Agenda
Bingo -- Introductions
Course Overview
Break
The Nature and Scope of Anthropology
Core Concepts
holism
ethnology and ethnography
Ethnocentrism vs cultural relativism
Emic versus emic
Value of Anthropology
Break
The Concept of Culture
Fieldwork
WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?
© Boise State u. Dept. of anthropology
From the Greek
`anthropo' human beings',
`logos' originally meaning word, reason, speech or
account and later doctrine, theory or science.
Literally then, Anthropology is the science of the
nature of Human beings.
Oxford English Dictionary
`The science of the nature of man
embracing human physiology and
psychology and their mutual bearing'.
Websters
`the study of Man, the study of body
and mind in their interrelationships'
ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural
Physical
Archaeology
Anthropological
Linguistics
Social/
Cultural
• Paleoanthropology
• Prehistoric
• Historical
• Economic
• Primatology
• Historical
• Descriptive
• Kinship
• Human Genetics
• Contract
• Sociolinguistics
• Medical
• ethnolinguistics
• Psychological
• Demography
• Growth &
Development
• Urban
• Osteology
(Forensic)
• Gender
• Applied
• Political
• Religion
Look through the magazines and find
three research project that would be of
interest to an anthropologist?
What makes social/cultural anthropology
different from sociology or psychology,
history etc.?
A Science is a systematic or orderly way
of thinking about a particular subject
matter” R.G. Collingwood
Anthropology Departments around the world 2004
S. Africa
Egypt
Kenya
Namibia
Nigeria
Zimbabwe
11
3
1
1
2
1
USA
Canada
323
33
Australia
New Zealand
Hong Kong
Japan
Pakistan
Israel
N.Am
Europe
11
5
1
1
1
1
356
101
Chile
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Columbia
Mexico
Panama
Uruguay
1
6
2
2
1
2
1
1
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Rep
Denmark
Finland
France
1
2
1
1
3
4
11
Oceania
Africa
16
19
Germany
Greece
Hungary
. Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukrane
UK
9
3
1
1
2
3
2
3
8
8
4
6
2
26
Asia
4
S. Am. 16
What are the aims and purposes of
anthropology? What value does it have?
What value does anthropology have?
What is
this ad
saying?
Hot asset: Anthropology degrees
By Del Jones, USA TODAY 1996
As companies go global and crave leaders for a diverse workforce, a
new hot degree is emerging for aspiring executives: anthropology.
Not satisfied with consumer surveys, Hallmark is sending
anthropologists into the homes of immigrants, attending holidays
and birthday parties to design cards they'll want.
No survey can tell engineers what women really want in a razor, so
marketing consultant Hauser Design sends anthropologists into
bathrooms to watch them shave their legs.
Companies are starving to know how people use the Internet or why
some pickups, even though they are more powerful, are perceived by
consumers as less powerful, says Ken Erickson, of the Center for
Ethnographic Research.
It takes trained observation, Erickson says. Observation is what
anthropologists are trained to do.
Firms seek guidance from anthropology
Elizabeth Church
The Globe and Mail
Monday, July 26, 1999
As a consultant in Palo Alto, Calif. -- the heart of Silicon Valley -Susan Squire's uses her training in the study of human behaviour
and culture to develop new products such as pull-up diapers and
yogurt-to-go.
This is the new world of the anthropologist, where the skills of
former academics such as Ms. Squire have become a hot commodity
in the quest for business innovation.
Anthropologists, with their expertise in painstakingly observing,
documenting and analyzing human behaviour, are winning a
growing following among companies eager to know what makes
their customers, and their workers, tick.
"What anthropology brings is a way of observing, not laboratory
observing, but observing in context," explains Ms. Squire, who is
also president-elect of the U.S. National Association for the Practice
of Anthropology. "If I want to know what kind of office products
people need, I don't pull them into a focus group. I go to their office
and watch them during the day."
When Motorola Inc. wanted to know how peasants in rural China
might use portable technology, it sent in an anthropologist with
expertise in the region. When General Mills Inc. of Minneapolis
considered introducing a new breakfast cereal, it put Ms. Squire in
people's homes. She is currently involved in understanding how
people navigate the Internet and helping develop better tools for
doing that.
Ms. Canavan, who has a masters degree in anthropology, says the
discipline is valuable because it looks at issues in a holistic way. "We
don't only look at a situation. We look at what is going on around, as
well."
But perhaps the discipline's greatest attraction for business is its
ability to unearth truths that even the subjects don't know about.
Mr. Underhill, after 20 years of watching video tapes of shoppers,
points out that women don't like to go down narrow aisles and that
customers will buy more if there are shopping baskets placed
throughout the store.
"People don't always do what they say," Ms. Squires says, adding
that anthropologists "really get at issues that people in focus groups
don't even think to talk about."
Core Concepts
What is the difference between ethnography
and ethnology?
What is anthropology’s holistic approach?
What is the difference between emic and
etic?
What’s the difference between ethnocentrism and relativism?
Ethnocentrism: The practice of regarding one’s
own cultural group as the centre of everything and
scaling and relating all others with reference to it.
Cultural Relativism: The perspective
that beliefs and practices of any society
can only be judged by the values and
standards prevalent in that society.
What’s your opinion on each of
the following?
• Human Sacrifice
• Infanticide
• Suicide Bombings
• Cannibalism
• Female Circumcision (FGM)
• Gay Marriages
Anthropological Perspectives
• Holistically
• Objectively
• Relativistically
• Comparatively
• Interdisciplinary
• Focus on Ethnography
•Emically
• Methodologically and theoretically diverse.
Summary
1. Define anthropology
2. What is the four-field approach?
3. What is the difference between anthropology and sociology?
4. What is the difference between ethnology and ethnography?
5. What are five areas of specialization in cultural anthropology
6. What is anthropology’s holistic approach?
7. What is the difference between emic and etic?
8. What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural
relativism?
9. What is the value of anthropology?