ANTHR207 Notes PDF

ANTHROPOLOGY: Study of human beings and their behaviors/products across time and space (Human Diversity)(Holistic Approach) -​ Separated into 4 FIELDS in North America: ​ Archeology: Study of past through material remains ​ Biological Anthropology: Human biological variation thr...

ANTHROPOLOGY: Study of human beings and their behaviors/products across time and space (Human Diversity)(Holistic Approach) -​ Separated into 4 FIELDS in North America: ​ Archeology: Study of past through material remains ​ Biological Anthropology: Human biological variation through time and space ​ Linguistic Anthropology: Languages in a cultural context ​ Socio-Cultural Anthropology: Cultures/Social Organizations/Human Behavior (Present, living cultures) MISCONCEPTIONS: No dinosaurs Fossils, Pre-Industrial Societies, None-Western Cultures present in some cases, not always SOCIOCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Study of many different human cultures and societies -​ CULTURE (simplified): Behaviors, beliefs, thoughts, practices, and products -​ Sociocultural Anthropology focuses on living/existing cultures around the world -​ Anthropology is cross cultural and comparative; one culture cannot tell us about all human behavior. Compare similarities and differences so we don't generalize about ‘what is right’ and how to be a human being -​ Analyzes human behavior; not to understand individuals but to explain/understand cultural patterns (patterns of behavior) ETHNOGRAPHIC METHOD Sociocultural Anthropology is similar to some other social sciences/humanities -​ What makes it different/how do we gather material for research? Ethnographic Method: Field research in a specific/limited group; typically in the form of participant observation -​ Anthropologists spend time in a group(years); live among people, learn language, participate in group activities -​ QUALITATIVE over QUANTITATIVE; No statistics/surveys. Talking to people/participating in activities/collaborating. Friends, not subjects -​ Focus on small and large stuff; many things can tell us a lot about culture ​ EX: Food (biological need, but what is considered proper food, how do you prepare/eat it, activities around food are all cultural) -​ Result of this research is Ethnography: theoretically informed description and explanation of the studied group/culture or specific facets of that culture COLONIAL ROOTS Sociocultural anthropology built on colonial traditions; important to remember that -​ Started in 19th century; way for westerners to understand ‘Others’ and rule over them -​ Back then, anthropology was defined as ‘study of Others’. Not the case anymore DECOLONIZATION OF ANTHROPOLOGY Distancing from this legacy in last few decades (ongoing); not perfect but definite change -​ Importance of cultural anthropology – understanding people who have different cultures and beliefs without judging; understanding the context and why they do what they do. -​ Relevant today(useful skill); cross cultural communication, understanding diversity, work with others different then you CULTURE Sociocultural Anthropology: focuses on Culture Culture is the central concept of anthropology Simplified Definition: Culture is a learned set of ideas/behaviors acquired by people in a group -​ EARLIEST DEFINITION: Sir Edward, 19th Century; ‘ Culture is that complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs acquired by man in society” -​ Culture is a lens through which we see the world -​ Culture is unconscious/naturalized; common sense things that are taken for granted -​ ALL PEOPLE HAVE CULTURE; no humans without culture -​ Many different cultures around the world, with similarities and differences CULTURE IS: -​ Learned: Not biological, even most biological things contextualized through culture -​ Shared: Shared with other members of the group (not an individual thing) (Even ‘Individualism’ considered a shared cultural value in some cultures (Western)) -​ Symbolic: Use of symbols (verbal or nonverbal) that stand for something else (No natural connection; EX: Nodding and shaking your head has meaning) -​ Integrated: Different aspects of culture don't happen in a vacuum, they are connected (Patterned systems that anthropologists study and put into context to understand) -​ Adaptive/Changeable: Cultures are not set in stone, and change over time (EX: Misconception about Indigenous cultures as ‘set in stone/in the past’) Culture is always shaped by specific power relations (EX: Gender Relations) NATURE Vs. NURTURE: Only humans have culture (don't have complex instincts) -​ Have natural bodies, but are shaped by culture -​ It affects our development, views, life experiences, and even bodies -​ Natural; bodily functions, but how we do them is culture -​ Not all human groups have the same answer on what is appropriate bodily functions -​ Difficult/impossible to tell which part of human behavior is strictly natural (would need to find a person with no culture to test this, but all humans have culture) (EX: Food/Gender: what is considered food and what's not? Proper male/female behavior?) ENCULTURATION: Learning a specific culture  -​ Happens in childhood, mainly through parents but also from society (‘girl’ vs ‘boy’ toys) -​ Can also learn/adopt culture as an adult (moving to a different country) -​ FORCED ASSIMILATION: People forced to learn another culture/abandon their own -​ HYBRIDIZATION: Person adopts and uses aspects of different cultures ETHNOCENTRISM: Idea that one's cultural ideas/beliefs are correct, and others are wrong -​ Seeing/interpreting other people's cultures through the lens of your own norms/beliefs -​ (EX: ‘Weird for men to wear skirts; weird for women to cover their hair’) -​ Often historically, Western ethnocentrism ( “civilized vs. barbarians”) -​ Not just Westerners, all cultures can be ethnocentric (but Westerners have more power to do something about it) -​ Ethnocentrism can make the person feel they are ‘in the right’ or superior -​ Important to remember it's all learned, and NOT OBJECTIVE CULTURAL RELATIVISM: Opposite of Ethnocentrism -​ Idea that beliefs/behaviors can only be understood/interpreted in their own context -​ There is always a reason behind something that makes sense in the context -​ All cultures are equally valid -​ NOT A MORAL RELATIVISM; Not about good or bad from POV of your culture -​ PROBLEM: Ones cultural beliefs could clash with someone else's (EX: Genital mutilation/circumcision; Death Penalty) -​ Anthropologists should try to embrace cultural relativism and avoid ethnocentrism US and THEM: Important dichotomy in anthropology -​ Idea of the “Other”; Often ethnocentric (Usually define ourselves as “Not Them”) HISTORY IN CONTEXT COLONIAL ROOTS; Anthropology a youngish discipline starting in 19th century -​ Born out of interest of ‘The Others’; not an intellectual interest/curiosity -​ Borne of the desire to control these people by knowing how they think/act -​ TODAY anthropology tries to distance itself from this; and work FOR local people INTEREST IN “NEW” PEOPLE Anthropological interest in the Other: 15th/16th century voyages and “discoveries” -​ When Europeans realized world is larger than they thought; populated by ‘new’ people -​ Many of those people physically different from Europeans; different cultures/customs -​ Interest in different cultures intensifies with colonization: 16th-19th Century COLONIZATION: As well as slavery; had a profound impact -​ Made Europeans rethink their ideas about humans, but NOT in a good way ​ Questioned if they had the same god/were the same species -​ Debates in 17th/18th Century: are non Europeans human? Have the same adam/eve? ​ MONOGENESIS Vs. POLYGENESIS ​ Monogenesis: We all have the same descendants/same species ​ Polygenesis: Non Europeans descended from another origin -​ Settled on Monogenesis; however this didn’t lead to equal treatment of non Europeans DEGENERATION or NOBLE SAVAGES TWO MAIN WAYS Europeans tried to explain difference between them and ‘others’: 1)​ DEGENERATION: All humans created civilized/Christian. However some turned away and turned into savages; these people are bad; Europeans should punish them 2)​ NOBLE SAVAGES: All humans created pure/innocent; Indigenous people remain so while Europeans ruined it through creation of bad aspects of civilization that created inequalities; Indigenous should be studied to learn what Europeans have lost (Both approaches BAD in their own way; Noble Savages bit better but still infantilizing) METHODOLOGY: How things are done (how we obtain our data) THEORY: How we analyze data and answer questions about it ARMCHAIR ANTHROPOLOGY: Early methodology in anthropology (19th Century) -​ Studying cultures without visiting (studying from distance)(Little or no field work) -​ Based on what missionaries/administrators collected through questionnaires -​ Believed social science was like a natural science; with rules/scientific laws -​ Attempt to explain cultural beliefs in a scientific way; -​ Done to compare unfavorably to Europeans (display how they are superior) -​ THEORETICAL APPROACH: Cultural Evolutionism DARWIN (EVOLUTION AND SOCIAL DARWINISM) Humanity as a single species (no different origins) -​ Theory of evolution; influential for biology. Applied to societies in a BAD WAY!! -​ Creation of SOCIAL DARWINISM: There are superior groups and inferior groups ​ Created by Herbert Spencer; coined “Survival of the Fittest” -​ Anthropologist created Cultural Evolutionism CULTURAL EVOLUTIONISM(Late 19th century): First theory in anthropology All human groups begin in the same way; gradually evolve to become more complex/civilized -​ Some achieve this faster than others, there are specific stages to go through -​ EUROPEANS are the most evolved, reached the highest stage of evolution -​ All cultures evolve in the same way, some slower than others -​ Europeans should help them evolve faster (WHITE MAN'S BURDEN) ​ LEWIS MORGAN (Prominent cultural evolutionist)(USA) -​ Research focused in Indigenous cultures, particularly their kinship -​ Typology for stages of human evolution that all cultures go through -​ Social evolution scale: (Savagery, Barbarism, Civilization) -​ Judges based on food practices (Foraging, Farming, Modern Food Production) ​ EDWARD TYLOR(British cultural evolutionist)(defined culture) -​ Maintained stages created by Lewis Morgan -​ Focused on religion and evolution of religious beliefs (and how people understand/explain the world around them in general) ​ JAMES FRAZER(another prominent cultural evolutionist) -​ Magic–Religion–Science -​ Magic more similar to science; a ‘primitive’ science PROBLEMS WITH CULTURAL EVOLUTION: Too simplistic, proven inaccurate -​ Consequences for other cultures: ‘destroy’ them because they're worthless or ‘help them become more like us’ (white man's burden–problem still present today) -​ This evolutionism will soon be challenged in anthropology through new ideas of Cultural Relativism (Franz Boas) -​ Armchair approach challenged; realized they must do fieldwork among people they’re studying AMERICAN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY(End of 19th Century) -​ Professionalization and institutionalization of anthropology in North America -​ KEY FIGURE: Franz Boas; established anthropology as a academic discipline -​ MAIN CHARACTERISTIC OF North American ANTHROPOLOGY: Holistic, 4-field approach -​ Boasians (his students) continue this tradition (like we study in alberta) FRANZ BOAS: USA; Jewish immigrant from Germany (not considered white at time)  -​ Physics/geography education, conducted research among Inuit groups in 1880 -​ Father of North American anthropology -​ Fought against eugenics and scientific racism (ideas not accepted at the time) -​ Emphasized importance of fieldwork and descriptions -​ Historical Particularism and Cultural Relativism HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM Historical Particularism: Each culture has its own history, different conditions, etc -​ There is not one scale, like evolutionists thought; cannot compare cultures -​ Instead of trying to study/compare cultures across all time, focus on a specific space and time -​ Only way to study cultures is to apply cultural relativism -​ Cultures not better/worse, superior/inferior (FACTUALLY INCORRECT) Cultural Relativism: all cultures have their internal logic/historical circumstances -​ The MAIN IDEA; cannot judge one culture through another cultures POV -​ EX: Westerners should not judge Non-Westerners culture from western POV W.E.B DU BOIS: First African American receive Phd from Harvard; agreed with Franz Boas -​ Criticized early anthropologists focus on the ‘exotic’ places and ‘tribes’ -​ Performed fieldwork in Philadelphia, on African American community -​ (early example of Native Ethnographer) -​ His ideas were influential for civil rights movements of 1960s BRONISLAW MALINOWSKI(20th Century)(Most important) -​ British anthropology; important for pioneering ethnographic method -​ Stranded at the Trobriand islands during World War 1 -​ Armchair anthropology not cutting it anymore; started looking for new methodology -​ Functions in a society: to fulfill the groups basic need (lowkey functionalist) ​ (food, shelter, sexuality, control of aggression, social order, etc) -​ TWO TYPES OF FUNCTIONS: Manifest(conscious) and Latent(unconscious) -​ EX: Religion (Manifest = connecting with spiritual)(Latent: social cohesion) MALINOWSKI'S NOTABLE WORK: ARGONAUTS OF THE WESTERN PACIFIC -​ Trobriand Islands (SouthWestern Pacific) -​ Kula Exchange: Necklaces/Armbands; other types of trade/economy follow -​ Balanced reciprocity – Economic exchange BOASIANS: Students of Boas; generation of early American anthropologists (Early 20th Century) -​ Extensive fieldwork (most of them) -​ Applying Boas ideas of historical particularism and cultural relativism to their research -​ Try to uncover important cultural traits/patterns; sometimes taking too far into oversimplification -​ But also sticking to the idea of cultural relativism -​ The idea that other cultures can tell Westerners something about their own cultures -​ NOTABLE BOASIANS: Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict MARGARET MEAD: One of the best known cultural anthropologists in history -​ Wrote ‘Coming of Age in Samoa’ (1928) -​ Focus on Sexuality; Crisis of Adolescence(deviant adolescence) is not biological, its cultural (came to the conclusion this is because we sexually repress our teens) -​ Implication: gender roles are not ‘natural’ there can be different ways to organize this -​ Her research: Get Americans to think more about their own culture COMING OF AGE IN SAMOA(1928): A classic -​ Mead: There is no adolescent crisis in Samoa because there is no sexual repression -​ Derek Freeman(1980): Challenged Meads work after her death ​ Found the women in Samoa Mead studied, admitted they LIED to her FIELDWORK IN ANTHROPOLOGY TWO METHODOLOGIES IN THIS CLASS: -​ Armchair Anthropology -​ Fieldwork Anthropology ETHNOGRAPHY Ethnography Method: Sets socio-cultural anthropology apart (used in other disciplines, but created by anthropologist) -​ Description and explanation of the studied group/culture or specific facets of it -​ To produce ethnography, you need to do research; most of the time is fieldwork -​ Fieldwork in anthropology is a specific type of field research, with specific methodological approaches -​ Socio cultural anthropologists study culture by immersing themselves with the populace they are studying; go live in the group you want to study (for YEARS) -​ Immersing yourself in the culture is the only way to notice things/understand BRONISLOW MALINOWSKI (Part 2) -​ Polish, studied in England; sent to do work in Australia, New Guinea, Trobriand Islands -​ WW1 starts, allowed to continue his research during the war; Basically stranded -​ Stayed longer than anticipated, through this circumstance ethnographic method born DOWNSIDES OF MALINOWSKI -​ Pioneered participant observation; but was NOT the best at doing it -​ Didn't really live with the group; he had his own ‘better’ house -​ Didn't dress like them, didn't eat their food -​ Talked to people but was more interested in aspects of culture then the people themselves; you can't separate people from the culture -​ Saw anthropology as an adventurer; someone who goes to ‘exotic’ places -​ His diaries were lowkey freaky, racist, and odd. Despite Malinowski's failings, idea behind participant observation was good PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION: Most popular/used method of data collection in anthropology -​ You cannot simply observe what is going on; in order to understand a culture you must participate -​ Live in same houses, eat their food, wear same clothes, participate in their activities -​ Learn their language to communicate with them WHAT IF THEY LIE?? (Margaret Mead) -​ Margaret Mead's main informants were young women, in the 1980s John Derek Freeman conducted his own research; found they lied to Mead -​ How can we be sure they lied to Mead? What if they actually lied to Freeman? -​ Between the time Mead visited and Freeman visited, christianization occurred in Samoa. The now older, married, christian woman talking to a MAN John Freeman could have bent the truth to save face HOW TO DO ETHNOGRAPHY -​ Adhere to ethics, not just official code of ethics; keep the groups ethics in mind -​ Methodological cultural relativism, suspend your own cultural glasses -​ Dont react spontaneously on things you encounter (chances you are wrong) -​ Work in the groups interest, or at least be neutral ​ Must have approval from the group to even be there -​ Do not include things your group does not want to be included REFLEXIVITY: Important aspect of anthropology -​ Anthropologists are traditionally people with more power than their informants. Important to be aware of this. ACCESS: How do you get into this group? Who allows it? -​ In the past, people were not asked if they wanted to be researched (this has changed) WHO SHOULD ANTHROPOLOGY SERVE? -​ Studies that don't serve group/are harmful are not ethical and should not be done -​ (EX: Problematic study conducted in Afghanistan in 2007 to improve communication between soldiers and locals. However gave the information the found to the US military to help them fight the war more efficiently) -​ Anthropology should either be neutral or serve the group in question LEVELS OF OBSERVING AND WRITING 1)​ Description: Detailed as possible, resist interpretation. Use your senses 2)​ Notice Patterns: 3)​ Narrowing Down 4)​ Attempt at Explanation NEW IDEAS IN ANTHROPOLOGY (1960s – 1970s)  -​ How to understand culture and what is going on -​ Idea: It is about symbols and meaning that people give to things -​ THAT is what guides people's behavior and shapes a culture -​ Birth of symbolic and interpretive anthropology -​ BIGGEST NAMES: Victor Turner (symbolic) and Clifford Geertz (interpretive) -​ There are differences but we can discuss both approaches as part of the same approach in anthropology -​ These approaches are still used by many anthropologist CLIFFORD GEERTZ: Focused on symbols; symbolic behavior and meaning that people give -​ Interpretive Anthropology = Geertz!!! -​ Fieldwork in Morocco, Bali, Java. Influential in the 1970s -​ HIS METHOD: Thick description; detailed/contextualized before any interpretation. Explain the reason behind human actions -​ Role of symbols in constructing meaning; goal of anthropologists is to interpret them -​ GEERTZ DEFINITION OF CULTURE: “stories we tell ourselves about ourselves” -​ Explaining the irrational/illogical in a culture; will make sense when you interpret its meaning!! ^^^BALINESE COCKFIGHTS -​ In Bali many villagers participate in cockfights, despite them being forbidden -​ There was betting, but it wasn't about money -​ Cockfights carry important meanings; they are symbolic behaviors that are important for this group. (Cock meant the same thing in slang)(dingaling)(male dominated) -​ INTERPRETIVE ANTHROPOLOGY: Cockfights are a simulation of social networks; fights between cocks of other social groups not within own -​ Comments on rivalries without actually engaging in fights; reveals hierarchies -​ (Like the rivalry that exists between city hockey teams!!!!!!) CONTEMPORARY TENDENCIES -​ Anti-Colonialism: Very important to this day ​ Abandoning Western ethnocentric practices ​ Marginalized groups having voices; feminist/intersectionality approach ​ Orientalism: Belief ‘The East’ is everything the West isn't (in a bad way) (Ethnocentric view of the Middle East, East is uncivilized West is civilized) -​ Power Relations: Important in contemporary anthropology ​ Power difference between anthropologists and the people they study ​ Power imbalance between West and Non-West (core and periphery) ​ Also all other types of power imbalance (gender, class) to be taken into account ​ Criticism of old theories that ignored power relations; distance from colonial legacy STUDYING SIDEWAYS, STUDYING UP: We don't need to study groups less powerful Studying Sideways: studying groups with similar/equal power to you Studying Up: studying groups with more power then you (if you can do it) NATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY/ETHNOGRAPHY: Insider; studying your own culture -​ Giving voices to your own people when they are marginalized -​ Opening up that anthropology can also study Western societies