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Agenda Bingo -- Introductions Course Overview Break The Nature and Scope of Anthropology Core Concepts holism ethnology and ethnography Ethnocentrism vs cultural relativism Emic versus emic Value of Anthropology Break The Concept of Culture Fieldwork WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY? © Boise State u. Dept. of anthropology From the Greek `anthropo' human beings', `logos' originally meaning word, reason, speech or account and later doctrine, theory or science. Literally then, Anthropology is the science of the nature of Human beings. Oxford English Dictionary `The science of the nature of man embracing human physiology and psychology and their mutual bearing'. Websters `the study of Man, the study of body and mind in their interrelationships' ANTHROPOLOGY Cultural Physical Archaeology Anthropological Linguistics Social/ Cultural • Paleoanthropology • Prehistoric • Historical • Economic • Primatology • Historical • Descriptive • Kinship • Human Genetics • Contract • Sociolinguistics • Medical • ethnolinguistics • Psychological • Demography • Growth & Development • Urban • Osteology (Forensic) • Gender • Applied • Political • Religion Look through the magazines and find three research project that would be of interest to an anthropologist? What makes social/cultural anthropology different from sociology or psychology, history etc.? A Science is a systematic or orderly way of thinking about a particular subject matter” R.G. Collingwood Anthropology Departments around the world 2004 S. Africa Egypt Kenya Namibia Nigeria Zimbabwe 11 3 1 1 2 1 USA Canada 323 33 Australia New Zealand Hong Kong Japan Pakistan Israel N.Am Europe 11 5 1 1 1 1 356 101 Chile Argentina Bolivia Brazil Columbia Mexico Panama Uruguay 1 6 2 2 1 2 1 1 Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech Rep Denmark Finland France 1 2 1 1 3 4 11 Oceania Africa 16 19 Germany Greece Hungary . Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukrane UK 9 3 1 1 2 3 2 3 8 8 4 6 2 26 Asia 4 S. Am. 16 What are the aims and purposes of anthropology? What value does it have? What value does anthropology have? What is this ad saying? Hot asset: Anthropology degrees By Del Jones, USA TODAY 1996 As companies go global and crave leaders for a diverse workforce, a new hot degree is emerging for aspiring executives: anthropology. Not satisfied with consumer surveys, Hallmark is sending anthropologists into the homes of immigrants, attending holidays and birthday parties to design cards they'll want. No survey can tell engineers what women really want in a razor, so marketing consultant Hauser Design sends anthropologists into bathrooms to watch them shave their legs. Companies are starving to know how people use the Internet or why some pickups, even though they are more powerful, are perceived by consumers as less powerful, says Ken Erickson, of the Center for Ethnographic Research. It takes trained observation, Erickson says. Observation is what anthropologists are trained to do. Firms seek guidance from anthropology Elizabeth Church The Globe and Mail Monday, July 26, 1999 As a consultant in Palo Alto, Calif. -- the heart of Silicon Valley -Susan Squire's uses her training in the study of human behaviour and culture to develop new products such as pull-up diapers and yogurt-to-go. This is the new world of the anthropologist, where the skills of former academics such as Ms. Squire have become a hot commodity in the quest for business innovation. Anthropologists, with their expertise in painstakingly observing, documenting and analyzing human behaviour, are winning a growing following among companies eager to know what makes their customers, and their workers, tick. "What anthropology brings is a way of observing, not laboratory observing, but observing in context," explains Ms. Squire, who is also president-elect of the U.S. National Association for the Practice of Anthropology. "If I want to know what kind of office products people need, I don't pull them into a focus group. I go to their office and watch them during the day." When Motorola Inc. wanted to know how peasants in rural China might use portable technology, it sent in an anthropologist with expertise in the region. When General Mills Inc. of Minneapolis considered introducing a new breakfast cereal, it put Ms. Squire in people's homes. She is currently involved in understanding how people navigate the Internet and helping develop better tools for doing that. Ms. Canavan, who has a masters degree in anthropology, says the discipline is valuable because it looks at issues in a holistic way. "We don't only look at a situation. We look at what is going on around, as well." But perhaps the discipline's greatest attraction for business is its ability to unearth truths that even the subjects don't know about. Mr. Underhill, after 20 years of watching video tapes of shoppers, points out that women don't like to go down narrow aisles and that customers will buy more if there are shopping baskets placed throughout the store. "People don't always do what they say," Ms. Squires says, adding that anthropologists "really get at issues that people in focus groups don't even think to talk about." Core Concepts What is the difference between ethnography and ethnology? What is anthropology’s holistic approach? What is the difference between emic and etic? What’s the difference between ethnocentrism and relativism? Ethnocentrism: The practice of regarding one’s own cultural group as the centre of everything and scaling and relating all others with reference to it. Cultural Relativism: The perspective that beliefs and practices of any society can only be judged by the values and standards prevalent in that society. What’s your opinion on each of the following? • Human Sacrifice • Infanticide • Suicide Bombings • Cannibalism • Female Circumcision (FGM) • Gay Marriages Anthropological Perspectives • Holistically • Objectively • Relativistically • Comparatively • Interdisciplinary • Focus on Ethnography •Emically • Methodologically and theoretically diverse. Summary 1. Define anthropology 2. What is the four-field approach? 3. What is the difference between anthropology and sociology? 4. What is the difference between ethnology and ethnography? 5. What are five areas of specialization in cultural anthropology 6. What is anthropology’s holistic approach? 7. What is the difference between emic and etic? 8. What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism? 9. What is the value of anthropology?