Anthropology books

Anthropology is a field of study of humans, combining insights from psychology, sociology, economics, archaeology and ethnology. Anthropologists may be focused on cultural traditions, social behaviours, or large-scale patterns of behaviour. When we spoke to Oxford University's Professor Ruben Andersson about the best political anthropology books, he offered some reflections on the division between anthropology and some neighbouring fields: "I draw as much inspiration from sociologists as from anthropologists, and I learn a lot from psychologists. In anthropology, we often like to work with how people see the world themselves, the cultural-social world of other people. Many sociologists also work ethnographically, so there’s clear overlap between what we do—that is, following people in their everyday lives. Psychologists, of course, engage with people’s intimate lives on an even more fine-grained scale. So in some ways, we all share methodologies and outlooks, but we all contribute something distinct. In my view, we all get a richer understanding of society, and human sociality, the more we work together."