ANTHRCUL 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Subculture, Nacirema, Resource Depletion

• School: U of M
• Department: Anthropology, Cultural
• Course: ANTHRCUL 101
• Professor: Holly Peters- Golden

Document Summary

Most of our society does not determine dogs as an appropriate thing for dinner. Many also do not make the connection between animal to food. Cultural relativism: behavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards of another; it must be understood in context. Cultural relativism is not a moral position, it is an ethnographic tool. Patterns of beliefs and behaviors make sense" when studied in cultural context. Ethnocentrism: judging other cultures using one"s own cultural standards, often with an assumption of superiority. If we think everything we do is the best, we are not going to question why we do the things we do. Basically it is just as rude to simplify a culture aw this is cute , this is degrading to one"s culture. Culture: learned behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes characteristic of a particular society or population.