ANT 201 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Participant Observation, Patrilineality, Culture Shock
Document Summary
Ethnology: the study of human cultures from a comparative perspective. Synchronic: the description of a culture at one period in time. Diachronic: studies of change in a culture over time. The collection of cultural data from living individuals. The study of the past cultural system of a people through the use of written records. The testing of hypotheses by using synchronic data drawn from a number of different societies. The comparative use of historically documented changes in particular groupings of societies over time to define general cultural patterning and to test hypotheses. Interviewing: collecting cultural data by systematic questioning; may be structured (questionnaires) or un-structured (open-ended) Most basic method of collecting cultural data. Consists of a limited number of questions. Useful for collecting general quantitative data about the group. Used to construct demographic and economic profiles of a group. Questions about family life, marriage, religious rituals, etc. Interviewees can only provide a simplified overview.
