class 1 & 2 — ANTHRO

Primatologists study

How primates are similar and diff to humans

Human beings are “born to run”

We are movement oriented (bipedalism)

What makes humans humans?

Born to run, use tools, big brains, cognitive abilities, language, cooperation, art, religion, creativity

Anthro works from the ___ ____

Bottom up

International standardization

Common rules to keep ppl safe — ex: traffic signs show that we can’t be trusted (we are hostile and can’t trust each other)

Anthro was born as a colonial science

The world was colonized (Circa 1914)

Armchair anthropologists

Those who sat back and read books when Anthro was first studied

Armchair Anthros — cultures are unilineal

Cultures pass through 4 stages - savagery, barbarism, civilization, western civilization

Critiques of armchair anthropologists

Wanted to convert ppl, ethnocentric, unscientific, unreliable, there shouldn’t be 4 stages to follow in cultures

Anthro is built on alterity (otherness)

Largely white men studying their colonies, studying isolated small scale societies that were considered “savages”

Bronislaw Malinowski — book abt small island — important to Anthro développement

Go in trying to understand the environment, ethnographers magic (open mind to observe actuality without judgment)

Anthro is based on arts of interpretation

It’s the most humanistic of sciences and most scientific of humanities

Margaret Mead — controversial

Attacked western norms, which was ahead of her time

Don’t make ppl behave certain ways, let them behave on their own

It’s beyond ethics to try to control ppl’s behaviours instead of oberving them and letting them do what they want

Seek to understand…

Before making judgment

Anthro’s colonial critique in 60/70s

It’s the production of difference, breaking down barriers, self-criticism is definitive in aspects of anthro*

We are an interpretive enterprise

Often looking at material artefacts and their shared and symbolic meanings (we all know Big Mac bc we all know mcds)

McDonald’s example

Cultural homogenization/standardization, localization (diff products for diff countries), symbol (arches), relationship established w “free” toys, third space, economics, cultural values (happiness thru consumption), diplomatic relations