Anth1000C Overheads 1
What did we do last time?
 How do we differentiate ourselves from animals?
 What makes us human?
What makes us human? 1

 Humans use tools (together with some animals)
What makes us human? 2
 Humans communicate through complex and abstract concepts:
We have languages
Humans use symbols
What are symbols?
Symbols are
 behaviours,
 images,
 words

 that express ideas which are example: flag too complex to be stated directly.
What makes us human? 3
Humans organize
 themselves,

 their surroundings and the world
 into conceptual categories .
Organizing the world conceptually
 One way of imposing order on human experience:
 binary oppositions = contrasting conceptual pairs
 E.g.up/down, sun/moon, men/women
Us and them

Most human groups make a distinction between themselves and other groups with whom they come into contact (either those with whom they compete or those with whom they co-operate.
Us and them
 We and they / us and them
 We make classifications

 We try to give order to the world we live in.
Organizing the world


Human groups tend to identify themselves with their environment.
E.g. animals or physical features that provide them with their livelihood)
The Key Questions
 What is anthropology?
 What is cultural anthropology?
 What is culture?
What is anthropology?
 Anthropos: human being
 -ology: study or science
Focus of anthropology
 Diversity of the ways human beings
– establish and live their social lives in groups.
– give meaning to their experiences.
The Fields of General Anthropology
Archaeology
 Investigating human past by excavating and analyzing material remains.


Examines past social structures and institutions.
The “Garbage Project”
–
Rathje and Murphy, 1992
Physical or Biological Anthropology
 The study of human and non-human life, past and present
 Many physical anthropologists research animals in order to understand human origins and behaviour
 Links with archaeology especially in the question of when human beings first emerged as Homo sapiens
Linguistic Anthropology
 Originally emerged when researchers began documenting disappearing Native
American languages
 Relevance today?
–
Language is still changing
–
Scope broadened to include aspects of communication
• media, email, popular music, advertising, etc
Applied anthropology
 Involves the use or application of anthropological knowledge to help solve social problems

 A separate field?
–
Just like theory, application should be a valued part of every field of anthropology
–
All anthropologists should forcibly and directly address the effects of globalization
• (Hackenberg, 2000)
Socio-cultural anthropology
 The study of humankind everywhere, throughout time.
 Seeks knowledge about what makes people different and about what they all have in common .
Cultural Anthropology
 Tries to look at cul tures from the “outside”
 Encompasses all aspects of human behavior and beliefs and includes:
– making a living, distributing goods, reproduction, political patterns, religious systems, forms of communication and expressive aspects of culture such as art
What is the distinguishing feature of modern anthropology?


Approach rather than the subject matter.
Not limited to the study of the 'exotic other'.
Cultural Anthropology Today
 Research is often done in urban, industrial areas.
 Extended fieldwork continues to distinguish cultural anthropology from other
 disciplines.
Research extends across many disciplines (law, music, religion, etc.).
Objectives of Cultural Anthropology
 Understand how dimensions of human life relate (religion, art, communication, family).


Understand cultural change.
Make the public aware of cultural differences.
What is culture?
 Culture is diversity of ways in which humans establish and live social lives in groups.


Culture is not a thing, should not be treated as a noun.
It is more realistic to say 'people live culturally rather than they live in cultures'
(Tim Ingold 1994).
About culture
 Culture is acquired and learned ( knowledge, experience,symbols,direct and

 indirect,conscious and unconscious).
Culture is shared.
Culture is symbolic.




Culture is integrated.
Humans are creative, they act in culture creatively.
Culture is adaptive and maladaptive.
Cultural Anthropology’s Distinctive Features
 ETHNOGRAPHY
– means “culture writing”
– provides a first-hand, detailed description of a living culture
– based on personal experience
 ETHNOLOGY
– the study of one topic in more than one culture
• marriage forms, economic practices, religion, etc
– uses ethnographic material
Anthropological Perspectives
 Holistic -No dimension of culture can be understood in isolation.
 Comparative - Generalizations about humans must consider the range of cultural diversity.
 Relativistic -Cultures cannot be evaluated based on the standards of another culture.
Cultural Relativism (1)
 The idea that a culture must be understood in terms of its own values and beliefs and not by the standards of another culture
– gained by exposure to “other” ways with a sympathetic eye and ear to appreciating differences
Cultural Relativism (2)
 Critical
– poses questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them and why
– recognizes oppressors, winners, victims
– a critique
 Absolute
– whatever goes on in a culture must not be questioned by outsiders
– Holocaust?
Value of Anthropology 1


Encourages understanding and tolerance among citizens of different nations.
Allows us to compare our lives with those of people living in different times and places.
Value of anthropology 2
 Allows us to see the development of human biology and culture over time.

 Provides knowledge about human evolution, prehistoric populations, and tribal societies.
Local cultures
Canadian Anthropology
 Roots in both British/European tradition of social anthropology and American cultural anthropology


Shaped by ethnohistorical and advocacy work with First Nations peoples
First full-time anthropological appointment at University of Toronto in 1925
The KEY Questions Revisited
 What is anthropology?
 What is cultural anthropology?
 What is culture?