Features

• Because the science of anthropology is so broad, numerous specializations abound in the field, some traditional and some more recent. Specializations include cognitive, cultural, economic, forensic, linguistic, physical, social, symbolic and many others. Archaeology also is a division of anthropology.
  
  

Theories

• Most of the specializations are divided into further focuses and theories. Cultural anthropology, for example, has several individual areas and theories about reasons for human behavior. Materialism, for instance, understands human culture as an effect of the material conditions of the community. Functionalism views society as a living organism, with groups that can only be studied effectively when considering the entire society. There also are divisions of anthropology which look at aspects of human society from more specific points of view such as feminism.
  
  

Careers

• Anthropologists typically work as researchers, teachers, curators, consultants and restoration technicians. Entry-level positions include working as research assistants or administrative assistants. Anthropologists find jobs in museums, colleges and universities, government agencies and historic sites.
  
  

Significance

• As governmental funding becomes more scarce, anthropologists work to justify the value of their research, often emphasizing that they study history and cultures not only for pure knowledge but for how to improve the world. For instance, anthropologists study peaceful societies to learn how to create a world that is not always at war. They study ways people cooperate despite a conflict between economics and conservation such as in Western United States and Canada ranch lands. They study the ways economic changes can impact a country's political system. The research possibilities in anthropology are wide-ranging and can seem nearly infinite.
  
  

Potential

• One major challenge anthropologists deal with is helping public health workers to improve the health of societies as a group. This goal can be problematic when people have backgrounds, lifestyles, and circumstances creating entirely different viewpoints than those of the health professionals. Traditionally, health workers tried to teach individuals, but this has often failed because the individuals are immersed in a large and influential social structure. Challenging aspects include trying to convince people to use condoms in AIDS-stricken regions where condom use has intense cultural disapproval, promoting birth control in countries where numerous children are viewed as a status symbol even while starvation is rampant, and convincing teenagers to quit smoking or not start, even while the broader culture views the habit as "cool."