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The Anthropological Discipline

Contents: Introduction Learning Outcomes The Anthropological Discipline Sub-Fields of Anthropology Social Anthropology: Concept of Culture Understanding the Worlds Cultural Diversity Anthropological Premises and Methods: Unpacking Ethnocentrism Cultural Relativism Holism Fieldwork Comparative Perspective Introduction If you were asked to describe and explain your own culture where would you begin? What would you include? Would you describe the culture of today, or would you need to talk about the past? And how would you predict the future of your culture? You would probably end-up with a puzzling array of facts about your culture, such as, details about your relatives, your language, the country, town, or city you live in, arts, customs, a political system, the economy, religion, even ideas about what you are not! It is a hard request to answer satisfactorily and you would not be alone in having a sense of difculty or trepidation at the prospect! When we are part of a culture we often have difculty in recognizing its characteristics, its inuences and interconnections, how it changes, and in realizing it is only one of many possible ways of doing things.Very often, we, and other cultures, tend to see our culture as the best. Anthropology will help you see and understand your own culture, as well as appreciate and respect other cultures. Anthropology asks questions about the array of cultural facts and thereby generates insights into how the puzzling parts t together to create a coherent whole. Anthropology is a discipline that has sought to describe and explain culture on a worldwide scale. For this reason Anthropology is very complex and is continually being rened and rethought in order to understand the diverse nature of culture; how it works, how individuals and society utilize culture, and how culture changes. It is a very dynamic discipline that will not reach a dead-end, and through application you may go on

A Haida hereditary chief at a wedding ceremony.

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and contribute to our understanding of culture. But to begin that process you have to gain some foundation in the basic insights anthropology has to offer into the nature of culture. While the scope of anthropology covers all human existence it has become divided into specialized elds, each contributing to the knowledge of humanity. This text concentrates particularly upon Social or Cultural Anthropology and examines cultures of the present or recent past. To begin to make sense of the puzzle of culture it is important to be able to view all the facts clearly without the bias of our own cultural outlook. Hence it is important to examine the anthropological perspective which will inform your understanding of all cultures, and enable you to benet from the insights anthropology has to offer. This will involve unpacking your own ethnocentrism (a challenge for all people) and looking at four central ideas and methods that guide anthropology - Cultural Relativism, Holism, Fieldwork, and the Comparative Perspective. Throughout the workbook you will be introduced to the rich cultural traditions of the world as a means to begin to understand the complex relationship between people, culture and society.

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Learning Outcomes: To be able to dene the subelds of the anthropological discipline. To be aware of, and able to suspend your ethnocentrism. To acknowledge the existence of cultural diveristy not racial diversity. The be able to describe the premises and methods of social anthropology. To be able describe the social anthropological perspective.

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References:The Anthropological Discipline. Cohen, Mark Nathan 2000 (1998) Culture, Not Race, Explains Human Diversity in Annual Editions: Anthropology 00/01. Dushkin/McGraw-Hill: Guilford, Connecticut. Asserts cultures role in creating diversity, and not biology, and addresses the need for more people to understand cultural relativism. Cultural Survival Quarterly This journal has an excellent range of clearly written articles about the contemporary problems and successes of indigenous peoples throughout the world. Good source of material on culture change, the role of anthropologists as advocates, and on the assertion of indigenous rights. Miner, Horace 1956 Body Ritual Among the Nacirema, in American Anthropologist,Vol. 58. Entertaining and very clever analysis of body rituals with a surprising twist!

Nagengast, Carole 1999 (1997) Women, Minorities, and Indigenous People: Universalism and Cultural Relativity, in Applying Cultural Anthropology: An Introductory Reader. Ed. Aaron Podolefsky and Peter J. Brown. Mayeld Publishing Company: Mountain View, California. Thought provoking analysis of the realities of maintaining cultural relativism when faced with human rights abuses. Shanklin, Eugenia 1994 Anthropology and Race. Wadsworth Publishing Company: Belmont California. Short, well written analysis of the history and impact of racial categories and anthropologys role in the construction.