Textbook “What is anthropology?” is based on a course of lectures given by Professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen to his first-year students in Oslo. The book concisely and clearly outlines the basic concepts of social anthropology, the main milestones of its history, its methodological and ideological guidelines, and outlines some directions of modern anthropological research. The book presents a northern European version of British social anthropology and at the same time shows that it is a global, cosmopolitan discipline, indifferent to national boundaries. This is the first translation into Russian of Eriksen's works and the most recent Western textbook of social anthropology available to Russian readers today. The book is addressed to students and teachers of university introductory courses in anthropology, as well as to everyone interested in social anthropology.