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Reflection on anthropology
Short Reflection About Anthropology
Reflection on anthropology
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Abstract
This paper provides the means to understand the Anthropology of Europe. A historical examination is made to explain the different views as well as investigations on man from the time of our ancestors to the present times. Although theorists have their respective claims, explanations and interpretation on their theoretical areas of interest yet adherence to their theories is common and their transmission of truth does not impair their sense of ethical responsibility.
Who, what and where is the anthropology of Europe
Introduction
Europe has many hidden streaks throughout the globe. This part of the continent has played lots of roles in terms of anthropology or humanities. The anthropologists have distinguished and identified that the prehistoric or before history, peoples of Atlantic Europe have presented some community on character and traits, as shown and revealed by artifacts and architectural. To further give information, a number of genetic studies seem to have a relationship with specific groups of inhabitants in parts of Atlantic Europe in contrast with Central or Mediterranean Europe (cited in Wrangham and Peterson 2006). A number of authors and writers themselves have postulated that there is still a cultural contingency in Atlantic Europe, forming a cultural civilizing unit which has its roots or ancestry in ancient times but remained until today with special thanks to the sea trade. Geographers also talk about the influence of the natural environmental surroundings in the construction of a similar cultural landscape along the western European coasts (cited in Wolf, 2007). These interests in the anthropology of Europe were shifted in global political alignment...
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Narotzky, Susana (2006). The Production of Knowledge and the Production of Hegemony. New York. World Anthropologies Disciplinary Transformation within Systems of Power. p. 139.
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Wolf, E.R. (2007). Europe and the People without History. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Wrangham, R, and Peterson, D. (2006). Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence. Boston: Mariner Books.
Kiger, P. J. (2013, August 1). National Geographic. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from Romani Culture and Traditions: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/american-gypsies/articles/romani-culture-and-traditions/
Donald Kagan argues for the requisiteness of Western History by describing older cultures, and then explaining how these older cultures became a key influence in what our society has become today. He examines the ancient Greek, Christian, and English culture influences that helped form our country. Throughout his essay, his depth of historical research is quite evident. He uses historical research of past cultures to imply the necessity of knowing where we, as Americans, came from. This approach helps establish the author’s credibility, and makes his presentation more plausible.
Rollin, Bernard E.. “The Ascent of Apes — Broadening the Moral Community”. In The Great Ape Project. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1993. pp.206-219.
The study of anthropology has undergone several transformations in the theoretical standpoints in its pursuit to understand human differences. During the discipline’s early history, these theories revolved around the indigenous people that Europeans encountered during their explorations. One of these shifts is illustrated in the variation in the declaration of the Enlightenment philospher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who stated, “Man is born free, and everywhere in chains” and Victorian anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor’s assertion that “Life in the Uncivilized World is fettered at every turn by chains of custom”. Through the utilizations of the resources of Morberg, Perry, Trouillot, Moore, and McGee and Warms, I will illustrate that these two quotes reflect the inherited and current cultural environment within Europe. At the time of their construction and exemplify the transformation of the view of primitives as unrepressed by societal institutions to being constrained by irrational customs in anthropological theory.
The article equips the reader with the tools needed to better understand other cultures, in terms of their own beliefs and rituals. Miner’s original approach does create a certain level of confusion that forces the reader to critically evaluate his purpose. “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner ultimately brings people together, by illuminating the eccentricities present in all
Flory, Harriette, and Samuel Jenike. A World History: The Modern World. Volume 2. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 42.
Joseph-Marie Degerando was a revolutionary, French philosopher who transcribed one of the original guidelines for the study of anthropology in the year 1800 titled, I: Societe des Observateurs de l’Homme in French, and translated into English as, The Observations of Savage Peoples. According to the author of the introduction and translator of his work into English, F. C. T. Moore, Degerando’s guidelines were a “capital work of anthropology” (Moore, U of CA Press. p. 2). Whether Degerando provided the most accurate guidelines for the study of humans is argued; however, his work was certainly influential as it served as a foundation for the science of anthropology. In fact, Moore declares there are consistent similarities between the anthropological recommendations of Degerando and those practiced by modern day anthropologists (Moore, U of CA Press. p. 4-5).
Anthropological researchers have considerable moral and ethical standards by which their work must be conducted in order to preserve the accuracy and the posterity of the information gathered during the study and also to the persons or cultures of which they study. These two important parts of anthropology – the research and those being researched – can be conflicting. The Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association presents itself as a body of guidelines for discussing these ethical and moral conflicts. This allows for researchers in the field of anthropology to have a foundation for understanding what decisions must be made regarding these ethical and moral conflicts and to whom the disclosures of those decisions should be made.
There are many disputes among humanity. The differences in how humans interact correlate with each other in many ways. These two texts, “Man is the Lowest Animal” by Mark Twain and “Female Circumcision: Rite of Passage or Violation of Rights?” by Frances A. Althaus, show that actions human make are driven by their beliefs. Mark Twain has been studying the traits and dispositions of the “lower-animals” and it is shocking that these “lower-animals” turns out to be the “higher-animals”. He finds the results humiliating because most people believe in the opposite. In Mark Twin’s eyes, the “Darwinian theory of the Ascent of Man from the Lower Animals” seems trivial compared to the “Descent of Man from the Higher Animals”.
Iggers opens the book by talking about a revolutionary way that the Western world was taught about history. Throughout the book he ascertains the changes that take place throughout historiography and the nature of history itself. He also examines prior historical notions and the way that historiography was altered after World War II. History morphed from previous antiquarian teachings into a deeper, more evaluated approach. Historians gained a more intimate relationship with postmodern ideas and began looking at history in an objective manner using contemporary discipline. Iggers studies the way postmodernism was changed by new social sciences which allowed more detail into cultural influences and the problems surrounding globalization theories. He also explains the birth of microhistory which replaced macrohistory.
(Midgley, M. (1995) Beast And Man — The Roots of Human Nature, Routledge, p. 97)
These tensions, only highlighted by the war, are an unfortunate but large part of Bosnian culture as a whole. The three main ethnic groups of Bosnia are Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats, with 48.4%, 32.7%, and 14.6% populations respectively (CIA World Factbook). Their intense nationalistic attitudes and vastly different religious heritages cause animosities between the groups that go back beyond the times of nations. Bosniaks are generally Muslim while Croats are Roman Catholic and Serbs are Christian
Juka, S.S., Kosova: The Albanians in Yugoslavia in Light of Historical Documents. New York, NY: Waldon Press, Inc., 1984
One cannot generalize or predict all human behaviors, thought processes, morals, and customs. Because human nature is dominated by different types of cultures and societies in various parts of the world, this can often lead to misunderstanding which ultimately leads to the illusion of cultural superiority, and in most cases this can lead to genocide - the systematic murder or annihilation of a group of people or culture. Anthropology is the study of humans, our immediate ancestors and their cultural environments this study stems from the science of holism - the study of the human condition. Culture is crucial in determining the state of the human condition, as the cultures are traditions and customs that are learned throughout an individual
McKay, J/P/, Hill, B.D., Buckler, J., Ebrey, P.B., Beck, R.B., Crowston, C.H., & Wiesner-Hanks, M.E. (2008). A History of World Societies, Volume A: From Antiquity to 1500. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin's