IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
Lessonw01
WHATwISwANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropologywcanwbewbestwdefinedwaswthewstudywofwthewvariouswfacetswofwwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman.wA
nthropologywiswawmultidimensionalwsubjectwinwwhichwvariouswcomponentswarewstudiedwindividuallywandwasw
awwholewtowdevelopwawbetterwunderstandingwofwhumanwexistence.wInwthiswlecturewwewwillwnotwonlywbewdevel
opingwanwunderstandingwofwthewdefinitionwofwanthropology,wwewwillwalsowbewlookingwatwwhatwanwanthropolo
gistwdoes.wInwadditionwtowthiswwewwillwalsowbewlookingwatwthewvariouswbrancheswofwanthropologywwithwawfoc
uswonwculturalwanthropology.
DefinitionwofwAnthropology
AnthropologywiswderivedwfromwthewGreekwwordswanthroposwforwhumanwandwlogoswforwstudy,wsowifwwewtake
witswliteralwmeaningwitwwouldwmeanwthewstudywof whumans.wInwonewsensewthiswiswanwaccuratewdescriptionwtowth
ewextentwthatwitwraiseswawwidewvarietywofwquestionswaboutwthewhumanwexistence.w Howeverwthiswliteralwdefini
tionwisn’twaswaccuratewaswitwshouldwbewsincewawnumberwofwotherwdisciplineswsuchwaswsociology,whistory,wps
ychology,weconomicswandwmanywotherswalsowstudywhumanwbeings.
Whatwsetswanthropologywapartwfromwallwthesewotherwsubjects?wAnthropologywiswthewstudywofwpeople,wtheir
worigins,wtheirwdevelopment,wandwvariations,wwhereverwandwwheneverwtheywhavewbeenwfoundwonwthewfacewof
wthewearth.wOfwallwthewsubjectswthatwdealwwithwthewstudywof whumans,wanthropologywiswbywfarwthewbroadestw
inwitswscope.w Inwshortwanthropologywaimswtowdescribe,winwthewbroadestwsense,wwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman
.
ActivitieswofwanwAnthropologist
Aswwewalreadywknow,wanthropologywiswthewstudywofwwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman.wSowthewstudywofwthewinflue
nceswthatwmakewuswhumanwiswthewfocuswofwanthropologists.wAnthropologistswstudywthewvariouswcomponents
wof wwhatwitswmeanswtowbewhuman.
BrancheswofwAnthropology
A PhysicalwAnthropologyw–
Iswthewstudywofwhumanswfromwawbiologicalwperspective.wEssentiallywthiswinvolveswtwowb
w
roadwareaswofwinvestigation.
a. Humanwpaleontologyw-:wthiswsubwbranchwdealswwithwre-
constructingwthewevolutionarywrecordwofwthewhumanwexistencewandwhowwhumanswevolvedwupwtowt
hewpresentwtimes.
b. Humanwvariationw -
:w Thew secondwareawdealswwithwhow/wwhywthew physicalwtraitsw ofw contemporarywhumanwpopulation
swvarywacrosswthewworld.
B Archeologyw–
wstudywof wliveswofwpeoplewfromwthewpastwbywexaminingwthewmaterialwculturewtheywhavewleftwbehin
d
C AnthropologicalwLinguisticsw–wthewstudywofwhumanwspeechwandwlanguage
D CulturalwAnthropologyw–wthewstudywofwculturalwdifferenceswandwsimilaritieswaroundwthewworld
Nowwthatwwewhavewbrieflywdefinedwthewvariouswbrancheswofwanthropology,wletswuswnowwtakewanwin-
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 1
n
,IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
depthwviewwofwculturalwanthropology.
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 2
n
, IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
Culturalw Anthropology:
Aswwewhavewdiscernedwabove,wculturalwanthropologywconcernswitselfwwithwthewstudywofwculturalwdifferences
was wwellwaswthewsimilaritieswaroundwthewworld.
Onwawdeeperwlevelwthewbranchwofwanthropologywthatwdealswwithwthewstudywofwspecificwcontemporarywcultu
resw(ethnography)wandwthewmorewgeneralwunderlyingwpatternswofwhumanwculturewderivedwthroughwcultural
wcomparisonsw(ethnology)wiswcalledwculturalwanthropology.
Beforewculturalwanthropologistswcanwexaminewculturalwdifferenceswandwsimilaritieswthroughoutwthewworldwth
eywmustwfirstwdescribewthewfeatureswofwspecificwcultureswinwaswmuchwdetailwaswpossible.wThesewdetailedwdescri
ptionsw(ethnographies)warewthewresultwofwextensivewfieldwstudieswinwwhichwthewanthropologistswobserves,wtalkswto
wandwliveswwithwthewpeoplewunderwstudy.wOnwthewotherwhandwethnologywiswthewcomparativewstudywof wconte
mporarywcultures,wwhereverwtheywarewfound.wThewprimarywobjectivewofwethnologywiswtowuncoverwgeneralw
culturalwprincipals/ruleswthatwgovernwhumanwbehavior.
AreaswofwSpecializationwinwCulturalwAnthropology
I UrbanwAnthropologyw–
wstudieswimpactwofwurbanizationwonwruralwsocietieswandwthewdynamicswofwlifewwithinwcities
II Medicalw Anthropologyw –w studiesw biologicalw andw socio-
culturalw factorsw thatw effectw healthw orwprevalencewofwillnessworwdiseasewinwhumanwsocieties
III EducationalwAnthropologyw–
wstudieswprocesseswofwlearningwofwbothwformalweducationwinstitutionswandwinformalwsystems wwhic
hwcanwusewstorywtellingworwexperientialwlearning
IV Economicw Anthropologyw –
w studiesw howw goodsw andw servicesw arew produced,w distributedw andwconsumedwwithinwdifferentw
culturalwcontexts
V Psychologicalw Anthropologyw –
w studiesw relationshipw betweenw culturesw andw thew psychologicalwmakeupwofwindividualswbelongi
ngwtowthem
HolisticwandwIntegrativewApproach
Culturalwanthropologistswconsiderwinfluenceswofwnaturewandwnurture,wacrosswallwlocationswandwacrosswdiffer
entwperiodswofwtime.
Whenwvariouswspecialtieswofwthewdisciplinewarewviewedwtogether,wtheywprovidewawcomprehensivewviewwofw
thewhumanwcondition
CommonwResponseswtowCulturalwDifference:
A Ethnocentrismw–
wawbeliefwthatwone’swownwculturewiswnotwonlywthewmostwdesirablewbutwalsowsuperiorwtowthatwofwothers
.
B Culturalw relativismw –
w looksw at w thew inherentw logicw behindw differentw culturesw andw practicesw inw thewattemptwtowundersta
ndwthem
RelevancewofwCulturalwAnthropology
Culturalwanthropologywenhanceswunderstandingwofwdifferenceswandwpreventswoversimplifiedwgeneralizations.wI
twincreaseswself-
knowledgewaboutwourwownwthinking,wvalueswandwbehaviorwandwhelpswdevelopwcognitivewcomplexitywthrou
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 3
n
, IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
ghwintegrationw(interconnectedness)wandwdifferentiationw(differentwaspectswofwawsingular
entity).wCulturalwanthropologywiswalsowusefulwinwfacilitatingwmeaningfulwinteractionwwithwotherwcultureswa
ndwsub-cultures.
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 4
n
wSOC401
Lessonw01
WHATwISwANTHROPOLOGY?
Anthropologywcanwbewbestwdefinedwaswthewstudywofwthewvariouswfacetswofwwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman.wA
nthropologywiswawmultidimensionalwsubjectwinwwhichwvariouswcomponentswarewstudiedwindividuallywandwasw
awwholewtowdevelopwawbetterwunderstandingwofwhumanwexistence.wInwthiswlecturewwewwillwnotwonlywbewdevel
opingwanwunderstandingwofwthewdefinitionwofwanthropology,wwewwillwalsowbewlookingwatwwhatwanwanthropolo
gistwdoes.wInwadditionwtowthiswwewwillwalsowbewlookingwatwthewvariouswbrancheswofwanthropologywwithwawfoc
uswonwculturalwanthropology.
DefinitionwofwAnthropology
AnthropologywiswderivedwfromwthewGreekwwordswanthroposwforwhumanwandwlogoswforwstudy,wsowifwwewtake
witswliteralwmeaningwitwwouldwmeanwthewstudywof whumans.wInwonewsensewthiswiswanwaccuratewdescriptionwtowth
ewextentwthatwitwraiseswawwidewvarietywofwquestionswaboutwthewhumanwexistence.w Howeverwthiswliteralwdefini
tionwisn’twaswaccuratewaswitwshouldwbewsincewawnumberwofwotherwdisciplineswsuchwaswsociology,whistory,wps
ychology,weconomicswandwmanywotherswalsowstudywhumanwbeings.
Whatwsetswanthropologywapartwfromwallwthesewotherwsubjects?wAnthropologywiswthewstudywofwpeople,wtheir
worigins,wtheirwdevelopment,wandwvariations,wwhereverwandwwheneverwtheywhavewbeenwfoundwonwthewfacewof
wthewearth.wOfwallwthewsubjectswthatwdealwwithwthewstudywof whumans,wanthropologywiswbywfarwthewbroadestw
inwitswscope.w Inwshortwanthropologywaimswtowdescribe,winwthewbroadestwsense,wwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman
.
ActivitieswofwanwAnthropologist
Aswwewalreadywknow,wanthropologywiswthewstudywofwwhatwitwmeanswtowbewhuman.wSowthewstudywofwthewinflue
nceswthatwmakewuswhumanwiswthewfocuswofwanthropologists.wAnthropologistswstudywthewvariouswcomponents
wof wwhatwitswmeanswtowbewhuman.
BrancheswofwAnthropology
A PhysicalwAnthropologyw–
Iswthewstudywofwhumanswfromwawbiologicalwperspective.wEssentiallywthiswinvolveswtwowb
w
roadwareaswofwinvestigation.
a. Humanwpaleontologyw-:wthiswsubwbranchwdealswwithwre-
constructingwthewevolutionarywrecordwofwthewhumanwexistencewandwhowwhumanswevolvedwupwtowt
hewpresentwtimes.
b. Humanwvariationw -
:w Thew secondwareawdealswwithwhow/wwhywthew physicalwtraitsw ofw contemporarywhumanwpopulation
swvarywacrosswthewworld.
B Archeologyw–
wstudywof wliveswofwpeoplewfromwthewpastwbywexaminingwthewmaterialwculturewtheywhavewleftwbehin
d
C AnthropologicalwLinguisticsw–wthewstudywofwhumanwspeechwandwlanguage
D CulturalwAnthropologyw–wthewstudywofwculturalwdifferenceswandwsimilaritieswaroundwthewworld
Nowwthatwwewhavewbrieflywdefinedwthewvariouswbrancheswofwanthropology,wletswuswnowwtakewanwin-
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 1
n
,IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
depthwviewwofwculturalwanthropology.
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 2
n
, IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
Culturalw Anthropology:
Aswwewhavewdiscernedwabove,wculturalwanthropologywconcernswitselfwwithwthewstudywofwculturalwdifferences
was wwellwaswthewsimilaritieswaroundwthewworld.
Onwawdeeperwlevelwthewbranchwofwanthropologywthatwdealswwithwthewstudywofwspecificwcontemporarywcultu
resw(ethnography)wandwthewmorewgeneralwunderlyingwpatternswofwhumanwculturewderivedwthroughwcultural
wcomparisonsw(ethnology)wiswcalledwculturalwanthropology.
Beforewculturalwanthropologistswcanwexaminewculturalwdifferenceswandwsimilaritieswthroughoutwthewworldwth
eywmustwfirstwdescribewthewfeatureswofwspecificwcultureswinwaswmuchwdetailwaswpossible.wThesewdetailedwdescri
ptionsw(ethnographies)warewthewresultwofwextensivewfieldwstudieswinwwhichwthewanthropologistswobserves,wtalkswto
wandwliveswwithwthewpeoplewunderwstudy.wOnwthewotherwhandwethnologywiswthewcomparativewstudywof wconte
mporarywcultures,wwhereverwtheywarewfound.wThewprimarywobjectivewofwethnologywiswtowuncoverwgeneralw
culturalwprincipals/ruleswthatwgovernwhumanwbehavior.
AreaswofwSpecializationwinwCulturalwAnthropology
I UrbanwAnthropologyw–
wstudieswimpactwofwurbanizationwonwruralwsocietieswandwthewdynamicswofwlifewwithinwcities
II Medicalw Anthropologyw –w studiesw biologicalw andw socio-
culturalw factorsw thatw effectw healthw orwprevalencewofwillnessworwdiseasewinwhumanwsocieties
III EducationalwAnthropologyw–
wstudieswprocesseswofwlearningwofwbothwformalweducationwinstitutionswandwinformalwsystems wwhic
hwcanwusewstorywtellingworwexperientialwlearning
IV Economicw Anthropologyw –
w studiesw howw goodsw andw servicesw arew produced,w distributedw andwconsumedwwithinwdifferentw
culturalwcontexts
V Psychologicalw Anthropologyw –
w studiesw relationshipw betweenw culturesw andw thew psychologicalwmakeupwofwindividualswbelongi
ngwtowthem
HolisticwandwIntegrativewApproach
Culturalwanthropologistswconsiderwinfluenceswofwnaturewandwnurture,wacrosswallwlocationswandwacrosswdiffer
entwperiodswofwtime.
Whenwvariouswspecialtieswofwthewdisciplinewarewviewedwtogether,wtheywprovidewawcomprehensivewviewwofw
thewhumanwcondition
CommonwResponseswtowCulturalwDifference:
A Ethnocentrismw–
wawbeliefwthatwone’swownwculturewiswnotwonlywthewmostwdesirablewbutwalsowsuperiorwtowthatwofwothers
.
B Culturalw relativismw –
w looksw at w thew inherentw logicw behindw differentw culturesw andw practicesw inw thewattemptwtowundersta
ndwthem
RelevancewofwCulturalwAnthropology
Culturalwanthropologywenhanceswunderstandingwofwdifferenceswandwpreventswoversimplifiedwgeneralizations.wI
twincreaseswself-
knowledgewaboutwourwownwthinking,wvalueswandwbehaviorwandwhelpswdevelopwcognitivewcomplexitywthrou
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 3
n
, IntroductionwtowCulturalwAnthropologyw– VU
wSOC401
ghwintegrationw(interconnectedness)wandwdifferentiationw(differentwaspectswofwawsingular
entity).wCulturalwanthropologywiswalsowusefulwinwfacilitatingwmeaningfulwinteractionwwithwotherwcultureswa
ndwsub-cultures.
©wCopyrightwVirtualwUniversitywofwPakista 4
n
