Chapter 3 Doing Cultural Anthropology

What are the aims of ethnography and fieldwork? How does an anthropologist do an ethnographic

field study? How has ethnography changed in the past century? What are some of the theories in anthropology and

what do they search for? What are the special opportunities and problems in

doing anthropology in one’s own society? What are some of the ethical problems raised by

ethnography?

Fieldwork

Firsthand exploration of a society and culture. Develops a holistic perspective about a

culture. Reveals the difference between what people

say they do and what they do.

Fieldwork Techniques

Participant observation Photography and filming Recording life histories Using historical archives

Common Issues in Fieldwork

Fieldwork is done by colleting data & testing a hypothesis Community acceptance Appropriate data-gathering techniques. Understand local political structure Choosing knowledgeable informants. Coping with culture shock. Learning a new language. Reevaluate findings in the light of

new evidence.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Participant-observation

Advantages Disadvantages

Enhances rapport

Enables fieldworkers to distinguish actual and expected behavior.

Permits observation of nonverbal behavior.

Small sample size.

Difficult to obtain standardized comparable data.

Problems of recording.

Obtrusive effect on subject matter

Ethnography in History Anthropology began in the late 19th Century as

a comparative science. Ethnographers concentrated on small-scale,

technologically simpler societies. Cultures were place on evolutionary scales of

cultural development.

Early 20th century

Boas- insisted that fieldwork was essential for holistic study.

Malinowski- “main goal for an ethnographer was to obtain the native’s point of view.” (Emic perspective)

Feminist Anthropology Questions gender bias in ethnography and

cultural theory. Men, who had limited access to women’s

lives, performed much of the fieldwork. Ignoring women’s perspectives perpetuates

the oppression of women.

Anthropological Theory

Attempt to answer questions such as: Why do people behave as they do? How do we account for human diversity?

Evolutionism in Brief

All cultures pass through the same developmental stages in the same order.

Evolution is unidirectional and leads to higher levels of culture.

A deductive approach is used to apply general theories to specific cases.

Ethnocentric because evolutionists put their own societies at the top.

Morgan’s Evolutionary Stages1. Lower savagery: From the earliest forms of humanity

subsisting on fruits and nuts.2. Middle savagery: Began with the discovery of fishing

technology and the use of fire.3. Upper savagery: Began with the invention of the bow and

arrow.4. Lower barbarism: Began with the art of pottery making.

5. Middle barbarism: Began with domestication of plants and animals in the Old World and irrigation cultivation in the New World.

6. Upper barbarism: Began with the smelting of iron and use of iron tools.

7. Civilization: Began with the invention of the phonetic alphabet and writing.

Diffusionism in Brief

Societies change as a result of cultural borrowing from one another.

A deductive approach is used by applying general theories to explain specific cases.

Overemphasized the essentially valid idea of diffusion.

mother

American Historical Particularism in Brief Franz Boas- changing from a deductive to

an inductive approach by collecting detailed ethnographic information. Ethnographic facts must precede development of

cultural theories (induction). Any culture is partially composed of traits

diffused from other cultures. Direct fieldwork is essential. Each culture is, to some degree, unique. Ethnographers should try to get the view of those

being studied, not their own view.

Functionalism in Brief

Through fieldwork, anthropologists can understand how cultures work for the individual and the society.

Society is like a biological organism with many interconnected parts.

Empirical fieldwork is essential. The structure of any society contains indispensable

functions without which the society could not continue. Radcliffe-Brown- structural functionalist Malinowski’s psychological functionalism- 7 universal needs:

Nutrition, reproduction, bodily comfort, safety, relaxation, movement, and growth.

Psychological Anthropology in Brief /Culture & Personality

Anthropologists need to explore the relationships between psychological and cultural variables.

Personality- result of cultural learning. Universal temperaments associated

with males and females do not exist. Margaret Mead (1901-1978) Ruth Benedict (1887-1948)

Neoevolutionism in Brief

Julian Stewart’s Cultural Ecology (1902-1972)

Cultures evolution= capacity to harness energy.

Shaped by environmental conditions. Techno-environmental conditions. Individual factors are de-emphasized.

C=E x T culture= energy X technology

Leslie White (1900-1975)

Cultural Materialism in Brief Material conditions determine human thoughts and behavior. Theorists assume the viewpoint of the anthropologist, not the

native informant. (Etic perspective) Anthropology is seen as capable of generating causal

explanations. Deemphasizes the role of ideas and values in determining the

conditions of

social life.

Postmodernism in Brief Switch from cultural generalization and laws-

to description, interpretation, &search for meaning. Ethnographies- written from several voices Involves a return to cultural relativism.

Cross-Cultural Comparison

Use statistics to test generalizations about culture and human behavior.

Human Relations Area File (HRAF)

Native Anthropology

Study of one’s own society. Maintain the social distance of the outsider.

“Going Native” More common as native cultures disappear.

Ethical Fieldwork

Anthropologists must:Obtain consent of the people to be

studied.Protect them from risk.Respect their privacy and

dignity.