Essentials of Cultural Anthropology Chapter 1: Anthropology in a Global Perspective

anthropology

the study of the full scope of human diversity, past and present, and the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds better understand one another.

ethnocentrism

the belief that one's own culture or way of life is normal and natural; using one's own culture to evaluate and judge the practices and ideals of others

ethnographic fieldwork

a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living and interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives

four-field approach

the use of four interrelated disciples to study humanity: physical, archaeology, linguistic, and and cultural anthropology

holism

the anthropological commitment to look at the whole picture human life-culture, biology, history, and language-across space and time

physical anthropology

the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly how they have evolved over time and adapted to their environments

paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record

primatology

the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution and early human behavior

archaeology

the investigation of the human past by means of excavating and analyzing artifacts

prehistory archaeology

the reconstruction of human behavior in the distant past (before writing) through the examination of artifacts

historic archaeology

the exploration of the more recent past through an examination of physical remains and artifacts as well as written or oral records

linguistic anthropology

the study of human language and the past and present

descriptive linguists

those who analyze languages and their component parts

historic linguists

those who study how language changes over time within a culture and how lunges travel across cultures

sociolinguists

those who study language in its social and cultural contexts

cultural anthropology

the study of people's communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together

participant observation

a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily live of the people being studied

ethnology

the analysis and comparison of ethnographic data across culture

globalization

the worldwide intensification of interactions and increased movement of money, people, goods, and ideas within and across national boarders

time-space compression

the rapid innovation of communication and transportation technologies associated with globalization that transforms the way people think about space (distances) and time

flexible accumulation

the increasingly flexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate profits in an era of globalization, enabled by innovated communication and transportation technologies

increasing migration

the accelerated movement of people within and between countries

uneven development

the unequal distribution of the benefits of globalization

Anthropocene

the current historical era in which human activity is reshaping the planet in permanent ways

climate change

changes to Earth's climate, including global warming produced primarily by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases created by the burning of fossil fuels