Anthropology focuses on the structures and processes of human life, whether these are material objects, cultural or social practices, methods of communication, or skeletal remains. As a discipline, it emerged in the late nineteenth century as an attempt to understand the diversity of human life. American anthropology is traditionally divided into four fields: sociocultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology, along with archaeology. This makes anthropology a very diverse discipline, and it is not uncommon for an individual to become immersed in his or her specialty to the exclusion of other anthropological aspects. If you are studying this broad and intriguing field, you may quickly find yourself faced with foreign material that seems out of your depth. Whether you have fallen way behind in your studies, or you are looking to make the honor roll, hiring a tutor will greatly benefit you.
Sociocultural anthropology (which is often called social anthropology in the British tradition and cultural anthropology in the American tradition) is the study of human cultures, societies, institutions, and practices, often through qualitative methods such as ethnography. While it initially approached traditional societies, sociocultural anthropology now considers any culture a legitimate object of study. Biological anthropology is the study of skeletal remains in order to understand evolution, behavioral ecology, non-contemporary illness, and the cultural context of remains, such as burial. It differs from the field of biology insofar as biological anthropology takes human beings (and, in evolutionary cases, other primates) who are no longer living as its object of study. Archaeology differs from biological anthropology in that it is the study not of human remains directly, but of cultural remains and the various objects of ancient societies: their use, production, value, and meaning. Linguistic anthropology is more closely related to sociocultural anthropology, but while the latter tends to focus on myriad systems and processes, the former is specifically focused on the cultural systems and processes of human communication, including technology (from pre-literate communication to the stylus to the cell phone) and performance (such as theater, ritual, or speech acts). As you can see, there are many different types of anthropology and learning about each type can be overwhelming. That is where a tutor comes in; Varsity Tutors will step in to find you a tutor who will make this subject easier to understand.
