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Applied anthropology methods in cultural anthropology chapter 5 quizlet
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Cultural Anthropology is a study of cultures and people, yet there are many other subcategories that combine to explore the world in more depth. When comparing different cultures everything is different in its own way; hair, language, adaptations, skill sets and so many more change all around the world. It could take thousands of different studies of a single culture to fully understand exactly how everything work together to form the culture of study.
Cultural Anthropology is a term that is in everyday lives and topics. When one thinks of anthropology they think of the study of old remnants commonly referred to as archaeology. This, however, is not the only form of anthropology. There are four types of anthropology and they are archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, Cultural anthropologists are every where and study people of all walks of life. One can find a topic and find some type of study that an anthropologist has conducted on the matter. The following are five articles that explain how anthropologists are every where.
Cultural anthropology involves exploring social and cultural variations of humans. Linguistic anthropology studies how language shapes communication. Archaeology is the study of earlier cultures by analyzing and interpreting material remains. Biological anthropology includes topics such as genetics, evolution, and growth and development. Cultural anthropology can give a more in depth perspective on how different cultures, religions, and nations interact with their children.
Anthropology proves to be satisfying and intellectually fulfilling to many in the field. However, there are also many challenges and bumps in the road along the way. Napolean A. Chagnon and Claire Sterk faced many of these challenges themselves.
Cultural construction is one of the key values in the study of Anthropology for several reasons. According to Peoples and Bailey in our Humanity book, Anthropology not only helps us understand the biological, technological, and cultural development of humanity but it’s also intended to teach us the importance of understanding and appreciating cultural diversity. By definition, “Cultural constructions are arbitrary in that they are created and maintained by each culture, cultural constructions are not fixed forever rather they are dynamic and change over time. (McGraw-Hill) In other words it would be impossible to gain an understanding for Anthropology without cultural construction since it’s purpose is to illustrate the birth, change, and differences of ideas and values within individual cultures.
Anthropology is the study of humans through the ages. It aims to understand different cultures and practices that have existed from the origins of mankind as well. It differs from sociology in that it takes into account humans and cultures that no longer exist.
James P. Spradley (1979) described the insider approach to understanding culture as "a quiet revolution" among the social sciences (p. iii). Cultural anthropologists, however, have long emphasized the importance of the ethnographic method, an approach to understanding a different culture through participation, observation, the use of key informants, and interviews. Cultural anthropologists have employed the ethnographic method in an attempt to surmount several formidable cultural questions: How can one understand another's culture? How can culture be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed? What aspects of a culture make it unique and which connect it to other cultures? If ethnographies can provide answers to these difficult questions, then Spradley has correctly identified this method as revolutionary.
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
Clifford Geertz once said: “Cultural analysis is intrinsically incomplete. And, worse than that, the more deeply it goes the less complete it is.” I recently spent a short amount of time at a busy 5-way traffic circle near my residence. While sitting in one spot for about 25 minutes, I observed many people doing many different things (mainly driving). Observing the various people made me think of what their particular cultures may have been, and from there, I began thinking of culture in and of itself. What is culture? Culture is defined as: Ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted. Nongenetic means of adaptation (Park, 2008). Culture plays a vital role in anthropology. After all, anthropology is the holistic, scientific study of humankind (Park, 2008). One cannot study humans as a whole without studying and understanding their cultures as well.
What is anthropology? When I was signing up for classes that is what I wondered myself. It is not an easy subject to fully understand for me at the least. It is all confusing to me. I feel like it can be hard to study a human when obviously you are a human yourself, I am sure it is easy to miss important and helpful information that would clarify research of humans. It is the research of humanity from its evolutionary origins to today’s cultural diversity. It is not only studying the past but the present of human kind. There are four subfields that cover each part of the study of humans.
Psychology is the study of different behaviors and acts of each individual based on the way they are raised and brought up. Cultural psychology is specified as the study of behaviors and actions based on different cultures and traditions. The world is full of cultures. Each culture attempts to have its own psychological belief when it comes to different matters and events. Some cultures agree on some matters; while they disagree on others. Almost every culture view things differently. Yet sometimes they decide to accept these differences, and sometimes they do not. Also, some cultures view some psychological matters at the same level unexpectedly.
The word culture is often used to emphasize the most unique aspects of a people's customs and beliefs. Thus, to refer to the culture of a people or group is to call attention to all the things that make that group different or distinctive from others. When anthropologists compare different cultures they do not mean that one culture is better or worse than another culture.
Cultural anthropology known as the comparative study of human societies and cultures and their development. Cultural anthropology is also known as the study of human cultures, their beliefs, practices, values, ideas, technologies, economies and other domains of social and cognitive organization. Cultural anthropology studies how human cultures are shaped or shape the world around them and it focus a lot on the differences between every person. Human societies has been culturally involved throughout generations because of human development and advanced. The goal of a cultural anthropology is to teach us about another culture by collecting data about how the world economy and political practices effect the new culture that is being studied. However, cultural anthropology has gave us a understanding of world affairs and world problems, the way to interpret the meaning of social actions by putting them in as much context as possible, and a deeper insight of humankind-at all times, in all places and of yourself as part of a culture.
Cultural anthropology examines different cultures and studies them in their native environments by observing or becoming part of each group to understand each culture from within. According to Crapo (2013), “Cultural Anthropology is the study of the similarity and diversity of human ways of life (cultures) and of the regularities in how culture functions” (sec. 1.1). When observing each culture neutrally from the outside in, is called an etic point of view and when experiencing the culture from within is referred to as an emic perspective. Emic narratives can be subjective and are explained by the culture experiencing it. In this paper, I will examine gender and the discrimination of women in my own culture from an outside or etic perspective,
Cultural anthropology has taught me a lot in such a short time. This class has been very eye opening to me and has made me think more about the different cultures around me and just how important it is to learn about them. One of the things I have learned is how religion is related to culture. Culture is behaviors of a community such as the food they make, the music they listen to, and the rituals they take part in. This can be very similar to religion because a culture is based off of their religious beliefs. Some cultures do not eat pig because it is against their religious beliefs. Some cultures listen to particular songs because it is based off of their religious beliefs. Another thing cultures relate closely to is languages. Without language
Anthropology encompasses four main aspects in the field: archaeology, linguistics, physical anthropology, and cultural anthropology. All four areas must collect data and find a way to interpret the data collected. Data is then interpreted with the use of theories. The data would be useless to any anthropologist without any meaning. Theory helps an anthropologist choose what data to collect and how to interpret the results. Authors McGee and Warms assert that theory “helps us think about who and what we are as human beings,” (2). Basic understanding of different anthropological theories enlightens anthropologist about different cultures by attempting to understand and learn from each other. Overtime some theories have been disregarded due to