Anthropology is the study of the human species.
It advances our collective understanding of who we are, where we came from, how we differ from one another, and what those differences mean.
Anthropology supports free inquiry about the human condition with scholarly rigor and sensitivity, and the dissemination and application of the resulting knowledge to local, national, and global communities. In the words of one of its founders, E. B. Tylor of Oxford University, anthropology is "a reformer's science."
The science of anthropology is rooted in core values of mutual respect, equal rights, freedom of expression, and freedom from discrimination. As another of its early practitioners, Ruth Benedict of Columbia University, wrote, "The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human difference." Read more >>