1. Chapter 1 – Introduction to Anthropology

2. What is anthropology?
Anthropology is the systematic study of humankind.
 - man
 - word/study
Emergence of the discipline
Two major goals:
Understand uniqueness and diversity
Discover fundamental similarities

3. Four-field Approach Four subdisciplines bridge science and humanities:
Physical Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistics
Cultural Anthropology

4. Physical Anthropology
Primarily concerned with humans as a biological species
Most closely related to natural sciences
Major research areas:
Human evolution
Modern human variation
Subdisciplines:
Palaeoanthropology, primatology, forensics, palaeopathology, human osteology, genetics

5. Archaeology
Archaeologists seek out and examine the artifacts (material products) of past societies.
Archaeology is not treasure-hunting (a la Indiana Jones).
Subdisciplines of archaeology:
Prehistoric, historic, Classical, Biblical, underwater
Modern “trash”

6. Linguistic Anthropology
Subfield of anthropology, philosophy, and English
Main research areas:
How language is used
Relationship between language and culture
How humans acquire language
Fields of linguistics:
Structural, historical, sociolinguistics

7. Cultural Anthropology
Sometimes known as ethnology, cultural anthropology examines contemporary societies and cultures throughout the world.
Participant observation:
Ethnography
Ethnographic data

8. Holism and Applied Anthropology
Training in all four fields required
Links to other social sciences
Sociology, psychology, economics, political science, history
Applied Anthropology
Sometimes called the 5th field
Offers practical solutions to cultural problems
Chapter 18

9. The Scientific Method
A logical system used to evaluate data derived from systematic observation.
Inductive – first data, then theory
Deductive – first theory, then evaluation
Inductive Model Deductive Model

10. Anthropology and Humanities (Post-processual approaches)
Humanistic interpretive approach
Analogies
Used primarily in cultural anthropology
Examples of humanistic subdisciplines:
Ethnopoetics, ethnomusicology, art, myth, literature
More in Chapter 6

11. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another society by the values and standards of one’s own society.
Nacirema discussion
Cultural relativism is the view that cultural traditions must be understood within the context of a particular society’s responses to problems and opportunities.
Relativism exercise

12. The Nacirema
How do the Nacirema differ from other cultures you are familiar with?
How are they the same?
This article was written in the 1950s—do you think it’s too harsh a look at anthropology
Do you think this article helps you recognize your own cultural biases?
Define ethnocentrism.
Does this article speak to the problems with ethnocentrism?

13. Great Britain

14. Guinea Bissau, Africa

15. The Americas

16. The Netherlands

17. Italy

18. Tibet, 1997

19. Mexico - November 1

20. U.S. - Virginia, 2000

21. Cultural Relativism
The values of one culture should not be used as standards to evaluate the behavior of persons from outside that culture; a society’s custom and beliefs should by described objectively.
Modern approach: We should strive for objectivity and not be too quick to judge; however, there are some moral absolutes that are removed from culture.
Discussion:
Afghani women, refugees
Medical aid workers
September 11th