How useful is social anthropology for an overseas student in looking Essay

How useful is social anthropology for an overseas student in looking at and understanding modern British society - Essay Example Social anthropology is a title used in England and to some extent in the United States, to designate a department of the larger subject of anthropology, the study of man from a number of aspects. It concerns itself with human cultures and societies† (Pritchard 3). Therefore, it is evident that the study of Social anthropology deserves greater significance. Many researchers have identified that ‘social anthropology’ is quite a recent name which was taught under the names of anthropology or ethnology (Prichard 3). A very good definition of Social Anthropology can be found in the official website of Harvard University that writes, â€Å"Social Anthropology is concerned with the social and cultural diversity of contemporary human communities and groups† (Harvard). The website adds that through ethnographic methods and intensive participant observation â€Å"Social Anthropologists study topics such as gender, race and ethnicity; religion; economic development; i llness and healing; human rights and political violence; popular culture and the role of media in society; food and consumption; and the impact of globalization† (Harvard). This leads one to the inference that social anthropology will have an elite role in making an overseas student looking at and understanding the British society, its race and ethnicity, religion, economic development, illness and healing, and the like. The purpose of the study is to explore the certain factors of social anthropology that help an overseas student to properly understand the modern British society. Identifying gender has an elite role in assuring a good educational standard for an overseas student. When one selects a particular country for one’s further studies, it is mandatory that he or she should have proper awareness about the gender differences existing in that region. One should keep in mind that fact that ‘diversity, and complexity and change are, then, features of contemporary British society’ (Abercrombie,