Cultural Anthropology Lecture 1 Notes
Professor Rey’s Background and Research
Professor Rei was born and raised in Taiwan.
He moved to North America at 16, living in Toronto and then the United States for college and graduate school.
He chose teaching anthropology over publishing research papers after completing his graduate degree.
His research focuses on an Aboriginal group in Hainan, Taiwan.
Taiwan's history is marked by interactions between Chinese immigrants, Japanese colonial power, Chinese officials, and Europeans (Dutch, British, Spanish, and French) over the past 400 years.
Aboriginal populations lived on the island before the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s.
Taiwanese Aboriginal Groups and Austronesian Language Family
Different aboriginal groups in Taiwan have distinct linguistic backgrounds.
Professor Rey's work centers on the Bunun people in the Central Mountain Ridge.
Taiwanese Aborigines belong to the Austronesian language family.
The Austronesian language family includes:
Indigenous people of Taiwan.
Native people of Madagascar.
Native Hawaiians.
Southeast Asians (Philippines, Indonesians).
Part of New Guinea (Western New Guinea, Indonesia).
Maoris of New Zealand.
Native people of Easter Island.
Pacific Island nations.
This linguistic connection may be due to advanced Oceanian boat culture.
Key Values in Anthropology
WHAT IS ASSUMED AS “NORMAL”
Anthropologists don't assume what is right or wrong or what is normal or abnormal.
Instead, they investigate why cultures consider certain things normal.
The definition of "normal" varies across cultures.
Ethnography
Anthropology is ethnography-driven.
Ethnography is writing about people, cultures, or ethnic groups.
Examples of ethnography:
Stories about a culture (e.g., California culture in 2019).
Documentaries about dietary choices of college students across the United States (sampling across states, campuses, and types of campuses).
Ethnography requires being present, asking questions, and observing from a scientific viewpoint.
Social Science
Anthropology is based on social science principles.
Social science requires that questions about cultures yield similar answers when asked by different researchers.
Answers should not be made up or randomly chosen by the researcher.
Anthropology is not a lab experiment where people are observed in a controlled environment.
Researchers use methods like asking questions, observation, and participant observation to understand cultures and values.
Examples of Cultural Differences
Toilets
Sitting toilets are considered normal in some cultures, while squatting toilets are normal in others.
Someone raised with squatting toilets might find sitting toilets abnormal until they understand their use in another culture.
Babies can eliminate waste in various ways until potty training teaches them a culturally normal way of doing so.
Food
In some cultures, beans are a savory dish seasoned with salt.
In other cultures, beans are used in desserts like popsicles or sweet soups.
Experiencing different cultural norms can challenge one's definition of "normal."
Anthropologists encourage stepping out of one's comfort zone to see things from others' perspectives.
Additional Resources and Research
Professor Rey will include additional resources via news or video links on the lecture video pages. Check out www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160620-weird-food-only-a-local-could-love
Students are encouraged to explore these resources.
A research report in the Journal of American Anthropologists explores whether romantic sexual kissing is a human universal.
The abstract suggests that the perception of kissing as romantic/sexual may vary based on the complexity of the society.
Researchers suggest lip-to-lip kisses are more common/sexual in complex societies.
Defining what constitutes a "complex" versus "less complex" society is a challenge, and the presenter has some issues with that type of determination.
Anthropological Research
Anthropologists explore diverse topics, like defining universal concepts (e.g., kissing).
Students can apply anthropological methods (observation, questioning) in various fields.
Medical Anthropology
Focuses on doctor-patient communication, power dynamics, and the impact of culture on health.
Ethnographic Example: Aboriginal Taiwanese Group (Dubuu No)
An elderly person's perspective on daily showers revealed differing views on health due to historical living conditions at higher altitudes.
Cultural Interpretations
An airplane example illustrates cultural meanings embedded in design.
Number 4 is avoided in Mandarin due to its association with death ().
Number 13 is considered unlucky in Western cultures.
Making Observations Scientific
Requires proving cultural meanings through social science methods.
Observe physical environments and ask people about the meanings of numbers to prove its cultural meaning.
Intellectual Influences
Acknowledgment of mentors and predecessors in the field, regardless of background.
Definition of Anthropology
Scientific study of humankind, exploring past and present influences.
Theme-driven (e.g., anthropology of food or sports), location-dependent (e.g., anthropology of North America), or cultural group-driven studies.
Anthropology and Technology
Anthropologists study technologies too, like cell phones, mobile devices, social media, or even self-driving cars.
Anthropology and its Subfields
Technologies and the Definition of Human
Anthropologists study technologies, including mobile and medical technologies.
The definition of "human" is evolving, especially with the emergence of technologies like self-driving cars.
Self-driving cars, lacking a human driver, raise questions about endowing humanness to machines.
The definition of "human" is context-dependent.
Course Overview: Chapter 1 and Orientation
Chapter one of the textbook should be completed during orientation week.
Complete the discussion assignment.
Details can be found in the syllabus or the module.
Topics covered include the four subfields of anthropology.
The possibility of a fifth subfield.
A brief history of cultural anthropology.
Four Subfields of Anthropology
Archaeology.
Biological Anthropology (Physical Anthropology).
Linguistic Anthropology.
Cultural Anthropology.
Archaeology
The study of material remains of human culture from the past.
Examples range from charred beans to large archaeological sites.
Mississippian culture: built mounds for cultivation and consumption of corn.
Archaeologists study both remote and recent pasts.
Tucson Garbage Project: archaeologists studied disposed waste to understand consumption patterns.
In 2013, waste in Orange County consisted largely of paper and food.
Tools matter in archaeology, as the size of the screen's holes can affect the evidence found. Analogy: fishing net size determines the size of the fish caught.
Biological or Physical Anthropology
Focuses on humans as biological organisms influenced by culture.
Human biology is influenced by behaviors and choices.
Diet and food choices impact physical characteristics.
Evolutionary timeline: human ancestors have influenced traits passed down to us.
Bipedalism: walking on two feet emerged 6-7 million years ago.
Traits include kneecap formation and arches in the feet for shock absorption.
Paleoanthropology: the study of human evolution.
Primatology: the study of non-human primates (New World monkeys, Old World monkeys).
Study of contemporary human variations: genes, DNA, chromosomes, fossil records, dental records, skeletal remains, cranium.
Study of human/primate behaviors: maintaining power, mating.
Forensic Anthropology
Utilizes physical anthropology to investigate criminal cases by studying human remains.
Not as quick as depicted on TV shows like "Bones"
Studies contemporary populations to examine differences and similarities.
Example: High-altitude populations and their adaptation to low oxygen, extreme cold, and limited food. The lecturer is currently in Mammoth Lakes, California.
Physical Anthropology and High Altitude Populations
Physical anthropologists study how human populations adapt to different environments.
Example: Investigating the effects of high altitude and low oxygen on people living in places like Mammoth Lakes, California, the Himalayas, or the Andes.
Comparing lung capacity and bodily adaptations across different high-altitude populations.
Linguistic Anthropology: Language and Culture
Linguistic anthropology explores human communication in various cultures.
It examines how language shapes our perception of reality.
The language we speak (e.g., English, Vietnamese, Spanish, Swahili, Mandarin Chinese) influences how we think.
Example: A classic study comparing English and Shawnee speakers describing the action of cleaning a gun.
English speakers: "clean with rim rod."
Shawnee speakers: "dry space interior of a hole by the motion of a tool."
The example illustrates how different languages embody different ideas.
Translation challenges: Sometimes, concepts in one language do not directly translate to another.
Language and Social Background
Language can indicate social class.
Grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation can provide clues about a person's social background.
Example: Research (in 1960s-70s New York City) on determining social class based on speech patterns.
Language and Media
Linguistic anthropologists study how language is used in different media.
Example: Research on how college students break up using various media (texting, phone calls, Facebook).
Media ideology: Each type of media has associated beliefs.
Texting: Some believe it's appropriate for breakups, while others don't.
Facebook: Changing relationship status can be interpreted as a breakup.
Conflicting media ideologies can lead to confusion and tension.
Tools for Documenting Interactions
Video shooting, audio recording are used to document interactions.
Cultural Anthropology: Understanding Culture
Cultural anthropology focuses on understanding the meaning of culture.
Culture: Learned and shared behaviors and beliefs.
Learned: Acquired through socialization, not genetics.
Shared: Practiced and understood by a group (peers, family, community, or people from various places through media).
Culture includes both belief systems (abstract) and observable behaviors.
Belief systems require inquiry to understand.
Behaviors can be directly observed.
*Driving culture varies by part of the United States.
Holistic Perspective
Classical anthropology: Understanding a culture (e.g., American) requires studying all aspects (music, religion, family, government, politics).
Contemporary anthropology: More focused and theme-driven approach.
Example: Studying food choices of college students (ages 16-23) in Southern California.
Cultural Relativism
Every group of people has culture.
Cultures should be compared on equal footing.
Avoid judging one culture as superior or inferior to another.
Example: Comparing bows and arrows to iPads.
Bows and arrows: Important for survival in certain contexts.
iPads: Useful for navigation and communication in other situations.
Comparison should consider the context and purpose of each tool or practice.
Applied Anthropology
Applied anthropology: Applying anthropological knowledge to real-world problems.
Debate: Should it be a separate field or integrated into the four main fields?
Consider the textbook author's perspective on this question.
Examine how knowledge from the four fields (archaeology, physical anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology) is applied in practice.
Medical Anthropology
Medical anthropology: The study of medical issues in different cultures.
It could be considered a fifth subfield of anthropology.
Topics include:
Doctor-patient interactions in various cultural and social contexts.
Language and cultural barriers in healthcare.
Social class differences between doctors and patients.
Traditional medicine systems (Traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Yunani medicine).
Folk medicine in North America.
Pharmaceutical industries and drug use and abuse.
Global health issues like natural disasters.
Part 5
Medical Anthropology
The instructor believes medical anthropology is important and should be an independent field.
It covers important new and old topics related to health.
It examines medical beliefs across cultures without dismissing them.
Early Roots of Anthropology
Early influences on anthropology include travelers and colonizers.
Figures like Marco Polo and Darwin contributed to anthropological thought.
Early observations weren't always scientific, but anthropology strives for scientific objectivity.
Key Concepts
Cultural relativism, interpretivism, and cultural materialism are important concepts.
The debate between structuralism and agency is also significant.
Armchair Anthropology
Early anthropologists often made claims without traveling to the cultures they studied.
This approach, called "armchair anthropology," has negative connotations.
However, with modern technology, online research can provide a basic understanding of a culture.
Armchair anthropology can be a starting point for building knowledge before traveling.
Tom Bostro at UC Irvine studies online gaming communities using a modern take on armchair anthropology.
Cultural Evolutionary Approach
Early anthropologists like Tylor and Morgan ranked cultures, considering some "savage" or "barbaric."
This cultural evolutionary approach is not widely accepted today.
It's biased because those who rank cultures often view their own as the most civilized.
Ethnocentrism: Using one's own culture as a standard to measure others.
Autometry: Measuring others against oneself; auto (self), metry (measuring).
Functionalist Approach
The idea that every aspect of a culture has a function.
Different part of culture works together.
An example used is of ingredients of a burrito which work together to make it taste good.
Bronisław Malinowski is known for this perspective.
Cultural Relativism
Associated with Franz Boas, the "founding father of American Anthropology."
Understanding a culture from the perspective of those within that culture, example a Native American trying to understand the Korean culture by trying to see things (e.g., K-pop) from the eyes of Korean people.
Stepping into their shoes to see things as they do.
Cultural Relativism and Anthropological Debates
Symbolic/Interpretive Anthropology vs. Cultural Materialism
Symbolic or Interpretive Anthropology:
Stresses the importance of ideas and beliefs within a culture.
If individuals in a culture believe something is sacred, that belief is sufficient to define their culture.
Focuses on what people believe is what matters; their ideas are paramount.
Example: If Hindus believe cows are sacred, interpretive anthropologists accept this as a cultural fact based on their belief.
Cultural Materialism:
Stresses the physical, environmental, and material aspects of a culture.
Examines tangible factors as the foundation for understanding a culture.
Focuses on practical and behavioral evidence.
Example: When considering why cows are sacred in Hindu culture, cultural materialists look at the functional roles of cows in their physical surroundings.
Cows help with farming (plowing fields).
Cow dung can be used for fuel and building materials (flooring, walls, fertilizers).
Killing cows would eliminate these other practical benefits.
Seeks material evidence that explains the cultural significance of cows.
Debate and Synthesis:
These two schools of thought have historically engaged in extensive debate.
Modern anthropology recognizes the importance of both belief systems and material conditions for understanding a culture.
Key figures:
Clifford Geertz (associated with interpretive anthropology).
Marvin Harris (associated with cultural materialism).
Other Anthropological Debates
Biological Determinism vs. Cultural Constructionism:
A nature versus nurture debate.
Asks whether certain traits or behaviors are innate or learned.
Example: Is leadership an inherent quality, or is it learned?
Personal perspective: It's not an either/or situation; both nature and nurture can play roles, or other factors may be more relevant.
Structuralism vs. Agency:
Structuralism:
Suggests that social factors determine the course of one's life.
Views social structures as a kind of "prison" that dictates individual possibilities.
Social factors beyond individual control.
Agency:
Focuses on the individual's control over their own life within a culture.
Considers the extent to which individuals have the ability to make choices and influence their circumstances.
Example: Poverty can be viewed through both lenses.
Agency Perspective: poverty is due to an individual's lack of effort, poor choices, or failure to take control of their life.
Structural Perspective: poverty is the result of social factors beyond individual control, such as economic conditions, discrimination, and power structures.
Uncommon Senses in Anthropology
Looking Beyond Common Sense:
Anthropologists should challenge their own culturally shaped perceptions.
Examine assumptions and ideas that are often taken for granted.
Cultural Symbolism and Arbitrariness:
Belief systems within a culture are symbolic and arbitrary; they are not inherently natural or logical.
Example: The symbol of a stork delivering babies is culturally specific.
In Bunong culture (Thailand, Taiwan), an owl resting on a house symbolizes an upcoming birth.
Example: The phrase "It's all about the Benjamins" refers to US currency (hundred-dollar bills featuring Benjamin Franklin).
This reflects the cultural significance of money and national symbols.
Colors and Social Roles:
Different cultures assign different meanings to colors for various occasions and social roles.
Reflect on cultural norms and compare them across cultures to understand the symbolic nature of these beliefs.
Microcultures
Definition:
Smaller cultures within a larger culture or community.
Influential Factors:
Factors such as:
Gender
Class
Race
Age
Ethnicity
Institutions (e.g., job, school)
These influence how individuals think and behave.
Race vs. Ethnicity:
Race and ethnicity are distinct concepts (to be discussed in a later chapter).
Margaret Mead's Study:
Margaret Mead, a student of Franz Boas (the founding father of American Anthropology), studied adolescent girls in American Samoa in the 1950s.
Her work involved multiple microcultures, including:
Gender (females)
Age (adolescents).
Ethnocentrism
Definition:
Judging another culture based on the standards and values of one's own culture.
Breakdown: "Ethno" (people, culture, ethnicity) + "centrism" (centered).
Explanation:
Using one's own cultural background to evaluate other cultures.
Example: A person from a Taiwanese background using their culture to judge American culture.
Example: An American using their own values to judge Latin American cultures.
Connotation:
Often has a negative connotation.
Involves judging others without understanding their perspective or "stepping into their shoes."
Cultural Relativism, Culture Change, and Globalization
Critical Cultural Relativism
Definition: Understanding another culture from its own belief system, values, and practices, but still allowing for critical judgment.
Key Idea: Evaluating cultural practices within their own context while still being able to critique aspects that may be harmful or unethical.
Example (Diet):
Understanding why a culture doesn't consume beef or pork due to religious or cultural beliefs.
Critiquing the culture if they abuse animals, even if those animals are part of their accepted diet.
Perspective: Stepping into another's shoes but still retaining the ability to critically assess behaviors and values.
Example (Nazis):
Even if a group claims that killing others is part of their culture or values, it is still possible to judge that action as wrong because it causes harm to others.
Judgment: Critical cultural relativism allows for judgment, especially when actions cause harm.
Culture Change and Globalization
Culture Change: Cultures are not static; they evolve over time.
Facilitation of Change:
Contact between people (e.g., trade, business).
Technological innovations (e.g., decreased communication barriers).
International development (e.g., disaster relief).
Education, telecommunications, migration, and tourism.
Globalization: An intense interconnectedness of the world, characterized by increased exchange of goods, information, and movement of people.
Movement of People: Increased speed and scale due to technologies like airplanes and boats.
Information Exchange: Technologies enable access to news, images, and videos from around the world.
Problems with Globalization:
The idea of the world as a small village can be overly optimistic.
Disparities exist between the haves and have-nots.
Some individuals are left out of the globalization process.
McDonald's as an Example of Culture Change
Symbol of Western Culture: In many countries, McDonald's is seen as a symbol of American or Western cultural dominance.
Westernization/Americanization: The spread of McDonald's is often associated with the westernization or Americanization of cultures.
Agency: Individuals may have some control over how they perceive and interact with global influences like McDonald's.
Local Adaptation: McDonald's often adapts its menu to local tastes and preferences.
Examples:
In Taiwan, McDonald's offers corn chowder for breakfast.
Half sandwiches were available in Taiwan.
Menus vary in different countries based on local dietary preferences (e.g., absence of beef items in cultures that don't consume beef).
Models of Culture Interaction
Clash/Conflict: Cultures may clash or come into conflict.
McDonaldization: One culture (often Western) takes over and transforms other cultures (homogenization).
Homogenization: McDonald’s turning other countries into something like America fast food culture
Hybridization: A blend of different cultures.
Localization: Local cultures remake and transform global culture to fit there own ways.
Examples:
Local cultures influencing McDonald's menus.
Blending Model:
Example: A Presbyterian church in Taiwan blends local beliefs about snakes with Christian symbols.
Part 8
Hybridization in Aboriginal Communities
Hybridization as a form of culture change is exemplified by a Presbyterian church in an aboriginal community in Southeastern Taiwan.
The church integrates Christian symbols with indigenous beliefs.
Snakes, generally associated with evil in Christianity, hold a different meaning in this community due to their creation story.
The community's creation story involves a poisonous snake endemic to Taiwan, characterized by diamond-shaped patterns on its back.
Sacred Snake Symbolism
The church’s facade features a diamond shape symbolizing the sacred snake from their creation story.
This symbolizes the blending of Christianity with traditional beliefs.
A local pastor and an anthropologist highlighted the significance of this integration.
Location of the Church
The church can be found on the coastal freeway in Southwestern Taiwan, between Taitung and Dau (the exact location might vary).
It's located on the right-hand side when driving south.
Personal Field Experiences
The speaker shares examples from their own fieldwork experiences, collecting stories, visiting communities, and living among people to understand aboriginal cultures in Taiwan.
Chapter One Summary
The lecture covers the subfields of anthropology and the potential for adding a new one.
A brief history of cultural anthropology is discussed.
Connecting Ideas to Personal Experiences
Encouragement to relate anthropological ideas to personal life, media examples, or social media to enhance understanding.
Using concrete examples to understand abstract theories or perspectives in anthropology.