The Anthropological Approach Dr. Xu Dawei 徐大慰 Mobile: School of Social Administration Shanghai University of Political Science and Law

Research Objective African deserts and coral lagoons in the South Pacific. The crisis and complexities of 1990s and the challenges of the century that dawns.

Why such a circuitous route is worth taking ? 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 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 Subfields of Anthropology The Distinctiveness of Anthropology

The Subfields of Anthropology Anthropology Physical anthropology Cultural Anthropology Social Anthropology Anthropological linguistics Archaeology Various Branches

Physical Anthropology 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 Prehistoric archaeology old rubbish heaps social process Classical archaeology ancient ruins and temples classical civilization

Anthropology Linguists 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 Narrow idea: human customs (the comparative study of cultures and societies.) Since 1920: human social behavior and cultures social anthropology

The Distinctiveness of Anthropology 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 This anthropological orientation concerned with meanings, with the texture of everyday life in communities rather than formal abstractions.

Anthropologist 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.

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