Cultural Anthropology What is it?

Anthropology  Comparative study of human societies and cultures

Anthropology – comparative study of human societies and cultures  What do we eat  What do we wear  What shelter do we use  How do we determine rights and responsibilities?  How do we live together?  What is meaningful to us?

Anthropology – comparative study of human societies and cultures  In an effort to understand who we are, anthropologists strive to understand the variety in humanity by comparing similarities and differences.

Anthropology – comparative study of human societies and cultures  Anthropology is holistic – seeks to understand human beings as whole organisms who adapt to their environment through a complex interaction of biology and culture

How?  What do anthropologists study?

Subfields of Anthropology  Cultural  Linguistic  Archaeology  Physical

Cultural Anthropology  Study of human thought, meaning and behavior that is learned and typical of groups

Cultural Anthropology  What are the origins of shared behavior in a group?  How does behavior differ from group to group?  Does behavior or belief system change over time?  Are there general principles of similarity?  Have power and coercion in interactions with others played a role in change?

Cultural Anthropology  How do we look for answers to these questions? Ethnohistory- description of cultural past based on written records, interviews, and excavation

Subfields of Anthropology  Cultural  Linguistic  Archaeology  Physical

Linguistic Anthropology  The study of language and how it is related to culture

Linguistic Anthropology  Language is the tool we use to communicate To pass on learned behavior

Linguistic Anthropology  Human speech is more complex and more extensively used than in other animals

Linguistic Anthropology  Vocabulary indicates what is important to a culture

Linguistic Anthropology  Historical linguists study how languages are related to each other Indication of the history of the people

Subfields of Anthropology  Cultural  Linguistic  Archaeology  Physical

Archaeology  Study of past cultures through material remains

Archaeology  Often studies prehistoric societies— Societies that have no written records

Archaeology  Reconstructs behavior from artifacts Artifact – any object made, used, or altered by humans

Subfields of Anthropology  Cultural  Linguistic  Archaeology  Physical

Physical Anthropology  Study of humankind from a biological perspective

Physical Anthropology  Cultural and physical adaptations allow us to survive in many habitats

Physical Anthropology  Studies processes involved in adaptation and evolution Origins of humanity in the fossil record Human variation – physiological differences in modern human groups Primatology – the biology and behavior of other primates may give us ideas about how early humans lived

Subfields of Anthropology  Cultural  Linguistic  Archaeology  Physical Applied Anthro

How do our perceptions affect the study of other cultures?

Ethnocentrism  The notion that one’s own culture is superior to any other  Judging other cultures by our culture’s standards

Ethnocentrism  This is the glue that holds a society together Sticking with people who agree with your beliefs reinforces your world view This is why it is hard to blend into a new place: which aspects of old culture to keep and which aspect of new to adopt

Ethnocentrism  Ethnocentrism gets dangerous when political, economic, technological differences between groups give one group power to exclude another group from basic rights and freedoms.

Ethnocentrism  This is when we look for physical differences that make a person’s group affiliation seem easy to identify

Ethnocentrism  This is when we look for physical differences that make a person’s group affiliation seem easy to identify  But each trait varies in ways that make it impossible to draw a clear line

Ethnocentrism  Therefore race is a cultural construct  No group of humans has been isolated from others long enough to make it different

Ethnocentrism  Since each anthropologist comes from the perspective of his/her own culture We must be careful not to engage in ethnocentrism We must recognize our own culture as one way of living among many We must strive to understand other cultures on their own terms

Cultural Relativism  People’s values and customs must be understood in terms of their own culture.

Emic vs. Etic  Emic approach – seeks to understand culture from the inside Learn to think and act as a native Use concepts and structures meaningful to the culture under study

Emic vs. Etic  Etic approach – seeks to explain behavior using rules and structures that can be used to compare to other cultures but may not be meaningful to the culture under study

Cultural Anthropology  How is this meaningful to you?