ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Participant Observation, Historical Linguistics, Jane Goodall
24 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
The systematic study of ( logia ) human kind ( anthropos ), both in the past and in the present. Anthropologists study human culture: learned behaviours and beliefs that shape our human experiences. Examples: religion, spirituality, identities (gender, race, ethnicity, nationalism), food preferences, etc. Anthropologists study differences and similarities in culture around the world. Ethnocentrism: the erroneous idea that one"s culture and its values are somehow right or superior to another culture"s. Many people therefore judge another culture according to the standards of their own. An approach adopted and promoted by anthropologists. Understanding another society in its own terms. The study of contemporary (present day) cultures and societies. Culture is defined as transmitted, learned behaviour. Ethnography: a description of an aspect of culture within a society. Sam dunn: cultural anthropologist, documentary filmmaker on heavy metal. The study of past societies and their cultures using material remains (i. e. , tools, ceramics, sites). Studies the construction and use of language by human societies.
