I’ll begin with what anthropology is not. Anthropology is NOT the study of bugs. It is not stamp collecting or story telling. Nor is it the study of fossil dinosaurs. All things people have at one time asked me about anthropology.
One of my favorite professors defines anthropology as “the study of who humans are and how we got to be this way.” Broad, but he’s right. Anthropologists study so many aspects of humanity it’s impossible, and too time-consuming, to list them all. The American Anthropological Association website explains anthropology in good detail. Go to What is Anthropology?
Here are some quotes from two very brilliant lady anthropologists.
The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.
-Ruth Benedict
Anthropology demands the open-mindedness with which one must look and listen, record in astonishment and wonder that which one would not have been able to guess.
-Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead had this to say about fieldwork:
If young fieldworkers do not give up in despair, go mad, ruin their health, or die, they do, after a fashion, become anthropologists. (1972:142)
I’m looking forward to it?
Life with Its Teeth Out 
Do you have a reference for Benedict’s famous “The purpose of anthropology …” I’ve used it for years in my cultural anthro class syllabus, and have long since forgotten where I found. Thanks. Mike
Hi, Michael. Sorry for the severe delay in replying to you. Internet access here is unreliable. I don’t have a citation for the quote unfortunately, as all my books are at home. Honestly, I may have gotten it from Wikipedia. It’s a nice quote, isn’t it?