History of anthropology
The first use of the term "anthropology" in English to refer to a natural science of humanity was apparently in Richard Harvey's 1593 "Philadelphus, a defense of the legend of Brutus in British history", which, includes the passage: "Genealogy or issue which they had, Artes which they studied, Actes which they did. This part of History is named Anthropology."
History of anthropology by country
Since the discipline of anthropology was associated with colonialism, the nation-state of Kenya did not identify with its trajectories and could not support it. It wasn't until Daniel Arap Moi, who succeeded Jomo as president, made culture a central means for socio-economic aspects, making anthropology slowly begin to gain popularity again among locals due to its national cultural ethos. In 1965, the University of Nairobi established its Institute for Development Studies which contained two aspects of social science and cultural divisions. The social science aspect of the department went on to develop its own Institute of Development Studies, which carried out economic development but through a multidisciplinary approach. The cultural divisions aspect used resources that informed university students, as well as regionally, from a cultural instruction perspective. In 1970, the two subjects came together and were known as the Institute of African Studies (IAS), in which students researched in African archaeology, history, social anthropology, musicology, linguistics, oral literature, traditional arts, crafts, and social systems; this institute even contributed to some of the top scholars such as musicologists P.N. Kavyu and , historians H.S.K. Mwaniki and William R. Ochieng’, and writers Okot p’Bitek and Taban lo Liyong. In 1986, the IAS had established its first anthropology training program, providing courses of medical, linguistic, economic, and ecological anthropology and material culture (Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, 2006).