Hocbigg - Anthropology
Path to a free self-taught education in Anthropology!
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Introduction
Anthropology is the holistic study of humanity across deep evolutionary time, geographical space, and cultural diversity. While disciplines such as sociology, economics, or history tend to examine specific institutional domains or temporal periods, anthropology is defined by its comparative breadth and its commitment to understanding human biology, language, social organization, and material culture as deeply interconnected phenomena.
This curriculum is designed for independent learners, polymaths, and career-changers approaching anthropology for the first time. No prior formal training in the social sciences, evolutionary biology, or linguistics is required. The curriculum deliberately focuses on conceptual foundations, analytical mental models, and empirical findings rather than generic research methodology, thesis writing, or graduate-level field techniques.
How to Navigate the Sequence
The curriculum follows the discipline's canonical four-field approach, bookended by an orientation and a theoretical synthesis:
- Start with the Foundations: Begin with Introduction to Anthropology to grasp the four-field structure, the central concept of culture, and the principle of cultural relativism.
- Explore the Four Subfields: Sociocultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Archaeological Anthropology, and Linguistic Anthropology form the core empirical body of the discipline. While they are listed in conventional curricular order, you may study these four subjects in whatever sequence aligns best with your interests.
- Synthesize with Theory: Complete your foundational study with Anthropological Theory. This subject pulls together the four subfields by tracing the intellectual debates — from nineteenth-century social evolutionism and historical particularism to structuralism and post-structuralism — that shaped how anthropologists interpret evidence.
For each subject, choose the primary textbook or syllabus that matches your preferred learning style (such as open-access online texts versus comprehensive standard print volumes), using the accompanying course guides or lectures to reinforce your understanding.
Beyond the Core
This curriculum covers only the foundational baseline that every educated anthropologist shares. Once you have mastered these core concepts, you can branch out into specialized domains:
- Explore subfields like medical anthropology, political ecology, and bioarchaeology in Advanced Topics.
- Apply ethnographic, linguistic, and archaeological methods to tangible deliverables in Projects.
- Engage directly with landmark monographs and transformative historical essays in Readings.
- Deepen your intuition through full-length university lectures and documentary courses in Courses.
Communities
- Forums:
- Subreddits:
- Discord servers:
- Other:
- Savage Minds (anthropology blog and forum)
- Fediverse Group: Anthropology (Mastodon group)
- You can also interact through GitHub issues. If there is a problem with a course, or a change needs to be made to the curriculum, this is the place to start the conversation. Read more here.
Curriculum
Introduction to Anthropology
Surveys the holistic four-field discipline of anthropology, establishing how cultural, biological, archaeological, and linguistic perspectives combine to illuminate the human condition.
Introduction to Anthropology (OpenStax / Jennifer Hasty et al.) - A comprehensive, peer-reviewed open textbook that introduces all four traditional subfields along with foundational concepts of culture, evolution, and human diversity.
Anthropology: Appreciating Human Diversity (Conrad Phillip Kottak) - An established print alternative to the OpenStax volume, offering an expansive, case-rich overview of the four subfields.
Introduction to Anthropology (MIT OpenCourseWare / Graham Jones) - A complementary university syllabus and study schedule with curated readings and assignment prompts exploring contemporary anthropological questions.
Sociocultural Anthropology
Investigates cultural variation, social institutions, kinship, political and economic systems, religion, and the effects of globalization across human societies.
Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology (American Anthropological Association / Nina Brown et al., eds.) - A free, modular introductory textbook written by practicing anthropologists that covers all major topics in cultural anthropology.
Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology (Thomas Hylland Eriksen) - An alternative, narrative-driven introductory text reflecting the British and European social anthropology traditions through engaging real-world ethnography.
Anthropology: Understanding Societies and Cultures (FutureLearn / University of Newcastle) - A complementary three-week online course that provides a guided video and discussion-based introduction to culture, kinship, and ethnographic fieldwork.
Biological Anthropology
Explores human biological evolution, evolutionary genetics, non-human primate behavior, the hominin fossil record, and biocultural adaptations in living human populations.
Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology (American Anthropological Association / Beth Shook et al., eds.) - The definitive peer-reviewed open-access textbook for evolutionary theory, paleoanthropology, primate biology, and human variation.
Our Origins: Discovering Biological Anthropology (Clark Spencer Larsen) - A widely adopted university textbook alternative to Explorations, containing detailed anatomical diagrams, fossil reconstructions, and bioarchaeological case studies.
Introduction to Human Evolution (Adam Van Arsdale / YouTube) - search "Introduction to Human Evolution Adam Van Arsdale" on YouTube - A complementary open video lecture series by a paleoanthropologist covering evolutionary genetics, fossil discoveries, and hominin adaptations.
Archaeological Anthropology
Examines how material culture, site stratigraphy, dating technologies, and spatial analysis are used to reconstruct ancient lifeways, the agricultural transition, and the rise of complex societies.
Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice (Colin Renfrew & Paul Bahn) - The canonical, comprehensive textbook detailing archaeological theory, scientific field techniques, dating methods, and global excavations.
Digging into Archaeology: A Brief OER Introduction to Archaeology with Activities (Amanda Wolcott Paskey & AnnMarie Beasley Cisneros) - A concise, free open-access alternative covering core archaeological concepts and featuring practical exercises for independent study.
Archaeology: from Dig to Lab and Beyond (FutureLearn / University of Reading) - A complementary interactive course that illustrates the step-by-step reality of an actual archaeological excavation, artifact processing, and post-dig analysis.
Linguistic Anthropology
Examines language as a primary vehicle of cultural meaning, investigating semiotics, linguistic relativity, performativity, language socialization, and the links between speech, power, and identity.
Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (Laura M. Ahearn) - A focused introductory textbook that treats language as social action and examines agency, indexicality, and speech communities.
Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (Zdenek Salzmann, James Stanlaw, & Nobuko Adachi) - An alternative introductory textbook covering both the formal mechanics of language and the sociolinguistic dimensions of identity, gender, and power.
Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics (Coursera / Universiteit Leiden) - A complementary video course providing a working foundation in descriptive linguistics, such as phonetics, syntax, and language acquisition, to support your study of linguistic anthropology.
Anthropological Theory
Traces the intellectual history and paradigms of anthropology from 19th-century unilineal evolutionism and historical particularism to functionalism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and contemporary critique.
Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History (R. Jon McGee & Richard L. Warms) - The canonical primary-source reader anthologizing foundational theoretical essays from classical theorists through modern post-structuralist and feminist thinkers, supported by thorough editorial annotations.
Anthropological Theory (MIT OpenCourseWare / Susan S. Silbey) - A complementary university syllabus and study guide that provides analytical reading questions pairing classic theoretical statements with ethnographic case analyses.