ANTHROPOLOGY FOR UPSC/STATE PSC
Anthropology is one of the most popular optional subjects for exams like UPSC and State PSC. It is highly scoring in terms of competitive value and provides deeper insights into a wider range of topics in our day-to-day life. In this post, we will be knowing the essential resources to which one can refer when opting for anthropology as their optional subject. Let us now look at some of the key reasons that add value to anthropology as a preferable choice for the exam.
1. Defined syllabus: Unlike other optional subjects, the syllabus of anthropology is defined quite precisely and leaves minimal scope for ambiguity. The syllabus has not seen any major changes in recent times concerning its overall structure. So, it is static in nature but dynamic in perception.
2. Relevance to other General Studies Papers: If we see the syllabus of the Preliminary exam and other General studies papers, there are topics like Indian society, globalization, communalism, development, human values, etc. The anthropology syllabus covers these topics in a wider perspective that provides more impetus to the answer writing. So there is an overlapping and interconnectedness between the syllabus of anthropology and other general studies papers.
3. Relevance for essay paper: Anthropology's social theories and concepts provide insights into moral, ethical and societal structures in a spatial and temporal dimension. For example, the concepts such as cultural relativism, hegemony, ethnocentrism etc., supplements the theoretical foundations for the essay paper.
4) Time-bound: Anthropology is one subject that can be covered in stipulated time. Marks in anthropology are given for the coherence and detailing of the answers. One should remember that the examiner can easily differentiate between an anthropologically trained candidate vs non-anthropology background candidate, so watch your answers and thoughtfully use the anthropological vocabulary to reflect on your answers.
If you are new to the subject and reading it for the first time, make sure to give it a daily read for at least 40-60 mins for 8-9 months to grasp the essence of what it is all about. Even though the syllabus is limited in scope, the extent to which it can stretch human creativity is infinite. Many names are related to scholars and their books, archaeological sites, human skeletons, etc. and classifications on nearly every topic. Make sure you remember the names of key anthropologists (both Indian and Foreign) and their work.
Read the previous year question papers and look for the type of questions that have been asked. In recent times, questions are being asked outside the traditional anthropological gamut. In the past few years, we find that half of the questions are bookish and straightforwardly asked and the remaining are analytical in nature. This is where in-depth anthropological enquiry functions to outcast the ones dependent upon limited notes and booklets. The structure of the question paper is witnessing a paradigm shift with a focus on words like 'critically', 'impact', 'justifying' etc., which requires an integrated framework of theoretical practicality. The evolution of UPSC creating more practically oriented questions papers is something that the majority of the non-anthropology background aspirants miss out on and do not fare well in their optional subject.
Why study anthropology: A perspective
beyond the competitive life
Let us take a moment to actually understand and appreciate about
what anthropology as a discipline holds for a civil service aspirant. No matter
which service you opt for (IAS, IFS or IPS), humans will be the first point of
contact for you, and guess what anthropology is all about – it’s about HUMANS
only. Wherever you go across the country or world, you will encounter people
form heterogenous diversities and without understanding the emic perspectives
of the natives, there will be high probabilities of making judgmental errors. So
let us take a moment to appreciate the beauty of anthropology as a discipline that
despite its negligible presence in academics, it holds its flag high for the
betterment of the people across the globe
1. The foremost practical utility of anthropology is that it will nurture your
personal enlightenment and greater self-awareness due to substantial
understandings about the historical and behavioural development of human beings as
a species and how have they persisted across the Spatio-temporal dimension.
2. The
interdisciplinary nature of the subject will introduce you to concepts of economics,
history, law, psychology etc. that will allow you to bridge the gap in your
knowledge base.
3. An
anthropology aspirants, if they work religiously, will develop a sense of “Holism.”
or “Whole Picture” that is important to generate creative solutions to the
problems of the Anthropocene world.
4. The understanding of the subject will help in fostering
global cohesion, awareness and appreciation for cultures and communities that
we perceive different from our own.
5. Understanding
the fundamental question of humanity and also what it means to be a human and
It's applied context.
6. Anthropology
promotes a cross-cultural perspective that allows us to see ourselves as a part
of one human family midst the tremendous diversity of communities, cultures.
SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY RESOURCES
Social anthropology is heavily dominated by theoretical perspectives and requires an in-depth understanding of the social institutions, structures and social phenomenon. Let's have a look at some of the key resources :
1. Anthropology: 14th or 15th Edition by Ember and Ember.
- Highly recommended and must have with every aspirant.
- Builds the foundation of the subject in a very comprehensive manner.
- Questions are asked directly from it at times.
Alternative and additional content can be referred from ;
a) Humanity: An introduction to cultural anthropology - James People and Garrick Bailey
2. History of Anthropological thought: Gaya Pandey and VS Upadhyay
-Easy to read and understand about anthropological theories, anthropologists and their contributions
3 . An Introduction to Social Anthropology: Makhan Jha
- Elementary book in social anthropology concisely explaining concepts.
or
4. An introduction to social anthropology: TN Madan
- Another elementary book to understand social anthropology and social institutions.
5. Anthropological theories :
- if you are running out of time and want to learn anthropological theories, this repository prepared by the students of Anthropology of Univ. of Alabama is the solution.
6. Basics of social anthropology :
- the University of Calicut has prepared course material for their distance learning program in sociology; there is a section on anthropology which is a very concise and well-explained introduction to social anthropology.
7. Cultural theory: Alexander Riley and Philip smith
- this book is for those who want to go the extra mile and understand various sociological and anthropological concepts and theories from Max weber to Michael Foucault and beyond.
A book that has ingredients to explain the modern world's dynamics and wider your intellectual horizon.
- A book that you will never regret investing your time in.
8. A History of Anthropological theory: Paul A. Erickson & Liam D. Murphy
- The book covers the requirement of anthropological theories and other concepts that require modern understandings such as Anthropology and Gender, Postmodernism, Political economy etc.
If you are a novice to the subject, you can also read Anthropology for dummies, or Essentials of Cultural Anthropology by ARN Srivastava (Good for revision purposes)
INDIAN ANTHROPOLOGY & TRIBAL INDIA RESOURCES
There are only a few resources for this particular topic, but that serves our purpose very well.
1. Indian Anthropology: Nadeem Hasnain
- Try to mug it up; direct questions are asked from concepts given in this book.
- The data may be outdated; make sure to update it before mugging it up.
2. Indian Anthropology: Vijoy Sahay and Pradip K Singh (if you can find it )
- If you can get it to read, it's an advantage; otherwise, do not spend much time searching for it.
3) Tribal India: Nadeem Hasnain
-another source from which direct questions have come in the past.
-as the publication might be old, try to update statistical information w.r.t tribes, schemes, programs and their development.
4) States, Tribes and Society: Virginius Xaxa
- a book with academic vigour but useful as a resource to learn about tribes and their relationship with wider society and its impact on them.
-analytical in nature with a flavour of constructive criticism.
5) Indian Society and Culture: Continuity and
Change: Nadeem Hasnain (4th edition)
- a comprehensive
resource about various facets of Indian society
- the material is both
excellent for optional and other papers of mains examination perspective.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY RESOURCES
There are many resources in this field, but we have to focus on the most relevant ones.
1) Outline of Indian Prehistory: DK Bhattacharya
2) Prehistoric archaeology: DK Bhattacharya
-Both the books are VV important to read and understand.
- Remember the name of key sites and their characteristics for each prehistoric period and Harrapan period.
-if you can learn to draw prehistoric tools, it will definitely add impetus to your answer. So do practice some drawing too.
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY RESOURCES
1) Physical Anthropology: P. Nath
- More or less, this book suffices our biological/physical anthropology syllabus, but things are not that straight as they appear, so we need to focus on some more resources.
-Topics are arranged in a very standardized manner that will guide you as per the syllabus.
2) Outline of Physical Anthropology: BM Das
-P. Nath is a thick book, requires time to revise; this book solves the revision problem.
- Understandable with precise material on the topics concerned.
-Topics are arranged in a very standardized manner that will guide you as per the syllabus.
3) Essentials of Physical Anthropology: Robert Jurmain
or
Introduction to Physical Anthropology: Robert Jurmain
- Take anyone from the above as your reference book.
-phylogenetic trees, diagrams, factual information is pretty much impressive.
4) Essentials of Human Genetics: Kothari, Mehta and Roy Choudhary
-the book is perfect for understanding the human genetics section; nearly all the topics are covered in a very comprehensive manner.
- read it if you have ample time. Selective reading is required, though.
OTHER IMPORTANT RESOURCES
1. Reports on tribes, PVTGs. SC, OBC and their issues (Read only the abstract)
2. Newspaper articles and reports related to SC, ST, OBC, PVTGS. Focus on issues such as population, govt schemes and programs, crime statistics, etc.
3. Census data; for knowing population and other demographic parameters w.r.t to different population groups.
4. Once a week, visit websites such as www.sapiens.org. or www. sciencedaily.com for updating yourself with the latest research in the field. It will help supplement the quality of your answer. In the interview also you can be asked about new updates happening in the field.
5. If you are an avid reader, you can read Jared Diamond, Yuval Harari, Richard Dawkins, David Graeber, etc. They are fun to read as well as intellectually soothing.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY SOURCES
Questions on research methodology are asked directly or in comparison with each other. They are relatively easier compared to other questions.
1) Research Methodology: CR Kothari
- straightforward explanations of key research methods
- read-only those that are there in the syllabus
2) Research Methods in Anthropology: H. Bernard
-can be said as the bible of research methodology
-thick book, written in a conversational style with adequate case studies.
-read the topics as mentioned in the syllabus only.
STRATEGIC NOTE TO EXCEL IN THE OPTIONAL
-If you really want to fetch decent marks in anthropology optional, "THINK LIKE AN ANTHROPOLOGIST".
- Do not run behind notes and booklets. Better invest your time in reading the material that serves a multitude of purposes. The choice is yours, be what others are or be the self you wanted to be.
- If you think that you will complete the syllabus in a time span of 3-4 months, there is a higher possibility of you falling into the trap of 'average fetchers'. At times, this subject requires out of box thinking and a culturally relative approach to understanding the wider societal existence. In the initial part of the blog, I have mentioned that you need 8-9 months for a preparation that exceeds your initial goal.
- Social anthropology do not have diagrams, but it has a lot of classifications in place. Draw these classifications on a separate paper or in a notebook to remember them along with examples.
-There are ethnographic examples with almost all the social anthropology topics; make sure you use them in your answers; they are of immense help to explain the social phenomena. You can cite these ethnographic studies even in your general studies papers, it will provide more authenticity to your answer and serve as a delight to the examiner's eyes.
- The names of scholars given in the syllabus demands your attention. Learn about their contributions and the school of thought they belong to. There is a whole genealogy to social theories as well as to theories in physical anthropology.
- In physical anthropology, there are diagrams w.r.t to human osteology, evolution, cell cycles etc. Make a flowchart of human evolution with all the fossils, their discoverers, year of discovery and key characteristics.
- In archaeology, numerous sites are there, each being unique in its characters. Remember the names of important sites associated with different prehistoric periods and their geological period too. Try making diagrams of prehistoric tools.
Write like an 'ANTHROPOLOGIST' and use anthropological vocabulary in your other papers and essay writing. This will enhance the linguistic competence of your answer as well as reflect your command over the language. Remember, "we have to show off our ingrained knowledge while writing the answer". For this purpose, keep a glossary or anthropological terms or an anthropological dictionary with you while reading.
DONT'S FOR THE EXAMINATION
1. Do not cross the defined word limit and space provided for answer writing
2. Do not disclose your identity (caste, name, gender, etc.) in the answer sheet.
3. Do not mention wrong facts and figures as they will do no good; leave them if you are unsure.
4. Write what you have been asked to, carefully read the structure of the question asked, critically, briefly, in your opinion, etc., and then frame your answers accordingly.
5. Do not write like a generalist in the optional; use appropriate words and language reflecting your command over the subject.
Note: The resource list provided is a comprehensive and detailed one. It is up to your convenience to use whatsoever resources you like. I will be updating the blog on a timely basis for providing the best of resources. There can be overlapping of topics in books recommended, so you can skip those overlapping topics if you want to.
In case of any queries or suggestions :
1) Drop an e-mail on; anthrobasics@gmail.com
2) Connect on Instagram : anthroclan_india
About the author: Abhijay, an Anthropologist by training, is a PhD scholar. He is a university-level educator and freelance developmental policy consultant. He has cleared examinations like UGC-JRF and ICMR JRF for research studies.
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