CSS Anthropology Complete Guide With Free Preparation Material
CSS Anthropology is one of the most important compulsory papers of this competitive exam, as it covers all the basic knowledge required for a bureaucrat about Pakistan. A lot of preparatory material is in the market, but updated, reliable, and comprehensive material is required to clear this paper in this competitive exam.
CSS Anthropology Syllabus Overview
Anthropology
- Definition of anthropology, its historical development and recent trends
Social Anthropology
- Definition of culture, its characteristics and functions
- Relationship of anthropology with other social sciences
- Sub fields of anthropology:
- Biological Anthropology
- Archaeology
- Linguistic Anthropology
- Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Institution of Family and Marriage
- Definitions, types, structures, functions, family organization
Kinship and Social Organization
- Definitions, types, functions, kinship terminology etc
Economic Organization
- Definitions, evolution, substantivism vs formalism, reciprocity, production, consumption, distribution, barter, primitive economic systems
Political Organization
- Definitions, evolution of political system
- Characteristics of band, tribal, chiefdom and state societies
- Theories of origin of state societies (internal conflict, external conflict, population/irrigation, leadership, systems)
- Origin of civilization, politics of identity, ethnicity, nationalism, modernism, post-modernism
Religion
- Definitions, evolution of primitive religions, functions of religion
- Comparison of divine and other religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.)
Contemporary Human Problems
- Poverty, social inequality, political instability, population problems, ethnic violence, terrorism etc.
Urban Anthropology
- Migration, city expansion, environmental issues, sanitation, urbanization, slums, refugees, conflict
- Feudal to industrial power shift, institutionalization, education, agriculture to capitalism
- Poverty theories/remedies, city life management (psychological to lingual aspects)
- Karl Marx & conflict theory, automation problems
Socio-Cultural Change
- Definitions, difference between social/cultural change
- Dimensions/barriers to cultural change (cultural, psychological, political)
- Internal/external dynamics, population increase, innovation diffusion
- Media, religious barriers, cultural change in Pakistan
Ethnicity and Race
- Theories of ethnicity and race, racism, nationality
- Ethnic conflict, social variation, rank/caste/class societies, stratification
Anthropological Theories
- Contributors: Edward B. Taylor, Morgan, Frazer, Marx, Boas, Mead, etc.
- Classical: Degeneration, Evolutionism, Neo-Evolutionism, Diffusion
- Modern: Functionalism, Structuralism, Class Struggle, Feminism, etc.
- Current: Postmodernism, Romanticism, Poetics & Politics of Ethnography
Anthropological Research Methods
- Meaning, types, aims of research
- Qualitative and Quantitative research
- Purpose, questions, variables, hypothesis, objectives
- Design, sampling, field collection, tools (questionnaire, interview, observation)
- Data classification, analysis, reporting