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Short essay on the theories of anthropology
Essay on theory anthropology
Short essay on the theories of anthropology
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Hirsch, E. 1995. “Introduction, Landscape: between place and space” in Hirsch, E. (ed.) The Anthropology of Landscape: Perspectives on Place and Space. Oxford : New York: Clarendon Press. Anth411 reading notes and reflections: This chapter explores the idea of landscape in an anthropological construct. Hirsch aims to move away from the western ideals of understanding of landscape, and deconstruct it in an attempt to understand the local interoperation of landscape to prove it is part of a cultural process. Landscape has been used as a “standard framing device” (p1) by those looking from the outside in across anthropological history. Hirsch is looking to explore the landscape through the cultural understandings of the local people. (p1-5) …show more content…
This was an era where sociology was emerging. Hirsch using Sauer’s work argued that human interaction with the natural landscape created a ‘cultural landscape’. Hirsch uses Gow ‘s (1994) chapter on Amazonian Peru to demonstrate how a cultural landscape develops. The Piro people of Peru use rotational crops to feed their people and share their food among the tribe. When they look at the land it represents kinship structures and social ties. The notion of space and place are entwined in meaning by emphasising the reality but also looking to the potentiality of the place thus creating a ‘space’. …show more content…
To counter balance Cartesianism Hirsch puts forward Vico’s argument of ‘sensory topics’ which places imagery of shared identities and interactions at the heart of the landscape. The relationship between the physical and the metaphorical whilst very separate can be united. Only when the physical place or subject oriented (‘indexical’) place can be examined then the metaphorical space, non-subject orientated (‘non-indexical’) can begin to be understood (Gell, 1985). Thus the development of the indexical (e.g. maps) can lead to the understanding of the non-dexical (e.g. images). Mutually related.
In conditions of modernity, place becomes increasingly phantasmagoric: that is to say, locales are thoroughly penetrated by and shaped in terms of social influences quite distant from them” (Heise 128). This process of lifting out of social relations from local contexts of interaction and their reconstructuring across the indefinite spans of time space is defined as disembedding. After a very accurate and clear summary of the events of Through The Arc of the Rainforest, Heise writes, “At first sight, this story sounds like a rather familiar one: a valuable natural resource is discovered in a remote Third-World locale, multinational corporations and media move in, and as a consequence local ecosystems and social communities are laid to waste, (Heise). This is where the ideas of marxism come into play in Heise’s analysis of the novel; as the natural phenomenon of the Matacao accumulates importance to the surrounding community, and eventually the world world, the Matacao, like everything in a capitalist society, becomes a commodity. All of the passion centered around this commodity slowly drives the creators, the main characters of the novel, to separate themselves and slowly become depressed by the end of the novel. The limitations of this idea are found in basis of the argument. The thesis of this argument basically tackles the idea that the imperialist or nationalist have any stake or say in how the world is used. This essay argues that the collective world should own
Henri Lefebvre was a French social theorist and philosopher who had been appropriated into the world of urban studies by a generation of geographers, architects and urban planners. The Production of Space is often cited as Lefebvre’s best-known work despite the English translation not being issued until 1991, 17 years after its first publication in French (1974). In France, Lefebvre is known as a “Marxist philosopher cum rural-urban sociologist” who “brought an accessible Marx to a whole generation of French scholars” (Merrifield 2006: xxxvii). During Lefebvre’s career he penned 67 books; however, to this day the majority have not been translated into English, which explains why The Production of Space is his most influent work in English speaking countries. The book itself takes in a vast array of disciplines and is informed by the “project of a different society, a different mode of production, where social practice would be governed by differe...
This places the reader in recognisable landscape which is brought to life and to some extent made clearer to us by the use of powerful, though by no means overly literary adjectives. Machado is concerned with presenting a picture of the Spanish landscape which is both recognisable and powerful in evoking the simple joys which it represents. Furthermore, Machado relies on what Arthur Terry describes as an `interplay between reality and meditation' in his description of landscape. The existence of reality in the text is created by the use of geographical terms and the use of real names and places such as SOrai and the Duero, while the meditation is found in...
Exploring the dialectic relationship between environments –both built and natural—and the figures that occupy those spaces, “Vernacular Environments, Part 1” brings to light the complexities and temporality of the vernacular. Ranging in works from the 1960s through present day, a 32-minute film of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970) serves as the show’s departure point, illustrating the construction of Smithson’s earthwork as a conditional art relying on time and space for its existence, continually vanishing and resurfacing as the Utah lake’s tide rises and falls.
Prompt: What role does the landscape play in the story? In what ways can it be seen as a character?
In the Gene Cresswell reading for class: “The Genealogy of Place”, Cresswell outlines three levels of approach to the idea of place: Descriptive, Social Constuctionist and Phenomenological.
The Dictionary of Human Geography defines landscape as “a cardinal term of human geography serving as a central object of investigation, organising principle and interpretive lens for several different generations of researchers” (Gregory et al, 2009, pg. 400). The definition has evolved over time with influential geographers, like Cosgrove defining landscape as a “way of seeing” (Cosgrove, 1984, pg. 1). J.T. Mitchell views landscape “not as an object to be seen or a text to be read but as a process by...
How to create an environment suitable for human living when resources are limited is a challenging problem for modern society. My strong interest in photography and art has compelled me to become especially observant toward the relationship between human beings and the environment. I have come to realize that the environment we live in has suffered much damage from pollution and lacks competent planning, making it difficult to find beautiful scenery to photograph or sketch. I began to think that I could make use of my artistic gift, concern about, and interest in the environment by entering the field of landscape design and putting my effort into beautifying our surroundings. Therefore, after graduating from high school, I entered the Department of Landscape Architecture at ABC University.
Place and Placelessness is an adaptation of Edward Relph’s 1973 doctoral dissertation on Geography. Relph was a doctoral student at the University of Toronto in the early 1970’s. His topic of a sense of place was not his initial topic. Initially it concerned the relationship between Canadian national identity and the symbolic landscapes of Canada. But he allegedly became frustrated with the topic because of the lack of philosophical references to a comprehensive definition and understanding of space.
Mitchell, D. and Staeheli, L.A. (2009) ‘international encyclopaedia of human geography, Public space’, pp. 511-516
Throughout his book, he identifies various kinds of spaces each according to the medium it is produced in, and the activity which takes place within. Space therefore, is defined by analyzing its content and context. However, Lefebvre's major focus revolves on the production of social space. Social space according to Lefebvre is: " is not a thing among other things, nor a product among other products: rather, it subsumes things produced, and encompasses their interrelationships in their coexistence and simultaneity-their (relative) order and/or (relative disorder)." (Lefebvre, 73) In his book, Lefebvre argues that there are three types or modes of production which have a dialectical relationship between them; they are absolute, abstract, and differential space. Lefebvre goes on to develop a "spatial triad" in order to explain the social production of space: firstly, spatial practice( perceived space), Second, Representations of space (Conceived space), and third Representational spaces (Lived space). By understanding these three concept and their relationship to space, Lefebvre maintains that we are able to understand "its relation to 'subject'." (40) In relation to power: " the space thus produced also serves as a tool of thought and of action; that in addition to being a means of production it is also a means of control, and hence of domination, of power; yet that, as such, it escapes in part from those who would make use of it." (26) How colonial power impacts urban spaces, and shapes our responses of the new lived spaces is another aim this study focuses on. Examples of hegemonic colonial power is reflected in the segregation of the geographical and urban spaces throughout the narrative in the
Before watching A Man Named Pearl, I had never heard of topiary, which is “the art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes”. When I’d watch individuals perform landscape maintenance, it looked like a mindless, repetitive task like mowing the lawn or pulling a weed. However, I was deeply moved by the love and dedication Pearl Fryar invested in his garden. Also, Fryar proved that one person can make a difference in the world; even the smallest acts of kindness can bring about an evolution of change.
While reading the landscape it is generally more complicated than it may appear. Landscape is something that is open to individual interpretation, meaning that not one person will read and understand the landscape the same way. Trying to figure out what the landscape is, is something that makes reading the landscape difficult. Looking at who is reading the landscape as well as the different aspects of a landscape help to better understand why it can be very difficult to read the landscape. If everyone were to read one landscape, only a few people would understand it in the same way, with this being said landscape is a lot harder to read than it may appear at first.
Dwelling in the landscape is about the rich intimate, ongoing “togetherness” of beings and things which make up textures and which, over time, bind together nature and culture. Textures blur the nature/culture divide and emphasise the material and temporal nature of landscape. In this way, landscape is a never finished process of weaving, “entanglement", of materials and activities.
To an ever-increasing extent, the environment is dominated by structures that constitute the visible cultural landscape of human life, which create a complex pattern