Anthropology: the study of human races, origins, societies, and cultures. Focusing on cultural anthropology has proven to be full of new experiences and new ways of thinking. Through this class topics such as kinship, gender, marriage and cultures have been introduced and discussed. Learning about different societies has allowed me to shed a little ethnocentrism of my own, or at least recognize when I am being ethnocentric. The main subject talked about throughout the quarter was the relationship between America and India. Economically, politically, and in some aspects socially, the two cultures have proved to be, to my surprise, more similar than expected. One of the most resourceful learning tools was being able to Skype with a student from …show more content…
But on the contrary, American rituals such as cutting the cake, declaring vows, and exchanging rings all hold the same principals as the rituals stated above. When the bride and groom are tied together by their garments, they are symbolizing the eternal bond and commitment to each other in marriage. This correlates to cutting of the cake where the groom puts his hand over the brides and slices their wedding cake to represent their commitment to support and provide for each other in the bond of marriage. Additionally, when comparing the two weddings different traditions are used when pertaining to promises and pledges made between the bride and groom. In western marriages the couple simply share with each other their vows out loud at the wedding ceremony. However, in the Hindu wedding each of the seven steps the bride and groom take together each represent marital vows. The first represents respect and honor, the second promises to share in each other’s joy and sorrows. Each step is a vow all the way to the seventh step vowing an eternal bond of friendship and love without saying a single word. Another example would be the use of the mangalsutra, otherwise known as the thread of good will, in correspondence to weddings rings. Each of piece of jewelry is a symbol of marriage for each culture. When the groom adorns the bride with the mangalsutra or when the couple exchanges weddings rings, the ceremonial act of marriage is
Smith, Paul Chaat. 2009. Everything You Know about Indian Is Wrong. Minneapolis: Unviersity of Minnesota Press. Print.
Culture, a significant aspect of an individual identity, tending to be defined from your birth, woven by the gods: however, I defy the hand of fate by picking my own cultural identity... For why should I be forced into the culture that was imposed upon me, just because of my heritage, religion, beliefs, and customs; instead of discovering my own and being myself. I am to tell you the culture I subjugate myself into; a sub-genre of gaming and anime culture, collectively called otaku, and help broaden your mind to the new phenomenon of a different type of pop culture.
Ethnography is a research method used to explore different cultures from a personal view. Many anthropologists have sought to use ethnography as their main study method because of its specificity and opportunity to get hands on. Those that participate in ethnographies are expected to accurately record detailed accounts of the society in which they are staying, but at the same time maintain a critical distance.
Participant observation is a method of collecting information and data about a culture and is carried out by the researcher immersing themselves in the culture they observing. The researcher becomes known in the community, getting to know and understand the culture in a more intimate and detailed way than would be possible from any other approach. This is done by observing and participating in the community’s daily activities. The method is so effective because the researcher is able to directly approach the people in the community in a natural context as opposed to taking the participant out of their environment. The aim of participant observation is to gain an understanding the subject’s life from their perspective, with the purpose of collecting more detailed information about a community’s habits, opinions, relationships and issues.
Despite people celebrating marriage in different ways it all comes back to one thing; marriage is a social ritual that by which two people affirms one abiding contracts between. The ceremonies are composed of rituals which symbolize facets of married life and the obligations being undertaken. In Hinduism the marriage celebration can start weeks before the actual ceremony depending on the preferences of the family. Once the day of the ceremony comes around the day starts with the brides’ family welcoming the groom into their home and both families are formally introduced. Both the bride and groom sit at the Mandap- tent where the ceremony is held under,-and are offered a drink. Gifts between the two families are generally exchanged at this point. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace to the bride, which is essentially an emblem of the married status in the Hindu religion. Then scared fire is lit and a pundit recites t...
Organizational Structure and Culture Introduction/Discussion Organizational Structure and Culture are two important pieces in any business. Structure and culture are intertwined. In my present and former organizations I had the pleasure of participating in reorganization which allowed a distinct observation point, and came to realize that my opening statement is very much true. Looking at both these areas in comparison to what our text might offer, rightly so, Fischer (2012) has linked both structure and culture to covenantal obligations. Organization Structure Authority originated with God.
Before taking this class, I often thought that our advanced society was the standard in which to measure all other societies from, but after reviewing the material in this course, it is impossible to make such a comparison. Many of the people in a culture similar to the U.S. would probably find most of the cultures we have studied to be “slow”, strange, or undesirable. In fact, it seems that many of the societies actually prefer to live the way they do and accept it as normal. “Normal” is a relative term, and it is difficult to establish evidence to label a culture or its characteristics abnormal. What may seem to work here often would be disastrous to other cultures.
In today’s society very few wedding traditions from the past are carried on in the ceremonies. Couples now are choosing the more traditional weddings and not knowing what all the old traditions and rituals stand for.
Anthropology is a study that involves the observation of human behavior. It explores different cultures and relations. Anthropology describes how a person changes physically or how the person is affected by evolution. The evolutions of art, music, languages and architecture have had a great effect on humans. It puts into considerations various questions as how people’s behavior differ over a period of time, how people travel over the world and how people from different cultures are unique (Coleman & Simpson, 2001). Anthropology constitutes several subfields such as linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, archeology and physical anthropology (Coleman & Simpson, 2001). Cultural anthropologists put a lot of emphasis on the link between cultures and societies. Linguistic anthropologists study how languages are formed, and how culture and language associate with each other. As humans, it is vital not only to understand the human origin, but also to understand other people’s culture. Anthropology assists in dealing with certain questions regarding the origins of human beings. It describes why people are connected in some way, based on how they act, talk or behave. The human culture in various societies is well explained by anthropology. This paper will analyze
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
Universalist argue that the thing which is hindering human rights universality is cultural relativism. Cultural relativism means that human moral values differ from one society to another base on diverse cultural perspectives. Individual actions and their moral values derive from their own culture. Therefore, morally right is culturally context-dependent and people behave according to their own culture (Ayton-Shenker 1995, p.2 and Anjum 2013, p. 169). This mean that cultural relativism does not allow one culture to influence the beliefs and customs of others (Wright 2014, p.5). Some people use relativism to interpret, protect and promote human rights in a diverse way according to different cultures (Ayton-Shenker 1995,
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
In addition, they are held in an extremely conventional way, honouring various customs according to the antiquated Vedic time. This has blessed the foundation of marriage, making it a standout amongst the most critical happenings throughout one's life. Engagement function is one such service which denotes the start of the wedding accord. It is likewise knows as the sagai service or ring function.