Talk:Anthropology

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 August 2021 and 17 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Kmcolgan.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 17:24, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Research Process and Methodology - FA22 - Sect 200 - Thu
— Assignment last updated by Janyu150 (talk) 20:38, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

Linguistics inclusion
What does the lede mean in saying that Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with[...] linguistics? Does this mean that linguistics falls under the umbrella of anthropology? And, if so, is this actually the case? (Linguistics of course is not equivalent to linguistic anthropology.) Wolfdog (talk) 13:08, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * The sentence is saying anthropology studies humanity, and lists several major concepts which intersect with that study of humanity in the field of anthropology. The opening paragraph then goes on to clarify/explain for each of these subjects. For "linguistics", the paragraph specifies: Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. --Pinchme123 (talk) 15:39, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Gotcha. I guess my question is, why do we list the intersections as: human behavior (a broad concept), human biology (an entire science of its own), cultures (a broad concept), societies (a broad concept), and linguistics (an entire science of its own)? This just seems semantically (maybe grammatically-semantically) odd to me. Would it make more sense to list "here are the broad concepts anthropology covers" and then, in a separate sentence, "here are the scientific fields that intersect with anthropology"? Wolfdog (talk) 19:13, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * (ec)Given the specifications provided in the very same paragraph, I do not see an issue. In the same way that none of the broad concepts or the other entire science, as you've described them, are wholly subsumed under anthropology, neither is linguistics. I'd also note, the AAA article used for sourcing the sentence in question specifically states: "In the community of anthropologists in the United States, these four fields—human biology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics—are understood to be the pillars on which the whole discipline rests"; which is in line with the broader description found in the also-provided Encyclopedia Britannica source. --Pinchme123 (talk) 19:24, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your prompt responses. I do feel like the science of "culture" and "societies" is, in fact, wholly subsumed under anthropology. Would love to hear others' responses too. Wolfdog (talk) 20:47, 2 November 2023 (UTC)
 * To preface, yes, I would really like others to chime in as well. I will say, sociologists would probably have something to say about "societies", and possibly "culture" too. --Pinchme123 (talk) 21:05, 2 November 2023 (UTC)