Download Introduction to Anthropology TEST

Introduction to Anthropology TEST
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the way in which
anthropologists think, their ideas. It is also intended to enable you to look
around you and to start using these anthropological ideas. The first part of
the module begins by looking at two key ideas: how we, as humans, are
bound into a web of social relations; and how we see the world through
the conventions and assumptions we make about ourselves and others.
The second part emphasises the need to compare values, beliefs and ways
of living from different societies. This module is also about the variety of
ways we create the complex relations we call 'society'; how we learn who
we are, how we relate to each other ( i.e. kinship, descent), how we
define issues such as boundaries, rules and social obligations.
This course is a journey from the most familiar to the most unexpected.
Like most journeys it starts with a map or guidance through the territory.
The first sign in our map is called: ethnocentrism. Anthropology
emphasises the importance of avoiding ethnocentrism, or in other words,
avoiding the prejudices and taken -for-granted atttitudes that blind us
from understanding the world from the other's point of view. Anthropology
is based upon making an effort to let go of the assumptions we have
grown up with, specially the prejudices that blind us (i.e others are 'exotic'
or weird). It is not an easy task. Learning to avoid ethnocentrism comes
with practice, reflexivity, and tolerance. Most of the modules are created
so that you acquire such practice and skills.
What distinguishes anthropology from other 'journeys' is that we are
taken away from 'home' into the world of others -no matter where. Unlike
tourists, anthropologists live with people for long periods of time and try
to understand their world from their own perspective. Anthropology is also
a journey back. We return 'home' with new views and new perspectives
about these "others" but also about ourselves. At the end of this degree
we hope that you will feel at home with Anthropology, too.
A Humanistic Discipline
ANTHROPOLOGY, from the Greek (antropos is man & logos is study)
means the study of humans. Anthropology is divided in different subdisciplines: physical Anthropology, archaeological anthropology, linguistic
anthropology, social and cultural anthropology, all of which study different
aspects of human societies and cultures.
Socio-cultural anthropology is the discipline that sums up the main ideas
and concerns of Anthropology in general. In fact, when we talk about
anthropology, we usually refer to socio-cultural anthropology and vice
versa. Unlike archaeological anthropology, socio-cultural anthropology is
the study of society and culture in present times. Cultural and social
anthropologists, the most numerous of anthropologists, specialise in
studying cultural groups, institutions, social organisation, rituals, material
culture, art, kinship, gender, exchange and beliefs in any society in the
world.
The tradition of studying 'man' can be traced back to the humanistic and
religious studies of the 'classical thinkers', the pre-Socratic schools in
Greece (c.640). It is also found during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance,
and especially after the voyages of discovery in the 15th Century.
However, Anthropology as we know it now, has its origins in late 18th
Century and early 19th Century with the Scientific Revolution and the
Enlightenment, just after the French Revolution in 1789. It is in this period
where we see the first speculations about the human condition and social
inequality through a comparative and scientific lens.
In the early 19th Century new ideas about evolution (Darwin) and social
revolution (Marx) became tangled with the European and American
preoccupation with collecting information about 'primitive' societies. Unlike
18th Century historians, who were interested in the history of Europe,
19th Century thinkers were interested in the history of non-Western
peoples. Anthropology, then, was born out of a confluence of ideas and
preoccupations with 'the other'; with 'ancient and primitive societies'. It
was born with the hope that by understanding these societies we could
understand ourselves better.
The particular birth of Anthropology, its combination of scientific method
and humanistic interests is very much a product of historic changes and
ideas within Europe and America. However, modern day Anthropology is a
product of a community of world-wide anthropologists. Anthropologists
are interested in understanding the complexity of society, as well as,
reflecting upon the condition of human nature and about anthropology
itself.
Albert Kroeber, a famous anthropologists of the 40's & 60's summarises
very well the spirit of anthropology, when he says:
Anthropology is the most humanistic of the sciences and the most
scientific of the humanities.
We will argue that anthropology gains both its humanistic appeal, and
scientific validity, from its two methods: On the one hand, from its unique
type of research, called 'fieldwork research' or just 'fieldwork'. On the
other hand, from its comparative method, sometimes called 'comparative
approach'.
Fieldwork
Fieldwork is a long process of research, between one to up to five years.
Fieldwork was pioneered by Bronislaw Malinowski, the founder of modern
anthropology in the early 1920's.
Click here to read chapter one of Malinowski's famous monograph The
Argonauts of Western Pacific, where he sets out the principles of fieldwork
research.
Fieldwork is not just a touristic trip to a far, 'exotic' location. 'Going
to the field', as anthropologists often say, cannot start without a
solid preparation. Before embarking 'for the field' anthropologists
need to have a solid foundation in anthropological theories, good
knowledge of the language, and the people they will live with. They
also need a feasible and serious project.
In the pre-stages of fieldwork, the anthropologist prepares what and
where they want to study. They choose a subject of research (i.e gender
issues, environmental problems) and choose a group of people with whom
to carry out their research (i.e the amazon jungle, urban China elders,
and homeless in Tokyo). This project is just a provisional framework 'for
action'. Projects change as soon as one steps into the 'field'. The 'field',
the process of living and learning from a group of people, will inevitably
change the original project. If there is something true about human
groups it is their complexity. Projects, then, have to be flexible to be able
to change and adapt to whatever the anthropologists may find.
The best example of the changing nature of projects is perhaps Annette
Weiner's famous case on the Trobriand Islands. Weiner left for the 'field'
to carry out research on wood carving and tourism, and returned with one
of the best ethnographies on gender and exchange. When she was in 'the
field' she listened to people, lived with them, and realised that she ought
to change her initial project to include something that was very important
for that people: the role of cloth and women's wealth. This led her to rethink many issues about the role of women in relation to the circulation of
valuables among Trobriand people. Furthermore, it allowed her to reanalyse Malinowski's earlier findings, as to reveal aspects of social
organisation that were missing from his accounts.
During research, the anthropologist settles in and tries to make a social
space for her or his own. In most cases, as the anthropologist becomes
accustomed to the place, language and people, she or he starts seeing
and understanding how things work, and new questions and ideas
emerge. Towards the end of the fieldwork, anthropologists find
themselves with vast amounts of information about people, their lives and
traditions. They also find themselves with new acquaintances, friends, and
sometimes even a new family.
Fieldwork is a transformative experience. It challenges and changes the
anthropologist.
Fieldwork is a powerful tool because by living with people -as opposed to
the study of people from a library or from questionnaires-, anthropologists
gain precise and truthful experience of a segment of society or culture.
This process is full of emotions, contradictions and difficult times with
people, too. It is a time of hard work collecting information, listening to
people, making accounts of people’s lives and words. Sometimes it
involves making a film and recording histories, music and dances. It is
also a time for a challenging new experience, that of understanding how
other people live and what they think.
Ethnographies
Fieldwork ends with the writing of a book (or the making of a film), called
ethnography. An ethnography is a written account of the information,
experiences and ideas gathered during the research. An ethnography is
also a detailed account of people’s lives from their point of view. An
ethnography also includes a reflexive and honest account of the process
and situations that lead the anthropologist to her or his conclusions about
these people. An example of these is the two extracts you have read from
Malinowski and Weiner. These extracts belong to the ethnographies they
produced at the end of their fieldwork.
An ethnography, however, is not just about the anthropologist's reflexive
experience. An ethnography contains a wealth of information about
people’s lives, their problems, social, economic and political
arrangements. It also, and very importantly, contains peoples owns=
words, narratives, biographies and experiences. An ethnography is an
account that reflects both the experience of the anthropologist and the
experience of people.
The subjective, highly reflective, and personal process of doing fieldwork
is balanced by a theoretical and scientific (comparative) analysis.
Ethnographies are not 'mere descriptions'. They are concerned with
comparing and analysing similarities and differences between groups of
people. Ethnographies often use the findings of other ethnographies to
produce comparative analysis. These findings are published in articles,
conferences and papers. Making the results of an ethnography or a paper,
available to the public, is as important as writing the ethnography or the
paper.
We could say that ethnographies are crafted pieces of work where the
anthropologist brings together careful analysis, theoretical discussions and
cultural comparison. People’s lives and experiences are compared with
others across the world, seeking for emerging similarities and differences.
An ethnography, then, aims not only to describe and reflect, but also to
produce theories that can help us to understand the human condition how we live, change and transform our world. These theories and
comparative materials produce what is called: Anthropology. An
ethnography, then, brings out a balance between the humanistic, the
theoretic, and the comparative elements that make the discipline of
Anthropology.
Anthropology is, then, produced in the process of doing research, writing
an ethnography, comparing and analysing cross-culturally, and through
the publication and discussion of findings among anthropologists. Finally,
these findings can be applied to particular social problems. Anthropology
is used for the making of policies, for teaching politicians, development
agencies and corporations. It is used for helping aboriginal groups to hold
right claims to land and resources. it is also used for improving how
people think about issues such as 'culture', 'war', 'ethnic differences',
'religious discrepancies', 'gender differences', 'human rights', 'emotions',
'individuals' to cite a few, through mass media (television, radio,
documentaries) and schools.