Transcript Anthropology

The Anthropological Approach
Dr. Xu Dawei 徐大慰
[email protected]
Mobile: 135 6428 5046
School of Social Administration
Shanghai University of Political Science and Law
Research Objective
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African deserts and coral lagoons in the
South Pacific.
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The crisis and complexities of 1990s and the
challenges of the century that dawns.
Why such a circuitous route is worth taking ?
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To do so now still has a compelling importance,
if we are to understand present complexities and
to find paths ahead to viable human future, for
the material which anthropologists command
represents a cumulation of human experience in
different times and places, lies crucial evidence
about human differences and the similarities that
underlie them, about human natures and
institutional possibilities.
Anthropology
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Once: classic studies are to define what is
distinctive about anthropology, what
distinguishes it from sociology and other social
sciences.
Now: cover a spectrum from specialized studies
of human biology and evolution to studies of the
social life of contemporary peoples, rural and
urban.
Anthropology as a field of knowledge
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Subfields of Anthropology
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The Distinctiveness of Anthropology
The Subfields of Anthropology
Anthropology
Physical
anthropology
Cultural
Anthropology
Social Anthropology
Various Branches
Archaeology
Anthropological
linguistics
Physical Anthropology
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The physical anthropologist, or human biologist,
has for decades stood quite apart from
colleagues concerned with cultural behavior.
Yet the wide gulf between physical anthropology
and cultural anthropology has recently been
bridged in many places.
Some comparison
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Prehistoric archaeology
old rubbish heaps
social process
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Classical archaeology
ancient ruins and temples
classical civilization
Anthropology Linguists
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Anthropology linguists focus on the (previously
unwritten) languages of nonwestern peoples. It
puts to the test theories of language based on
mainly on European language and examines
languages in the full range of social and cultural
settings.
Cultural Anthropology
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Narrow idea: human customs (the comparative
study of cultures and societies.)
Since 1920: human social behavior and cultures
social anthropology
The Distinctiveness of Anthropology
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Once: study “primitive” peoples or “tribal”
peoples
Now: work with peasants and urbanites, in
Western settings as well as elsewhere
Yet ,anthropological approaches and
perspectives remains distinctive.
The Anthropological Orientation
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This anthropological orientation concerned
with meanings, with the texture of everyday
life in communities rather than formal
abstractions.
Anthropologist
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the difference between sociology and
anthropology
Anthropologists often spend years living with and
studying a particular small group of people.
Sociologists often incorporate more quantitative
analysis than anthropologists in their research.
Anthropologists might ask each other first, “Where do
you study?” Whereas sociologists would ask “What
do you study?” There is, however, a large amount of
overlap between the two disciplines.
Thank You