Chapter 1 Flashcards
Define Anthropology
the study of humans, both past and present. This includes human culture and how culture is created, structured, and enacted, and the impacts of culture on people
Define cultural anthropology
the branch of anthropology that studies specific contemporary cultures and the more general underlying patterns of human culture derived through cultural comparisons (USA)
What are the four sub categories of anthropology?
- Sociocultural Anthropology
- Biological Anthropology
- Linguistic Anthropology
- Archeology Anthropology
Define sociocultural anthropology
a comparative approach to the study of societies and cultures that focuses on differences and similarities in the ways that societies are structured, and cultural meanings are created (Canada)
Why do Canadians tend to use the term ‘sociocultural anthropology’?
term because it blends aspects of the dominant traditions of the discipline
Define Biological Anthropology
a subdiscipline of anthropology that studies the evolution, function, and health of the human body and our closest primate ancestors
What are the 3 sub facets of biological anthropology?
- Paleoanthropology
- Primatology
- Forensic anthropology
Define paleoanthropology
study of fossilized remains of the earliest humans
Define primatology
the study of our closest non-human relatives
Define forensic anthropology
the study of human remains for identification and cause of death
Define linguistic anthropology
a study of the relationship between language and culture. They explore how people use language physically (body language) and the physiological structure of the mouth. They also study how different languages have developed and spread throughout history and the cultural implications of language use
Define archeology
a branch of anthropology that studies human history and its artifacts. They typically look at the material remains of human groups to learn how people lived
What were the early beginnings of anthropology?
The Enlightenment period (18th century) – the dawn of the “social science” emerging here, including philosophy, sociology, and psychology. The pursuit of truth through thought
What is the modern discipine of anthropology?
the “intellectual movement” of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels – the dawn of the “empirical science” age. The pursuit of truth through science
Who are the fathers of social and cultural anthropology?
Franz Boas who studies the Inuit and Kwakwaka’waka of Canada (fieldwork
Bronislaw Malinowski, who studied the Trobriand Islanders (participant observation and ethnography)
What are anthropologists mainly interested in?
Although anthropologists are interested in the differences among people throughout the world, they also look for similarities in how people construct their own version of what it means to be human
What do sociocultural anthropologists explore?
both the particular and the universal. They move between these levels throughout their work
Why do human beings differ in their beliefs and behaviours?
Because their culture is different
Define Culture
the system of meanings about the nature of experience that is shared by a people and passed on from one generation to another, including the meanings that people give to things, events, activities, and people
What are some examples of social structures/systems in our society?
Education, healthcare (medical systems), government, economy (corporations), family (kinship), justice system (law), religion (worldview)
- There are a few universal truths that all humans experience: birth, death, and the quest for food, water, and shelter
Define enthnocentrisism
the tendency to judge the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures from the perspective of one’s own culture
- framework we base our understanding, not fixed
How can ethnocentric ideas be framed?
better, correct, right, or normal and be positioned as superior to other cultures’ perspectives
What happens when people are unable to adapt their ethnocentric bias?
social problems can arise, and it can cause cultural rifts
Define critical cultural relativism
An alternative perspective on cultural relativism poses questions about cultural beliefs and practices in terms of who accepts them and why, who they might be disproportionately harming and benefiting, and the cultural power dynamics that enable them.
