The coffee and the many faces of Anthropology

I remember how in school (aeons ago) every time we started studying a new subject, the first lesson would always be along the lines of ‘What is [insert subject]?’. There was always a clear definition. History = the study of the past. Biology (from greek bios = life and logos = word, knowledge) = the study of life. Then I started my BA and had a whole module called Literary Forms of Representation that was discussing what may or may not be Literature.

Here I am studying for a Master’s degree and being told that Anthropology is many things - it’s a bit of sociology (hence the dictionary in the pic), but it may also be a bit of psychology, history, politics, or economics. Some people say this is Anthropology, other people say that is Anthropology. Truth is, Anthropology is a bit of everything. So is Literature. And so are many other subjects. Trying to fit them into a very strict definition may be great for a young pupil trying to make sense of everything that school offers, but for someone who’s pretty much wearing the shoes of a practitioner, not so much. Leaving definitions open is so great!

In the last few weeks, since I started my MA I’ve learned so much about so many different things. There’s a nice balance between abstract concepts like cultural relativism or neoliberalism and grassroots examples, applicability. Applied Anthropology. Not a bad choice. Not a bad choice at all.