How to start Anthropology!

 “Anthropology demands the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder that which one would not have been able to guess”  ~ Margaret Mead

If I put myself in the shoes of a beginner, who is just starting anthropology preparation or making up his/her mind for choosing anthropology then this blog post is for that “me”. I hope it also helps you, if you are starting your preparation.

First and foremost, Read Ember and ember, it is very interesting book. I read marriage, family, kinship and other socio cultural part from it. Coming from the science background I was not knowing such aspects of society, it widened my horizon of seeing the things. Culture relativism and holism were truly amazing. This book is good for building the interest in anthropology. After reading it, I felt that anthropology would suit me and I never looked back at any other optional.

Secondly, I have shared the list of resources I followed. Cover one by one, like genetics, socio-cultural, theories part, archaeology and make notes of them. After paper 1, go for paper 2. Value addition is not required at this stage. Only make notes from basic material for now. At that time I remember,I followed Anudeep Sir’s (AIR 1, 2017) blog for choosing my resources and it actually helped me. 

Thirdly, Dedicate 50-60% of the time of your study hours to anthropology to cover it in 4 months(without value addition). 

How to make notes : 

Start from paper 1, study each section and then make notes as per syllabus and PYQs. For example, if you are studying primates, first cover all the dimensions of it, understand the concepts and theory. Then start making notes in question answer format (reference: PYQs). After this question answer format notes, make notes of topics which are left now but they are mentioned in syllabus.

After that gradually move to paper 2 and majorly three sections are there. Archeology, Indian village and related topics, Tribal section. For archeology make comprehensive notes along with map and detailing of sites. Topic 1.8 of paper 1 and Topic 1.1-1.3 of paper 2 should be done together. 

How/ when to start answer writing 

When you are making notes in question answer format , your mind is getting trained to think like that only. However, the exact copy -paste method of answer writing is now outdated in anthropology. Mugging and vomiting is not working anymore. The paper has become more analytical now , and to deal that good understanding is highly desired. 

So, after you make notes of one section, suppose you are done with physical part, start answer writing for that section. Atleast rewrite the question you have already attempted (in your notes ). Try it, how you can fit the content if it is a10marker, 15 marker or 20 marker. Tod mind mapping of the content and try all permutations and combinations. 

I used to write in intro-body-conclusion format. This way you can maintain the flow of your answers. 

For more details on answer writing, and how to improve the marks , I’ll be discussing in my subsequent posts. 

I hope beginners now can start their preparation. I want to convey my sincere message to them which I believe by my heart, it is quote by famous anthropologist Ruth Benedict : 

“The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences”

Lite hai!