discovering anthropology: introduction

Foundation Centre

Dr. Nick Pearce

n.a.pearce@durham.ac.uk

Welcome

HousekeepingCourse OverviewThe Anthropological Paradigm Sub FieldsBreakWhat is culture? Exercise – gender as culture

Housekeeping

Register

Reading Packs

Anthropological Icebreaker

In pairs get ready to introduce each other in only 3 words

– Could be nationality, region, gender, role, physical characteristics, preferences, anything

Course Overview

AimsAssessmentsReading List

Textbooks

Reading pack is textbookLibrariesSecond hand market

Online, ebay.co.uk, abebooksBe careful about currency of book (edition etc.)Also some topics are contentious (ie evolution)

Week Theme Assignment

1 Welcome and overview Anthropology of anything

2 Biological Anthropology  

3 Linguistic Anthropology Find ethnography

4 Cultural Anthropology Summative Assignment 1 – Given out in class and on duo

5 Archaeological Anthropology In oriental museum (tbc)

6 Birth and mothers’ experiences  

7 Coming of Age: from child to adult Assignment 1 deadline

8 Death: making sense of death  

9 Revision: sex, death and monkeys

Mock tests (DUO)

10 Revision: Review mock test, exam strategies

Test week

Duo tour

Teaching materialsReading ListShared resources areaPinterest

Diversity is strength

Foundation Centre students at an advantage

– International and mature students– Currently encountering a new culture– We can draw on these experiences

The Anthropological Paradigmanthropos (man or human) and logia (study of).

EvolutionHistoryCross-CulturalObservation & Participation

Group work

Are humans unique?

If so what makes us different?

Break Time

Sub-fields

Anthropology has four major sub-fields

Biological ArchaeologicalCulturalLinguistic

Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropology is the study of human biological origin and diversity

Biological anthropology (sometimes called physical anthropology) is divided into two major parts

(1) Evolutionary anthropology is the study of the evolution of the human species, the relationships between Homo sapiens and other primates, and the fossil record of primate evolution (paleoanthropology).

(2) Contemporary biological anthropology, the study of living populations, details the biological variation of human populations, their genetic structures, and the way they adapt to varying environments (deserts, the Arctic, and high altitude). It also involves the study of skeletal biology (anatomy), human growth and development, and human interaction with diseases.

Archaeological AnthropologyArchaeology is the study of the lifeways of people who existed in the past

Using cultural remains, archaeologists study the behavior patterns of extinct peoples. The goal of archaeology is to elucidate the past by asking when, where, what, and why/how the people in the past did things. Archaeologists are interested in knowing about cultural patterns such as

diet social organisation status differences adaptation to the environment migrations evolution of populations

Cultural AnthropologyCultural anthropology is the study of the lifeways of contemporary peoples

Anthropologists collect data on living peoples by conducting extensive fieldwork going out into the world's societies and observing people as they interact and live their lives. This is called ethnography.

Cultural Anthropologists are interested in the extent of variation and in discovering general cultural principles or patterns. Areas may include

social anthropology ecological anthropologykinship studies medical anthropologysymbolic anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropology is the study of language and speech in both contemporary and past cultures

Linguistic Anthropology is composed of four basic branches.

• Historical linguistics deals with the emergence of language and how languages have changed and diverged over time. • Descriptive linguistics is the study of the sounds (phones), sound systems, grammar, syntax, and the meanings that are attached to words in specific languages. • Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationship between language and social relations. As an example, sociolinguists might study how one's social standing affects his or her language usage.• Ethnolinguistics is the examination of the relationship between culture and language and how the two interact and influence one another.

What is culture?

Everyone has a culture. It shapes how we see the world, ourselves, and others.

Culture is a system of beliefs, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior and are shared by a group of people. It includes customs, language, and material artifacts. These are transmitted from generation to generation, rarely with explicit instructions.

What is culture?

• Culture is not nature

• Culture is learned

• Culture influences and shapes behaviour

• Culture is often unconscious

Gender as culture?Girls are made from sugar and spice….

Using a flip chart describe the different cultures of males and females.

You should include things like

• clothing • ‘tools’• behaviour • appearance• language• anything else you can think of

For next week…

Anthropology of anything

Biological Anthropology Human evolution - our bodies and the world around us