A Fraction of the Feast: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
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Transcript A Fraction of the Feast: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Studies All Humans Everywhere
Studies All humans Through All Times
Humans as Biological and Cultural Beings
Cultural Anthropology
› What humans do, why they do it, and the
consequences
Archeology
› Study of people in the past using material
culture
Physical (Biological) Anthropology
› Human evolution, genetics, and physiology
Linguistics
› Language and communication
Knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom,
and any other capability acquired by
humans as members of society
Material and Non-Material Culture
› Non-Material Culture – What is in peoples’ heads
Beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions
Shared and Patterned
What people do – real and ideal culture
Material
› What people make
Ever Changing
Adaptation
Beliefs versus Social Structure
Beliefs versus Tradition
Length of Research
› Fieldwork
Language of Research
Research Methodologies
› Participant Observation
› Accidental Fieldwork
› Ethnography
› Ethnology
What people believe
What people recognize
How people behave
Evolution
Structural Functionalism
Historical Particulism
Symbolic Anthropology
Global-International
Biome
National Culture
Tribal or Ethnic Identity
Regional, State, and Local culture
Ethnic Identity
Race is a Social construct
Religion
Political Beliefs
Social Class
Education Level
Subsistence or livelihood strategy
Rural or Urban Setting
Age, historical age, development in life
cycle
Everyone is an immigrant
Melting Pot—No Salad Bowl
Democracy, Religious Freedom, and
Capitalism
Progress is good Resistance is futile
Ethnocentrism
› Focused on one’s own ethnic group
Cultural Relativism
› Understanding a culture in context, and not
judging
Theory of Mind
› Others have different thoughts, knowledge,
and understandings
Culture Shock
The world can’t be divided into us and them
People who look similar may belong to very
different cultures
People who live in one country may belong to
many different cultures
People who share culture may live in many
different spots around the world
People who look very different then you may
share your culture
People who look and act like you may in fact
have very different views and beliefs
DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS