Apartheid was a racial segregation system that happened in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. Non-white people were prevented from living with white people and voting (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013). This seems to be a clear case of racism and discrimination that assumed people should be treated according to their skin colour. Sometimes, lack of information about how cultural or environmental aspects may define customs and characteristics can lead to racism and discrimination. In contrast, anthropology’s approach is to understand human differences to show that each belief and practice deserve appreciation. In the Miami’s University course People of the world lecture “What is anthropology” (2014), professor Mark Peterson defines what anthropology is, presents some questions that anthropologists do, and what differences are between anthropology and other human sciences to show that there is not superior or inferior culture, but that each culture is worthy of respect. In “What is anthropology,” Peterson (2014) presents the definition of anthropology, which is the study of humanity and their aspects in different times and places; as well as anthropology purpose, which is the attempt in explaining what it means be a human.
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He also presents and defines the four subfields of anthropology, which are cultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology, biological anthropology and linguistic anthropology. However, even though anthropology is divided into four subfields, they try to answer the same question: What does make human beings unique? Peterson further explains the main aspects of anthropology and gives the difference between anthropology and other human sciences. To finish, professor Peterson points out that anthropology is defined as a perspective and holistic human study, and he gives the five characteristics of this type of study, which are relativism, empirical, adaptionalist, comparative and holistic. Peterson brings up some interesting topics related to modern society through an anthropological perspective. First, the definition and purpose of anthropology is to understand what it means be a human in different contexts, societies and times by using many means of study. In fact, this definition is confirmed by Gezon and Conrad (2014) who state that anthropology is the study of the human race in all aspects, such as time, culture, language and many other aspects (Gezon & Kottak, 2014, p. 3). In addition, since the main reason for studying human beings seems to be to understand and accept differences, it is certainly important to know and apply the anthropology knowledge in all aspects of modern society because this knowledge could prevent people from experiencing delicate situations caused by misunderstandings concerned to differences between cultures. Another interesting topic that Peterson points out is the most common questions that anthropologists do, such as “Why do societies create systems, hierarchy and inequality?” and “What is the relationship between societies and the natural conditions in which they exist?”. It is certainly true that by answering the first question, anthropologists can help to comprehend why there are many social layers in the modern society. Once they have the reason for such inequality, anthropologists can offer reasonable solutions to help governs addressing this social issue. Moreover, the answer for the second question is equally worthwhile because it can help people preserving the environment. In other words, when individuals understand the broadness of their acts in the
He also presents and defines the four subfields of anthropology, which are cultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology, biological anthropology and linguistic anthropology. However, even though anthropology is divided into four subfields, they try to answer the same question: What does make human beings unique? Peterson further explains the main aspects of anthropology and gives the difference between anthropology and other human sciences. To finish, professor Peterson points out that anthropology is defined as a perspective and holistic human study, and he gives the five characteristics of this type of study, which are relativism, empirical, adaptionalist, comparative and holistic. Peterson brings up some interesting topics related to modern society through an anthropological perspective. First, the definition and purpose of anthropology is to understand what it means be a human in different contexts, societies and times by using many means of study. In fact, this definition is confirmed by Gezon and Conrad (2014) who state that anthropology is the study of the human race in all aspects, such as time, culture, language and many other aspects (Gezon & Kottak, 2014, p. 3). In addition, since the main reason for studying human beings seems to be to understand and accept differences, it is certainly important to know and apply the anthropology knowledge in all aspects of modern society because this knowledge could prevent people from experiencing delicate situations caused by misunderstandings concerned to differences between cultures. Another interesting topic that Peterson points out is the most common questions that anthropologists do, such as “Why do societies create systems, hierarchy and inequality?” and “What is the relationship between societies and the natural conditions in which they exist?”. It is certainly true that by answering the first question, anthropologists can help to comprehend why there are many social layers in the modern society. Once they have the reason for such inequality, anthropologists can offer reasonable solutions to help governs addressing this social issue. Moreover, the answer for the second question is equally worthwhile because it can help people preserving the environment. In other words, when individuals understand the broadness of their acts in the