Kawigatèn dhasar Antropologi ya iku "Apa sing ndhéfinisikaké Homo sapiens?", "Sapa nenek moyang Homo sapiens modhèren?", "Apa ciri-ciri fisik manungsa?", "Kepriyé patindakané manungsa?", "Ngapa ana variasi lan prabédan antarané golongan-golongan sing béda saka manungsa?", "Kepriyé mangsa kapungkur évolusi saka Homo sapiens diprabawai organisasi sosial lan budaya?" lan sapanunggalé.
Ing Amérika Sarékat, antropologi kontèmporer racaké dipérang dadi papat sub-babagan: antropologi budaya (uga diarani "antropologi sosial", arkéologi, antropologi linguistik, lan antropologi fisik (utawa biologi).[3] Panyerakan "papat-babagan" antropologi disajèkaké ing akèh buku tèks kasarjanan[4] sarta program antropologi (tuladhané ing Michigan, Berkeley, Penn). Ing universitas-univrsitas sing ana ing Inggris, lan akèh ing Éropa, "sub-babagan" iki asring dipapanaké ing départemèn kapisah lan dideleng minangka disiplin èlmu sing béda.[5]
Sub-babagan sosial lan budaya wisbanget diprabawai déning téyori strukturalis lan pasca-modhèren, uga minangka pagèsèran menyang arah masarakat modhèren (ajang luwih mirunggan sajeroning komit para sosiolog). Sakwéné taun 1970an lan 1980an ana pagèsèran epistemologis adoh saka tradhisi positifisme sing sapérangan gedhé digenahaké disiplin.[6] Sakwéné pagèsèran iki, pitakonan-pitakonan suwé ngenani sipat lan prodhuksi kawruh muncul ngisi papan utama sajeroning antropologi budaya lan sosial. Béda karo, arkéologi, antropologi biologi, lan antropologi lingustik sapérangan gedhé isih positivis. Amarga pabédan ing epistemologi, antropologi minangka disiplin duwé kekurangan kamanunggalan suwéné sapérangan dasawarsa akir-akir iki. Masalah iki uga wis njalari départemèn nyimpang, minangka conto nalika taun akademik 1998–9 ing Univèrsitas Stanford, ing ngendi "para èlmuwan" lan "non-èlmuwan" kapérang dadi rong départemèn: èlmu antropologi lan antropologi budaya & sosial;[7] départemèn iki banjur digabung manèh nalika taun akademik 2008–9.[8]
Barth, Fredrik, Andre Gingrich, Robert Parkin, One Discipline, Four Ways: British, German, French, and American anthropology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
D'Andrade, R. "The Sad Story of Anthropology: 1950-1999." In E. L. Cerroni-Long, ed. Anthropological Theory in North America. Westport: Berin & Garvey 1999. Anthro.ucsd.edu
Darnell, Regna. (2001) Invisible Genealogies: A History of Americanist Anthropology. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Harris, Marvin. (2001[1968]) The rise of anthropological theory: a history of theories of culture. AltaMira Press. Walnut Creek, CA.
Kehoe, Alice B. (1998) The Land of Prehistory: A Critical History of American Archaeology.
Lewis, Herbert S. (1998) "The Misrepresentation of Anthropology and its Consequences." American Anthropologist, 100: 716-731. Interscience.wiley.com[pranala mati permanèn], Lewis
Lewis, Herbert S. (2004) "Imagining Anthropology's History." Reviews in Anthropology, v. 33.
Lewis, Herbert S. (2005) "Anthropology, the Cold War, and Intellectual History. In R. Darnell & F.W. Gleach, eds. Histories of Anthropology Annual, Vol. I.
Pels, Peter & Oscar Salemink, eds. (2000) Colonial Subjects: Essays on the Practical History of Anthropology.
Price, David. (2004) Threatening Anthropology: McCarthyism and the FBI's Surveillance of Activist Anthropologists.
Stocking, George, Jr. (1968) Race, Culture and Evolution. New York: Free Press.
Trencher, Susan. (2000) Mirrored Images: American Anthropology and American Culture, 1960-1980.
Gisi, Lucas Marco. (2007) Einbildungskraft und Mythologie. Die Verschränkung von Anthropologie und Geschichte im 18. Jahrhundert, Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Buku tèks lan karya-karya teoritis utama
Clifford, James and George E. Marcus (1986) Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Geertz, Clifford (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.
Harris, Marvin (1997) Culture, People, Nature: An Introduction to General Anthropology (7th Edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon
Salzmann, Zdeněk. (1993) Language, culture, and society: an introduction to linguistic anthropology. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Shweder, Richard A., and Robert A. LeVine, eds. (1984) Culture Theory: essays on mind, self, and emotion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.