Human lives are very diverse and full of contradictions. In this introduction to social/cultural anthropology, students will learn perspectives and lenses that anthropologists use to understand human differences, concepts that help us make sense of our observations of human social relations, and the scientific methods that anthropologists use to investigate different sorts of human sociality.
More importantly, students will learn that understanding other people requires that we realize our own social positions and how these become our frame of reference for seeing others. Thus, students are expected to see themselves as part of this human menagerie, and develop critical awareness of their own beliefs and practices and understand that anyone’s beliefs and practices are historically formed and shaped, and not universally known, accepted, and/or understood.
- Teacher: Monica Fides Amada Santos