Transcript Cultural Anthropology

CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
An Introduction
Anthropology: An Introduction
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What is culture?
*It is a specific group’s learned and shared
behaviors, knowledge and beliefs.
Anthropology is the study of humanity and covers a
broad range of topics that include the prehistoric
origins of humans and contemporary cultural
diversity.
The Concept of Culture…
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Culture exists among all human beings…
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Micro-culture or local culture, refers to distinct patterns of learned and shared
behaviors and ideas found in local regions and among particular groups. Microcultures are based on ethnicity, gender, age etc.
Culture is not the same as Nature however it is believed by many anthropologists
that the relationship between culture and nature is of great importance as a field
of study.
Culture is learned and based on the symbols of one particular cultural context.
Culture shapes what we…
Eat/drink
How to and where we sleep
Eliminating
Anthropological Terminology
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Globalization: increased international ties related to the spread of
westernized-style capitalism that affects all world cultures.
Localization: Transformation of global culture by local cultures into
something “new.”
Class: A way to categorize people on the basis of their socio-economic
or political position.
Ethnicity: Shared sense of identity amongst a cultural group.
Gender: Culturally constructed and learned behaviors and ideas
attributed to males, females, or blended genders.
Indigenous People: Groups of people who have a long standing
connection with their home territories that predates colonial or outside
societies.
Race vs. Ancestry
“Race”: A classification of people basis
of supposedly homogeneous and
largely superficial biological traits such
as skin color or hair characteristics
Ancestry: The biological factors that
reflect the individual’s ancestral
background or history.
The Four Fields of Anthropology
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Biological Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
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Applied Anthropology
Biological/Physical Anthropology
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The study of humans as biological
organisms, including evolution and
contemporary variation.
There are 3 sub-fields of Biological
Anthropology
 Primatology
 Paleoanthropology
 Contemporary human biological
Variation
Archaeology
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The study of past human cultures through the excavation and analysis of their material
remains.
Some forms of archaeology are based upon the culture, time period and/or region being
studied…
Prehistoric archaeology
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Concerns the human past prior to written records
Historical archaeology
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Concerns the human past in societies that have written documents.
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Old World archaeology
(Africa, Europe and Asia)
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New World archaeology (North, Central and South America)
Other forms of archaeology are based upon the context or where the archaeology takes
place
Underwater archaeology
Industrial archaeology
Archaeology of contemporary life
Linguistic Anthropology
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The study of human communication, including its
origins, history, and contemporary variation and
change.
Linguistic Anthropology has 3 sub-fields
 Descriptive/Structural
 Sociolinguistics
 Historical
linguistics
linguistics
Cultural Anthropology
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…Is the study of contemporary peoples and their respective
cultures.
Cross-culturally considers the many variations and similarities between
individual cultures without placing their own culture’s morals, taboos and
values upon another.
Areas of specialization within Cultural anthropology
 Economic anthropology
 Psychological anthropology
 Medical anthropology
 Political anthropology
 International development anthropology
Cultural Anthropology: History & Theories
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Late 19th century – The Birth of Anthropological Theory
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First definition of culture… “Culture, or civilization…is that complex whole which
includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by a man as a member of society.” -- Sir Edward Tylor (1871)
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Cultural Evolution (Late 19th century)
Lewis Henry Morgan- Developed insider’s view
and comparative method
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Sir James Frazer- Comparative study of Religion culminating in the book, “The Golden
Bough.”
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Inspired by Biological evolution this theory asserts that all cultures evolve from
lower to higher forms over time.
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Ethnocentrism: judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
rather than by the standards of that particular culture.
Early
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20
Century: Anthropology
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Cultural Relativism (Late 19th century)
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Franz Boas “Father of American Anthropology” -- Cultural Rel., Historical
Particularism, and advocacy
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Theory that each culture must be understood in terms of the values and ideas
of that culture and not judged by the standards of another culture.
Functionalism (early 20th century)
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Bronislaw Malinowski– developed method of participant observation
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The theory that a culture is similar to a biological organism, in which parts
work to support the operation and maintenance of the whole.
Mid-late 20th century: Anthropological
Theories
Cultural Materialism- (1960’s) Marvin Harris
Theory that it takes the material features of life, such as the
environment, natural resources, and mode of livelihood, as the bases for
explaining social organization and ideology.
Cultural Materialists believe that these basic features of life shape their culture, even
though people may not realize it.
Influenced by Marxist Theory– which is focused on a cultural group’s livelihood.
3-Mode System of Cultural Materialism
1. Infrastructure-------2. Structure-------3. Superstructure
1. Natural resources, economy, and population
2. Kinship, social and political organization
3. Ideas, values and beliefs
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Interpretive Anthropology
Clifford Geertz (mid-Late1960’s)
Postmodernist theories show up in anthropology – a combination of French Structuralism and
Symbolic anthropology
(Thick-description of local culture)
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The view that cultures are best understood by studying what
people think about, their ideas, and their symbols meanings that are
important to them.
2 Postmodernist theoretical directions (1990)
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Structurism – how the cultural and Technological media shapes human behavior
Agency- Human will; and the power of individuals to create and change culture by
acting against structures.
Biological Determinism vs. Cultural
Constructionism
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Biological Determinism:
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A theory that explains human behavior and ideas as shaped mainly by
biological features such as genes and hormones.
B.D.s place a lot of emphasis on gene selection and hormones that could explain
types of behavior
Cultural Constructionism:
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A theory that explains human behavior and ideas as shaped mainly by
learning.
C.C’s emphasize the passing down of cultural knowledge to explain behavior.