ANTHRO 2A Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Participant Observation, Human Evolution, Émile Durkheim
Document Summary
Week 1 lecture: the study of humans, goal of anthropology - describe, analyze, compare, and explain human variation. History of anthropology: chain of being - plato and aristotle, single hierarchy of all beings, from the more perfect to the less perfect. Idea that non white people were biologically less developed. Understanding broader intersection that will impact culture: emphasis on reflexivity; are aware of their own positions and include this in their work, ways that biology and culture are intertwined; how world can shape our bodies. Subcultures: groups within cultures, share behaviors, beliefs, values, and attitudes shared by others in culture but still remain distinct from it. Ethnographic fieldwork: interactive approach, in which they study groups of people by living with them or spending time with them, long term commitment. Whose perspective: emic - how people think about their own world, etic - how an outsider interprets how others think about their world.
