Anthropology Case Study

1504 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cultural Anthropology Quizlet

STUDY UNIT 1 Question 1: What makes the discipline of anthropology qualitative in nature? Anthropology delves into the complexities of human societies, with a holistic approach to their culture and development. In doing so, the anthropological researcher ethically focuses on all human aspects and favours an approach that is centred on collecting and analysing data which is mostly non-numerical and rich in accumulative detail. Unlike in other scientific disciplines which favour quantitative research methods, anthropological researchers prefer using participant-observation techniques, as well as an emic approach in order to gain insight into the lives of the people being studied. STUDY UNIT 2 Question 2: Identify the three paradigmatic styles …show more content…

The first is informed consent. This implies that prior to conducting any research, the anthropologist must provide the research participants with all the relevant information regarding the study so that they may consent to participating. The second is personal honesty. It is unethical to mislead informants or to attempt to obtain information under false pretences. The third ethical issue is ethical and cultural relativism. Since belief systems and cultural practices are relative, anthropologists often find themselves amidst groups of people who participate in practices that conflict with the anthropologist’s personal ethics. The final major ethical issue that anthropologists must contend with is the researcher’s responsibility to the research subjects. Anthropologists in the field are at the forefront of the pressing issues in their research community. This raises questions about whether or not the anthropologist should assist them financially or otherwise, which could subsequently alter their findings. If, however the researcher does nothing to assist the research group, they might find the informants to be unwilling to

Show More
Related

  • Gender Importance of the Anthropologist of Ethnography

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gender Importance of the Anthropologist of Ethnography What importance may the sex of the anthropologist have on the ethnographic process? There are many factors which can influence the ethnographic process for an anthropologist, and a very important one is his/her sex. This essay will examine the different attitudes towards sex, the problems that face all ethnographers when they embark on fieldwork in a different environment to their own, as well as the problems and benefits which can arise due to the sex of an anthropologist. In order to produce a written work about a certain culture or society (an ethnography, anthropologists must embark on what is known as the ethnographic process". This term refers to all of the various activities and research methods which the anthropologist must undertake if he/she wants to obtain a profound and objective understanding of the culture being studied.

    Read More

  • Cultural Relativism In 'Avatar'

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Not only this, but anthropologists will also employ Ethnography, writing down a description and analysis, based upon the fieldwork. This helps keep a record of what was learned, while also keeping the culture being studied under its own viewpoint. These factors help impact the analysis of a culture, while still being observed under a cultural relativism outlook.

    Read More

  • The Moral and Ethical Dilemmas of Anthropology

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...the anthropological and other social sciences the basis for forming non-biased studies results that can be respectfully referenced and relied upon for their integrity.

    Read More

  • Participant Observation in Anthropology

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    Participant observation is a method of collecting information and data about a culture and is carried out by the researcher immersing themselves in the culture they observing. The researcher becomes known in the community, getting to know and understand the culture in a more intimate and detailed way than would be possible from any other approach. This is done by observing and participating in the community’s daily activities. The method is so effective because the researcher is able to directly approach the people in the community in a natural context as opposed to taking the participant out of their environment. The aim of participant observation is to gain an understanding the subject’s life from their perspective, with the purpose of collecting more detailed information about a community’s habits, opinions, relationships and issues.

    Read More

  • Cultural Anthropology and Ethnographic Fieldwork

    1792 Words  | 4 Pages

    James P. Spradley (1979) described the insider approach to understanding culture as "a quiet revolution" among the social sciences (p. iii). Cultural anthropologists, however, have long emphasized the importance of the ethnographic method, an approach to understanding a different culture through participation, observation, the use of key informants, and interviews. Cultural anthropologists have employed the ethnographic method in an attempt to surmount several formidable cultural questions: How can one understand another's culture? How can culture be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed? What aspects of a culture make it unique and which connect it to other cultures? If ethnographies can provide answers to these difficult questions, then Spradley has correctly identified this method as revolutionary.

    Read More

  • Cultural Anthropology Article Comparison

    3071 Words  | 7 Pages

    Cultural Anthropology is a term that is in everyday lives and topics. When one thinks of anthropology they think of the study of old remnants commonly referred to as archaeology. This, however, is not the only form of anthropology. There are four types of anthropology and they are archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. However, Cultural anthropologists are every where and study people of all walks of life. One can find a topic and find some type of study that an anthropologist has conducted on the matter. The following are five articles that explain how anthropologists are every where.

    Read More

  • The American Museum Of Natural History: Anthropology

    1858 Words  | 4 Pages

    also films that could have been seen for a small price, but if one has the time

    Read More

  • Anthropological Fieldwork

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    Embarking on a journey of anthropological fieldwork will undoubtedly include a plethora of setbacks. At its foundation, fieldwork requires developing rapport with the native people in order to gain access of genuine knowledge pertaining to the specific culture being studied. Subsequently, social communication between the researcher and the native people is a key component to the entire process; yet simultaneously it is a root of the many problems a researcher can encounter while in the field. It is no secret that the cultural background of the researcher can often highly contrast the culture he or she enters during fieldwork. This initial cultural adaptation one must undergo while doing anthropological fieldwork is what many in the realm describe as culture shock.

    Read More

  • Applied Anthropology: Domains of Application

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is applied anthropology and how can it be applied to almost every facet of society? The answer is obvious when we look at what the field of anthropology encompasses. Anthropology, as defined by the American Anthropological Association is, “the study of humans, past and present.” In the United States, anthropologists are educated in one of the four areas, sociocultural anthropology, biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Active within these four subfields is Applied Anthropology, which is the application of the method and theory of an anthropological subfield to the analysis and solution of real world situations and practical problems. Anthropology’s field is the wide is the wide array of human social experience.

    Read More

  • Disadvantages Of Cultural Anthropology

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, ethnographic fieldwork makes cultural anthropology unique as compared to another discipline. It defines cultural anthropology as holism in that is it studies the holistic behaviour of humans and how they interrelate with certain events. The study takes the form of observation by participation and cross-cultural

    Read More

  • How Anthropologists Understand Culture

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. What is Anthropology and how do Anthropologists Understand Culture?   In a broad explanation, anthropology is the study of the human experience. Anthropology studies the human experience on multiple levels.

    Read More

  • Owning Land In The United States

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    In anthropology, the study of the development of human societies and cultures, one must abandon their personal thought process to attempt to understand the culture or society they are studying. It is a feat easier said than done. The thought process someone has affects how they view everything,

    Read More

  • Essay On Cultural Anthropology

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    It analyzes similarities and differences in various cultures and societies. Culture is learned and affects our perception of the world throughout our life. Overtime, a sense of cultural superiority is formed amongst individuals who are constantly exposed to their own culture. Anthropology can help eliminate culturally based biases, also known as ethnocentrism. It is a common practice we all in engage in when evaluating other cultures, however, by practicing anthropology this allows us to learn about other cultures by placing themselves into the cultural environment allows us to learn the traditions and customs by experience. Marjorie Shostak`s study of the !Kung people revealed that they organized themselves differently than Western cultures, which included solving conflicts with discussion, communal behavior, and basic living traditions. Moreover, by interviewing and living in this cultural environment, Shostak was able to empathize with the !Kung people and she also considered that all humans share an emotional life, which is important when studying the history of our human

    Read More

  • Reflection Of Cultural Anthropology

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural anthropology has taught me a lot in such a short time. This class has been very eye opening to me and has made me think more about the different cultures around me and just how important it is to learn about them. One of the things I have learned is how religion is related to culture. Culture is behaviors of a community such as the food they make, the music they listen to, and the rituals they take part in. This can be very similar to religion because a culture is based off of their religious beliefs. Some cultures do not eat pig because it is against their religious beliefs. Some cultures listen to particular songs because it is based off of their religious beliefs. Another thing cultures relate closely to is languages. Without language

    Read More

  • Anthropological Perspective, And Cultural Anthropology: The Study Of Culture

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since humans have come together, there has been culture, and while we continue to live there will continue to be culture. Culture is a thing that we as humans all have in common, but our culture is also what keeps us apart. Anthropology is the study of humans, how we work, what are our rituals, the study of our past. The anthropological perspective is how one must look at culture or at another society to observe it without bias and without judgement. There are four important parts to observing through the anthropological perspective the first being the concept of culture, holistic perspective, comparative perspective, and culture relativism. Through the study of cultural anthropology one, will understand how societies as people are the same and how they are different. The same things that make societies different make them the same. It is also important to understand why and how societies work. The anthological perspective is an important part of viewing cultures.

    Read More

More about Anthropology Case Study

Open Document