Social Anthropology

Bronisław Kasper Malinowski

Anthropology is a broad topic and there are many types. These types include social, linguistic, biological, medical, and archaeological, though there are many more. Each type will have its own separate post. In this post, I will be talking about a very interesting and universal branch- social anthropology!

Social anthropology is the study of human society and cultures. Social anthropologists try to answer questions like “How do people live in societies and how do they make their lives meaningful?” and more generally, “Why do people do what they do?”. The founder of this part of anthropology is Bronisław Kasper Malinowski. He was a Polish-born British anthropologist who was recognized as one of the most important anthropologists of the 20th century. Other notable people who contributed to the field of social anthropology were Edward Burnett Taylor and James George Frazer.

Edward Burnett Taylor specialized in social anthropology. Throughout his life, he developed various beliefs and claims about human behavior and the modern world. Taylor’s most famous work was the 1871 book Primitive Culture, which debated the relationship between “primitive” societies and “civilized” societies.

James George Frazer was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist. He was alive during the time when mythology and comparative religion were beginning to become heavily researched and debated topics. Frazer’s most famous work was the 1890 series The Golden Bough, which talked about the evolution of human institutions and was a comparative study of mythology and religion.

These scholars provided the foundation on which current social issues like immigration, Opioid crisis, ethical dilemmas in the Age of technology. Although this is not my focus, social anthropology, especially, understanding some of the answers to “Why do people do what they do?” will universally help with the understanding the root causes of many issues.