Anthropology: Stories, Fables and Culture

• Anthropologists immerse themselves in their surroundings through observation and participation in daily activities

Stories

• Stories are a key aspect of culture, connecting people to the past by passing on traditions and cultural values.
• Certain societies use stories to exert social pressure and influence behavior and thought.
• Stories can act as a form of social control by addressing prohibited activities or customs.
• Different cultures may share similar themes in their stories.
• The quest narrative often involves characters journeying to distant lands, encountering hardships, opportunities, and real-life situations.
• Stories reinforce religious, social, political, and economic norms across generations
• Stories exert social pressure and influence behavior and thought.

Fables

• Fables resemble stories, offering examples for navigating life or outlining behavior in dangerous situations.
• They can be part of traditions, helping to preserve ways of life or explain mysteries.
• A fable becomes a recognized tradition when it's retold and embraced by a community.

Storytelling

• Storytelling appears in various forms, like tall tales and folktales.
• Used for entertainment or discussing life's problems.
• Functions as cultural preservation, used to communicate morals and values to the next generation.

The Other

• Refers to people whose customs, beliefs, or behaviors are "different".
• Considered as an anthropological concept

Early Anthropologists

• Early Anthropologists studied people from other civilizations, relying on written accounts and opinions of others.
• They developed stories about other cultures based solely on information gathered by others.
• They did not have any direct contact with the people they studied

Armchair Anthropology

• When a culture is viewed from a distance, anthropologists may measure it from their own vantage point.
• This can lead to comparisons that position the anthropologist's culture as superior.
• Armchair anthropologists were often unaware of their ethnocentric biases due to their lack of direct engagement with the cultures they studied.

Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own group or culture is superior to others.

Early Anthropological Studies

• Early anthropological studies often presented biased, ethnocentric interpretations of the human condition.
• From the 16th to the mid-20th century, European countries like Britain, France, and Spain controlled land in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
• European notions of right and wrong served as a standard for judging other cultures.
• Non-European cultures were deemed primitive, was an ethnocentric term.
• The term "primitive" suggests indigenous cultures lacked technological advancement.