ANTH 203 Lecture 1: NOTES
12 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Comparative
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*study of culture
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Qualitative
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Anthropology is the study of the nature and states of being of humans
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Start of a definition - “everything that people have, think, and do as members of a
society”
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Does everyone have culture?
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How does culture shape us?
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Can you escape your culture?
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The root of anthropology...
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What is culture?
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Physical/Biological
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Archaeology
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Linguistics
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Social/Cultural
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4 Fields of Anthropology
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Anthropology is rooted in fieldwork
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Fieldwork is the immersive study and writing up of groups and cultures that occurs
over periods of months and years
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Concept started by Bronislaw Malinowski
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Fieldwork
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Looking at the world from the perspective of one's own culture
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Often leads to the belief that one's culture is better than others
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Understanding ethnocentrism
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Holism is considering all parts of culture in order to understand the whole
meaning
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Looking at the bigger picture to understand the details
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Holistic approach
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Using a certain level of detachment when studying
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Using different lenses to judge cultural practices to remain objective
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Cultural relativism is the idea that any part of culture must be viewed from the
standpoint that it is relative within its proper cultural context
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Cognitive tool that helps us understand why people do and think what they do
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Cultural Relativism
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Etic - outsider perspective
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Emic - insider perspective
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Etic and Emic perspectives
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Guiding Principles
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The people that anthropologists study may not appreciate a detached perspective.
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What if human rights are being violated in areas anthropologists study?
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Risks to researchers
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What if field notes are subpoenaed?
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Anthropology has a colonial legacy - enduring mistrust in the study
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Dilemmas in Anthropology
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INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY
Anthropology 203 Page 1
“Culture is something that unites people.” - Anastasiya O.
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Culture is the way you act, think, and interact.
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“The sum total of knowledge, attitudes and habitual behavior patterns shared and
transmitted by the members of a particular society.” - Ralph Linton, 1940
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“The pattern of life within a community, the regularly occurring activities and
material and social arrangements characteristic of a particular group.” - Ward
Goodenough, 1957
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Visible Signs of Culture : Environment and Behaviors, The Invisible Causes of
Culture : Values and Attitudes, Fundamental Assumptions and Beliefs = the way we
do things
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The Cultural Iceberg: 10% seen - customs, courtesies, behaviors vs 90% unseen -
values, priorities, assumptions
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“... everything that people have, think, and do as members of a society” (Ch. 2: 29)
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What is Culture?
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Merriam-Webster’s 2014 - Most Important Word of the Year
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Came into the English Language by way of Latin 600 years ago
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Metaphoric in nature: the domain of plants, animals, and people
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“Culture or civilization, taken in its wide ethnographic sense, is that complex
whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”
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Popularized in Anthropology by EB Taylor in 1871
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Culture
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Ch. 2 - “Abstract concepts of what is important to people in their everyday lives
which they act to acquire or maintain” (p. 30)
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Values can evolve - what is important to you at one point in your life may differ at
another
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Values
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Ch. 2 - “Evaluations of feelings, either negative or positive, about such things as
behaviors, people, objects, ideas” (p. 30)
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Attitudes are learned, and difficult to change
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Attitudes
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Ch. 2 - “... what one thinks to be true” (p. 31)
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Beliefs are also powerful - people are willing to die and hurt others in-service of
them
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“A belief is not merely an idea that the mind possesses, it is an idea that possesses
the mind.” - Robert Oxton Bolton
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Beliefs
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We are unconsciously guided by norms - unwritten rules about what is appropriate
and inappropriate in specific situations
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Usually not explicitly expressed, but highly effective in governing behavior
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Norms
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Covers emotional, cognitive, and behavioral abilities
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A moving spectrum, from exposure to acculturation and adaptation
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Enculturation - the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a
culture or group by a person, another culture, etc.
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Culture is Learned
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Culture is Unconscious
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People in a society share their culture through material possessions, ideas,
attitudes and beliefs.
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Through sharing, we are better able to understand and predict the actions of
others.
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Culture is Shared
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Culture is emerged in all spheres of society - economics, religion, medicine,
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Culture is Integrated
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Characteristics of Culture
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THINKING ABOUT CULTURE
Anthropology 203 Page 2
Culture is emerged in all spheres of society - economics, religion, medicine,
law, etc.
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Culture is Symbolic
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Culture needs to be considered in context.
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Different cultural issues are issues to different cultures
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Culture is Relative
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Humans utilize both cultural and biological adaptation
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Culture is a huge advantage for adaptation - design of tools, weapons, strategy,
etc.
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Culture is Adaptive
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It’s always changing and adapting
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Symbols can be adaptive too - ex. Swastika has always been a sign of good luck,
like a penny or a horseshoe, until WWII
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Recontextualization : products change, uses change, meanings change
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Culture is Dynamic
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The perspective that beliefs and practices of any society can only be judged by
the values and standards prevalent in that society.
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You can’t judge a culture by the lens of your own culture.
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Cultural Relativism
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Humans are adaptive and flexible, different societies come up with their own
ways of solving problems.
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Economic Systems
Marriage and Family Systems
Educational Systems
Social Control Systems
Supernatural Belief Systems
Includes things like:
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However... cultural universals exist - features or traits found across societies
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Cultural Universals
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Is there ‘one’ Canadian culture?
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What is Canadian Culture?
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The spreading of elements of culture from one group to another.
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Can be a very subtle process - contact not necessarily needed
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Diffusion can speed up cultural change - introduction of ideas/objects from
other cultures is impactful
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Examples : western ideas of beauty, hip-hop influence
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Cultural Diffusion
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An innovation is “any new thing, idea, or behavior pattern that emerges from
within a society” (Ch. 2:42)
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Innovations add color and texture to life, and are often based around cultural
sensibility
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Innovation
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Anthropology is comparative, so broad contexts are important
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Interested in the simplest societies through those with great complexity
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The word ‘primitive’ has many negative associations (backward, inferior,
undeveloped, simplistic, etc.) - so the term has gone out of use
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We can still make distinctions between societies, cultures, and practices, but
the language we use to do so has evolved.
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Is Culture “Primitive”?
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To communicate - makes the actions of others intelligible to us
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Culture is a tool
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It gives meaning to difference - something Anthropology celebrates
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It is a significant part of identity
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It has adaptive benefits - helps us cope with change, both rapid and
incremental
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Why do we have Culture?
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Anthropology 203 Page 3
Document Summary
Anthropology is the study of the nature and states of being of humans. Start of a definition -(cid:498)everything that people have, think, and do as members of a society(cid:499) Fieldwork is the immersive study and writing up of groups and cultures that occurs over periods of months and years. Looking at the world from the perspective of one"s own culture. Often leads to the belief that one"s culture is better than others. Holism is considering all parts of culture in order to understand the whole meaning. Looking at the bigger picture to understand the details. Using a certain level of detachment when studying. Using different lenses to judge cultural practices to remain objective. Cultural relativism is the idea that any part of culture must be viewed from the standpoint that it is relative within its proper cultural context. Cognitive tool that helps us understand why people do and think what they do.
