Scadians as Anthropologist

So in a recent discussion about education, a friend of mine made the statement that she considers all Scadians that are Seriously involved in the society to be Anthropologist. Personally I disagree, but I thought it would make a good discussion. Below I have attached my response to the statement and also a link to the Wikipedia article on Anthropology. Enjoy.


My responce to the Statement that serious Scadians are Anthropologist
"While Scadians definitely study some aspects of humanity, more so on the social and political sciences side, I hesitate to agree with you the anyone seriously in the SCA is an anthropologist. Anthropology is the study of humanity and it's development through many different mediums. Scadians don't honestly even really fit into any one of the schools of thought within Anthropology. Although I am sure that there are members who do.
While the knowledge found in the SCA is definitly divers enough to attribute an anthropological feel to it, I believe that the people in the SCA individually focus far more on on a particular set of cultures or skills than they do on Human development as a whole.
Further there is also the distraction of our "Re creationist" mindset. Take for example our combat. For safety purposes, and sometimes just for the fun of it, we do not often truly learn the styles as they were fought in the ancient times. While some become extremely adept at their skill in combat, they have never studied it as a true martial art. Otherwise I would regularly be taking advantage of tactics like jamming my shield into your face, stomping on your feet or tripping you with the glaive I carry and cleaving you in two rather than letting you rise to face me honorably.
In short I believe that true Anthropology is a broader spectrum analysis of the development of Humanity than most individuals in the society take on it. Although as a resource base it would be an amazing place to find a trove of knowledge and obscure directions of study for anyone wanting to pursue that course.