Understanding Human Nature: Exploring Anthropology - Essay Sample

Introduction

American Anthropological Association (AAA) defines anthropology as "the study of what makes us human" (American Anthropological Association, 2019). American anthropology is classified into four subfields namely; archaeology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology (American Anthropological Association, 2019). Anthropologists in each subfield apply particular skills, anthropological theories, and methodologies to perform research concerning human beings. The results of these researches are often used to solve real live global issues. Anthropologists work for a diverse number of entities like the government, NGOs, learning institutions, and other human and health services organizations. Anthropologists work can either be on an academic or non-academic (applied) domain (American Anthropological Association, 2019).

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There are numerous career opportunities for anthropologists outside the academic domain in America. Non-academic anthropological career works that interested me the most are forensic anthropology and business anthropology (American Anthropological Association, 2019). Forensic anthropology interested me because on choosing this career path, anthropologists use skeletal biological anthropology to aid the federal government in security matters and in solving crime issues that are trouble to our security agencies in America. The possibility of anthropologists working in business anthropology career path to interact and learn more about modern technological advances in our society today, while aiding the business entities to solve business problems is the main reason why I chose it for this review.

Business anthropology is one of the non-academic anthropological career paths where anthropologists use their research skills coupled with anthropological methodologies and theories to resolve corporate problems (American Anthropological Association, 2019). Business anthropologists examine issues faced by a particular customer target group and recommend specific customer-oriented solutions that help in improving underlying business relations. Forensic anthropology is another applied anthropological career where anthropologists perform biological anthropological analysis on human remains (American Anthropological Association, 2019). Forensic anthropology is useful to government security agencies because it helps them to deal with crime and security matters.

A deeper insight into the career areas of anthropological study enabled me to acknowledge the importance of anthropologists in our day-to-day living. Anthropologists aid in improving our lives because their holistic understanding of human beings' experience helps in ensuring that all situations of our existence are scrutinized. For example, when trying to understand and solve complex human issues, anthropologists examine the current and past biological factors, cultural factors, and social factors relating to the humans being studied, to enable them to recommend the best solution to the problem.

References

American Anthropological Association. (2019). Careers in Anthropology - Advance Your Career. Retrieved December 19, 2019, from https://www.americananthro.org/AdvanceYourCareer/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=1783

American Anthropological Association. (2019). What is Anthropology? - Advance Your Career. Retrieved December 19, 2019, from https://www.americananthro.org/AdvanceYourCareer/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2150