If you want to know what anthropology is, take a look at what anthropologists do. This very brief introduction to social and cultural anthropology combines an accessible presentation of some of the key principles and methods of the field with numerous examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work. Peter Just and John Monaghan begin by discussing the major contributions of anthropology to modern thought: its study of culture as a defining characteristic of humanity, its doctrine of cultural relativism, and its methodology of fieldwork and ethnography. They then explore specific ways in which social and cultural anthropology has expanded our understanding of human society and culture, drawing on examples from their own field research. The book concludes with an assessment of the current position of anthropology and a look ahead at its likely future.