Transcript American Anthropology

THEORY IN
ANTHROPOLOGY
Learning Objectives
Develop a timeline for anthropological theory
2) Recognize the early influence of European scholars on
American anthropological theory
3) Discriminate between the various anthropological
theoretical schools of thought
4) Explain the main contributes of each scholar to
anthropological theory
5) Distinguish between early ideas of cultural and biological
variation and current understanding of such processes.
1)
Unlinear Evolutionism
•‘Armchair’ Anthropologists
•[Note: As emphasis on scientific methodology
grew, both methods and ‘theories’ were
challenged]
Unlinear Evolutionism
• Result of ‘Armchair’ Anthropology = Unilinear Evolutionism
• All human ways of life pass through a ___________
________________________________________
• Cultures evolve in a _______________________________
• Cultural traits have a ______________________
Unlinear Evolutionism
• Louis Henjry Morgan
• _____________ development, with
subdivisions:
_____________ ____________  _________
• Problem(s) with Morgan’s scheme
• _______________________________
Unlinear Evolutionism
• E. B. Tylor
• Anthropology of ____________
_________ __________  _________  _________
• Different starting points & speeds along the unilinear
continuum
• Viewed some cultures as _________________
• Checkpoint: What does ‘living fossils’ mean?
Unlinear Evolutionism
Unilineal Evolutionism Summary
• Negative
• Positive
Historical Particularism
• Emphasized that each culture has its own unique
_______________
• Cultures should be understood based __________
____________________________________
• Methods of cultural analysis = _________________
• Rejected _________________
Historical Particularism
• Franz Boas (Father of American Anthropology)
• Cultures may take ___________________
• Cultural histories are __________________
• Emphasized ______________
• Checkpoint: How is diffusion defined in cultural
anthropology?
• ___________________________________
• Example: Subsistence practice
Historical Particularism
Historical Particularism Summary
• Negative
• Positive
Functionalism
• Emphasizes the role (function) of________________
• Challenged both ______________________________
• Important scholars:
• Malinowski (Father of Ethnography)
• Radcliffe-Brown
Functionalism
• Malinowski, a Functionalist because of:
• All customs & institutions were ____________________
• If one changed, ____________________
• Each were therefore a ____________________
• ‘Needs Functionalism’
• Cultural customs are developed to_______________
Structural Functionalism
• Radcliffe-Brown
• Role that ____________ play in the life of societies
today
• Theoretical category of Structural Functionalism
• Culture & cultural practices _________________
• maintained by the ____________________________
• Social systems similar to _______________________
Functionalism
• Functionalism – Still Present in Anthropology
• Despite challenges to the general theme, a form of
functionalism is still a very active perspective in
anthropology
Configurationalism
• Culture viewed as _____________________
• Pulled from both ____________________________
• Diffusion is ______________________
• _____________ barriers and/or _____ barriers
• Considered to be part of psychological anthropology
• Scholars: Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead
Configurationalism
• Benedict
• Believed that each culture is ______________________
• “made over into consistent patterns in accordance with
unconscious cannons of choice that develop within a
culture,” (Benedict, 1961, p.34)
• Illustrated her point through studying the ____________
Configurationalism
• Mead
• Viewed human nature as a ________________
• Focused on relationship between ___________
• Studied ____________________________
• Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) – pioneering
fieldwork, ‘classic’ anthropological text
Neoevolutionism
• Leslie White & Julian Steward – American Anthropologists
• Renewed interest in cultural change & evolution after WWII
• Theoretical school of thought: Neoevolutionism
Neoevolutionism
• Leslie White
• Foundation of __________________________________
• ___________= unit of measurement & cause of cultural
change
• Rejected ___________________
Cultural Ecology &
Neoevolutionism
• Julian Steward
• Environmental Influence:
• Cultures in ___________________ would
tend to follow the same developmental
______________________________to their
____________________________
• _____________influence ______________
Cultural Materialism
• Marvin Harris
• Proposed Cultural Materialism:
• __________________________________
• All societies have __________________
• Reinforced anthropology as a science
Symbolic Anthropology
• Study of symbols in their ___________________
• Victor Turner –
• Mary Douglas –
Structuralism
• Levi-Strauss
• ____________________underlie all human
activity, giving shape to seemingly
_________________________
• Used ____________ to emphasis his point
• Underlying ___________________
When we get to Globalization…
We will cover:
• Processual Approches
• World System Theory
• Political Economy
Anthropology Today
• Increase specialization
• Specializations of Cultural Anthropology:
Economic
Anthropology
Urban
Anthropology
Anthropology
of Migration
Anthropology
of Religion
Medical
Anthropology
Educational
Anthropology
Psychological
Anthropology
• Four-field approach continues to be present among
Anthropologists
Summary
• Become comfortable with:
• Scholars outlined on previous slide
• Theoretical school of thought
• Main contribution
• Example: Leslie White’s idea that energy capture
propelled cultures forward & his rejection of unilinear
evolutionism