Anthropology 1150 Lecture Notes - Methods + Theory PDF

Anthropology 1150 - Methods + Theory Field - location with people Fieldwork - methods of research done in the field Designed to answer a research question Barker’s Ancestral Lines Arrival Story Participant Observation - learning social rules in a new social setting Living with and par...

Anthropology 1150 - Methods + Theory Field - location with people Fieldwork - methods of research done in the field Designed to answer a research question Barker’s Ancestral Lines Arrival Story Participant Observation - learning social rules in a new social setting Living with and participating in the lives of another group of people Dual purpose: learning through participation while trying to observe and document ○ Fieldnotes + documentation Long-term activity Main research question - Effects of Christianity on traditional cultural practices Ethnographer seeks to understand full picture of a culture. One can approach this goal by asking: 1. How do people think they should behave? 2. How do people say they behave? 3. How do people actually behave? Example - Vending Machines: Order + Disorder Barbara Monsey Corporate Anth - applied anth Application of anthropology methods + theories Participant Observation Strengths: Observable and obvious behaviours Flexible Creates a lot of data Based on 1st hand experience Contextual understanding long-term Limitations Hard to document stubble behaviours / why questions Creates a lot of data Time-consuming / fatiguing Bias falling in favour of people they work with - colour findings Presence affects behaviours Long-term  Sample size is small Perspectives on Data Emic Perspectives: The perspective of the people in the “studied” culture Insider’s perspective Subjective perspective Insider’s point of view Ethnography, Barker’s Ancestral Lines, description Specific Etic Perspectives: Observer’s perspective anthropologist’s perspective Anthropology perspective (expert) Objective perspective Outsider’s point of view Interpretation Comparison, documenting universals – ethnology, lens textbook, theory Generalizing Phonetics - all sounds in all human languages Phonemics - sounds of a particular language Theory: Positivism - The social world is patterned, orderly, governed by rules and laws Objective, observable social world Measured behaviour Context isn’t as important ○ Vending machine behaviour - patterned repeatable behaviour Phenomenology - Ppl create own meanings through actions People create own social reality Particular and unique Context and behaviour Etic perspective – emic Expert perspective – insider perspective Emic Inside Subjective Phonemic Ethnography Particular, Unique Phenomenology Maisin (Barker) Etic Outside Objective Phonetics Ethnology Universals, generalities Positivism Lens (Gonzalez) Example #1 Cultural evolution 19th Century “things “ evolve from simple to complex State of Economy (Week Marriages “Desent” Types of cultural 3) (Week 6) Religion (week Evolution - 7) Most to least advanced Civilization Agriculture Monogamy Patrilineal Monotheism Industry Steel Barbarism Horticulture Polygamy Patrilineal Polytheistic Metal tools Savagery Hunters Polygamy Matrilineal Animism Stone tools Group marriages No marriages Franz Boas Historical Paricularism Boas - reaction to cultural evolution - Understand cultures from their particular histories - Participant observation - Local perspectives - Interested in all subfields - Theory – cultures have unique histories - Method - engagement with local peoples - Cultural relativity