What's the difference between anthropology and sociology?

[jeremy]

I took both in college and they seemed basically the same.

[K S]

Well, scientifically, anthropology is about all human races. Not just homo sapiens sapiens, I see the confusion though, cultural anthropology is very much sociology.

[Vasanth]

Anthropology is the study of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences.The term was first used by François Péron when discussing his encounters with Tasmanian Aborigines Ethnography is both one of its primary methods and the text that is written as a result of the practice of anthropology and its elements.

Since the work of Franz Boas and Bronis?aw Malinowski in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, social anthropology has been distinguished from other social science disciplines by its emphasis on in-depth examination of context, cross-cultural comparisons (socio-cultural anthropology is by nature a comparative discipline), and the importance it places on long-term, experiential immersion in the area of research, often known as participant-observation. Cultural anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativity and the use of findings to frame cultural critiques. This has been particularly prominent in the United States, from Boas's arguments against 19th-century racial ideology, through Margaret Mead's advocacy for gender equality and sexual liberation, to current criticisms of post-colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism.


Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. Areas studied in sociology can range from the analysis of brief contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social interaction. Numerous fields within the discipline concentrate on how and why people are organized in society, either as individuals or as members of associations, groups, and institutions. As an academic discipline, sociology is usually considered a branch of social science.

Sociological research provides educators, planners, lawmakers, administrators, developers, business leaders, and people interested in resolving social problems and formulating public policy with rationales for the actions that they take.