Abstract There are distinct relationships between culture, maintenance systems, child rearing and ecology that, when observed from a detached view, provide a wealth of information about all of the communities (and all of their permutations) throughout the world. It is the assertion of this paper that these characteristics of a people, regardless of size or any other factor, are common throughout all peoples and is thus used as primary markers by anthropologists upon which to base their work. Therefore, this paper will demonstrate such relationships and how they apply to the field of culturalanthropology.
Abstract This paper explains that Lavina and Schultz in "Core Concepts in CulturalAnthropology" see political anthropology as the study of power, political ideology, political economy, political organization, social stratification, social control and law, status and role and much later ideas of nationalism and hegemony. The author points out that, in 'economic anthropology', all societies are reported to show a form of material life that can be explained in terms of production, exchange or related material culture, which dictates the types of laws and political practices in that society. The paper states that the study of emergencies, crises or wars tells a good deal about matters of nationalism, hegemony and leadership as reactions of weakness to situations that are unpredictable, such as the strong instinct for 'communitas' that was seen when the United States experienced 9/11.
From the Paper "Some anthropologists like to study how societies cope with unnatural situations or crises. For instance, if a society has known famine and starvation, or is in a climate that means food can be grown or found only for part of the year, there will be effort to save food for hard times. If the food supply is year-round and easily found, there will be less of this planning ahead. What is very valuable will be guarded by law that can mean tradable goods of high value or perhaps special religious items that no ordinary person is to touch."
Abstract The writer relates that he/she was daunted by the prospect of reading and reviewing this 389-page book of culturalanthropology. The writer anticipated a long, dry dissertation on some obscure group of people. However, the writer discusses how he/she quickly came across these words written by Scheper-Hughes, describing her family as "a young and somewhat brash anthropologist and her offbeat, counter-cultural family: shaggy-haired, gentle 'hippie' husband and their three rambunctious babies and toddlers."
Abstract This paper defines globalization as the name given to the growing connection and dependence experienced by most countries, societies and local cultures in regards to economy, education and technology. The writer of this paper questions whether or not certain cultures should decide to remain individual societies in the face of world globalization. The writer discusses the effects of globalization to the very existence of culture. This paper examines culture and globalization from an anthropological view point while detailing its impact on the village of Ladakh in northern India. The writer contends that the people of Ladakh moved away to the larger cities for better paying jobs while turning away from their village and their sense or responsibility to the community and the land.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Definitions and Background
Hopes and Fears
Integrating Cultures Trade
Language Change
Conclusion
References Cited
From the Paper "The way traditional lands are used is not the only change globalisation brings. Just as the form of change varies, so do the reactions by individual cultures. The way they react is determined by their cultural way of dealing with problems (Cobb 2005:563-574). These different reactions show part of the diversity among differing peoples around the globe. Some cultures choose to incorporate or adapt to forced change. The Trobriand islanders are an excellent example. The British missionaries frowned on the openly sexual and erotic celebrations of the Trobriand people at the conclusion of the yam harvest (Haviland et al. 2006:688). The ethnocentric reaction of the British missionaries was to introduce the game of cricket to replace the traditional celebrations (Haviland et al. 2006:688). Rather than fighting the change or accepting it completely, the Trobriand people incorporated the game into their celebrations and made it uniquely their own (Haviland et al. 2006:689). In this case the forced change did not replace the old ways, but rather, was absorbed into a new syncretic celebration."
Abstract This paper explains the concept of cultural evolution and compares and contrasts cultural evolution with biological evolution. The paper discusses the effect of the historical or cultural environment on the development of cultural evolution and looks at the study of culturalanthropology and the various opinions that exist on the ability for evolution of culture to occur at all.
From the Paper "The social sciences must take into consideration cultural perceptions, even if these perceptions are biologically in error. The human race has far more in common with one another than it has differences, but culturally individuals have perceived and classified other individuals according to 'races,' including Darwin himself in some of his less enlightened moments. Cultural evolution and anthropology aims to understand how these perceptions have affected human culture, but biological evolution merely takes note of this factual error. Obviously, the biological fiction of race, and the fact that an apparently Caucasian individual can have the genetic material of someone who is African, even if these traits are not dominant in his or her physical configuration, acts as a profound question to the assumptions of our culture. The limits of our own culture challenge the idea that there is a linear, positive progress to cultural evolution of ideas and practices (such as industrialization making the world less habitable). The insight biological evolution provides about race shows that there can be fruitful methodological dialogue between cultural and biological evolutionists, but the two approaches will never study the same discipline, nor can the use the same methods. The biological question: 'Are there races within the human species' is a different question than the cultural query: 'why do cultures continue to subscribe to the divisive idea that there are innate differences between different groups of the human species?""
Abstract Examines this relatively new subset of applied, culturalanthropology. Use in assisting government and private enterprises of environmental policy development and program planning. Need to assess and interpret the relationship between a community and its environment and the consequences of change. Social research methodology. Historical perspective. Current research. Table of Contents.
From the Paper "Table of Contents
Introduction 2
Historical Perspective 3
Overview of the Paradigms and Current Research 13
Conclusion 17
References 19
.
Introduction
Anthropology deals with the production and utilization of knowledge pertinent to human cultural and social action within the confines of specific historical and environmental situations and cross-cultural interactions. One area in which it excels, however, has to do with understanding and interpreting cultural diversity in the communal setting and the interaction and sometimes conflict between intercultural and/or inter-population conflict.
Environmental anthropology (formerly known as cultural ecology) and ..."
An analysis of Bruce Knauft's "Exchanging the Past: A Rainforest World Before and After" and the defining theme of the book about vanishing cultural diversity.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 3 sources, 2006, $ 44.95
Abstract This paper discusses "Exchanging the Past: A Rainforest World Before and After" by Bruce Knauft, which describes his return after almost two decades to the site of his early fieldwork among the Gebusi people of Papua New Guinea. The paper explains that the defining theme of Knauft's text is how radically modernity has transformed the social and cultural lives of the Gebusi. This is admittedly a controversial issue within the field of anthropology as it is within the wider society as concern over vanishing cultural diversity is critiqued as a colonial nostalgia for a fixed and eternal 'other' that bears no reference to human realities.
Abstract This paper examines religion to determine in what sense it can be considered a universal aspect of culture, what can be said about its origins, and what its functions are. The paper asserts that the theory of the God-shaped void explains all three aspects of religion.
From the Paper Religion as a universal aspect of culture fascinates me partially because religion is such a vital part of my own life but also because it is so ubiquitous. Throughout every age and every country for as far ..."
Abstract This paper looks at psychological anthropology through many methods. It looks at the definition itself, how older and contemporary psychological anthropologists analyze their own work, and how personality and culture intermix. The paper looks closely at a few specific sub-categories, such as Freud, madness, and primitive cultures. The paper analyzes it in connection to personality, culture, emotion, madness and primitive cultures.
From the Paper " Psychological Anthropology: A Universal Process Psychological anthropology is an attempt to discover the dynamics of group differences, often via means of close observation and study of a particular theme or culture. It combines the attributes of psychology and anthropology in an endeavor detect similarities between human beings in personal, social and cultural settings. Many scholars have defined their field using distinct nuances, as cater to their brand of craft, but underlying all psychological anthropology is a cultural analysis that aims to discover inherent qualities within us all. Bourguignon (1979), a psychological anthropologist, spent time analyzing the link between classic anthropology--in which scholars studied primitive cultures--and elements of psychology, such as Freud's psychoanalysis of the psychology of childhood development--or the issues of childhood projecting into adulthood."
An illustration of the benefits of field work in the anthropology field through field projects, as seen from the view of Crane and Angrosino's,"Field Project in Anthropology: Third Edition."
Abstract This paper is a thorough analysis of the benefits of field work to the anthropology field, especially to a student or ethnographer. It uses fourteen different field projects as guides for an aspiring anthropologist to use when beginning fieldwork. This paper demonstrates the importance of fieldwork to the anthropology field as a whole, as well as to the individual. All of Crane and Angrosino's projects are summarized, and their meaning is clearly outlined. Topics covered include how to approach, research, begin, continue, and conclude fieldwork in any culture. It provides a concise base from which to base ethnographic studies.
From the Paper "Julia Crane and Michael Angrosino's Field Projects in Anthropology (Third Edition) seeks to illustrate the benefits of fieldwork to the anthropology field. Fieldwork is unequivocally necessary for a student to gain anthropological perspective (Crane 1992: v). There are numerous ways that a student can approach fieldwork, and Field Projects shines light on several aspects of anthropological fieldwork through fourteen different projects. These projects characterize some of the more useful data-collection techniques and show students an array of ways to approach anthropological fieldwork (1992: vi)."
Abstract This paper discusses the different aspects of medical anthropology. The underlying theories of medical anthropology are discussed as well as the concept of health and disease, taking into consideration different culture-based paradigms depicting each one. Disease profiles of the different civilizations, from foraging nomads to empires are compared and contrasted.
From the Paper "Though giving birth occurs naturally in women, the experience itself varies among women due to the great influence of cultural beliefs and the resources available within different societies. Depending on how a society values or perceives childbirth as a medical event, the process will differ according to who conducts it (e.g. physician versus community midwife), how it is conducted (e.g. through a cesarean operation or spontaneous, natural birth) and where it occurs (e.g. whether it is in a modern and well-equipped obstetric facility or at home)."
Abstract This paper attempts to outline and consider the differences and complexities of two different approaches to anthropological research. It looks at how both the "native anthropologist" and the anthropologist who attempts to view the culture from an objective perspective "outside" the culture under study, have a distinct responsibility to the subject of their studies and to the anthropological discipline. There are central differences between these two approaches, which become evident from an analysis of the specific sources. It also shows how the central argument that is put forward is that one method is not necessarily superior to the other, but that both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
From the Paper "Both "insiders" and "outsiders" face different problems, take on different methods in gathering information, and have different responsibilities to the culture at hand as well as the discipline as a whole. One school of thought is that the "insider" view allows for a more intimate and comprehensive view of the society without the interpretive distortion that might result from the imposition of another cultural perspective. However the "insider" or subjective method of study also presents its own problems. For the anthropologist to obtain a complete description of a society as an insider, he must become totally involved in the life of the people, which requires spending long periods of time with the study group. The subjective anthropologist must be extremely careful about building a bond of trust with the culture."
Abstract This paper examines how feminist anthropology emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century and attempted to combat the representation (or lack of it) of women in anthropological writing. It looks at how in doing so, it moved through several stages, from trying to redress the imbalance in ethnographic knowledge, through a critique of the theoretical praxis of anthropology to the uncertain place that it has at present. It examines the background to the feminist movement in anthropology and attempts to see it in historical perspective. It then analyses each of the stages of feminist anthropology and assesses their contribution to the broader subject.
From the Paper "Feminist anthropology has allowed two great ethnocentric divides to be broken down. The first is that between nature/culture. Running through all the work of feminist anthropology is the rejection of the place women have been assigned as somehow preordained or organic. Fatima Mernissi shows that the passive role of the women in some Muslim societies, who is seen as potentially more sexually aggressive than the male, is a cultural construct: ?what is feared in Muslim marriage is the growth of the involvement between a man and a woman into the all-encompassing love, satisfying the sexual, emotional and intellectual needs of both partners.? Such as involvement would be seen as a direct threat to man's relationship with Allah."
Tags: economy, foucault, culture, kinship, political
Abstract This paper describes the relevance of anthropology in today's world. The paper demonstrates that their discoveries and theories bear heavily on our understanding of our past and future, as illustrated by the recent discovery of Neanderthal violence also sheds light on man's capacity for love and caring. The paper states that anthropology is defined as ?the science of the physical, cultural and social development of man, his evolution, behavior and geographic distribution from prehistoric times to the present.?
From the Paper "Anthropology is sometimes viewed as a bit arcane as well, but even a quick glance at some of the aspects of anthropologists? work indicates immediately that anthropology is more relevant today than ever. Indeed, anthropologists are one of the only groups of intellectuals who are able to draw together the hard sciences and social sciences and develop cohesive and encompassing theories of history, sociology and understanding."
This paper connects anthropological studies to modern trends by examining the contemporary issues of obesity, cloning and the origin of modern behavior.
Abstract This paper states that anthropology can be applied to modern circumstances because people and culture have, and always will be, intricately woven together. The author believes that anthropology must be brought into the study of obesity to prevention. The author feels cloning is applicable since the concept of gene manipulation contains the potential to have a dynamic influence on humanity.
From the Paper "From being able to interpret human behaviors and physical structures through cloning and similar processes, scientists expect to be able to ultimately discredit environment as the cause of the human condition. At the same time, psychologists and sociologists are hoping to prove once and for all that nothing is "set in stone" when it comes to a human's potential to change. If the biologists are proven right, some experts fear that many people might take on defeatist attitudes that stifle their motivations to improve."
