copyright 2005 allyn & bacon anthropology experience what is anthropology?

Copyright 2005 Allyn & Bacon

Anthropology Experience

What is Anthropology?


Anthropology

HolisticComparative

Mindful of ChangeFocus on Culture

The study of humankind in all its aspects


Culture

Culture is learned.Cultures is shared.

Culture is symbolic.Cultures is tacit.

A shared set of ideas, beliefs, assumptions and behaviors

acquired as a member of society


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


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


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


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


Anthropology SubfieldsCultural Anthropology

Study of contemporary cultures through fieldwork

ArchaeologyStudy of past cultures by observing their artifacts


Anthropology SubfieldsBiological Anthropology

Study of human evolution, human biological variation, human genetics, and primatology

LinguisticsDescribe speech’s physical, psychological, and social dimensions


Anthropology SubfieldsApplied Anthropology

ConservationEducationWorld HealthCriminal InvestigationGovernmentBusiness

copyright 2005 allyn & bacon anthropology experience what is anthropology?

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