ISS 310 03 Anthropology Basics 1 22 2014 Anthropology Stereotypes What is Anthropology o Social Science o Only study exotic cultures particularly indigenous hunter gathers o Only study stones and bones Science a systematic method for exploring describing explaining and predicting some phenomena Scientific research based on empirical observations and can be checked and replicated by others o Study of humankind simple definition Not the only study that studies humans o What makes it different Anthropology is a holistic study Incorporates elements of all of the other fields space and time Anthropology Space and Time o Definition Anthropology the holistic study of human cultural and biological variation across o Anthropologists consider human biological and cultural patterns across the face of the earth today as well as the origins and changes in biology and culture in the past Anthropology and human variability o Anthropologists also focus on human variability or similarities and differences o Differences and similarities can be examined from social cultural and physical biological perspectives Anthropological sub disciplines o There are four Physical Anthropology Archaeology Linguistic Anthropology Sociocultural Anthropology Physical Anthropology o o o o o o o Sometimes reformed to as biological anthropology Focuses exclusively on human biodiversity through space and time Examines questions of human physical evolution including biological adaptation and issues of human development Archaeology Examines human culture and cultural evolution from the past to present through their material remains traces o Also looks at cultural adaptation The ways in which human societies use culture to deal with each other and their environments Linguistic Anthropology Least amount of people studying this field The study of human language and discourse Examines the ways in which languages are used to communicate ideas and affect social and cultural actions ISS 310 03 Anthropology Basics 1 22 2014 o Also examines the adaptive significance of the development and use of language Sociocultural Anthropology o Also studies human culture but its focus is on the present and studies culture actively o through observation of living communities Sociocultural has the greatest ability to study a culture holistically i e economics politics religion etc The concept of culture Culture is the central concept in anthropology It is more complex than any single definition can provide for and there are many o o o QUESTION what are some of your understandings of what culture means Definition Culture can be considered simply as the general way of life of a group of people It consists of a set of guidelines for behavior o o o Humans can choose whether or not to follow these guidelines but when they are followed the result is consistent predictable behavior o One of the goals of anthropology is to be able to predict behavior A couple of things to note o Guidelines are not rules or laws in the sense we are familiar with o Nor does consistent behavior imply passive or peaceful behaviors o A culture can have guidelines that promote aggressive confrontational behavior as much as one that promotes cooperative and peaceful ones Culture is not a thing It cannot be purchased or owned You are born into it or you achieve membership into it via acceptance or guidelines In fact people generally belong to more than one culture Characteristics of culture Culture is learned In expanding the definition of culture anthropologists divide into 8 characteristics Humans are borned with the ability to learn culture but it is not innate Neither is culture associated with skin color All cultural behavior is learned but not all learned behavior is necessarily cultural i e cracking your knuckles food avoidance Culture is shared Cultural knowledge is shared among members of a community or society Sharing culture is never absolute or complete no one person knows everything o o o o Culture vs Society o Society a community nation or broad grouping of people having common traditions institutions and collective activities and interests o A society is not necessarily a culture For example o How would you describe the United States Pluralistic Society o A state of society in which members of diverse ethnic racial religious or social groups maintain an autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization ISS 310 03 Anthropology Basics 1 22 2014 At the same time Culture is diverse o There is a lot of sharing between these different cultural entities o A pluralistic society like the U S is one where there is cultural overlap o People share knowledge but knowledge can also be withheld and people from these different cultures may choose not to learn what is shared Culture must provide for basic needs which include things like biological continuity producing and distributing goods maintain order etc o Diversity arises in the number of ways cultures provide for these basic needs o Anyone issue can have several different solutions Culture is cumulative Culture involves accumulated knowledge The ways in which a culture transmits this knowledge can have profound effects on its development Knowledge can be controlled and access to it limited and it can be lost Culture is integrated Culture can be analyzed as a series of components i e you can look at religion political structure economy etc o However they are not discrete entities they are parts of an integrated whole o As a result when there is change in one part of culture there are usually effects in all others Culture is dynamic Culture changes This process is not constant and the various components of a culture can change at different rates o While change is a feature of culture there are also forces that resist change and channel it in certain directions we call it the federal government Culture is symbolic Symbol something verbal or nonverbal that comes to stand for something in a particular language or culture o Humans are the only species on the planet that will bestow meaning on objects or actions and then live according to those meanings Language is the most significant set of symbolic meanings in human culture It allows for other characteristics of culture we have talked about For example color symbolism o o o o o o o o o o o Popular festivals have color symbolism Red and green Christmas Culture is adaptive Culture change