* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Introduction to Anthropology TEST
Cross-cultural differences in decision-making wikipedia , lookup
Incest taboo wikipedia , lookup
Caucasian race wikipedia , lookup
Children's geographies wikipedia , lookup
Inclusive fitness in humans wikipedia , lookup
Intercultural competence wikipedia , lookup
Cultural relativism wikipedia , lookup
Ethnomusicology wikipedia , lookup
Tribe (Internet) wikipedia , lookup
Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship wikipedia , lookup
Economic anthropology wikipedia , lookup
History of anthropometry wikipedia , lookup
Field research wikipedia , lookup
American anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Forensic anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Post-processual archaeology wikipedia , lookup
Political economy in anthropology wikipedia , lookup
Ethnoscience wikipedia , lookup
Ethnography wikipedia , lookup
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.