Sociocultural Anthropology

Binary opposition

(see Structuralism lesson notes on Roman Jakobson) Binary opposition is the system by which, in language and thought, two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.In structuralism, a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language. Binary opposition originated in Saussurean structuralist theory. According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the binary opposition is the means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined in reciprocal determination with another term, as in binary code. It is not a contradictory relation but, a structural, complementary one. Saussure demonstrated that a sign's meaning is derived from its context (syntagmatic dimension) and the group (paradigm) to which it belongs. An example of this is that one cannot conceive of 'good' if we do not understand 'evil'. Concept in structuralist school of thought stating that all elements of culture can be understood in their relationship to one another and how they function within the larger environment. Binary opposites are defined by their mutual exclusiveness - the inability for two concepts to occur simultaneously. For example, you are either outside or inside, a light switch is either on or off, a team either wins or loses in a competition, disabled or non-disabled. Belief that this underlying structure formed psychoanalysis. culture is a way to get to the mind. Binary opposition examples lese farmers white foods +skeleton, efe hunters red foods +mud

structural time identification

(see personal notes from lecture on 22 SEP 14) Neur conception of time reflecting the relations between groups in their social structure. It appears to be an individual progressing through a social system; however, this is an illusion (24). The Neur explained tribal/group history by referring to the age-set system; thus, time was reckoned in terms of structural distance between groups of people. Structural time was dependent on structural distance - you could not determine the time without understanding the distance in lineage. The movement of structural time is an illusion in that the structure remains fairly fixed and time is no more than the movement of groups through the structure (31).

segmentary lineage id

A kinship system in which the number of groups/categories began in a hierarchy from most to least inclusive (from tribe to distant descendants of tribes). These groups/categories were defined by oppositions between other groups of equal/parallel size. Descendents of close kin will stand together against either more distant kin or against any threat from groups of non-kin. Descendants of brothers are allied against descendents of cousins, cousins against second or more distant cousins. This mechanism allows even very distant kin to unite with kin under threat from outsiders. Essentially, it is a natural form of political alliance based on kinship. However, it also serves important roles in regulating inheritance and property rights. Evans Pritchard observed this system whilst embedded with the Nuer of Southern Sudan in 1940.

participant observation continued

Also you need to spend some time in that society; anthropological cultural immersions last a minimum of twelve months. You need to have informants which is a person who talks to you and helps you. People think and feel in their native tongue and not by a translation. Cultural anth needs to be linguistically based. Significance: participant observation is critical in being welcomed into the community and mitigating an anthropologist's status as an outsider. The best demonstration of this was noted by Clifford Geertz in Deep Play; Notes on the Balinese cockfight. Because Geertz had demonstrated his solidarity with the villagers when he refused to employ his status to avert trouble with the police, Geertz's identity with the Balinese had changed. As demonstrated by the villager's teasing and greeting him on sight (beforehand he was ignored), he had achieved acceptance into a society that was incredibly difficult to penetrate. This enabled him to make a deeper connection and understanding with the society which he would have otherwise been excluded from. Without acceptance within the society, Geertz and other anthropologists could not effectively immerse themselves and develop as wholistic of a perspective. Participant observation enables anthropologists to explore their subjects to a greater, more authentic level by total immersion.

structural time significance

Because of its reliance on a fixed social structure, never including more than six generations, Neur perception of time/history is fairly limited in scope. However, this also has the effect of making the relationship between the beginning of time and the present day unalterable (31-32). For the Neur, time is not a continuum, but a constant structural relationship between the first and last persons in a line of descent. Text Referenced: Evan's Pritchard, EE. "The Neur: Time and Space."

status gambling sig

Cockfights are a performative text for culture in that they reveal the social matrix of the Balinese. Just as prestige is compelling political force in society, prestige was also a driving force of the cockfights. Within the cockfights, it is possible to discern the performance of status concerns by alliances and oppositions. Loyalties were depicted based on where bets were allocated. On a personal level, a man would bet in favor of a cock owned by his own kin or a close friend, independent of what they believed the chances for success were. If the match was between an allied and an unallied kin, the man betting would do so in favor of the ally. The same display of loyalty applied to the village itself when a local cock was matched against an outsider. Deeper rivalries are represented with even larger bets to attack the masculinity of the other party. In this sense, bet levels correspond with the levels of social opposition. While the status is the "currency" of the cockfight, status does not change as a result of a cockfight; nor is income redistributed in a significant way. This status gambling generates a medium to display masculinity, rage, rivalry, pride, chance and other themes of daily life in a tangible way. It was the fuel for cockfighting, which was the realization of underlying social tensions not apparent in the daily conduct of the Balinese. Only through the status gambling over the cockfights do the social tensions and imaginative violence manifest themselves in true form.

webs of significance sig

Culture is an inherently endless subject. Understanding of culture is not meant to arrive at some fixed endpoint, but to continue in its progression interminably. Webs of significance and the maps of those webs are meant to continuously expand. Man's deepest questions of its own nature and not meant to be "answered," but rather an exploration and record of what answers have been provided. Page 317 - center two paragraphs Text Referenced: Geertz, "Thick Description"

segmentary lineage sig.

During Evans-Pritchard's tenure with the Neur, he sought to find how the Neur remained cohesive with no apparent political system. Segmentary lineage revealed to Evans-Pritchard that the kinship system and the political system of the Neur was one in the same. It was the fundamental principle for organizing the Neur society according to the of dynamic alliances and opposition changing based on context. This revelation of political organization in African societies made subsequent African anthropological studies focus on kinship.

webs of significance id

Introduced by Geertz. The "webs" which man spins for himself demonstrate culture. The study of this culture is not meant to be scientific, but an interpretive search for meaning. Culture is a public act of personal expression through various predesignated signs and symbols acted out in a certain context. The interpretation of personal actions and their meaning is culture. Meaningful structures are uncovered through thick descriptions, composed of observations/facts, commentary, interpretations, and re-examinations of these facts, commentaries, and interpretations. Raw observations (thin descriptions) cannot suffice for interpreting a culture. Geertz and Weber both felt dissatisfied with the scientific approaches to culture, which often lead to non-inclusive definitions which required numerous others to form a complete perspective. "Culture is located in the minds and hearts of man." - Ward Goodenough Both culture and meaning are considered public contexts, not a power to which social events, behaviors, institutions or processes can be causally attributed. Interpretations of culture are not products of the observed culture, but rather the lense of the observer (316). In Geertz's viewpoint, absolute interpretations of culture are a sham and have only discredited cultural analysis; instead, cultural analysis is a series of guessing meanings, assessing those guesses, and drawing meaning. Cultural analysis is not like mapping out a fixed/finite amount of meaning. • anthropologist confronts themes of culture (power, faith, oppression, authority, violence, etc.) and reduces them to simplest (interpretative) terms • However, cultural analysis is meant to be incomplete.

liminal personae id

Is when a person cannot necessarily be placed in a certain category. A liminal period for example is when a person is in a transitional phase of their life between childhood and adulthood. The idea of liminality was created by Arnold van Gennep and later taken up by Victor Turner. According Rites de Passage: • preliminal rites (or rites of separation): This stage involves a metaphorical "death", as the initiate is forced to leave something behind by breaking with previous practices and routines. • liminal rites (or transition rites): This involves "the creation of a tabula rasa, through the removal of previously taken-for-granted forms and limits". Two characteristics are essential to these rites. First, the rite "must follow a strictly prescribed sequence, where everybody knows what to do and how". Second, everything must be done "under the authority of a master of ceremonies". The destructive nature of this rite allows for considerable changes to be made to the identity of the initiand. This middle stage (when the transition takes place) "implies an actual passing through the threshold that marks the boundary between two phases, and the term 'liminality' was introduced in order to characterize this passage." • postliminal rites (or rites of incorporation): During this stage, the initiand is re-incorporated into society with a new identity, as a "new" being. Three phases of rites of passage: 1) Separation 2) Margin/liminality 3)Aggregation During periods of liminality, people are left without titles, identity, and structure and essentially become invisible or insignificant because of society's temporary inability to categorize an individual within an existing structure. In these interstructural situations, the individual cannot remain in the liminal status for long without risking developmental issues. According to Mary Douglass, prolonged liminality risks an individual becoming a liability, or "pollution", to the society.

rationality sig

Significance: Evans Pritchard's work with the Azande and witchcraft launched a renewed debate on the nature of rationality to challenge European scholars' strict reliance on science as the ultimate measurement of rationality. Evans-Pritchards cast doubt on scientists assumption that science alone is "rational" by revealing that an understanding of the cultural premises and social contexts of a people's thoughts and beliefs on the supernatural could reveal a rational explanation. Text Referenced: Evans-Pritchard, The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events. Cargo Cults: • Melanesia, New Guinea • Movement of people believing that by destroying their valuables, it would be replaced by higher-valued goods from industrialized societies Nongawuse - member of Xhosa groups in South Africa in 1856 • Self-proclaimed prophet who urged her people to destroy their cattle, promising that the herd would be replaced with new, better cattle herds • 200K+ cattle were slaughtered, decimating the wealth of the Xhosa. • The offering's "harvest" came in the form of European colonial expansion which thrived after the Xhosa's decline in power and ability to resist colonization. Azande - witchcraft • Witchcraft was the explanation in the Azande's society that science was to Western industrialized states. • The Azande lacked a system of science to develop theoretical/doctrinal understandings

deep play significance

Significance: The account of Balinese cockfighting was an example of what Geertz believed was a performance text which served to convey culture. In Durkheimian terms, this was an expression of the various institutions at work in Balinese society. Geertz concluded that rituals like cockfights were cultural "texts" which could be read from and interpreted by anthropologists. In addition, the cockfights represented a ritual based on rationality that contradicted utilitarian calculations. In deep play cockfights, the marginal disutility of loss was so great that it represented putting one's public self to scrutiny. To a utilitarian, this would increase the irrationality of it all; meanwhile, Balinese perceive it as an increase in the meaningfulness/significance which outweighs the economic costs. Text Referenced: Geertz, "Notes from a Balinese Cockfight"

status gambling id

Status gambling is used as a refuge from the ordinary mundane lifestyle of everyday life. Fight Club was the movie used by Professor Grinker as an example of this type of thinking. Analyzed by Bentham... Bentham said that it was irrational, but that people were made to be engaged in this type of irrational behavior. Geertz and the Balinese Cock Fight: Prior to Geertz, materialists saw culture as learned repertory of thoughts and actions exhibited by members of their social group. Geertz: man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun. Culture consists of socially established structures of meaning. Culture is an ensemble of texts. Men bet on cocks fighting as a relief from everyday life and also as a showing of societal status. There is always rationality behind the way that a society works: For example in northern India there are societies where polyandry is common practice. This is popular for economic reasons since land is relatively scarce, it is also a way in which fights between brothers can be eliminated since the woman normally marries a man and all of his brothers. Verstehen (understanding) is a term dubbed by Max Weber Status gambling was the result of "deep play" cockfighting as witnessed by Clifford Geertz in "Notes on a Balinese Cockfight." In contrast to status gambling was the "money gambling" games of the lower-level, less risky cockfights which tended to attract materialists and addicts. In Balinese society, a "true cockfighter" was a reference to those members of the community who were most politically active and influential. These cockfights were not conducted for the sake of money, but rather for the results of the money which was a projection of the society's social matrix.

collective consciousness significance

The concept has been used to form an understanding of how autonomous individuals develop identification with larger groups and structures and to discern how common traits among individuals influence the cohesion of those structures. Through social consciousness, Durkheim attempted to demonstrate that the individual, even in liberal democracies, was never truly free. Every member of the society contributed to the spreading and preservation of the mechanisms that served to maintain collective consciousness. Even beliefs and ideas which we may identify as our own are, in reality, the product of environments. Durkheim's work played a crucial foundational role in the formation of both the French structuralist (universal structures of culture) and the English structural functionalist (understanding how functions of structures work together to make a society whole and rational) schools of anthropology. Everything has a reason - in totemic societies the religion surround totem poles unites the clan mechanical solidarity through mutual likeness Text Referenced: Durkheim, "What is Social Fact"

binary opposition significance

The concept of binary opposition creates clear, distinctive social divisions between groups of people which play a key role in identity. However, these distinctions also tend to be the source of prejudice, discrimination, and ethnocentrism out of fear of the opposite group. Claude Levi-Strauss furthered the work of Roman Jakobson in applying the concept of binary opposition from structural linguistics (in which Jakobson explained language as a combination of pairs of opposites) to anthropological structuralism. Levi-Strauss came to the conclusion that patterns in cultural systems are products of the universal structure of the human mind in pairing opposites. By studying the binary opposites of a society, Levi-Strauss sought to expose the structured mind of a given society.

liminal personae sig

The liminal persona is a complex mixture of classifications. In one sense, the liminal personae is no longer classified, while at the same time, not yet classified. While neophytes are considered neither living nor dead, they are both living and dead. Text referenced: Turner, "Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage." ←- Rites de Passage was written by Arnold van Gennep.

tonga identification

These were possessions handed down to children that remained tied to the mother's side (maternal family) among the peoples of Samoa and Polynesia (in particular the Maori). Tonga were exchanged for the paternal family, yet they remained fixed (in spirit) to the maternal lineage through the child. The child serves as the lifelong means through which parents may obtain oloa (masculine/foreign goods) from the adopted family. It is through the child that the families are able to bond together in a gift giving/sharing relationship. Oloa designate objects, mostly tools, belonging specifically to the husband. Marcel Mauss 1872-1950. How do groups stay together and achieve solidarity? Reciprocity. Tonga part of a larger pattern of obligation, relationship building and debt which structure all cultures in some way. Like Onka and the gift pig.

tonga significance

Tonga designate the paraphernalia (personal property of a married woman), especially mats given at marriage, as property fixed to the maternal family of a child. Tonga were considered more valued property fixed to the soil, the clan, the family, or the individual than oloa. These objects carried within them the mana (magical, religious, and spiritual force) of the giver and embodied the obligation to reciprocate. Failure to return this hau (spirit of a gift) was believed to result in serious harm because of the object's magical and religious hold over the recipient. The obligation to reciprocate was to return to others what was, in effect, the effect of the hau of one's taonga. Again, the gift embodies the spirit of the giver and the hau remains tied to the gift. This remains so until the recipient reciprocates their own property (their taonga)/goods, or their labor/trading through festivals, feasts, and services which give something back of equal or greater value. In Maori law, this tie running through things was a legally binding tie between souls. A gift to someone was, in spirit, to make a present of oneself. Accepting this gift is the equivalent of accepting a part of the giver's soul and individuality, and it requires that the recipient reciprocate with part of their own soul. Together, these qualities helped to ensure that gift exchange became a continuing cycle that bound people to one another through things. After receiving and reciprocating gifts, the husband and wife are not any richer. But the tradition brings them honour which is more important even though economically irrational. two important social phenomena - nature of the legal tie that arises through the passing of this gift - general theory of obligation and reciprocity to make a gift to someone is to make a present of some part of oneself. Bonds, alliances, obligations, balancing accounts, social contracts not individuals but collectives that impose gift exchange Text to Reference: Mauss, The Gift (pg. 9-13)

deep play identification

a concept developed by Jeremy Bentham in which the stakes are so high that it is irrational for anyone to participate according to utilitarian principles. From this belief, he concluded that social policy (law) should be established to prevent this from legally taking place. In Clifford Geertz's account, "Notes from a Balinese Cockfight", the Balinese employ cockfighting (an illegal activity) to engage with deep play financially and in terms of prestige. Through deep play, the Balinese would signal their identity (to themselves, affirming the collective consensus that status was of great importance in Balinese society. Through the metaphoric "art" of the cockfights, the Balinese affirm that status relationships are truly matters of life and death within their society. Through excessive betting in scenarios where the disutility of loss is severe, the Balinese men signal their identity and prestige. This identity is self-affirming, and it reveals to all others the individual's public self, especially in regards to kinship and social status. The cockfights serve as a surrogate for rivalries between opposing social groups, in which people never bet against a cock from their own group. For the Balinese, it is a means for expressing social tensions and rivalry without endangering an individual's physical welfare.

collective consciousness identification

beliefs and sentiments held intrinsically common to the average members of a society. This includes the paradigms and cultural lenses framing our intelligence and capacity to perceive/learn things. In addition, collective consciousness can be observed in ways of "acting, thinking, and feeling, external to the individual" (88), including social norms and expectations. This term was coined by Durkheim in his publication of The Division of Labor in 1893. Collective consciousness is the result of all institutions in a society - religion, education, politics, justice & law, morality, etc. - exerting a coercive existence on the individuals of a society without regard to free will. Although it is not always violent, the consequences of defying collective consciousness, such as ridicule or social isolation, are meant to punish and deter future violations.] 1915 durkheim the body of beliefs + sentiments common to members of society. Collective consciousness is exterior to the individual. Is the roots of all our judgements. There are a certain number of essential ideas which dominate all intellectual life. They are the framework of intelligence. Born into social control structure. things we think we are free to do, only to an extent that society permits us. Keeps society coherent. Durkheim obsessed with group thought. Collective consciousness is static, doesn't change over time. it is not historical. Society creates mechanisms to perpetuate itself. Everyone shares social facts because they are collective, they are not collected because everyone shares them.

cultural relativism significance

failure to suspend their own preconceptions and judgments of norms results in failed anthropology. Preconceived beliefs and judgmental attitudes will only prevent an understanding of the culture under study. Without understanding, there would be limited grounds to establish trust, to enter meaningful and engaging dialogue, and to explore a culture beyond what is immediately apparent to one's eyes and one's (limited) personal interpretation of events and culture. Without cultural relativism, society would be fixed in its understanding of human organization and engrossed in its own cultural biases. The result of this failed understanding is apathy and hierarchical ethnocentrism. People prescribing to Darwinism's way of thinking used his model the rate cultures from savage to primitive to western. They also used this model to justify African people as less human and less like them and thus below them. At that time anthropology was tied in with colonialism and used as justification. The shift in thinking from older darwinian ideas to cultural relativism illustrates the transition from West is best a deeper analysis of cultures.

rationality id

is a quality or state of being reasonable. Evans-Pritchard's studies of witchcraft with the Azande aimed not to determine whether something was right/wrong, but whether they made rational sense given the perspective of the believers. His work showed that the Azande created a cultural context which made witchcraft a satisfactory explanation of what would otherwise be unexplained. Because the Azande lacked science, witchcraft offered the best explanation for how/why misfortune happened at a specific time, a specific place, to specific people. In this sense, Evans-Pritchard suggests that the Azande could be just as reasonable as the scientific reasoning of Europeans.

cultural relativism identification

principle/method of study in which individuals analyze different cultures/societies objectively without using the values of one culture to evaluate the worth of another. Although all cultures may differ, they are equal in that it is impossible to compare the developments of one culture against another. An understanding of another group must be the result of analysis and interpretation of their motives and values from the perspective of their society. This understanding results from an individual suspending their own esthetic and moral judgments. Function and meaning of a trait are relative to the the cultural setting and neither is a trait inherently good nor bad. Within that cultural setting, however, certain traits are "right" because they work well within that setting while others are clearly wrong because they clash with other elements internal to that culture. Define: A critique of darwinism's hierarchical structuring of cultures from primitive to advanced. Belief that all cultures are different in their own sense and that they are equal. We should step back and respect + try to understand differences. Franz Boas coined the term and helped redefine fieldwork to be expanded for a long term, learn the language, participant observation involving immersion, and holistic. Durkheim also divided society into primitive and civilized. He never did fieldwork! Cultures are more complex than universal statements about them. structuralism started the change in beliefs. argued againdt savagery and barberism.

Participant observation identification

this is the best form of getting to know the group that you are working with. Participant observation- you live with a community and you participate with the community. A central tenet of modern anthropology. involves immersing yourself in the culture. Do it to limit bias. interlocutors / informants. various sources of information to try to get full picture Striving for Holism and Objectivity Reasons to do it: 1. to limit bias, to be able to gather every bit of information you can get and that some sources of information is different of what you may be able to get, it helps you to intuit what's going on and to understand what may happen or what would make sense in a society, 1. Your objective is to figure out what's meaningful to a group of people/community/society, not what's important to you. 2. Unless you are fully engaged, 24/7, and actively learning the environment,your perspective will be limited and the results distorted. 1. You want to be able to witness things that do not occur on a daily basis (childbirth, responses to emergencies in the middle of the night) 2. Seasonal festivities/activities; how does weather/geography impact the way people interact in their environment Good sociocultural anthropology is a 24 hour thing, since you don't know when things will happen. 2. Figure out what resources are available to you 1. Developing a relationship with informants 2. Finding a particular problem/phenomenon to study (example: why does peace exist among some communities and not among others; why some societies are prosperous and others are impoverished) 3. Becoming acclimated to the environment 1. Developing an intuitive sense of what's true and false 2. Developing an understanding for how things normally work and why they do so; drawing relationships between seemingly unrelated elements in the society and realizing how they constitute/contribute to the whole. 3. Developing language proficiency 1. People speak and convey their feelings through their language, not yours 2. Interpreters may not be able to convey the same understanding and context that you would be able if you are fluent, you'd be unable to respond with follow-up questions and explore opportunities 3. Without fluency, you are limiting the depth to which you can explore that culture and understand what is meaningful to the people 4. Allowing the people you are observing to become comfortable & develop a relationship with you. 1. At first, they will change their behavior because they know they are being observed. 2. Time and adaptation mitigate this censored behavior 3. Your finalized work will reflect how well others have connected with you.