INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

What is Anthropology?
infinite Curiosity about human beings. greek words anthropos which means human or man, and logos which means study

Anthropology as a Discipline
Anthropology's basic concerns are: 1. What defines human life and society? 2. How are social relations among humans organized? 3. Why are there variations among different groups of humans? 4. How has the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens influenced its social organization and culture?

Anthropological Curiosity
Anthropology
Where, when and why did people begin living in cities?

Other Disciplines and Studies

What are the advantages of living in cities and metropolitan areas? (Economics, Sociology, Geography) What are the physical characteristics of Africans? (Geography)

Why do some people have darker skin than others?

Why do some languages contain more color terms than other languages? Why, in some societies, are men allowed to be married to several women simultaneously?

What languages do European Countries use? (Geography)

What countries allow polygamous marriage? (Geography)

4 Major Subdisciplines of Anthropology

Recent Past and Present Physical Human Human Evolution Variation Cultural Historical Descriptive or (Linguistics) Linguistics Structural Linguistics Cultural (Other) Cultural History Cultural Variation Archaeology (Ethnology) Cultural Anthropology Distant Past

Physical Anthropology

Physical Anthropology

How did man know about his evolution? The discovery of the fossil remains in East Africa who believed to have lived 3 million years ago. Formulation of Primatology the study of primates and primate heritage.

Two subfields: Human Paleontology (Emergence and Evolution of Man) and Human Variation (Difference in Human Populations) Paleontology Human Variation

How did human population adopt to different Physical and Environmental Conditions? Inuit, Caucasians, Africans Application of human genetics, population biology, epidemiology

Descriptive and Structural Linguistics

Historical Linguistics

Archeology

Goals of Cultural Anthropology

Appreciation of Cultural Diversity, Understanding of Cultural Variation, Importance of Multi-culturalism and pluralism of Culture

Cultural Anthropology
Study of the specific contemporary societies and of the underlying patterns of human culture

Ethnography

Ethnology

Detailed explanation of culture

Analysis and interpretation of data to discern cultural ethnology

Ethnography

Is the gathering of information on contemporary cultures through fieldworks, or first hand study. Their concern is mainly on identifying the economic processes surrounding the culture, technology, social organizations, political behavior, and religious lifestyle. It also investigates the relationship between cultural ideologies concerning gender sensitivity.

Ethnology

Is the uncovering of general patterns and rules that govern social behavior. They use ethnographic data in order to create inferences that lead to better understanding of culture. This is an extension of the ethnographers task by making sense of the relationship of the data and the philosophy behind the culture.

Anthropologist's Viewpoint

Holism the philosophical view that no complex entity can be considered to be only the sum of its parts.

It is the assumption that any given aspects of human life is to be studied with respect to its relation to other aspects of human life. Example: Patriarchal Society, Homosexuality related to Religion.

Cultural Relativism the ability to view the beliefs and customs of other people within the context of their culture rather one's own. Example: Comparing cultures in a moral standpoint, ethnocentrism Relate to the issue of Universal Human Rights

Assignment:

1. In a 1 whole sheet of Paper 2. Write about the theories of anthropology

Cultural Materialism example: American Materialism Structuralism Functionalism Feminist Anthropology Marxist Anthropology Social Evolutionism

3. Prepare for a Class Recitation next meeting about the assignment.