Download Chapter 1: The Discipline of Anthropology

Chapter 1:
The Discipline of Anthropology
Objectives:
o
o
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Describe the four fields of anthropology and
explain how they relate to one another
Articulate the methods and concepts that
distinguish cultural anthropology from related
disciplines such as sociology
Explain how Christians have contributed to the
discipline of anthropology as well as how
anthropology can contribute to specifically
Christian work such as missions
Anthropology and the Four Fields
Archaeology
Prehistoric-Historic-Contemporary
Cultural/Social
Anthropology
Physical/Biological
Linguistics
Primatology-Forensics-Human Anatomy
Historical-Descriptive-Sociolinguistics
Anthropology and the Four Fields
Archaeology
The study of material artifacts to understand the
actions and ideas of people in the past
Anthropology and the Four Fields
Linguistics
The subfield of anthropology devoted to the study of
language
Anthropology and the Four Fields
Physical/Biological Anthropology
The study of human anatomy, nonhuman primates
(primatology), and human origins
Anthropology and the Four Fields
Cultural Anthropology
The description, interpretation, and appreciation of
similarities and differences in human cultures
Ethnographic Methods
Ethnography
A rich description and analysis of a culture that
includes the anthropologist’s experience of being
there
Participant Observation
An approach to research that combines participation
and observation in various ways to optimize one’s
understanding of the culture being studied
The Anthropological Perspective
An approach to social research that
seeks to understand culture from
the point of view of the people
within that cultural context
Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology
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Uses qualitative
methodology
More cross-cultural
focus
Uses culture as key
analytical concept
Study of the “Other”

Sociology


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Uses quantitative
methodology
Less cross-cultural
focus
Uses society as key
analytical concept
Study of the “Self”
Christians and Anthropology
Christian Witness

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Some prominent early anthropologists were also
missionaries
Anthropology successfully integrated into Christian
colleges, universities, seminaries, and missions
training programs
Christianity and Anthropology
Missionaries

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study anthropological
research of particular
groups or places
before they go
study anthropological
theory and method to
be ready to study the
context personally
Anthropologists


have long been involved in
mission organizations
have made profound
contributions to mission
work
Both may feel the creative tension between anthropology
and Christianity
Christianity and Anthropology
Christians and Basic Research in
Anthropology

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Many Christians come to anthropology with interests
other than missions
Research becomes the foundation on which future
scholars build
Christianity and Anthropology
Anthropology and the Global Church

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Being Christian is always a multicultural experience
Diversity is a gift but it poses challenges for being
unified
Understanding differences prevents
misunderstanding and unnecessary division