study of languages, specifically concerning culture. In this subfield, many look at communication across the globe as they try to understand how linguistics interacts with cultures, ideologies, and the foundations of languages themselves.
• Archaeology – Last but not least, archaeology is the study of humans of the past through the recovery of materials. Many archaeologists participate in digs as they try to uncover new artifacts that can be studied to gain a better understanding of past human behaviors.

Why it Matters

In a world that often divides people by difference, anthropology helps us build bridges through understanding. Fields like biological anthropology give us information on our origins and the science behind it. Without cultural anthropology, we risk misunderstanding others. Archaeology has given us so many artifacts that have helped us learn how our ancestors lived. Finally, linguistic anthropology helps us with communication, something crucial in our connected world.

In 2012, Forbes ranked anthropology and archaeology as the worst college majors, and I could not disagree more. Anthropology helps us understand ourselves and the communities around us. Through my research, I have learned so much more about communities around the world, so much so that I founded an organization, Culture 4 Kids,to teach children all about these important differences. Anthropology teaches us that there are so many ways to be a human. No one is the same, no culture has the same traditions, and one way of life is not better than another. This field fights ignorance and encourages empathy, something so important in today’s world.

If you’re curious and want to explore more like I did, I recommend picking up some books that discuss anthropology, or the specific subfield you are interested in. That is how I first learned more about the field. All in all, the more we learn about others, the more we learn about ourselves.