...to categorize things to make them more real and palpable. That is why they categorized food, animals, plants and so many other things. Why would we not also classify humans according to different physical or cultural traits ? A lot of anthropologists have made different classifications to try and make people more comfortable with such big diversity in the world. People choose to agree or disagree with anthropological theories. To perfectly understand this topic, we need to have a deeper look at how anthropologists explain the concept of race. Then I will develop why I believe anthropologists have contributed to a better understanding of the issue. And in a last part how my understanding of the issue improved. The main work of an anthropologist is to analyse the world around them. The easiest way to do this is to travel and to be a full member of a community. In some cases, however they do not need to go away from their home to discover different cultures (Metcalf 2005, p. 1). In today's multicultural world, people are coming from everywhere in the world and thereby giving the country an opportunity to make it more culturally diverse. We do not live in a fairy tale world and the concept of race established by people over centuries remains in many ways. Many anthropologists believe that the first idea of race was established by the Europeans' settlement in America during the 17th century. At this time Europeans believed those different from themselves to be less “civilized”. Thus...
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...Participant observation is defined as first hand experience. Participant observation is a method developed by Anthropologists in the early 20th century. When Anthropologists noticed that in order to fully understand the question, “Why” in culture. Why do a certain people do this, why is that important, or why do they all do it, are just some of the questions anthropologists use participant observation. The key to participant observation is fieldwork, where the anthropologist actively lives with the people of the culture they are studying for about a year or more. Where the anthropologist goes through culture shock by leaving all their possessions at home and starting a new. This technique of studying gets the anthropologist to become one with the culture, where they participate in ceremony’s and traditions with the people as a member. So much so that they go through culture shock once they return home, because they have opened their minds to a whole new way of thinking and living. Colin M. Turnbull is an anthropologist who went to live in the Ituri Forest with a group of people called the Pygmies. The Pygmies is a culture that many people before Turnbull mistaken as uneducated and weren’t living life to the fullest because of this. Turnbull had two voyages to the Forest where in his first voyage he saw the Nkumbi ritual and was inducted as a member of the Pygmies. Two years later he went back to the forest leaving everything behind, unlike his first voyage where he believed he...
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...the mail or email, and are made up of open-ended questions. Interviews are typically face-to-face or by telephone, this method allows the individual to give more detail to their answers. A telephone poll contains pre-defined questions on a specific product or service, most often used to obtain the consumer’s opinion on that product or service. Surveys are the best method of collecting statistical information quickly from a large number of individuals. The results are often unbiased as most often the data is submitted anonymously. Cultural anthropology is the study of the development of human cultures throughout history. A cultural anthropologist studies cultures by engaging in ethnography (field work) and ethnology (cross-cultural comparison). Two forms of research methods used in anthropology are cross-cultural analysis and participant observation. Cross-Cultural Analysis Cross-Cultural Analysis statistically compares cultural traits among groups of human being. This method...
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...research. 5. Explain the causes of culture shock. 6. Analyze the values of cultural relativism. 7. Identify the uses of cross-cultural comparison. After reading this chapter, you should be able to: iStockphoto/Thinkstock iStockphoto 8. Explain the basic ethical questions of anthropological research. 9. Explain the different concepts used in an anthropological analysis of culture. 10. Explain the difference between humanistic and scientific approaches to culture. Chapter Outline 1.1 The Breadth of Anthropology • • • • • The Four Traditional Subfields Anthropology as Science and Humanity Etic Versus Emic Perspectives The Holistic Perspective Breadth in Time and Space 1.3 Methods of Anthropological Research • • • • Participant Observation The Fieldwork: A Case Study Cross-Cultural Comparison Ethics in Anthropological Research 1.2 The History of Cultural Anthropology • • • • • The Evolutionary Period The Empiricist Period The Functionalist Period The Contemporary Period The Period of Specialization 1.4 Cultural Differences • Culture Shock • Ethnocentrism • Cultural Relativism 1.5 Employment in Anthropology 1 cra80793_01_c01_001-032.indd 1 5/23/13 2:23 PM Section 1.1 The Breadth of Anthropology CHAPTER 1 This chapter explains what anthropology is, the history of the discipline, how anthropologists gather information about human customs, how different anthropologists analyze culture, and how anthropology has evolved as a discipline. 1...
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...Can we be cultural relativists without being complete ethical relativists? NO Should anthropologists merely be amoral observers? NO What do cultural anthropologists do? - Generally engage in participant observation – - Also use interviewing, surveying, consensuses, other - Extended stay in research site - Conduct research in local language - May develop close ties with local people Know ethnology and ethnography Ethnography may generalize from a limited time experience or contact with a small number of people Ethnographer cannot see or experience everything or every perspective - Subjectivity of data Ethnography is frequently rife with ethical dilemma LANGUAGE - is a human biological adaption - We are hardwired to acquire language, but it can only be activated through society - There may be basic principle and rules which are foundation of all languages (Chomsky – “universal grammar”) - Words are SYMBOLS – something that stands for something else - Since the relationship between sound and meaning is symbolic: humans can combine worlds and sounds into new, meaningful utterances that have never been heard before - Symbols enable humans to transmit and store information (including abstract concepts) - This allows us to create and transmit culture What is Boroditsky’s main point in “How languages shape thought?” - Anthropologists have long been interested in the relationship between language and culture - Does language merely label or describe Sapir-whorf hypothesis...
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...information. Qualitative methods of data collection, such as interviewing, observation, and document analysis, have been included under the umbrella term of "ethnographic methods" in recent years Aspects of observation discussed herein include various definitions of participant observation, some history of its use, the purposes for which such observation is used, the stances or roles of the observer, and additional information about when, what, and how to observe It is also a structured type of research strategy. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology. Its aim is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such cultural group, or a particular community) and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their natural environment, usually over an extended period of time. Observation methods are useful to anthropologists in a variety of ways. They provide researchers with ways to check for nonverbal expression of feelings, determine who interacts with whom, grasp how participants communicate with each other, and check for how much time is spent on various activities. Participant observation allows researchers to check definitions of terms that participants use in interviews, observe events that informants may be unable or unwilling to share Espinal 2 when doing so would be impolitic, impolite, or insensitive, and observe situations informants have described in interviews...
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...While anthropologists have vacillated between material and nonmaterial definitions of culture, today most would agree with a more inclusive definition of culture: the thoughts, behaviors, languages, customs, the things we produce and the methods we use to produce them. It is this, the human ability to create and transmit culture, that differentiates us as humans from the rest of the animal world. The essential feature of culture, that it is learned and transmitted from one generation to the next, rests on the human capacity to think symbolically. Language, perhaps the most important feature, is a symbolic form of communication. The word table, for example, is nothing other than a symbol for the actual thing, a table. Language is a form of communication. Without language, culture could not be transmitted, people could not learn from one another across generations, and there would be no cultural continuity. Simply because culture is transmitted through symbols whose meanings remain more or less constant doesn't mean that cultures are static and don't change. On the contrary, cultures are never truly static. Which of us does not remember a grandparent comparing life today with the one s/he grew up in? The changes that took place between his/her lifetime and ours represent subtle cultural shifts in values, the things we use, and the way we use language. What causes cultural change? Outside influences, through a process known as cultural diffusion, may stimulate cultural change...
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...stared out at the street. Some were worrying, others dreaming, or just sitting in silence” (Shah 1). This opening passage from Tahir Shah’s In the Caliph’s House is a memorable one for me. It is the first line I read from many readings to come in my eager preparation for Morocco last summer. I remember my professor reading this line aloud during our first class meeting months later, and my anticipation at the trip to come. And now, over two months after returning from my trip to Morocco, I can instantly picture the scene, so familiar, and I am transported back to the streets of Fes outside our hotel. Travel writers like Shah, as well as anthropologists, use the power of writing to weave words into deep meaning. Before the classes and trip, I had little knowledge or experience in the fields of anthropology or travel writing. In becoming acquainted with these disciplines fall quarter, they seemed like completely different fields to me. Anthropology is a social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings. Travel writing, on the other hand, seemed a broad category of writing that encompassed basically any traveler writing about a different country or culture for practically any purpose. The main differences between anthropology and travel writing are the audience and purpose, the level of objectivity of the writer, and the role of the author in the piece. The differences I noticed initially between these two fields can be exemplified by two of...
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...At a young age, children's minds are sponge-like, absorbing everything that surrounds them, which makes them easy targets in terms of manipulation and victimization by the medias constant influence. By the time of adulthood, individuals are already under the influence of the mass media. Society appears to have a subconscious fixation with the mass media, resulting in individuals becoming desensitized to violence and to be detrimental affected. Psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists all obtain different beliefs to provide reasons to why violence continues to be a predominant factor in today's culture. The media promotes violence, and can be blamed for awarding violent behavior like in the cases of Columbine and Virginia Tec, who both received tons of exposure. Violence is a primary component of several individuals’ lives, especially in the youth culture, as many turn to the media for a sense of direction, resulting in them resembling the images they view, shaping their behaviors. Desensitization is a psychological development that has frequently been implicated in explaining viewers' unemotional reactions to the medias constant portrayal of violence (cite). Societies continuous exposure to the medias violence results in desensitization, which causes undermine feelings of concern, compassion, or empathy that individuals may end up having toward victims of actual violent acts (cite).The average child between the ages of eight to eighteen spends approximately forty-four...
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...Camila Madeo Cultural Anthropology 207 August 28,2015 Neighborhood Tokyo Exercise 1. What does the Anthropologist do? What are two methods he uses in his research? Anthropologist Theodor C. Bestor immerses himself into the culture and community within the neighborhood of Miyamoto in order to learn through them. Bestor conducts fieldwork and participant observation. In doing so Theodor Bestor learns the local habits, custom and even the language of the people of Miyamoto to become fully involved. Bestor visits Miyamoto almost routinely and engages with all aspects that belong to the people of Miyamoto, which include participating in festivals, contributing to neighborhood market shops and even making good friends with the people of the neighborhood. 2. The Miyamoto neighborhood has both physical and spiritual boundaries. How are those boundaries marked? The area of local business and shops, far from the greater global market force, marks some of the physical boundaries of Miyamoto. The shops in Miyamoto deal mainly with daily goods. Another physical boundary is that of the houses and apartments marked by close and narrow passageways inaccessible by car and fire equipment. A spiritual boundary of Miyamoto is marked my sacred shrines important throughout festivals and parades specific to celebrations. 3. People of Miyamoto celebrate several rituals over the course of the year. What’s one of those rituals? What happens during the ritual? One of the many rituals...
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...centuries. As a result, body art and ornamentation have been a source of interest among anthropologists beginning as early as the 1900’s, and gaining a strong foothold during the 1970’s. “Inscribed skin highlights an issue that has been central to anthropology since its inception: the question of boundaries between the individual and society, between societies, and between representations and experiences” (Schildkrout, 2004). Through anthropological research, we have learned that many cultures worldwide use forms of body art and ornamentation such as scarification, tattooing (permanent and nonpermanent), and piercings for a variety of reasons, ranging from ceremonial religious rituals to tribal identification purposes. The process of body art and ornamentation signifies a figurative death and rebirth that typically involves a painful experience as a means to encourage an individual’s self-discovery, as well as establishing his/her place in society. For the purpose of this paper, I will explore the various aspects of body art and ornamentation across three specific cultures- the Yoruba’s of West Africa, the Samoan’s of the Pacific Islands, and the Hindu’s of India. Throughout the history of African culture, anthropologists have noted a wide variety of body markings among African peoples, with scarification being the most permanent form. Through intense study and research of African peoples, anthropologists have learned that many in the African culture use these types of body markings as...
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... Is there one global culture of schooling, or many? Are school systems around the world diverging from their original European sources, or are they converging toward a single model?i This book opens a dialogue between two very different perspectives on schooling around the world. On the one hand, anthropologists and many scholars in comparative education emphasize national variation, not to mention variation from district to district and from classroom to classroom. From their point of view, the nearly 200 national school systems in the world today represent some 200 different and diverging cultures of schooling. On the other hand, sociology’s “institutionalists” or world culture theorists argue that not only has the model of modern mass education spread from a common source, but that schools around the world are becoming more similar over time.ii According to world culture theory, rather than diverging, schools are converging toward a single global model. This question matters to anthropologists because when we look at globalization— the movement of people, money and ideas across the entire world in unprecedented volume—we wonder whether it really means that the world is becoming more homogeneous. Are we creating a global culture (a “McWorld” for the cynical), or do people create new local cultures as rapidly as global imports hit them (Watson 1997)? Are we seeing increasing uniformity, or simply diversity organized in a new way (Hannerz 1996)? The domain of national school...
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...listed for the country, The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.It is also one of the most rural places, as only 18 percent of its people live in urban environment.Strong growth in Papua New Guinea's mining and resource sector has led to Papua New Guinea becoming the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world as of 2011.Despite this, many people live in poverty, with about one third of the population living on less than US$1.25 per day. It is estimated that more than a thousand different cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. Most of these different cultural groups have their own language. In my research I found one tribe that sticks out to me The Etoro, or allso know as Edolo.They are well known among anthropologists because of ritual homosexual acts practised between the young boys and men of the tribe. In the United States we have strict laws agiasnt this and this is why I find them to be so diverse and made me wanna reseach them more. The Etoro believe that young boys must ingest the semen of their elders to achieve adult male status and to properly mature and grow strong.The Etoro believe that people have an...
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... Key issues in cross-cultural business communication: Anthropological approaches to international business Tian Guang* and Dan Trotter Shantou University, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, Southern China. Accepted 8 March, 2012 Cultural factors have long been known to influence the communication and success potential of competition. Cultural awareness shapes how business firms behave in cross-culturally reflected international markets. It is broadly recognized that cultural factors act as invisible barriers in international business communications. Understanding cultural differences is one of the most significant skills for firms to develop in order to have a competitive advantage in international business. This paper probes some key elements of cross-cultural issues in international business communication and provides a framework for creating competitive advantage for firms engaged in international business. Culture affects many aspects of international business communication. It impacts free trade policies, localization and standardization strategy decisions, advertising, brand effectiveness, business relationships, international business management, international marketing, international negotiation, and consumer behavior. Seven themes are suggested as guidelines for further research: Cultural impacts of markets, international versus domestic business communication, standardization versus adaptation in cross-cultural communication; cross-cultural dimensions of business...
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...members of a social group” (Baran, 9). These behaviors are taught by parents to their children, teachers to their students, media to their viewers, etc. Culture is all around us at every point in our lives, as stated by one anthropologist, “culture is the medium evolved by humans to survive, and nothing is free from cultural influences” (Baran, 9). For a moment, think about average daily routines and how culture dominates every aspect. From items chosen to be eaten for breakfast to the music one listens to, all is culture. Culture is found in verbal communication, how one addresses their elders, in non-verbal communication, how one makes eye contact, and in mediated communication, advertisements and television shows. Culture is everywhere and is transmitted through every type of communication. “Communication is the transmission of a message from a source to a receiver” (Baran, 4). In order for there to be culture, communication has to exist. Communication has many forms, the impact of which the message is transmitted depends on the culture that the message is being transmitted through. For example as the internet is growing and social media and smart phones are more readily available the medium of print is becoming less effective and thus eventually becoming obsolete. “Eighty-six percent of all American adults own a cell phone, but half of all Americans own a device with an advanced operating system, that is, a smartphone, a proportion that rises to 62% for people ages 25 to 34”(Baran...
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