Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (0780)

Angela Lockard Reed

Outline 2, September 3, 2003

History and Theory of Anthropology

Anthropological Fieldwork

I           Nacirema Discussion

A          How do others see us? How accurate are these visions? Are there misconceptions about our culture? If so, what are they? Why are they held by others?

B          The practices of cultures (including our own) are “natural” in their own setting.

II           Anthropological Theories – Modes of Classification

            A          Colonialism and Society

                        1          The case of the !Kung

            B          Early theories of Evolution

                        1          Unilineal Evolution:  a nineteenth-century theory that proposed a series of stages through which all societies must go (or had gone) in order to reach “civilization.”

                                    a          Lewis Henry Morgan

                                                -           Morgan’s stages

                                    b          The !Kung as Morgan would see them

                        4          Criticisms of cultural evolution

            C          Neo-Evolutionists – Technology, Energy, and Multilineal Evolution

                        1          Leslie White

                                    a          The !Kung as White would see them – how efficient are they?

                        2          Multilineal Models: Julian Steward and Marshall Sahlins

                                    a          The !Kung as Steward would see them

            D          Historical Particularism (founded by Boas)

                        1          Franz Boas

                        2          Critique of Evolutionary Models

                        3          Culture Traits and Cultural Patterns

                        4          The !Kung as Boas would see them

            E          Structural Functionalism

                        1          A.R. Radcliffe-Brown” 

            2          The !Kung as Radcliffe-Brown would see them.

III          Fieldwork: The Heart, Soul, and Method of Anthropology

            A          Fieldwork

            B          Participant observation

            C          Informants

            D          Sometimes what people actually do is different than what they say they do. 

            E          Must collect data in 3 different ways

                        1          the people’s own understanding of the rules they share (the way their society ought to be) must be examined

                        2          the extent to which people believe they are observing those rules needs to be looked at

                        3          the behavior that can be directly observed should be considered

            F          Fieldwork produces the information that becomes the subject of study

                        1          Interpretation

                        2          Translation

                        3          Dialectical relationships

                                    a          Anthropological Definition:  a network of cause and effect in which the various causes and effects affect each other.

                                    b          In other words, who you are affects how you do your research, who you question, what you ask

                        5          Systematic Procedures

                                    a          Hypothesis

                                    b          Variables studied

                                                -           dependent variables                                           

                                                -           independent variables

                                    c          Population selection

            G          Fieldwork in Action

                        1          Gottlieb and Graham among the Beng

                                    a          Defining a topic

                                    b          Finding an informant

                                    c          Dialectical relationship

                                    d          Humanizing effect of fieldwork

                        2          Alter among Himalayan dairy farmers

                                    a          Dairying in the Himalayas