Anthropology Lecture Notes

Flashcards based on lecture notes covering the definition, history, subfields, and ethics of anthropology.

How did Anthropology begin in the 1800s?

Anthropology emerged in Europe and North America as an academic discipline devoted to the observation and analysis of human variation.

What were the early anthropological concerns in the mid-nineteenth-century?

Urban development and the rise of industry, explaining biological variation via evolutionary theories, and colonial control and resource exploitation.

How did studying European societies lead to questions about non-Western societies?

Studying how European villages and cities were structured and how they perpetuated their cultures led to questions about how non-Western societies worked.

How were evolutionary theories applied to culture in early anthropology?

Evolutionary theories were subsequently applied to the study of culture, though early concepts of unilineal cultural evolution were abandoned.

Why did Colonial powers employ anthropologists?

To better understand the indigenous peoples of their colonies, aiming to strengthen the mother country, often viewing 'othered' behaviors as primitive.

What does cultural anthropology focus on?

Focuses on the social lives of living communities, including ethnic groups, occupations, institutions, advertising, or technology of their own cultures.

What does archaeology study?

Studies past cultures by excavating sites where people lived, covering prehistoric and historic periods.

What is the focus of biological (physical) anthropology?

Focuses on the biological aspects of the human species, past and present, including human evolution, health and disease, human genetics, diet and nutrition, impact of social stress on the body, and behaviors of nonhuman primates.

What does linguistic anthropology study?

Studies how people communicate through language, how language shapes group membership and identity, and how people order their natural and cultural environments using linguistic categories.

How do the four fields of anthropology work together regarding the example of race?

Biological anthropology looks at the global distribution of human traits, archaeologists look at how notions of race have shaped human ways of life, cultural anthropologists document the severity of racism in everyday life, and linguists look at how race is constructed and expressed through language.

What is the anthropological definition of 'culture'?

Those taken-for-granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group that feel natural and like the way things should be.

What is cultural relativism and why is it important in anthropology?

The moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgment about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices, emphasizing the avoidance of ethnocentrism.

What is anthropology's major contribution to knowledge regarding 'diversity'?

To describe and explain human diversity, the sheer variety of ways of being human around the world, emphasizing multiplicity and variety which includes both difference and similarity.

What is 'holism' in the context of anthropology?

Anthropology combines the study of human prehistory, social life, language, and biology in one broad discipline, providing powerful tools for understanding the whole human experience in context.

How do anthropologists know what they know?

They employ a wide variety of methodologies, or systematic strategies for collecting and analyzing data, including the scientific method to develop, test, and disprove hypotheses.

What are quantitative versus qualitative data collection methods in anthropology?

Quantitative methods classify features of a phenomenon, count or measure them, and construct mathematical and statistical models. Qualitative methods aim to produce an in-depth and detailed description of social behaviors and beliefs.

What is the ethnographic method and the comparative method?

The ethnographic method involves prolonged and intensive observation of and participation in the life of a community. The comparative method allows anthropologists to derive insights from careful comparisons of two or more cultures or societies.

How does an anthropology background prepare workers in the workplace?

Expert learners, pattern seekers, attentive to the big picture and details, questioners and listeners, accurate and precise, relationship builders, adaptable, communicators, effective at working with diversity and difference, and critical thinkers.

What ethical obligations do anthropologists have?

The primary ethical responsibility of anthropologists is to the people, species, or artifacts they study, often asserting an obligation to go beyond 'do no harm' and actually 'do good,' especially with marginalized or powerless communities.

What is 'participant observation' in ethnographic research?

A key research method involving living among a community, participating in their lives, and gaining insights from their perspective over an extended period.

How do anthropologists study globalization?

By examining how global processes affect local communities, studying migration patterns, and analyzing the spread of ideas and technologies.

What are some challenges anthropologists face in fieldwork?

Gaining trust from the community, language barriers, culture shock, ethical dilemmas, and balancing objectivity with personal involvement.

What is the role of an anthropologist in advocacy?

Using anthropological knowledge to support marginalized communities, promote human rights, and advocate for policy changes that benefit the people they study.

How does anthropological research contribute to solving global problems?

By providing a deeper understanding of cultural differences, social inequalities, and the impact of development projects, leading to more effective and culturally sensitive solutions.