Similarities
There are various similarities between sociology and anthropology, especially between socio-cultural anthropology and sociology. In contemporary times, the difference has become bleak. For instance, Frazer is the first anthropologist who defined “social anthropology as that branch of sociology that deals with primitive societies”
The statement of Radcliffe-Brown also shows a close connection between anthropology and sociology. According to him, social anthropology is a ‘comparative sociology’. By the term ‘comparative sociology’, he would mean “a science that applies the generalizing method of the natural sciences to the phenomena of the social life of man and to everything that we include under the term culture or civilization”
Differences between sociology and anthropology.
Sociology and anthropology are the two branches of knowledge and both share the same subject matter, interests, theories, and methodology. But there are many differences between sociology and Anthropology. The first and foremost difference lies in the definition of the subjects themselves. Sociology is the study of society, whereas anthropology (integrated anthropology) is the study of man and everything that concerns man, including the physical and socio-cultural aspects.
Another notable difference between sociology and anthropology can be traced through historical roots. Anthropology is considered to have “no roots in philosophy” while sociology has roots in philosophy. The emergence of sociology can be mainly connected to the social order or social change in the society (in the European social context) that happened after the industrial revolution and French revolution, but the emergence of anthropology was not as direct as sociology or other social sciences; rather, it was an indirectly connected with the opening up of intellectual and geographical spaces to enable the European scholars to go outside the European society and study the pre-literate societies. The word “anthropology” originated in the late 16th century. It is said to have appeared for the first time in the year 1805, while sociology was the term that was coined somewhat later in 1838.
Sociology focuses on the study of industrialized societies, especially western European societies, which are considered modern societies. Anthropology is, on the other hand. The initial interest of anthropology was the study of the ‘other’ exotic communities that are non-European and/or non-western societies.
Hence, the focus and practice of anthropology were on the study of simple, small-scale, and pre-literate societies situated outside Europe and western societies.
There was a change in anthropology, particularly from about the mid-20th century when anthropologists expanded their field studies to modern and urban settings, while sociologists also ventured out to the studies of rural and simple societies.
The other distinction between sociology and socio-cultural anthropology can be seen in its methodology, particularly the methods and techniques of research. Sociologists largely employ statistical quantitative techniques like questionnaires to collect and subsequent analysis of the data. Anthropology, on the other hand, largely uses qualitative methods, particularly ‘participant observation along with other methods and techniques. Anthropologists go out to the field and live with the people for several months or even for years and learn their culture as the insider.