ANTHROPOLOGY READING 8 29 13 CHAPTER 1 PAGES 1 16 ANTHROPOLOGICAL BASICS 1 An overview of anthropological theory method and practice The purpose is to provide a general sense of how anthropologists look at things THEORY how they anthropologists try to gather information about the world METHOD the kinds of work they do and lives they lead as they do so PRACTICE 2 A review of the early history of anthropology The purpose is to indicate the major intellectual decisions that have formed anthropology as it is today PAGE 2 Anthropology is about all aspects of all people s lives BIOLOGY ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE 3 Major Questions that have emerged in Anthropology o How people relate to their environments ADAPTATIONS o The basic ways in which human society is organized STRUCTURES o How people make sense of their lives MEANINGS 3 Major Domains about how things work o Biology Human biology is the specific focus for some anthropologists FOR EXAMPLE The relative effects of biological sex and the socially constructed issues of gender have long been of concern to anthropologists o Environment Human beings live in a wide range of environments much of the uniqueness of human beings lies in their ability to adapt to a wide range of environments it is impossible to understand the meaning of human biology without studying people in the full range of environments in which they live MOST anthropological case studies begin with extensive discussions of the physical environment The quality of the soil the rains the temperature changes the kinds of vegetation the animals o Culture THIS IS ANTHROPOLOGISTS GREATEST CONCERN AMONG THE THREE DOMAINS Culture greatly expands the options that people have Culture is also about social arrangements certain social arrangements provide an additional cushion b t human beings as biological entities and their environments FINALLY Culture is about ideas beliefs and values Anthropologists are thus interested in human beings as biological entities as cultural entities and as located in specific environments This makes anthropology a very broad discipline BUT on the POSITIVE SIDE that broad perspective helps anthropologists avoid simplistic arguments that some aspect of human behavior is caused by biology or caused by the environment OR even caused by culture Anthropologists know they must account for the biological environmental and cultural aspects of human life AS AN EXAMPLE consider race many people might accept the idea of race as a simple description of physical differences among people anthropologists recognize that race is after all a word with multiple meanings Understanding race thus requires attention to people s ideas and values to their culture in the everyday sense It also require attention to how supposed racial differences are used in social arrangements ONE of Franz Boa s Achievements FOR EXAMPLE was to show that supposed racial differences between Northern and Southern European Immigrants to North America ACTUALLY DISAPPEARED among their children FIELDWORK AND PRACTICE THE THEORY GREATLY AFFECTS THE METHODS The Joint Attention to human beings as biological entities to the environments in which they live and to their material social and ideational culture ALL HAS MUCH TO DO with the way Anthropologists go about their work o IF Anthropologists are to study BIOLOGY ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE THEN wouldn t they have to locate themselves in a specific place If they don t then how can they possibly begin to understand the interactions of biology environment and culture SO THE CORE METHODOLOGICAL RULE IS GO THERE AND STAY THERE FOR AT LEAST A YEAR AND LEARN THE LANGUAGE o Anthropologists can often give the richest portrayal of other cultures WHAT PEOPLE DO WHY THEY DO IT AND WHAT THEY THEMSELVES THINK ABOUT IT o The broad anthropological theory about the interrelation of BIOLOGY CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT AND THE DEMANDING METHOD OF INTENSIVE FIELDWORK greatly shapes the way in which anthropologists go about being anthropologists ANTHROPOLOGISTS JOBS VARY GREATLY In North America about half of those with doctorates go into teaching positions where they usually continue their research THE OTHER HALF go into a range of REAL JOBS many of which are continuations of their own anthropological reseach MANY work in the areas of International Development OR Humanitarian Action SOME focus on populations of immigrants and refugees OTHERS focus on ethnic or racial minorities OR on those who follow alternate sexual orientations THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY THE FIRST ANTHROPOLOGISTS THE EVOLUTIONISTS PAGE 6 12 TYLOR AND MORGAN EVOLUTION ETHNOGRAPHY AND HOLISM Page 6 PARAGRAPH 1 The basic theoretical orientations methods and practice of anthropology can also be illustrated through a review of the early history of anthropology as a specific discipline o THREE 3 PILLARS on Which the Discipline is built EVOLUTIONISM The Evolutionists emphasized the importance of evolution in organizing information about different peoples HISTORICAL PARTICULARISM The HistoricalParticularists emphasized the importance of history and of the particular details of how people live STURCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM The StructuralFunctionalists emphasized that societies were indeed structured and that the different elements of those societies had practical functions Page 6 PARAGRAPH 2 Anthropology began in the latter part of the 19th century The World was rapidly changing o The Industrial Revolution had given Europe and North America a vastly increased ability to produce NEW GOODS SOMETIMES GOODS OF BETTER QUALITY Certainly goods of increased quantity AND OFTEN GOODS LIKE WEAPONS OF GREATLY INCREASED POWER This resulted in an enormous power differential between those countries EUROPE NORTH AMERICA and the rest of the world THAT POWER DIFFERENTIAL ultimately reduced much of the rest of the world to colonial or near colonial status The Industrial Revolution also resulted in great social dislocations within Europe and North America YET this was also a time in which there was hope that the capacity for reason could resolve there social dislocations and create a better world THAT belief mirrored the confidence that science had done well in increasing human understanding and promoting great leaps in productive power Page 7 PARAGRAPH 3 The First Anthropologists THE EVOLUTIONISTS were part of that time of change THEY ALL confronted a world that was changing rapidly o THEY ALSO had an increasing amount of information about