This Course Is Required: Cultural Anthropology for Beginners and Non Majors

Cultural Anthropology for Beginners and Non Majors is part of an ongoing project to create a student-driven textbook, largely inspired by Dr. Mitra's philosophy.

The approach to each topic is based on cases and concepts in which students expressed the most interest. Subsequently, chapter discussions stray from or completely omit many traditional concepts (e.g. kinship diagrams). This is not to diminish the importance of these topics, but to focus on application of broader concepts. However, emphasis placed on culture's influence on daily life, legislation, and official protocols is useful for students of all backgrounds.

The primary goal of this text is to demonstrate the impact that culture has on our daily lives. From this vantage point, the author believes that all readers can reap the benefits of applying an anthropological lens to their professional and personal lives.