ANTHROPOLOGY STRATEGY & BOOK LIST
Anthropology is a very interesting subject because it has “NO LIMIT”. What it studies is EVERYTHING ABOUT HUMANS IN TIME & SPACE. Being Humans, we are a curious species who wants to know everything & that’s exactly what we study in this Subject, everything about everything with respect to Humans.
As Anthropologist Kenneth A. R. Kennedy aptly puts it “Everything under SUN is grist to the mill of Anthropology”.
WHY I CHOSE ANTHROPOLOGY?
1. Religion, Caste System, how exactly did we evolve?, the Society around us, Tribals, Genetics, Sports, Medicine, Economy, Polity, Language, Magic, Science, Geography, Biology, Psychology….. Tell me any Topic/Subject & we can situate Anthropology with it. To study all these topics with a comprehensive analysis so that we can have a clarity regarding everything is what pulled me towards this subject. I had the general curiosity in me to know everything.
2. During the year 2018 when I decided to start my full fledged preparation, UPSC CSE 2017 Final Results were declared. Anudeep Durishetty Sir (AIR 1), Koya Sri Harsha Sir (AIR 6) both were from my State Telangana who opted Anthropology & scored excellent marks (300+). Their Strategy in blogs & marks helped me giving a final push to opt this subject. This is important because, however interested I’m in Anthropology, at the end of day, what matters is “SELECTION IN UPSC” & for that, MARKS are an important factor.
3. Availability of many Coaching Institutions, Materials online, Toppers precise strategies, Mentors etc. is an ADDED BONUS since I heard some Optionals lack these. I studied entirely at home with self-preparation using Standard Books & Additional Research. I took guidance & Test series from Karandeep Singh Sir who played a very instrumental role in streamlining my knowledge to accurate, presentable format needed for UPSC.
CURIOSITY + MARKS + GUIDANCE: What a combo…!!
This is what helped me score 300+ in Anthropology (the score I dreamt when I started my preparation) in UPSC CSE 2020 which is a tough year for Optionals. The average scores of Rankers is around ~260.
+ADD MARKS SHEET
BOOKS & OTHER LISTS
1st book which I read for general Understanding: EMBER & EMBER
PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: P.NATH
SOCIO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (IN SEARCH OF OURSELVES): N.K. VAID
INDIAN ANTHROPOLOGY: NADEEM HASNAIN
TRIBAL ANTHROPOLOGY: NADEEM HASNAIN
ADDITIONAL CONTENT TO ENRICH MY NOTES
TOPPERS BOOKS OF VIVEK DATTATRAYA BHASME, AKSHAT JAIN
TOPPERS NOTES, TEST SERIES COPIES & STRATEGIES OF MANY: ANUDEEP DURISHETTY, KOYA SREE HARSHA, LAKSHMI N, ANUPAMA ANJALI, SACHIN GUPTA, VARNIT NEGI, CHITRANJAN, RAHUL VENKAT etc.
COACHING INSTITUTIONS NOTES OF BRAIN TREE, MUNIRATHNAM, LAKSHMAIAH etc.
FROM DIFFERENT WEBSITES LIKE E-PG PATHSHALA, UNIVERSITY WEBSITES (ex. Alabama University for Theories) etc.
Reports like Xaxa, Ministry of Tribal Affairs etc.
Test Series comments & discussions of my own Tests (from Karandeep Singh Sir)
GENERAL STRATEGY FOR ANTHROPOLOGY
The below is generic Strategy & might be applicable to every Optional. Detailed strategy & structure for each Paper will be separately discussed in another Blog post.
1. SYLLABUS
Know what exactly do you study in this Subject. It has diverse topics ranging from a remote Tribal in India, how genetic diseases are affecting him to recent innovations in Genetic Engineering, how Gene Therapy might solve his problem, & what Governments are doing through various Schemes to help solve the problem. All the topics are diverse, inter-connected.
I recommend to firstly read the SYLLABUS thoroughly. Don’t jump into the subject just because it can give you marks, just because some toppers are recommending it. Without Curiosity in the subject, it’ll be difficult to sustain the preparation.
2. LEARNING
Try innovative methods to learn. I remember I made a big chart writing the whole syllabus & pasting it on my WALL when I started my preparation. My daily ritual those days would be to wake up & first glance through the entire syllabus. During preparation, I would add the gist of Topics in 1-2 lines within the chart itself. So, on the next day, while reading the Syllabus, I was also reading gists, crisp & short.
3 months into my preparation, the whole Anthropology Syllabus along with the concise summary was on my wall, beside me, which I glanced everyday without fail…!! It’s one fine way of imprinting things on your neural structures in Brain.
3. Standard Books are fine for understanding the topic. If you can’t understand the subject by self, please take COACHING. Anthropology or any Optional are specialized subjects where Questions are asked from PG (Post Graduate) Level. That’s 6 years of study for a complete beginner but we try to do it in 3-6 months. It requires a lot of depth & breadth. It needs clarity in understanding.
4. Do Additional Research
Watch Videos / Documentaries (Jane Goodall Documentary which I saw was asked in 2020) / Google Search / News paper / Telegram posts in Anthropology groups etc. You’ll find many new & interesting things which you can add in your answers & enrich it. It will also help you in your Interview where Anthropology Questions are frequently asked. (I was asked many)
5. NOTES
I made my own Notes for every topic. Write basic concept & understanding 1st & whatever new you learn, from Additional Research or Test Series or whatever, go on adding to the Notes.
The above mentioned are bulky notes which take a lot of time to REVISE. During the few days before MAINS, you don’t have the luxury of Time to revise all the bulky notes. So, I also suggest you to make CRISP SHORT NOTES which are roughly 1/10th of Bulky Notes in a “STRUCTURED format” used in writing Answers.
6. STRUCTURING
The standard I-B-C Format. INTRODUCTION – BODY – CONCLUSION.
Anthropology has additional structures like CASE STUDY, CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE, CRITICISM etc.
It’s better to structure the Short Notes since it serves many purposes. You won’t be wondering what Introduction, body, conclusion to write for a specific topic while revising Short Notes. Everything is in front of you which needs to be readily replicated in the exam..!
7. OBJECTIVITY
Remove any iota of Subjectivism while writing answers. Whatever you write, tell so & so Anthropologist defined it, said it, proved it, discovered it etc. Back up anything with data. That way, it’s difficult for the evaluator to reduce marks.
8. DIAGRAMS
Don’t worry much about Diagrams. Normal diagrams which explain the topic is fine. You need not be an artist. But give enough time to practice the diagrams since it adds a lot of value to the answers, especially in Physical Anthropology.
9. ANSWER WRITING
After you study a topic, give some time to present it on the paper. Have a timer & see how much you can write on 1 paper for 7 minutes (10 M Content level). You will be understanding how time is such a limiting factor in Mains exam & you’ll slowly start eliminating extra stuff in answers & they will become crisp soon.
Join a Full Length Test Series too. Attempt entire 250 marks & see where you are lagging behind. Discuss with the Test Series faculty, read the topics which you are confused, do additional research again. No stone should be left untouched.
Answer writing should always be considered as writing a Mains exam. Try to simulate it as a real exam & write 2 tests on the same day (At the end, a week or 2 before Mains, no need to try this at the start it self).
10. CHOOSING ANSWERS
Choose answers which you can answer the best. If you can write better Socio Cultural answers, don’t leave them to write some half-baked Physical Anthropology answers. There’s no merit.
I believe the best answers will always reward you, irrespective of what branch of Anthropology they belong to. Lakshmi N Maam, who is the highest scorer in Anthropology chose more Socio-Cultural Q since her previous optional was Sociology.
So, it’s the CONTENT which matters, NOT CHOICE.
This is a preliminary article which I hurriedly wrote today. Will try to enrich it in days to come by adding more flesh & arguments.
A WORD OF CAUTION
The unpredictable nature of UPSC is such that, there is no exact blue print. I never had a strategy, most of what I followed was a copy of a copy of a copy of what some other ranker followed. Do your own research & follow what you think best works for you 🙂
My best wishes to everyone.
BAIRY RUTHVIK 