Hi everyone, my name is Chika Watanabe and
I'm a senior lecturer or associate professor in social anthropology at the University of
Manchester. Mina san konnichiwa. Watanabe Chika desu. Igirisu no Manchester daigaku de bunka jinruigaku
wo oshiete imasu. Hola a todos. Me llamo Chika Watanabe. Soy una antropóloga y profesora en la universidad
de Manchester en Inglaterra. So I just said those things in three languages
not because I want to show off but because I'm a third culture kid, which means that
I grew up in between cultures and countries just like many of you are who are watching
this video. I was born in Japan and I lived in Spain when
I was little with my parents. Then, I learned English and we went back to
Japan and I attended the American School in Japan. I've always felt different from other people,
even in my own family since my parents don't really speak English. So literally and metaphorically we don't speak
the same languages and I know that many of you might have similar experiences. But if that's the case, if you've grown up
in between cultures, in between countries, you grew up in a bilingual or trilingual family,
anthropology is going to speak to you. So what is social anthropology? Some people might say that it's the study
of cultures. I would say that first of all it's the comparison
of cultures around the world. As social anthropologists we're interested
in comparing differences between societies, what makes us different across different countries. But also we're interested in the similarities. Regardless of society or culture, what makes
us similar, what makes us human. We're interested in questions of particularity
and universality. The second thing about social anthropology
is that when you compare different cultures you realize that what you take to be common
sense or normal is not the case around the world. So anthropologists challenge taken for granted
assumptions. When you compare cultures and when you challenge
taken for granted assumptions, you come to see the world from other people's perspectives. And that's a really important skill in order
to understand and tackle social global inequalities and that's something that we are proud of
at our department in Manchester. All of us challenge taken for granted assumptions
and through that we try to address questions of inequality such as around race, around
class. We have anthropologists of Britain who study
questions of class. I study issues of development and humanitarianism. So at Manchester you will be surrounded by
people who are interested in tackling global challenges and global inequalities. At Manchester in Social Anthropology we're
also known for what's called visual anthropology. This is a type of anthropology that uses visual
methods such as film, photography, drawings, animation. So our visual anthropologists conduct research
using creative visual methods but also produce visual materials such as films and photography
exhibitions and so on. So our department is made up of anthropologists
who write books but also filmmakers. And of course the visual anthropologists also
write books. Manchester is a vibrant multicultural and
alternative city and it's big enough for students to have a very exciting student life. At the same time, it's cheaper than being
in a place like London and your parents might be happy to know that university in the UK
is less expensive than going to university in the US. At Manchester, you will be taught by world
leading scholars and our graduates go on to do exciting jobs after they finish their degrees. When I was in high school, I'd never heard
of anthropology and I never thought to apply to a university in the UK. You know, maybe London, but I hadn't heard
of Manchester when I was in high school. So I hope that when you watch this video you
become curious about what Social Anthropology is. Perhaps check out our department at Manchester
and please take a look at our website for more information. I hope to see you soon.