Anthropology Unit Exam 1 Part 2

Armchair anthropology

• 19th century

• relied on stories and reports from others

• missionaries, colonists, diplomats

• James Frazer

Off the Veranda

• early 20th century

• visited societies they write about, for short periods of time, staying with western hosts

• Bronisław Malinowski advocated for participant observation

Salvage Ethnography

• late 19th to mid 20th century

• goal was to preserve “dying” cultures

• Lots of artistic license

Modern Cultural Anthropology

• Mid 20th century

• Holistic

• Four field approach ( archeology, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology)

• Integrates multiple scientific and humanistic perspectives and approaches

Revisions and adaption in anthropological research includes

• inclusion of female scholars and perspectives

• Inclusion of racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic minorities

• Inclusion of queer perspectives

Modern field methods

• field notes

• Participant Observation

• Conversation

• Life histories

• Genealogy

• Longitudinal research

• Key consultants

Field notes

• detailed descriptions of everything a researcher observes and experiences

• Details about locations, events, sensory impressions, specific words and phrases used by people observed

• Personal reflection = thoughts, feelings, impressions, questions

Participant observation

• living with the people being studied, often lying term

• Observing behavior, rituals, learning language

• Participating in daily life and special events

  • The Ronaldo’s and the ilongnot

  • Head hunting

Conversation

• informal interviews

• Not recorded or planned

• Record conversation and impressions afterward from memory

• Informal setting and lack of recording makes people more comfortable and more likely to speak openly

Life Histories

• results from detailed interviews

• Experience of a person, their culture, events in their life, changes, etc

Genealogy

• how kinship, descent, marriage and the social system impact culture and vice-versa

• Diagramed from the perspective of one person, the “Ego”

Key Consultants

• People who assist an ethnographer in understanding certain cultural traits

• Or people who have access to events that the researcher does not (women vs man)

• William Foote → “Doc” → gang community

Longitudinal research

• long-term study of an area or people based on repeated visits or residence

• Sometimes by multiple researches

Emic perspective

• perspectives from studied culture

• Descriptions of behavior, beliefs, in terms that are meaningful to the people of a specific culture

Etic perspective

• perspective of the observer

• Explanation for behavior by an outside observer in ways that are meaningful to the observer

Quantitative methods

• seeks patterns in numerical data that can help explain aspects of human behavior

• Statistical analyses, maps, charts, graphs, textual descriptions

Qualitative methods

• aims to comprehensively describe human behavior and the contexts in which it occurs

• Observations, descriptions

Analysis and interpretation of ethnography

• re-reading and organizing field notes

• Transcribing recorded interviews

• Constructing databases for data related to research questions

• Running statistical analyses

• Formulating the best way to present the data

Ethnographic authority

• some anthropologists writing has implied they know everything but it now changing

• Inclusion of marginalized voices

Polyvocality

Including more than one persons voice

• presenting participant information from researchers voice

• Quoting participants actual words

Reflexivity

Including the authors personal experiences, thoughts, and life stories; and analyzing how those factors impact their research and analysis

• allows for multiple interpretations of the same data by acknowledging how the authors bias affects their interpretation