ANTH 1150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Edward Sapir, Ethnography, Marius Barbeau

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH 1150
• Professor: Victor Gulewitsch

Document Summary

Study of humankind in all places and in all times. Globalization makes anthro much more important because we need to be able to understand different cultures. Modes of transportation were not as advanced in ancient times as they are now making it difficult to study other cultures. Not until 18th century did humans start looking for scientific explanations for human diversity. Franz boas (1858-1942) argued that every culture is unique and no culture is superior or inferior to another: promoted cultural relativism= all cultures equal. Bronislaw malinowski: argued anthropologists should consider how the various systems of a culture work to meet the needs of its members, one of the first anthropologists to focus on his informants pov. Leslie white: proposed culture changes as a direct response to technological advancement. Many anthropologists believe culture change comes from population density, trade networks, diffusion, warfare. Claude levi-strauss: free will and the ability to make choices based on ideas influences culture.