AgendaBingo -- IntroductionsCourse OverviewBreakThe Nature and Scope of AnthropologyCore Concepts

holismethnology and ethnographyEthnocentrism vs cultural relativismEmic versus emic

Value of AnthropologyBreakThe Concept of CultureFieldwork

WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY?

© Boise State u. Dept. of anthropology

From the Greek

`anthropo' human beings',`logos' originally meaning word, reason, speech or account and later doctrine, theory or science. Literally then, Anthropology is the science of the nature of Human beings.

Oxford English Dictionary

`The science of the nature of man embracing human physiology and psychology and their mutual bearing'.

Websters

`the study of Man, the study of body and mind in their interrelationships'

ANTHROPOLOGY

Physical Archaeology Anthropological Linguistics

Social/ Cultural

• Paleoanthropology

• Primatology

• Human Genetics

• Demography

• Growth & Development

• Osteology (Forensic)

• Prehistoric

• Historical

• Contract

• Historical

• Descriptive

• Sociolinguistics

• ethnolinguistics

• Economic

• Kinship

• Medical

• Psychological

• Urban

• Applied

• Gender

• Political

• Religion

Cultural

Look through the magazines and find three research project that would be of interest to an anthropologist?

What makes social/cultural anthropology different from sociology or psychology, history etc.?

A Science is a systematic or orderly way of thinking about a particular subject matter” R.G. Collingwood

Anthropology Departments around the world 2004

S. Africa 11 Chile 1 Germany 9 Egypt 3 Argentina 6 Greece 3 Kenya 1 Bolivia 2 Hungary 1Namibia 1 Brazil 2 . Ireland 1Nigeria 2 Columbia 1 Italy 2Zimbabwe 1 Mexico 2 Netherlands 3

Panama 1 Norway 2USA 323 Uruguay 1 Poland 3Canada 33 Russia 8

Austria 1 Spain 8Australia 11 Belgium 2 Sweden 4New Zealand 5 Bulgaria 1 Switzerland 6Hong Kong 1 Czech Rep 1 Ukrane 2Japan 1 Denmark 3 UK 26Pakistan 1 Finland 4Israel 1 France 11

N.Am 356 Oceania 16 Asia 4Europe 101 Africa 19 S. Am. 16

What are the aims and purposes of anthropology? What value does it have?

What value does anthropology have?

What is this ad saying?

Hot asset: Anthropology degrees

By Del Jones, USA TODAY 1996

As companies go global and crave leaders for a diverse workforce, a new hot degree is emerging for aspiring executives: anthropology.

Not satisfied with consumer surveys, Hallmark is sending anthropologists into the homes of immigrants, attending holidays and birthday parties to design cards they'll want.

No survey can tell engineers what women really want in a razor, so marketing consultant Hauser Design sends anthropologists into bathrooms to watch them shave their legs.

Companies are starving to know how people use the Internet or why some pickups, even though they are more powerful, are perceived by consumers as less powerful, says Ken Erickson, of the Center for Ethnographic Research.

It takes trained observation, Erickson says. Observation is what anthropologists are trained to do.

Firms seek guidance from anthropology

Elizabeth ChurchThe Globe and MailMonday, July 26, 1999

As a consultant in Palo Alto, Calif. -- the heart of Silicon Valley -- Susan Squire's uses her training in the study of human behaviour and culture to develop new products such as pull-up diapers and yogurt-to-go.

This is the new world of the anthropologist, where the skills of former academics such as Ms. Squire have become a hot commodity in the quest for business innovation.

Anthropologists, with their expertise in painstakingly observing, documenting and analyzing human behaviour, are winning a growing following among companies eager to know what makes their customers, and their workers, tick.

"What anthropology brings is a way of observing, not laboratory observing, but observing in context," explains Ms. Squire, who is also president-elect of the U.S. National Association for the Practice of Anthropology. "If I want to know what kind of office products people need, I don't pull them into a focus group. I go to their office and watch them during the day."

When Motorola Inc. wanted to know how peasants in rural China might use portable technology, it sent in an anthropologist with expertise in the region. When General Mills Inc. of Minneapolis considered introducing a new breakfast cereal, it put Ms. Squire in people's homes. She is currently involved in understanding how people navigate the Internet and helping develop better tools for doing that.

Ms. Canavan, who has a masters degree in anthropology, says the discipline is valuable because it looks at issues in a holistic way. "We don't only look at a situation. We look at what is going on around, as well."

But perhaps the discipline's greatest attraction for business is its ability to unearth truths that even the subjects don't know about. Mr. Underhill, after 20 years of watching video tapes of shoppers, points out that women don't like to go down narrow aisles and that customers will buy more if there are shopping baskets placed throughout the store.

"People don't always do what they say," Ms. Squires says, adding that anthropologists "really get at issues that people in focus groups don't even think to talk about."

What is anthropology’s holistic approach?

What is the difference between emic and etic?

Core ConceptsWhat is the difference between ethnography and ethnology?

Ethnocentrism: The practice of regarding one’s own cultural group as the centre of everything and scaling and relating all others with reference to it.

What’s the difference between ethnocentrism and relativism?

Cultural Relativism: The perspective that beliefs and practices of any society can only be judged by the values and standards prevalent in that society.

• Human Sacrifice

• Infanticide

• Suicide Bombings

• Cannibalism

• Female Circumcision (FGM)

• Gay Marriages

What’s your opinion on each of the following?

• Holistically

• Objectively

• Relativistically

• Comparatively

• Interdisciplinary

• Focus on Ethnography

•Emically

• Methodologically and theoretically diverse.

Anthropological Perspectives

1. Define anthropology

2. What is the four-field approach?

3. What is the difference between anthropology and sociology?

4. What is the difference between ethnology and ethnography?

5. What are five areas of specialization in cultural anthropology

6. What is anthropology’s holistic approach?

7. What is the difference between emic and etic?

8. What is the difference between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?

9. What is the value of anthropology?

Summary