ANTH 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: James Deetz, Kula Ring, Cultural Relativism
Document Summary
History of humanity seen as societal progress. English scholar writes on social evolution in 1897. Uses lamarckian ideas: societies pass on acquired characteristics, societies lose primitive traits when they stop using them, progress- so surely must man become perfect . Biological lamarckianism is not how nature works. Social extension of it is equally untrue. Universality: we are all related (communality of humanity); diversity downplayed. Prescience: we can predict the future of the other. Fought against the established racism of the time. E plurubus unum: out of many, one [strength in diversity] . Each group entirely different, based on its particular history. No uniform process of change, not predictable. Impossible to order cultures in evolutionary scheme. Used science to show aws of racist thinking. Politics: separate but equal approved in plessy vs. ferguson (1896) Social climate: iq tests used to show stupidity of newer immigrants. Even certain physical anthropologists mis-measure skulls to show white superiority.
