After you have read this chapter, you will be able to:

1.1 Define anthropology and explain how it differs from other academic disciplines

1.2 List the major subdisciplines of anthropology

1.3 Explain some of the ways in which anthropology is applied in careers and used to increase general understanding

1.4 Discuss and explain the ideas of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism

1.5 Describe anthropology’s position on race and explain the critical factors that lead the discipline to take this position

1.6 Describe some of the changes in the conditions under which anthropologists work and the ways anthropology has changed as a result

1.7 Discuss some of the key reasons for studying anthropology