Chapter 7. Anthropology: Understanding Cultures

Anthropology studies humans in all times and places. In many traditions it includes cultural anthropology, biological (physical) anthropology, archaeology and linguistic anthropology [19].

Fieldwork and ethnography. Anthropologists typically live among the people they study (participant observation) to understand a way of life from the inside. Bronisław Malinowski helped establish this method, and Clifford Geertz promoted “thick description,” interpreting the meaning of actions in their cultural context [19][20].

Culture and relativism. Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own. Cultural relativism is the methodological principle of understanding practices in their own context before judging them. It does not mean that all practices are beyond ethical evaluation [19].

Key topics

Kinship and family: descent, marriage and household forms vary widely.

Economic systems: hunting and gathering, pastoralism, farming, industrial and digital economies; gift exchange and markets.

Religion, ritual and myth.

Language and communication.

Political organization: bands, tribes, chiefdoms and states.

Identity: ethnicity, race, gender and nationalism as shaped by history and society.

Applied anthropology helps in public health, development, education, business design and conservation, by understanding local knowledge and needs.

Globalization and culture. Cultures are not isolated. Migration, media, trade and technology produce exchange, hybridity and also tension and cultural loss [19].

Ethics. Anthropologists must obtain informed consent, protect informants and respect local communities and Indigenous rights [19][33].

Review: Define ethnocentrism. (Answer: judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture.)