Anthropology : $b [a lecture delivered at Columbia University in the series on science, philosophy and art, December 18, 1907]

"Anthropology: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University in the Series on Science, Philosophy and Art" by Franz Boas is an informative piece from the early 1900s that gives a big picture view of anthropology, touching on the different parts of human existence in a range of places and social situations. This lecture looks at how things like nature, location, and our minds affect how we act and what we’re like. Boas talks about the difficulties that come up when anthropologists try to bring together all the different pieces of their work. The lecture discusses how humans have grown and changed, both in body and mind, stressing the importance of how culture changes and how the world around us shapes societies. By taking a close look at early groups without written records and the complicated connections between social structures, beliefs, and creations in different cultures, Boas makes a case for a view of humanity that celebrates differences, pushing for anthropology to be studied without bias. It is a key science for understanding how people act and how societies grow.