Historical Anthropological Theory
Dionysian
living for sensual and material delights - give in to indulgence and emotions
Morgan provides
A detailed model of 3 sub stages within savagery and barbarism
Lewis cultural Model
A misuse of Benedict's model of culture It assigned characteristics to each culture and placed them on a continuum
Industrial revolution
A period of rapid growth in the use of machines in manufacturing and production that began in the mid-1700s - increased emphasis on mechanization of economic production
The luddites were
A social movement during the Industrial revolution and led to riots because of their discontent
Mead notes that, in North America, adolescence is characterized as
A stormy time with rebelliousness behavior She also questioned if the experience was universal
Civilization
Agriculture and more with large scale farming and diverse occupations
Lewis Henry Morgan
American anthropologist, who shared much of Tylor's vision • Provided a detailed model of cultural evolution with 3 sub-stages within "Savagery" and "Barbarism" each • He emphasized the roles of subsistence, govt., kinship as well as private property in cultural evolution
Weber claims kingship is
An attempt to routinize charismatic leadership
Agency
An individual's ability to act independently and make their own choices
Totems
Animals or other natural objects that serve as symbols of clans or other groups
Luddites
Any of a group of British workers who between 1811 and 1816 rioted and destroyed laborsaving textile machinery in the belief that such machinery would diminish employment. - people who are resistant to new technology
Patterns of culture
Argues every society selects for certain human behaviors and inhibits others
Social complexity does not equal
Social progress - but ethnocentrism saw these two as the same
The key concepts in sociology are
Structure and agency
Darwin's conclusion was
That man is descended from some lowly organized form will...be distasteful to many. But there can hardly be a doubt that we are descended from barbarians."
Cultural diffusion
The expansion and adoption of a cultural element, from its place of origin to a wider area.
Unilineal evolution
The first theoretical anthropological perspective to take root. Proposed three stages of humanity (savagery, barbarism, civilization), viewed cultural attributes as the effects of innate, biological differences.
Historical particularism
The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.
Boas argued that cultures must be understood within
Their own historical and cultural contexts
Weber contrasts patriarchal and bureaucratic authority with charismatic leaders since
They appear in crisis and do not hold official / routinized positions - their power is seen as being divine - leadership is unstable so they must prove themselves
How are workers alienated from the products of their labor?
They do not determine the design of the products, how they're produced, or what they're worth.
Both Tylor and Morgan believed that human groups evolved linearly in set stages
This can be seen as ethnocentric and racist because only Europeans were considered civilized
Ruth Beneditct
Trained by Franz Boas Major figure in Culture and Personality school of anthropology Has several well-recognized books including "Patterns of Culture", which was published in 1934
Racist or not so racist? #1
Tylor and Morgan argued that cultural groups can be recognized along a continuum of evolutionary stages • However, Tylor also said development along those stages occurs in same way regardless of physical type or skin color
Marx's Theory of Alienation
Under capitalism, Marx showed that workers perform repetitive tasks for which they are paid, but, in the process, they are alienated from the products of their labor
Unilineal evolution versus Boas
Unilineal evolution thinks about linear evolution of culture while Boas believes culture is much more complicated and dynamic
Migration and cultural diffusion further complicate the
Unilineal evolutionary model, so
Cultural development does not necessarily occur in
Universal, linear fashion
How did Max Weber view sociology?
Viewed sociology as a field that interpreted the meanings of social actions as well as their context and effects
Samoa female adolescence
Was not a tumultuous time and was carefree since it gave people a chance to explore their sexuality - Mead's book raised debates about sexual expression
It is hard to study humans as a fellow human because
We can be biased and not ask particular important questions since we interpret our actions as normal
Coming of age in Samoa
Widely popular book that made Margaret Mead the most famous anthropologist in the U.S. It challenged common sense notions about adolescence Launched her career as a public intellectual
Social complexity
a characteristic of a firm's resources that is costly to imitate because the social engineering required is beyond the capability of competitors, including interpersonal relations among managers, organizational culture, and reputation with suppliers and customers
Ethnology
branch of anthropology dealing with human races, their origin, distribution, culture, etc. - comparative study of cultures and their variation
From "Savagery" to "Civilization"
Morgan linked these transformations of subsistence to technological change: o "Savage" = hunter-gatherers o "Barbarians" = horticulturalists (small farmers) o "Civilized" = agriculturalists & more (large-scale farming and other diverse occupations)
Mead's book raised debate about adolescence and sexual expression in the United States, which
Paved the way for the sexual revolution of the 1960s
Structure and agency
Point to a recursive progress in which individuals shape society and society shapes individuals
Charisma
compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others - a divinely conferred power
Emile Durkheim
considered the father of sociology and a major proponent of functionalism, Emile Durkheim was the pioneer of modern social research and established the field of sociology as separate and distinct from psychology and political philosophy
Franz Boas
father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism
Clans
groups of families who claim a common ancestor
The purpose of religion may
not be understood by members, but this should not undermine its reason for existence
Proletarians
of or belonging to the working class; a person belonging to the working class
Eugenics
science dealing with improving hereditary qualities - Darwin believed people who were inferior in body and mind should refrain from marriage
The divine right of kings
the belief that the authority of kings comes directly from God
Bourgeoisie
the middle class, including merchants, industrialists, and professional people - the capitalists; owners of the means of production; the people who the workers work for; owns factories that led to economic production
Cultural relativism
the practice of judging a culture by its own standards
Moieties
two groups of clans that perform reciprocal ceremonial obligations for one another; moieties often intermarry
Elementary forms of Religious Life
written-by Emile Durkheim 1. religion as a major source of solidarity 2. emphasizes social importance of religion
Racist or not so racist? #3
• But then, Tylor also says: "The civilized man is not only wiser and more capable than the savage, but also better and happier." • Clearly, their analysis is full of contradiction
The Shape of Evolution
• Darwin's conception of biological evolution was not linear. • And it wasn't teleological either (i.e. toward a specific end). • He viewed biological evolution more like a tree with branches radiating in many directions.
Unilineal (Cultural) Evolution #2
• However, they largely grouped peoples of Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the first two stages and exclusively associated Europeans with civilization
Lower Forms
• In the reading, Darwin describes humans as having evolved from "lower forms." • Lower can suggest "inferior," but we might also interpret this as "preexisting forms"
Racist or not so racist? #2
• Key quote: "...it appears both possible and desirable to eliminate hereditary varieties or races of man and to treat mankind as homogeneous in nature, though placed in different grades of civilization."
Comparing Marx & Darwin
• They resisted the idea that social and biological forms are fixed in time • But, they differed in how they thought about change over time o Marx saw society as moving more linearly and toward a specific end
Behavior abnormality is always defined in relation to the culture one operates in
- abnormals are not supported by the institutions of their civilization
Why is it challenging to form theories of humanity
1. It is hard to study humans as a fellow human 2. Many aspects of socio-cultural life change rapidly 3. Humanity is extremely diverse across time and space
E.B. Tylor (1832-1917)
1st person to have a formalized position as an anthropology • professor (Oxford - 1884) • Provided 1st definition of the term "culture" (in reference to humans)
What was an important part of her Coming of Age in Samoa book?
It explained why and how the information that she studied was relevant to Americans
Social organization
Australian aboriginals and Great Basin Paviotso were both historically hunter gatherers - Australians also had sibs, moieties, totems, and classes but the Paviotso had none of these forms — this showed great diversity in hunter gatherers
The Division of Labor in Society
Book that looks at the way in which historical changes brought by industrialization and urbanization had led to the increasing specificity of the roles of individuals - written by Durkheim
Max Weber (lect)
Born in 1864 in Germany; died in 1920 Considered a founding figure in sociology and modern social sciences Interested included religion, economic life, the state, and bureaucracy
Robert Lowe
Born in Austria, grew up in the U.S. and became a student of Boas's - focused ethnographic research on Native American groups, especially those in the Great Plains
Unlike diffusionists, Boas did not think technologies spread without
Changing in the process
Sibs
Clans
Marx's impact on anthropology was that he put attention towards
Class, social inequality, social change, global capitalism, and the state
The school of anthropology that Mead was a part of is
Culture and personality anthropology
First Definition of Culture • Proposed by Tylor in 1871:
Culture or civilization ...is that whole complex which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society"
One Human Species
Darwin also argued that there is only one human species. However, he contended that multiple "sub-species" (or races) exist. •
Darwin and Eugenics
Darwin himself was not a eugenicist, but his cousin Sir Francis Galton did introduce the idea of "eugenics" as a science of "improving the human race through selective breeding." It has since been widely discredited.
Ruth defined some societies as
Dionysian and Apolloian
Empiricism of the Boasians
Early evolutionists gathered info drop diverse second-hand accounts to develop their unilinear model of cultural development that emphasized first hand ethnographic data - this caused complications to the unilineal model
In the reading, Boas is against the assumptions made by early
Early evolutionists like Tylor and Morgan - he was against Unilineal evolution
Structure
Economic, social, and political systems that shape human choices and decision making
Technological and social progress
Lowie argued that objective criteria can be used to asses programs in the technological realm He did not think social progress could be easily measured
Mead questioned the
Euro-American cultural models that were deemed to be universal
Durkheim believes that there are no
False religions since they all meet some basic social and psychological needs of their followers - he believed studying primitive regions would help to recognize social functions of religion
Apolloian
Favoring order and calm
E.B. Tylor
First person to have a formalized position as an anthropology professor Provided the first definition of culture in reference to humans
Durkheim
First sociology professor in France Founding figure in modern social sciences Wrote on suicide and other topics Came from a long line of rabbis and studied religion himself
Franz Boas (lecture)
Founder of U.S. anthropology Promoted 4-field approach (cultural, biological, linguistic, and archeological anthropology) Fought against racism and ethnocentrism within anthropology and the sciences
Mead did not
Generalize humanity broadly but wanted to understand humans in their contexts
Max Weber
German sociologist that regarded the development of rational social orders as humanity's greatest achievement. Saw bureaucratization (the process whereby labor is divided into an organized community and individuals acquire a sense of personal identity by finding roles for themselves in large systems) as the driving force in modern society.
Boas believed cultures are shaped by
Historical condition and experience ongoing flux; culture are shaped by outside forces as much as internal dynamics, such as creativity and invention
Barbarians
Horticulturalists
Savage
Hunter-gatherers
Social progress
Improvement in the social and economic conditions of life of a people or society
Unilineal (Cultural) Evolution
In both E.B. Tylor and Lewis Henry Morgan's vision, human groups evolve linearly in set stages of cultural development • Savagery-Barbarism-Civilization
A Science of Culture
In the reading, Tylor argues that the same scientific approach used to study the "natural world" should be applied to people
Generalizing about entire groups can be
Problematic because it can lead to forms of essentializing and perpetuates stereotypes
Social functions of religion
Promote social cohesion and group identity Provide explanatory models of the world Offer moral and ethical guidelines Addresses existential doubts and offer hope to followers Serve as a form of social control
Normality
Range of this in different cultures does not coincide Is known as the average
Charisma shuns the profession of money and
Rejects rational economic conduct
Marx believed that the division between workers and factory owners would lead to...
Revolution and the end of capitalism - he predicted capitalism would be replaced by socialism and then later communism
Tylor believed
Same methods used to study the natural world should be applied to humans - this aligns anthro with science but can lead to exploitation
What did Ruth Benedict believe the purpose of anthropology was?
She believed the purpose of anthropology was to make the world safe for human differences
How old was Margaret Mead when her book was published?
She was 27 years old
Are human races considered different "sub-species" by anthropologists today?
Short answer: No!
Biological evolution does not occur along a
Singular linear path and cultural change doesn't either.. - this is what boas believed
