Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Anthropology
socious…. to associates
Anthropology
the study of humankind- of ancient and modern
people and their ways of living (Harris and Johnson,
2001).
analysis of humans and their society, descriptively,
culturally, historically, and physically.
as the study of human nature, human society, and
the human past
science of the origin and evolution of human beings,
of the formation of human races, and of the normal
variations in the physical structures of human beings
. F. Engels defined anthropology as the
science covering “... the transition from
the morphology and physiology of
humanity and of races of humanity to
history” (Dialektika prirody,1969, p.
158).
Human morphology
is subdivided into the disciplines:
structures
functions (outcomes of an action)
patterns of behavior
causes
consequences
speculation scientific inquiry
mental behavioral
thoughts and feelings observable actions
that exist at various levels
of consciousness
Perspectives for Viewing
Cultural Phenomena
Emics- culture is described from the
participants’ viewpoints, the observer uses
concepts and distinctions that are meaningful
and appropriate to the participants
Etics- culture is described from the observer’s
perspectives, the observer uses concepts and
distinctions that are meaningful and
appropriate to the observer
Required reading…
moral/immoral, good/bad or of
the worth of objects, events,
actions or conditions
May be held by one or many
Beliefs
Ideas about the surrounding
environment
provides explanation and interpreting
the world
Concern on what is and what is not
Language
An intricate set of symbols made by
humans
Influences man’s ways of feelings,
perceiving , and behaving
Only humans posses culture
Animals do not have culture and their
learning cannot be accumulated to be
passed from generation to generation
as “social heritage”
WHY?
CULTURE IS ESSENTIALLY SYMBOLIC
CULTURAL UNIVERSALS…characteristics
common to all cultures.
Ethnoscentrism
XENOCENTRISM…rejections of some
elements of one’s culture
Cultural Relativism
Holds that there can be no universal
standard to evaluate cultures or norms
as good or bad and that each culture
must be seen in its own terms (Broom. 1990)
Subculture
Is a distinctive way of life that has
much in common with the dominant
culture but is readily recognized as
standing apart from it.
Members of a subculture share certain
cultural features that are significantly
different from those of the rest of
society.(Harris and Johnson, 2001)
Cultural Change
Diffusion- a change in culture brought
about by contact with other cultures.
(different ideas, values, and practices
maybe accepted as alternative
solutions).
Innovation- an introduction of new
values or practices
Cultural Lag
is the delay between an innovation and
cultural adaptation (Ogburn,1950)