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I. Human Diversity A. Anthropology is the study of the human species and its immediate ancestors. B. Anthropology is holistic in that the discipline is concerned with studying the whole of the human condition: past, present and future; biology, society, language, and culture. C. Anthropology offers a unique cross-cultural perspective by constantly comparing the customs of one society with those of others. II. Anthropology A. The four subdisciplines of American Anthropology. 1. Cultural anthropologists study human society and culture. a. Ethnography (fieldwork) provides an account of a particular community, society, or culture. b. Ethnology examines, analyzes, and compares the results of ethnography. 2. Archaeological anthropology reconstructs, describes, and interprets human behavior and cultural patterns through material remains. 3. Biological or physical anthropology is concerned with human biological diversity across time and space. a. Hominid evolution b. Human genetics c. Human biological plasticity d. Primatology 4. Linguistic anthropologists study present languages and make inferences about those of the past. B. American anthropology has two dimensions. 1. Academic or theoretical anthropology 2. Applied anthropology refers to the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve social problems. III. Applying Anthropology A. Applied anthropology refers to the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve social problems. B. Applied anthropologists work for groups that promote, manage, and assess programs aimed at influencing human social conditions. C. Applied anthropologists come from all four subfields of anthropology. 1. Biological anthropologists work in public health, nutrition, genetic counseling, substance abuse, epidemiology, aging, mental illness, and forensics. 2. Applied archaeologists locate, study, and preserve prehistoric and historic sites threatened by development (cultural resource management). 3. Cultural anthropologists work with social workers, businesspeople, advertising professionals, factory workers, medical professionals, school personnel, and economic development experts. 4. Linguistic anthropologists frequently work with schools in districts with a wide range of languages. D. The Role of the Applied Anthropologist 1. The Ivory Tower view contends that anthropologists should avoid practical matters and focus on research, publication, and teaching. 2. The Schizoid view holds that anthropologists should carry out, but not make or criticize, policy. 3. The advocacy view argues that since anthropologists are experts on human problems and social change, they should make policy affecting people. a. Identify locally perceived needs for change. b. Work with those people to design culturally appropriate and socially sensitive change. c. Protect local people from harmful development schemes. E. Professional anthropologists work for a wide variety of employers: tribal and ethnic associations, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), etc. 1. During World War II, anthropologists worked for the U.S. government to study Japanese and German culture "at a distance." 2. Malinowski advocated working with the British Empire to study indigenous land tenure to determine how much land should be left to the natives and how much the empire could seize. IV. Academic and Applied Anthropology A. After World War II, the baby boom fueled the growth of the American educational system and anthropology along with it, starting the era of academic anthropology. B. Applied anthropology began to grow in the 1970s as anthropologists found jobs with international organizations, governments, businesses, hospitals, and schools. C. Theory and Practice 1. Like most other disciplines, anthropology boomed immediately after the World War II, and again in the sixties as the strengths of the discipline fit with prevailing social interests, which began a turn toward practical applications. 2. Anthropology’s ethnographic method, holism, and systemic perspective make it uniquely valuable in application to social problems. 3. Applied anthropologists are more likely to focus on a local, grassroots perspective in approaching a problem than to consult with officials and experts. V. Anthropology and Education A. In particular, anthropology has helped facilitate the accommodation of cultural differences in classroom settings. B. Examples include: English as a second language taught to Spanish-speaking students; different, culturally based reactions to various pedagogical techniques, the application of linguistic relativism in the classroom to BEV. VI. Urban Anthropology A. Human populations are becoming increasingly urban. B. Urban anthropology is the cross-cultural and ethnographic study of global urbanization and life in cities. C. Urban versus Rural 1. Robert Redfield was an early student of the differences between the rural and urban contexts. 2. Various instances of urban social forms are given as examples, African urban (Kampala, Uganda) social networks in particular. VII. Medical Anthropology A. Medical anthropology is both academic (theoretical) and applied (practical). 1. Medical anthropology is the study of disease and illness in their sociocultural context. 2. Disease is a scientifically defined ailment. 3. Illness is an ailment as experienced and perceived by the sufferer. B. The spread of certain diseases, like malaria and schistosomiasis, have been associated with population growth and economic development. C. There are three basic theories about the causes of illnesses. 1. Personalistic disease theories blame illness on agents such as sorcerers, witches, ghosts, or ancestral spirits. 2. Naturalistic disease theories explain illness in impersonal terms (e.g. Western biomedicine). 3. Emotionalistic disease theories assume emotional experiences cause illness (e.g., susto among Latino populations). D. Health-care Systems 1. All societies have health-care systems. 2. Health-care systems consist of beliefs, customs, specialists, and techniques aimed at ensuring health and preventing, diagnosing, and treating illness. E. Health-care Specialists 1. All cultures have health-care specialists (e.g. curers, shaman, doctors). 2. Health-care specialists emerge through a culturally defined process of selection and training. F. Lessons from Non-Western Medicine 1. Non-western systems of medicine are often more successful at treating mental illness than Western medicine. 2. Non-western systems of medicine often explain mental illness by causes that are easier to identify and combat. 3. Non-western systems of medicine diagnose and treat the mentally ill in cohesive groups with full support of their kin. G. Western Medicine 1. Despite its advances, Western medicine is not without its problems. a. Over-prescription of drugs and tranquilizers b. Unnecessary surgery c. Impersonality and inequality of the patient-physician relationship d. Overuse of antibiotics 2. Biomedicine surpasses non-Western medicine in many ways. a. Thousands of effective drugs b. Preventive health care c. Surgery H. Medical Development 1. Like economic development, medical development must fit into local systems of heath care. 2. Medical anthropologists can serve as cultural interpreters between local systems and Western medicine. VIII. Anthropology and Business A. Through studying institutions such as businesses, anthropologists have identified the process of microenculturation, through which people in finite systems learn their specific roles. B. More recently, cross-cultural study of business practices has become more important (e.g., the study of Japanese business techniques). IX. Careers and Anthropology A. Because of its breadth, a degree in anthropology may provide a flexible basis for many different careers (with appropriate planning). B. Other fields, such as business, have begun to recognize the worth of such anthropological concepts as microcultures. C. Anthropologists work professionally as consultants to indigenous groups at risk from external systems. D. Other employers of anthropologists include: USAID, USDA, the World Bank, private voluntary organizations,etc. X. Box: Hot Asset in Corporate: Anthropology Degrees A. This article discusses how people with anthropology degrees are finding employment in business due to the importance of observing how consumers choose and use products. B. Companies are turning more frequently to anthropologists and ethnographers to gather data about the preferences of consumers. |