Module I: Overview of Philippine Arts and Expressive Cultures: Understanding Concepts and Representations of Arts and Culture

What is anthropology?

(1) a discipline concerned with understanding human beings through a careful and comparative study of (1) biological differences and similarities as well as (2) cultural differences and similarities

5 Major Subfields of Anthropology

(1) Biological Anthropology

(2) Archaeology

(3) Linguistic Anthropology

(4) Cultural Anthropology

(5) Applied Anthropology

What is the focus/concern of biological anthropology?

(1) human biology

What is the unifying concept of biological anthropology?

(1) evolution

(2) biological change or evolution

What is the focus/concern of archaeology?

(1) human technology and material culture

What is the unifying concept of archaeology?

(1) artifacts

What is the focus/concern of linguistic anthropology?

(1) language

What is the unifying concept of linguistic anthropology?

(1) communication (meaning behind all sorts of language)

What is the focus/concern of cultural anthropology?

(1) culture

What is the unifying concept of cultural anthropology?

(1) culture

What is the anthropological definition of culture?

(1) culture is a shared and negotiated system of meaning informed by knowledge that people learn and put into practice by interpreting experience and generating behavior

culture is a
(1) shared and negotiated system of meaning
(2) informed by knowledge that
(3) people learn and
(4) put into practice by interpreting experience and generating behavior

What is the focus/concern of applied anthropology?

(1) application of anthropology to human problems

What are the 2 philosophical lenses of anthropology?

(1) Holism

(2) Comparativism

Definition of Holism

(1) a perspective that emphasizes the whole rather than just the parts

Definition of Comparativism

(1) search for similarities and differences between and among human beings in all of their biological and cultural complexities

Definition of Ethnology

(1) a comparative perspective, a comparative example of comparativism

Two Attitudes Towards Philosophical Lenses

(1) Ethnocentrism

(2) Cultural Relativity

Ethonocentrism

(1) the tendency to view the world from the basis of one’s own experience

Cultural Relativity

(1) the idea that each society or culture must be understood on its own terms