Urban Anthropology - Overview

Overview

Urban anthropology is heavily influenced by sociology. The traditional difference between sociology and anthropology was that the former was traditionally conceived as the study of civilized populations, whilst anthropology was approached as the study of primitive populations. There were, in addition, methodological differences between these two disciplines—sociologists would normally study a large population sample while anthropologists relied on fewer informants with deeper relations.

As interest in urban societies increased, methodology between these two fields and subject matters began to blend, leading some to question the differences between urban sociology and urban anthropology. The lines between the two fields have blurred with the interchange of ideas and methodology, to the advantage and advancement of both disciplines.

While urban anthropology is a newly acknowledged field, anthropologists have been conducting work in the area for a long time. For instance, numerous early scholars have attempted to define exactly what the city is and pinpoint the ways in which urbanism sets apart modern city lifestyles from what used to be regarded as the "primitive society". It is increasingly acknowledged in urban anthropology that, although there are significant differences in the characteristics and forms of organization of urban and non-urban communities, there are also important similarities, insofar as the city can also be conceived in anthropological studies as a form of community. Urban anthropology is an expansive and continuously evolving area of research. With a different playing field, anthropologists have had to modify their methods and even readdress traditional ethics in order to adjust to different obstacles and expectations.

Several for-profit and non-profit organizations now do work in the field of urban anthropology. Perhaps the best known of these is the non-profit organization called Urban Anthropology. Numerous universities now teach urban anthropology.