ANTH 002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Franz Boas, Ancient Society, White Supremacy
15 Jul 2020
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Franz boas founded us anthropology on different concepts: historical particularism, cultural relativism. People read research on anthropology and then would go out on field based on already found research. Unilineal social evolution: progress : savagery> barbarism> civilization, defined by technology. Karl marx and friedrich engels used morgan to interpret the evolution of human society (social evolutionists) Created first us anthropology department at columbia u. (1899) No necessary path of development in human society. Technologically less-complex societies were not at an earlier phase. Against armchair anthropology: field work first, generalizations later. Similar artifacts did not mean same evolutionary stages. Museum displays should show peoples and cultures. Scientific racism assumed: existence of distinct races, body determines culture, white supremacy. Studies of children of immigrants in nyc. Cultures must be studied in themselves, rather in relation to some universal standard. Cultures are meaningful in their own terms. Criticized racism and nationalism as divisive, oppressive, unscientific.
