Download Cultural Anthropology 7e

Chapter 1 Outline
Anthropology and Human Diversity
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What are the aims of cultural anthropology?
In what ways does anthropology differ from other
social sciences?
What are the different subfields within
anthropology?
How do anthropologists understand human
biological diversity?
How does anthropology help us understand our
own and other cultures?
How have changes in the world affected the
practice of anthropology?
Goals of Anthropology
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Describe, analyze and explain different
cultures.
Show how groups adapted to their
environments and gave meaning to their
lives.
Comprehend the entire human
experience.
Areas of Specialization/Fields of
Anthropology
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Cultural Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology
Archaeology
Physical Anthropology
Applied Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
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Study human culture and society.
Search for general principles that
underlie all cultures.
Dynamics of a particular culture.
Linguistic Anthropology
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Language and it’s relation to culture.
Study human languages:
 Development
 Variation
 Relationship of language to culture.
 How languages are learned.
Archaeology
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Study of past cultures-material culture.
Reconstruct past cultures.
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Interpret artifacts:
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Function
Location
Physical Anthropology
Study humans from a biological perspective.
 Paleoanthropology
 Human variation
 Primatology
 Forensics
Applied Anthropology
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Analyze social, political and economic
problems and develop solutions.
Includes all fields of anthropology.
Ethnocentrism
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Belief that one’s culture is better than all
other cultures.
Measures other cultures- own cultural
standards.
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+Can help bind a culture together
- Can lead to racism.
Racial Classification
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How many races are there?
Race is socially constructed.
No group of humans is biologically
different from another.
Humans have an equal capacity for
culture.
Human variation & biological diversity:
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Geographical reasons
Racism
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The idea that characteristics are caused
by racial inheritance.
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Differences among human groups
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Biological determinism
Reasons
Humans belong to the same species
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Is race valid?
Cultural Relativism
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Definition: “The notion that there are no universal
standards by which all cultures may be evaluated.
Cultures must be analyzed with reference to their
own histories and culture traits understood in terms
of the cultural whole.”
Moral relativism is the notion that because no
universal standard of behavior exists, people should
not judge behaviors as good or evil.
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What is the difference?
Emic and Etic Views of Culture
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Emic: Describes the organization and
meaning a culture’s practices have for
its members. (insider’s view)
Etic: Tries to determine the causes of
particular cultural patterns that may be
beyond the awareness of the culture
being studied. (outsider’s view)