ANTHRO CH 1
How is anthropology different from other disciplines?
Unique among the sciences and humanities, anthropology has long emphasized the study of non-Western societies and a holistic approach, which aims to formulate theoretically valid explanations and interpretations of human diversity based on detailed studies of all aspects of human biology, behavior, and beliefs in all known societies, past and present.
Anthropology contains four major fields or subdisciplines:
cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and physical or biological anthropology.
Anthropology equips global citizens to challenge
ethnocentrism and to understand human diversity.
Archaeologists study
human cultures through the recovery and analysis of material remains and environmental data.
Linguistic anthropologists study
human languages and may deal with the description of a language, with the history of languages, or with how languages are used in particular social settings.
Physical anthropologists focus on
humans as biological organisms; they particularly emphasize tracing the evolutionary development of the human animal and studying biological variation within the species today.
The anthropological code of ethics
outlines the moral and ethical responsibilities of anthropologists to the people whom they study, to those who fund the research, and to the profession as a whole.
Ethnographic participant observation
participant observation with a particular culture or subculture is the classic field method of cultural anthropology.
Ethnologists often focus on a particular aspect of culture, such as...?
religious or economic practices.
What can anthropology contribute to the understanding of globalization?
A long tradition of studying the connections among diverse peoples over time gives anthropology a theoretical framework to study globalization in a world increasingly linked through recent technological advancements
What type of comparisons do anthropologists make?
Anthropologists make broad comparisons among peoples and cultures—past and present. They also compare related species and fossil groups.
How do anthropologists face the ethical challenges that emerge through conducting anthropological research?
Anthropologists must stay aware of the potential uses and abuses of anthropological knowledge and the ways that it is obtained.
What is anthropology?
Anthropology is the objective and systematic study of humankind in all times and places.
What do anthropologists do in each of its four fields?
Cultural anthropologists study humans in terms of their cultures, the often-unconscious standards by which social groups operate.
Ethnology?
Ethnology, the comparative branch of cultural anthropologists, uses a range of ethnographic accounts to construct theories about cultures from a comparative or historical point of view.
How do anthropologists conduct research?
Field work and Ethnographic
Fieldwork
Fieldwork, characteristic of all the anthropological subdisciplines, includes complete immersion in research settings ranging from archaeological and paleoanthropological survey and excavation, to living with a group of primates in their natural habitat, to biological data gathered while living with a group.
What is key to all branches of anthropology?
The comparative method
Anthropology has essential insights to offer the modern world
when understanding our neighbors in the global village has become a matter of survival for all.
applied anthropology
which uses anthropological knowledge to solve practical problems.
