socio culture Flashcards
culture anthropology what is it,
Cultural anthropology (also called social anthropology or socio-cultural anthropology) is the study of contemporary and historically recent human societies and cultures
As its name suggests, the main focus of socio-cultural anthropology is culture.
culture anthropolgy study an ——— number of —— —–
an enormous number of specific subjects
objects of soioculture anthropology
Study firsthand and report about the ways of living of particular human groups, including both indigenous people and people who live in modernized and industrialized nations.
(2) Compare cultures
(3) Understand how various dimensions of human life i.e. economics, family, religion, art, communication and so forth relate to one another in particular cultures.
(4) Analyze the causes and consequences of cultural change including the consequences of the process of globalization.
(5) Enhance public understanding and appreciation of cultural differences and multi-cultural diversity.
Socio-cultural anthropology is sub-divided into many fields which are discussed below.
political anthropology
Political anthropology is a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology which deals with the study of political systems. It concerns the structure of Political systems; look at from the basis of the structure of societies.
It has its roots in the 19th century. At that time, thinkers such as Lewis Henry Morgan and Sir Henry Maine tried to trace the evolution of human society from primitive or savage societies to more advanced ones.
religious anthropology
Anthropology of religion is a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology which study religion in relation to other social institutions and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across the cultures.
economic anthropology
It is a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology which studies how human societies provide the material goods and services that make life possible.
Economic anthropology is a field that attempts to explain human economic behavior in its widest historic, geographic and cultural scope.
anthropology of development
Anthropology of development is a branch of socio-cultural anthropology refers to the application of anthropological perspectives to the multi-disciplinary branch of development studies. It investigated the social actions made by different agents who are trying to modify the economic, technical, political and social life of humans in the world.
psychological anthropology
Psychological anthropology refers to the study of psychological topics using anthropological concepts and methods. Among the areas of interest are personal identity, selfhood, subjectivity, memory, consciousness, emotion, motivation, cognition, madness and mental health. Moreover, psychological anthropology studies the interaction of cultural and mental processes.
environmental anthropology
Environmental anthropology is a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology that examines the relationship between humans and their environment across space and time.
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek “ethno” which is itself derived from “ethnos” means people and “graphy” is derived from “grapho” means to write) is the scientific study of the culture of the people of a given society. Ethnography is often referred to as “culture writing,” and it refers to a type of documentation often employed by Anthropologists in their field work. This kind of writing uses detailed first-hand written descriptions of a culture based on first-hand research in the field. Cultural anthropologists who write ethnographies are often called ethnographers
ethnology
A branch of anthropology that analyzes cultures, especially in regard to their historical development and the similarities and dissimilarities between them. In simple words it is a branch of cultural anthropology dealing with the origin, distribution, and distinguishing characteristics of human societies.
applied anthropology
Applied anthropology is the application of anthropological knowledge for the purpose of solving practical problems. Each of the branches of anthropology has its own unique but often overlapping areas of applications. Biological anthropology usually applies the knowledge of human biological diversity to health and related issues. Archaeological anthropology is practically used in preservation and conservation of our cultural heritage. It also has a huge tourism orientation. Social cultural anthropology intervenes in public policy, assesses needs and impacts of particular programs and policies. They usually work in resource management, awareness generation, planning advocacy
