Anthropology vs Sociology

The study of human beings can be the study of a lifetime. Trying to understand human behavior has been a task
that has occupied some of the greatest thinkers of our race for thousands of years. Disciplined study of the
human race has been taking place since the Renaissance. Today there are many fields and sub-fields of study.
While humankind is the subject matter of all these fields the philosophical approach to study varies from
discipline to discipline. It may not be apparent at first, but there are some differences between anthropology and
sociology.

Definition of Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology ‘“ is a social science that is concerned with human culture as well as the physical and social
characteristics that create that culture. Often it will compare one group of humans to another or even compare
humans with animals.
Sociology ‘“ is a social science that studies the functionality of human society including origins, development,
and organization. It will also look at these attributes inside institutions and organizations.
History of Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology ‘“ human beings have been observing and recording the behavior of others since the dawn of
civilization. Some credit Herodotus and Tacitus with being the first anthropologists. However, it wasn’t
until the late eighteenth century that a codified study of other cultures began. Traditionally, anthropology has
been about Westerners studying the culture of less technologically advanced peoples. In some instances the
study of anthropology led to racist theories about the overall advancement of difference groups.
Sociology ‘“ has also been practiced since the Greek period as a study of one’s surrounding society. However, it
wasn’t until the late nineteenth century that sociology was recognized as an academic discipline and became
part of university curriculum.
Focus of Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology ‘“ is interested in the overall culture of a group of people. This includes social institutions, art,
history, mythology, and common mores, among other traits. Anthropologies now study societies all over the
world, but look for overarching themes that are reinforced through case studies. It also includes archeology, and
due to a great amount of substantive speculation is thought to be a softer science than sociology.
Sociology ‘“ is a quantitative social science. Most theories are based on polls, statistical analysis, sampling, and
large collections of life histories. Sociologists strive to be as impartial and scientific as possible as they gather
data. The data analyzed by sociologists is often used by government officials and market researchers alike.
Summary:
1. Anthropology and sociology are both fields of social science that study the behavior of humans within their
societies.
2. Traditionally anthropology dealt with the study of cultures different from one’s own, especially those less
advanced while sociology was used to understand one’s own society.
3. Today anthropology tends to look at the big picture of human culture while sociology spends more time
analyzing data from a specific study.
4. Anthropology is considered to be a softer science than sociology as it bases more of its conclusions on case
studies than hard data.

Sociology is the scientific study of the structure and changes of human groups in relation to their members and
other groups. Sociology is not the only discipline that studies human behavior and societies.neighboring
disciplines like economics, anthropology, history, political science and psychology share interests in some
aspects of social life as follows.

Anthropology
Anthropology seeks to describe human variations, both physical and social since humankind’s earliest
beginnings. Traditionally it has studied remote culture and has begun to start social groups in industrial
societies. We then begin to see orthographies of urban street gangs, peer culture in schools, the transmission
of culture among immigrants and gender role behavior. These studies closely parallel many of the concern of
sociology.

Economics
This field considers activity related to the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.
Economics tend to see the work force as a supply of labor. Sociology consider other aspects of the workers as
social makeups that can influence work situation. Workforce comprised of individuals of various races sexes
ages and religion on which any or all of this factors may affect it.
Because goods and services may easily be counted and measured, economists have been able to use
sophisticated mathematical and statistical analysis in their work. But the production, distribution and
assumption of goods and services also occur within the social web. Sociologists are also required to provide
additional perspectives on economic life.

Political science
It emerged after the development of economics and focused on political philosophy and the ideals of good
government. Political scientists have come to use more numerical data such as voting records or numbers of
people holding certain attitudes. They have also begun to focus on actual political behaviors more than on
political philosophies. Today the interests of political scientists study the voting behavior and public opinion
formation on which they depend much on sociologists.

History
Some historians claim that history is a series of unique events which can only be described separately and
which never form patterns or trends. They see history as part of humanities rather than as a social science.
Other historians provide comparisons across time or record, disappearing styles of life, they resemble
sociologists who study the past. Few historians borrow sociological methods for analyzing numerical data and
some sociologists include historical background in their studies of communities, class structures or
organizational change.

Psychology
It explores both biological and the social origins of human behavior. Physiological psychology considers the
physical processes that underlie thinking, feeling and perceiving. Social psychology focuses on what happens
inside individuals, including personality development and how they are influenced by the groups, societies and
cultures they belong. Social psychology is then well established in both psychology and sociology
departments.

Social work
It is concerned with helping people who have problems. Social workers provide variety of services such as
situations, administering public assistance to welfare mothers, counseling young people and helping ex-
convicts find jobs. Therefore sociological understanding may assist social workers as they do their job and
sociologists often want their studies to help people.

Geography
It can also be asocial science which deals with society like sociology, the population studies demography,
health and environment are all geographical studies which deals with society which are also inter-related to
sociology as a field of study.

Conclusion
In conclusion sociology is closely related to other social sciences. This relation is therefore important to
learners of sociology in that it helps to provide information needed on those discipline on which is
advantageous to sociologists.it also helps learners who would like to advance in any social discipline by
providing some information required from the point of view.

Political science, also called government, is a social science which deals with systems of governance, and the
analysis of political activities, political thoughts and political behaviour. It deals extensively with the theory and
practice of politics which is commonly thought of as determining the distribution of power and resources.
Political scientists "see themselves engaged in revealing the relationships underlying political events and
conditions, and from these revelations they attempt to construct general principles about the way the world of
politics works."

Political science comprises numerous subfields, including comparative politics, political economy, international
relations, political theory, public administration, public policy, and political methodology. Furthermore,
political science is related to, and draws upon, the fields of economics, law, sociology, history, philosophy,
geography, psychology, and anthropology.

Politics – the exercise of power; process by which groups of people make collective decisions. Politics is the art
or science of running governmental or state affairs (including behavior within civil governments), institutions,
fields, and special interest groups such as the corporate, academic, and religious segments of society.
Political science – the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of
political systems and political behavior.
Comparative politics is the science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political
actors, legislature and associated fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective. International relations deals
with the interaction between nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational organizations. Political
theory is more concerned with contributions of various classical and contemporary thinkers and philosophers.