ANT 202 Lecture 2: Studying Culture

• School: Emory University
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANT 202
• Professor: Knauft Bruce

Document Summary

Reflexivity: relation between culture and our own cultural process in studying it: culture is learned > unique to humans, depends on highly developed capacity to use symbols, symbols: signs with no necessary or natural connection with the things they stand for, culture is symbolic > crucial to cultural learning > verbal and non verbal symbols, symbols are usualy linguistic with an arbitrary association, culture is shared> located/transmitted in groups/networks > shared beliefs, values, memories, expectations link people in the same culture, enculturation unifes people by providing shared expreiences, culture is integrated and encompassing > connects features sometimes considered trivial or unworthy of seriour study, culture is adaptative > allows humans to flxibily survive in widely diverse physical environments, leslie white > culture is the extrasomatic means of adaptation, culture is a special type of adaptation: it is not a trait evolved through genetic natural selection, its capacity is genetic but not specific.