Anthropology can be described as all of the following:[citation needed]
Academic discipline – body of knowledge given to – or received by – a disciple (student); a branch or sphere of knowledge, or field of study, that an individual has chosen to specialise in.
Field of science – widely recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer reviewed research is published. There are many sociology-related scientific journals.
Social science – field of academic scholarship that explores aspects of human society.
Cognitive anthropology, concerned with what people from different groups know and how that implicit knowledge, in the sense of what they think subconsciously, changes the way people perceive and relate to the world around them
Society for Medical Anthropology, an organization formed to promote study of anthropological aspects of health, illness, health care, and related topics