人類學從對比的角度研究人類,強調人類行為的多樣性和在解釋多樣性中文化的重要性。學科包括我們種類的生物本性,以及人類適應性的物質方面內容。它的基本觀點是,在大部分文化中我們隨自然和自然因素而改變。而人類學是把人類作為文化動物來研究。社會文化人類學從幾方面的直接研究中獲得資料:研究同時代生活在各種環境下的人們;研究現代社會的農民、熱帶森林狩獵者和生活在城市群體的人;以及研究那些人群的歷史和史前史。
麻省理工學院的人類學項目在該領域向學生提供了一系列課程,在一些和其它領域相關的問題和論點上提出了人類學的觀點,其它領域包括人文學科、社會科學和工程學。它還進一步介紹了教學的專門性,其中包括社會和政治組織,經濟學和人類生態學,宗教和象徵主義,醫學和科研的人類學。地理專門性包括拉丁美洲、中東和美國的文化。
人類學課程分成六組,有重點地顯示出該領域的內容範圍:介紹,社會人類學,文化背景下的科技,以及地區和歷史研究。還有人類學的特別主題和研究生高級課程。
麻省理工學院人類學專業的學生要學習文化概念,人類學實地調查的種類,還有人類學與其他社會科學的聯繫。要研究各種各樣的理論,努力解釋人類行為和人類學家用來解釋數據的各種方法。學生可以把重點放在地理方面,關注新殖民主義、性別研究、宗教和象徵主義或者比較政治組織等問題。
若要瞭解更多資訊,請前往http://web.mit.edu/anthropology/。
Anthropology studies humankind from a comparative perspective that emphasizes the diversity of human behavior and the importance of culture in explaining that diversity. While the discipline encompasses the biological nature of our species and the material aspects of human adaptation, it takes as fundamental the idea that we respond to nature and natural forces in large part through culture. Anthropology, then, is the study of human beings as cultural animals. Sociocultural anthropology draws its data from the direct study of contemporary peoples living in a wide variety of circumstances, from peasant villagers and tropical forest hunters and gatherers to urban populations in modern societies, as well as from the history and prehistory of those peoples.
The Anthropology Program at MIT offers students a broad exposure to the discipline as well as an anthropological perspective on problems and issues relevant to other fields in the humanities, social sciences, and engineering. It also provides more intensive introduction to areas of faculty specialization, which include social and political organization, economics and human ecology, religion and symbolism, and the anthropology of medicine and scientific research. Geographical specializations include cultures of Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States.
The anthropology curriculum is divided into six groups that show the breadth of the field, with particular emphases: introductory, social anthropology, technology in cultural context, and areal and historical studies. Special topics in anthropology and advanced graduate subjects are also offered.
MIT Anthropology students learn about the concept of culture, the nature of anthropological fieldwork, and the connections between anthropology and the other social sciences. They study the various theories that attempt to explain human behavior as well as the range of methods anthropologists use to analyze data. Students can focus on geographical areas, and on issues like neocolonialism, gender studies, religion and symbolism, or comparative political organization.