Theoretical Perspectives in Anthropology

Agency-Centered

Agency-Centered

is the capacity of individuals to act independently and make choices that impact their lives and the lives of others. This perspective highlights human beings as active participants in shaping their social realities.

Feminist theories

It explore how gender influences experiences, power relations, and opportunities.

Marxist Theories

Based on Karl Marx’s ideas, these theories analyze class struggles and economic systems. They focus on how economic factors and class relations shape human behavior and social structures.

Political Economy

This approach examines the interplay between economic and political power. It analyzes how political institutions and economic systems influence each other.

Resistance theories

examine how individuals and groups oppose and challenge dominant power structures and ideologies.

Transactionalism

This theory emphasizes the role of interactions and exchanges between individuals and groups in shaping social relations.

World systems theory

examines the global economic system and its impact on local societies, focusing on how different regions are integrated into a global economy.

Cohesion-centered

emphasizes social cohesion and consensus as essential for the stability and proper functioning of society and culture.

 Functionalism

It views society as a complex system with parts that work together to promote stability and harmony.

Structural functionalism

a variant of functionalism, focuses on the interrelationships between the structures of a society.

Conflict-centered

views social relations as fundamentally based on competing interests among groups and individuals.

Global Theories

These theories look at global processes and structures, focusing on how global capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism create and perpetuate inequalities and conflicts on a worldwide scale.

Diachronic

seeks to understand society and culture as products of development through time, shaped by many different forces, both internal and external. This approach emphasizes historical processes and changes over time.

Ethnohistory

It study cultures and indigenous peoples through their own historical records and narratives, as well as colonial documents and other sources.

Idealist

It focuses on the activities and categories of the human mind. It seeks to explain the human condition by examining beliefs, symbols, rationality, and other mental constructs.

Cognitive theories

explore how people perceive, think about, and understand the world. They focus on mental processes such as perception, memory, and reasoning.

Environmentalist Theories

These theories examine how beliefs and ideas about the environment influence human behavior and cultural practices.

Interpretivism

focuses on understanding the meanings and interpretations that individuals and groups assign to their experiences. It emphasizes the subjective nature of human reality.

Postmodernism

It challenges the idea of objective knowledge and emphasizes the fragmented, subjective, and constructed nature of reality. It critiques grand narratives and highlights the diversity of perspectives.

 Symbolic theories

explore how symbols and symbolic actions create and convey meaning within a culture. They emphasize the role of symbols in shaping human experience.

Materialist

focuses on the tangible, material aspects of human existence. It explains human behavior and cultural practices in terms of technology, environmental adaptation, and resource management.

Cultural ecology

examines the relationship between human societies and their environments. It explores how cultures adapt to environmental challenges and opportunities.

Cultural materialism

associated with Marvin Harris, posits that material conditions, including technology and economic practices, determine cultural development. It emphasizes the primacy of material factors in shaping culture.

Particularistic

This approach emphasizes the uniqueness of each culture and the importance of detailed, context-specific studies.

Deconstruction

Analyzing and questioning established narratives, ideologies, and power structures.

Reflexivity

Researchers must be aware of their own biases and the influence they have on their work.

Polyvocality

Incorporating multiple voices and perspectives, especially those marginalized or excluded from dominant narratives.

Structure-Centered

 This approach looks at the broader structures that shape human behavior and social relations.

Infrastructure

Material conditions (technology, environment, economy) form the base of cultural systems.

Structure

Social organization, including kinship and political economy, is built upon the infrastructure.

Superstructure

Ideologies, beliefs, and values arise from and are shaped by the infrastructure and structure.

Synchronic

analysis focuses on the relationships between aspects of society and culture at a specific point in time. It seeks to understand the structure and function of societal elements as they coexist and interact in the present.

Universalistic

This approach attempts to find generalizations that can be applied broadly across different cultural contexts.