Transcript Cultural Anthropology - ClassNet

CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
THE STUDY OF HOW CULTURE SHAPES
HUMAN IDEAS AND LEARNED BEHAVIOURS.
ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER HOW ONE CULTURE
CAN BE UNDERSTOOD BY AN OUTSIDER.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
• NON-MATERIAL CULTURE – consists of thoughts and
behaviours we learn and share with others.
Values
Customs
Beliefs
Skills
Ideas
Myths
Language
Family Patterns
Rules
Political Systems
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
• MATERIAL CULTURE – consists of all the physical
objects that humans create and give meaning to.
Clothing
Schools
Cars
Books
Wheels
T.V’s
EXAMPLE OF A CULTURE –
DIFFERENT FROM OURS
• What are the cultural elements of
the !Kung from the Kalahari
Desert in South Africa?
• http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~eps
adm03/kung.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=oeeIuC77NVM
WHAT DO CULTURES HAVE IN
COMMON?
• Culture is learned
• Learned thoughts, behaviors, and values
• i.e. type of food, hygiene
• Culture is shared
• A group of society thinks or acts in a particular way
• i.e. marriage in North America involves 2 people
•
• Culture defines nature
• We need to eat but what we choose to eat is culture
• We need the company of others, but how we relate to families and friends
varies
• Culture shapes how we perceive and understand the world
• What is important to survival?
• Culture has patterns
• Underlying any culture are views that are taken for granted
• Many people in Canada share values such as progress, equal opportunity,
democracy, and technology yet we don’t define our culture by these
views.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
CULTURE
• Values: standards of what is considered right and
morally acceptable (influenced by religion)
• Norms: rules that indicate what people should do or
how they should act (established by the studied
culture)
• Symbols: something that represents something else.
People become emotionally attached to symbols
and are often reluctant to change them. Relating
to symbols is unique to the human species.
WHAT IS A SYMBOL?
EXAMPLE – NATIONAL SYMBOL
• Example: Ask yourself some
questions about this U.S. flag:
• The stars the U.S. states
• The stripes represent the 13
original colonies
• Both the stars and stripes are
symbols; there is meaning
associated with these symbols that
the people in the nation accept
CULTURE IS ACQUIRED THROUGH
LANGUAGE
•
•
•
•
Culture is learned through language
Babies learn language from birth:
Through language they acquire culture
A group with common language and custom
shares a culture
WHAT MODIFIES CULTURE?
• Shifts in the natural environment (i.e. climate,
population change)
• Contact with other cultures
• Discovery or Invention (i.e. medical advancements)
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: THE
STORY OF OUR PAST
• A major earthquake has destroyed the once known area of
Kitchener-Waterloo. After thousands of years, a civilization has
developed over the remains of our dearly loved municipality.
This civilization is very different than the one we once knew.
During anthropological excavations, the new civilization
comes across some artifacts that tells our story. The area of
the excavation spans the entire tri-city area. Using your
knowledge of the area, explain 10 types of artifacts the
cultural anthropologists would find and what they would learn
about our culture and city (ex. How would Deer Ridge from
Downtown Kitchener?). Indicate how the cultural
anthropologist would be able to sort out the objects they find
into the various cultural/socio-economic areas of KitchenerWaterloo (ex. BMW car ornament – Where would it belong?).
CREATE THIS GRAPH IN YOUR NOTES
Artifact
What does it tells us
about our society?
City? Country?
What area of K-W
would this be found?
BRANCHES OF CULTURAL
ANTHRPOLOGY
• Archeology:
• Analyze material and human remains left by ancient cultures (weapons,
clothing, utensils, garbage)
• Anthropological Linguistics:
• Study of languages and how it is linked to people’s cultures (i.e. slang
words)
• Ethnography:
• An in depth description of a particular culture
• Many live in the culture for a period of time to conduct “field work”
• (i.e. Margaret Mead)
• Ethnology:
• A study and comparison of past and contemporary cultures
• Gather information through observation and interviews
THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY
• Complete the chart on the handout while watching
the movie:
• https://webmail.wcdsb.ca/owa/redir.aspx?C=iCxPh
ut4tkWE4syNi_JS9TwdHwWHb88IjdXViJbL72ihqCt4QL
cOdAnnLbYXX7orQAG7bjsROac.&URL=http%3a%2f
%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dpJGVc4_v
dLk
Artifact
What does it tells us about What area of K-W would
our society? City?
this be found?
Country?
1. Tim Hortons cup
2.Mcdonalds wrapper
3. Books
4. Cellphones
5. A bus sign
6. Flags
7. Diamond Ring
8. Credit Card
9. Hans
10. Hair Straightener
1. most popular coffee
shop- we like coffee
2. That we are over
weight and lazy
3. We were able to read
and write
4. Modern/technology
5. That we had public
transportation and a
system for it.
6. Diverse + Different
7. Good Economy made
good jobs
8. Well established
econmony
9. People of Kitchener like
drinking and celebrating
as a community
10. That we care about
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
All over kitchener
2. All over the street
All over
K-W
All over K-W
Everywhere
Uptown Waterloo
outside of Franks
Jewlers
8. Anywhere
9. Everywhere in the
Kitchener region
10. Residential areas,
everywhere