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Anthropology
Experience
What is Anthropology?
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Anthropology
The study of humankind in all its aspects
Holistic
Comparative
Mindful of Change
Focus on Culture
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Culture
A shared set of ideas, beliefs,
assumptions and behaviors acquired as
a member of society
Culture is learned.
Cultures is shared.
Culture is symbolic.
Cultures is tacit.
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Culture
“Culture or civilization ... is that complex whole
which includes knowledge, belief, art, law,
morals, customs, and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
E. B. Tylor, 1871
“. . . that complex whole which includes all the
habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
Ruth Benedict, 1929
“. . . the patterns of behavior and thought learned
and shared as characteristic of a societal group.”
Marvin Harris, 1971
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Culture
“Culture embraces all the manifestations of social
habits of a community, the reactions of the
individual as affected by the habits of the group
in which he lives, and the products of human
activity as determined by these habits.” Franz
Boas, 1930
“[Culture] obviously is the integral whole
consisting of implements and consumer goods, of
constitutional charters for the various social
groupings, of human ideas and crafts, beliefs and
customs.” Bronislaw Malinowski, 1944
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Culture
“Culture means the whole complex of traditional
behavior which has been developed by the human
race and is successively learned by each
generation. ” Margaret Mead, 1937
“. . . a system of symbols and meanings.” David
Schneider, 1976
“A society's culture consists of whatever it is that
one has to know or believe in order to operate in
a manner acceptable to its members.” Ward
Goodenough
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Ethnocentrism:
Reacting to the world
with the ideas, beliefs,
and assumptions of your
own culture.
A natural response
May result in negative or
positive evaluation of
another culture
Cultural Relativity:
Understanding another
culture in accord with
the ideas, beliefs, and
assumptions of that
culture
Not easy
Results in the ability to
describe and explain
another culture
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Anthropology Subfields
Cultural Anthropology
Study of contemporary cultures through
fieldwork
Archaeology
Study of past cultures by observing their
artifacts
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Anthropology Subfields
Biological Anthropology
Study of human evolution, human
biological variation, human genetics, and
primatology
Linguistics
Describe speech’s physical, psychological,
and social dimensions
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon
Anthropology Subfields
Applied Anthropology
Conservation
Education
World Health
Criminal Investigation
Government
Business
Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon