Download Anthropology 2A Cultural Anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY 2A
CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
Fall 2014
Katherine Schaefers, Instructor
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ANTHROPOLOGY

Anthropology (Anthropos = “Man”, Logy = “Study
of”)


The study of humankind in all times and places
The discipline of Anthropology is a European
invention, but the study of people has a long
history…
EARLY ANTHROPOLOGY
 Herodotus

Greek Historian (5th century B.C.E.)

The Histories – collections of Herodotus’ encounters
with peoples of the Mediterranean world. He often
emphasized how he faithfully recorded stories told to
him, but would often add embellishments/emphasis to
endear his Greek readers to the peoples he met
abroad.
 Napoleon

Bonaparte and Egypt
Self-proclaimed Emperor of France (17691821)
 Anthropology


Timeline:
http://historyofanthropology.eu/
What caused this explosion in the discipline?
IN WESTERN HISTORY

European Exploration/Colonialism

Columbus, Napoleon, and…
WESTERN SOCIETY’S PAST ATTEMPTS AT
GETTING TO KNOW OTHER CULTURES
 Modernism:
Began with the Renaissance
and the Enlightenment.
A reaction to the superstition and hysteria of
Europe’s “Dark Ages” (The Witch hunt era that we
will get into later).
 Rationality, objectivity, reason can discover
knowledge and truth and lead to progress.

WESTERN SOCIETY’S PAST ATTEMPTS AT
GETTING TO KNOW OTHER CULTURES
 Modernism:
Began with the Renaissance
and the Enlightenment.
We can understand everybody/thing everywhere if
we adhere to these principles of logic.
 Empirical knowledge: Based on observations of
the world rather than on intuition or faith.
 Hypothesis: A tentative explanation of the
relation between certain phenomena
 Theory: In science, an explanation of natural
phenomena, supported by a reliable body of data.

WESTERN SOCIETY’S PAST ATTEMPTS AT
GETTING TO KNOW OTHER CULTURES
 Modernism:
Began with the Renaissance
and the Enlightenment.

People are now freed from the restraints of
superstitious nonsense and can now grow as
logical, rational and evolved beings.
WESTERN SOCIETY’S PAST ATTEMPTS AT
GETTING TO KNOW OTHER CULTURES
 Modernism:
Began with the Renaissance
and the Enlightenment.

This is where our modern thoughts of
linearity come from. In Western Society,
time is like an arrow, experienced as breach,
innovation and change – we are seen to
always improve on what came before. The
Europeans of the Enlightenment saw
themselves at the pinnacle of evolution. (The
era right before this also had maps centering
on Europe, and the cosmos rotating around
Earth).
QUESTIONS...
With new discoveries in science
(physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy,
anatomy, anthropology!) and cultures
being found worldwide that seemed
similar to the “less evolved” European
prehistoric culture, this European
laudatory attitude persisted for a good
200-300 years, but then the ideology
began to shift…
 Questions arose:

Were Europeans really more
advanced/improved/intelligent than
their ancestors?
What is Intelligence?
FOR EVERY MOVEMENT, THERE IS A
COUNTER-MOVEMENT
 Post-Modernism:
No “true” knowledge, only
subjective and objective knowledge.




1980s-Today
Knowledge as a human construction that we must
“deconstruct.”
Science is limited: it does not integrate multiple
viewpoints/truths. One must be aware of one’s own
biases.
We cannot remove our cultural lens but we can
become more aware of it.
 Both
Modernism and Post-Modernism are
Western Society’s Etic ways of viewing other
cultures.
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
To make the strange familiar, and the familiar
strange
 Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can
lead to misguided feelings of anger and hate,
which may eventually lead to warfare and
death.


Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are
caused by a lack of understanding.
Discovering similarities between one’s own culture
and that of others leads to more harmonious
relationships.
4 TRADITIONAL FIELDS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
 #1

Physical
Human Biology and Evolution

Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory, primate
behavior, paleontology, fossil record.
4 TRADITIONAL FIELDS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
 #2

Archaeology
Physical and Cultural remains
4 TRADITIONAL FIELDS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
 #3


.
Linguistics
Origins and distribution of language
4 TRADITIONAL FIELDS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
 #4

Cultural
Social organization, economics, technology,
political organization, marriage, family life.

i.e. This Class
 These
4 fields are rarely mutually
exclusive & today’s anthropology scene
is very fluid, often incorporating
techniques from outside disciplines like
psychology (study of the human
psyche/mind) and sociology (study of
human society).
TERMS AND TECHNIQUES USED BY
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS
 Participant
Observation: To truly understand
a culture, an anthropologist will usually study a
culture for an extended period of time,
sometimes taking many years. Oftentimes, the
anthropologist will live within the community
and partake in daily life and activities.
 Ethnography: A Cultural Anthropologist’s
work usually culminates into something called
an Ethnography, or a written description of the
studied society. These are usually published in
books and journals.
TERMS AND TECHNIQUES USED BY
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS CONT.
 Culture
Area: This class will make use of
ethnographic material from around the world
from locations that are termed “Culture Areas”
or geographical areas where societies tend to
share many traits, either because of similar
responses to the environment or because of
cultural diffusion (sharing of culture) between
these groups.

Maps!:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
 Awesome maps, printer friendly from National
Geographic
 See also Webliography for this link
A QUESTION OF PERSPECTIVE:
THE FORE OF NEW GUINEA

Problem: The Fore are a group of ~14,000
horticulturalists (cultivators of domesticated plants
without the use of modern agricultural techniques)
from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea
(Melanesia Culture Area) who have had about 200 of
their members die from mysterious causes each year.
The locals call it Kuru or “to tremble with fear.”
Jerking/shaking/unable to coordinate are the main
symptoms. After 9 months, the individual is no longer
able to eat or drink and soon dies. Women and children
are mainly afflicted.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x925q5_kurucanibalismo-de-amor_school

Google Map: http://www.maplandia.com/papua-newguinea/madang/fore/
A QUESTION OF PERSPECTIVE:
THE FORE OF NEW GUINEA
 Solution?
If you were asked to look into this
case, what would your first hypothesis be as to
the cause of the affliction?
A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE SOLVES IT

We must look to all aspects of the Fore’s society for
the answer, specifically, their religious and funerary
practices…

Kuru is caused by an infectious agent that is ingested
by family members when they consume the remains of
their dead loved ones. To the Fore, the holiest, most
sacred resting place for the deceased is within the
bodies of their loved ones. The deceased’s remains
would be cooked and distributed amongst family as a
form of utmost respect. Women and children, having
lower social status, were more likely to ingest the
brain (the seat of the infectious agent).
ETIC/EMIC ANALYSIS
 Etic
Analysis: Viewing and labeling a culture
with our own words and terms.


Advantages: Finding patterns that the studied group may be
unaware of. Applying an Etic Analysis to all cultures that you
study makes it easier to identify Human Universals. Terms
and categories can be made for new information to be nicely
organized. Etic Analysis is mainly used in Anthropological
studies.
Etic Analysis: Kuru is caused by a virus in the afflicted’s
bloodstream that is later ingested by family members.
 But
what are bacteria, germs, diseases, a virus
to the Fore? These are not only foreign words,
but also foreign ideas.
ETIC/EMIC ANALYSIS
 Emic
Analysis: Viewing a culture through the
eyes of the people being studied.


Advantages: Better understanding of the studied culture, but
much, much harder to attain. Argument: is it even possible to
see through the eyes of another culture? To undo and place
aside one’s own worldview and wholly adopt another?
Emic Analysis: Kuru is caused by Sorcery. The Sorcerer will
obtain a personal belonging of the individual’s, combine it in a
bundle with leaves, bark and stones and bury it in the cold
muddy earth. The Sorcerer will then recite a spell and let the
bundle rot. The individual then develops Kuru.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM

Cannibalism. Right/Wrong? Does context matter?
Who gets to make up the rules?
CULTURAL RELATIVISM CONT.
 The
norms and values we grow up with seem
right and correct
 We use our own society as a base for judging
others
 Thinking of others as simple, primitive,
immoral, less-than-human or somehow
fundamentally “wrong” is how wars start and
propaganda is spread.