Welcome to anthropology! Anthropologists want to know what makes us human. ANTH 1001 introduces you to the unique perspective on human experience in cultural anthropology. Anthropologists argue that each individual is incomplete without the input of the shared patterns acquired from one's community. In this class you will learn how anthropologists define the concept of culture, how they use cultural relativism, and how they conduct research through cultural immersion and participatory fieldwork. You will examine several cases that demonstrate the human capacity for cultural diversity, and will understand several of the core topics that anthropologists investigate to capture a society's worldview and way of life.

This class is one of two introductory units in anthropology at the University of Sydney. On the pages in this section of the Anthrocyclopaedia you will find a guide to the class and lecture outlines from Ryan's lectures. All of your writing assignments, other assignments, and the quizzes for lecture are submitted using the class Canvas site. This is meant as a supplement to the university sites and online resources for this class.

For Semester 1, 2020, the University of Sydney anthropology department has created a new format for this class, based on the successful model of //ANTH 1002: Anthropology in the world//, which runs in Sem 2. We will work through four three-week modules on different topics that introduce you to the study of culture, cultural difference, and the main perspectives in anthropology as a social science.