ISS 210 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. The cognitive leap II. Stealing Fire from the Jaguar III. Symbolic thought IV. Blombos Cave, South AfricaV. Hohlenstein-Staedl “Lowenfrau” VI. Sungir (28kya) nr. Moscow VII. Culture as Adaptation VIII. Lunar “Calendar” Inscribed on AntlerIX. Why Language? X. Verbal StrokingXI. Childs PlayOutline of Current LectureI. A Rite of PassageII. Field Experience III. Protection of Human SubjectsIV. Cultural Relativism V. Ethnocentrism vs. Subject UnderstandingVI. Informants: Analytical and ImmersedVII. Validating InformationVIII. Participant ObservationCuurent LectureI. A Rite of Passage– Fieldwork is the defining feature of anthropology and the anthropologist. – The more exotic the better; look down on library research– Began of necessity when anthropologists studied “tribal” societies often speakingunrecorded languages– Anthropologists is an “outside” with no defined status or role in the community– Can be a good thing– Outsiders are permitted to do and ask things that an “insider” cannot do (up to a point)– Chagnon provoking anger from Yanomano informat by speaking the name of someone who died– Anthropologist in cities of salt by Munif enraging Bedouin by asking for the name of his mother and sisters– Can be a bad thing– Perceived as knowing less than a child– Provides “stereoscopic social vision” allowing one to see the world through two or more culture lensII. Field Experience – Establishing an identity – Thelma and the Canadian Industrial League instead of the CIA since no one believed the US would let Quebec secede from Canada they thought I was a point man for the marines– “Argo” the new Ben Affleck understates the role of the Canadian embassy in the 1979 rescue of American diplomats in Tehran– Anxiety and Depression– Sleep in late, read the papers and eat too much– Acceptance in the community – Developing trust. Long discussion with tribal members to convince them that my research on resource use was at the request of the tribal council and only be used to support their court case– Could not publish results of the research from Bad River because it would compromise future research the tribe might need III. Protection of Human Subjects– MSU Human Research Projection Program– All research involving human subjects is subject to strict review– Researchers must submit– A detailed description of the proposed research, including questionnaires and protocols– A description of the population to be studied with particular focus on individuals and groups– Ex) prison inmates, poor or culturally marginal populations that may not be in a position to refuse– Will the research benefit the participants and will it in any way put them at risk?– Ethnical issue…– Project Camelot and the CIA – Anthropologists as part of Human Terrain Teams; assisting the US military in Iraq– Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative provides online training modules for researchers to sensitize tem to issues– Students projects or surveys are subject to UCHRIS review – This however does not apply examsIV. Cultural Relativism – Cultural relativism is the belief that a particular set o customs, values, and moral precepts are relative to a specific cultural tradition and can only be evaluated in understood in that particular milieu– Cultural attitudes values, and standards of conduct may differ radically from those of the anthropologists own society– The task is to discover what the practices mean for individual participants and determine what part they play in the culture as a whole – CWM Hart, his Tiwi “mother” and brothers– Among the Tiwi, you are not a person unless you are part of the kinship system– This old women claimed him as her “son” thus giving him a lace in the society– The Tiwi in 1920s were a nomadie people without draft animals. They walked about from place to place in search of food. When a person could not walk in, the person had to be left because there was no way for the group to maintain and transport that person – When Terimpi became unable to travel and had to be left behind in the desert to die.– As one of her sons he had to agree that this was the proper thing to do – All the sons felt deep sorrow and anguish is making this choiceV. Ethnocentrism vs. Subject Understanding– Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate other cultural practices from the vantage of ones own culture – Female infanticide in traditional Eskimo society can be viewed as callous but the only viable option where over population could bring hardship and starvation for the community– Subjective understanding- attempts to understand a practice from the native’s point of view– Harts perception of the natives viewpoint was enhanced, as he too had to make the choice and feel the anguish that his “brothers” felt as well– Elizabeth Femea accompanied her husband on his research in a small village in Iraq and adopted the abayah and limited her social life to the company of womenand children– She could not convince her Western friends that the abaya did not indicate a life of submission and newar serfdom– She could not convince her Iraq friends that Western-style dress did not mean these women were promiscuous and didn’t care about home and family– Fieldwork required a degree of detachment it is not the anthropologists role to reform society, and you wont be welcomed if you try – The Dani of New Guinea cut off a finger from a human when close male relative dies– The Dodoth of Oganda pull little girls teeth to make them more attractive– Female “circumcision” (genetal mutilation) – Concidered an essential Muslim practice parts of Africa and object of an educational campaignVI. Informants: Analytical and Immersed– Informants are insiders who share accurate and trustworthy accounts of their experience of their society– “Analytical” informants are those who are capable of analyzing and reflecting on their own culture– “Immersed” informants are so tied up in their society that they cannot for even amoment assume the stance of an outside observer– General persons who are non reflective my nature– Unaware of how cultural practices may appear to outsider and therefore frank about them– Persons who are analytical in a particular field and thus excellent informants on that topic who do not reflect on