ANTH 202 Lecture 2: ANTH 202 Class 2 - Patterns of Culture
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Socio-Cultural Anthropology ANTH 202
Class 2 – Patterns of Culture
What is culture?
- Learned
- Shared
- Responsible for most differences in thinking & behaving
It is socially constructed and shared, not natural/biological!
Cultural knowledge includes:
- Norms = shared ideas about how we should act
- Values = what is desirable for ind and society → right & wrong, social roles,
subconscious and conscious impact on behavior
- Symbols = words connoting sth else by convention
World view shaping how we perceive the world
ALL THESE INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR, BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES
Study of Culture:
Epistemology = study of knowledge
Scientific understanding of the creation of social knowledge:
→Empirical/positivist knowledge = reality external to humans, that is subject to natural
laws
→Objectivity VS Subjectivity = absolute VS relative
Anthropology as a “scientific discipline”? → Controlled experimentation: not possible
HISTORICAL ROOTS:
Legacy of the “American” historical particularism (cf Boas)
- Need inside perspective to understand culture
- Discredited biological explanations of cult difference (= against evolutionary models)
- Fieldwork = main methodology
- Desire to create anth as empirical scientific discipline (evidence based)
Focus on CULTURAL UNIQUENESS AND RELATIVISM!
Priority given to “primitive” (less complex) societies → isolated, authentic ≠Western influence
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Responsible for most differences in thinking & behaving. It is socially constructed and shared, not natural/biological! Norms = shared ideas about how we should act. Values = what is desirable for ind and society right & wrong, social roles, subconscious and conscious impact on behavior. Symbols = words connoting sth else by convention. World view shaping how we perceive the world. Scientific understanding of the creation of social knowledge: Empirical/positivist knowledge = reality external to humans, that is subject to natural laws. Legacy of the american historical particularism (cf boas) Discredited biological explanations of cult difference (= against evolutionary models) Desire to create anth as empirical scientific discipline (evidence based) Priority given to primitive (less complex) societies isolated, authentic western influence. This allowed anthropologists to challenge our own cult constructs commonly perceived as. Also, allowed to understand cultural forms and what traits are common / different across humankind.
