HOW ANTHROPOLOGISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS AND

SOCIOLOGISTS CONDUCT THEIR WORK

HOW ANTHROPOLOGISTS CONDUCT THEIR WORK

1. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION: Live with subjects and gather detailed observations.

2. SERACH FOR FACTS, DON’T RELY ON INTUITION:Anthropologists acknowledge that intuitions are beliefs, not facts.

3. COMPARE CULTURES:Increase our knowledge of what it is to be human by comparing cultural differences.Example 1: Differences in marriage practices in Canada and JapanExample 2:When Cultures Clash-Article

ETHNOGRAPHYDefinition: Ethnography is the in-depth description of a particular culture

An ethnographer: Lives within a culture as an active participant rather than simply an observer, often for a year or more (observing, talking to people, recording thoughts, behaviours, traditions, etc…)learns the language, gains trust of people and participates

in everyday lifeRemains objective and tries not to disturb the cultureHas a ‘teacher’ (an insider) within the community to

explain the meaning of events and help them fit into the community

VIDEO & ETHNOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT

Skills and Methods Used by AnthropologistsParticipation-observation Collection of statistics Field interviews Rigorous compilation of detailed

notes Fieldwork by anthropologists is

know as “ethnography”: the scientific study of human races and cultures

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN ANTHROPOLOGY

NOTE: School of Thought = competing approaches to a discipline. Different interpretations of the discipline.

1. FUNCTIONALISM: To understand a culture it is necessary to investigate the social functions of institutions (established laws, practices, customs)

Functionalists believe that society is a logical institution & that it functions in the best interest of the majority

Critics believe functionalists present societies more stable than they are.

Schools of Thought-Cont…2. STRUCTURALISM: Believes the human

mind functions on the principle of binary opposites (two forces that oppose each other). Example: Night/Day, Good/EvilAnthropologists must seek out and explain cultural rules based on binary opposites

Examples: Shoes outside = good, shoes inside = bad

Yelling in playground = good, yelling in

classroom = bad

Schools of Thought-Cont…3. CULTURAL MATERIALISM: Believes

technological and economic factors are the most important in moulding a society.

Cultural Materialists believe in determinism (the types of technology and economic methods that are adopted always determine the type of society that develops)

BRANCHES OF ANTHROPOLOGY1. PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Focuses on the evolution of human beings

by studying physical remains

2. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY: The study of how culture shapes human

ideas and learned behaviour in different societies.