1

Summaries of Lectures in Cultural Anthropology, Dr.Gundula Fischer

The Four Fields Approach in Anthropology: a Holistic Approach

Anthropology includes four fields:
1. Biological Anthropology
2. Archeology
3. Anthropological Linguistics
4. Cultural Anthropology

Applied anthropology uses knowledge and methods from all four sub
disciplines to solve practical problems.

Basic Methods, Theories and Questions in Social and Cultural

Anthropology
Methods:

Preference for Qualitative Methods

Key Concepts:

Culture

Ethnicity

Theories:

Special Anthropological Theories

Exchange with Sociologists

Topics:

Society as a Whole

Intercultural Comparison

2
Origins of Sociology and Anthropology
Sociology

Anthropology

Evolutionary ideas: study of

Evolutionary ideas: study of

European history

primitive non-Western
people

Search for unknown areas of

Search for unknown areas of

social life in Europe:

social life in Asia, Africa

peasants, workers

etc: ethnic groups,

traditional societies

Study of a particular social

Study of society as a whole,

problem

small-scale societies
(village, island, company
etc.)

Preference for survey

Preference for participant

method

observation

Research in Anthropology: Problems and Positions

Time: Long Term and Short Term Research

Three reasons for a minimum stay of one year in the field:
1. the cycle of the seasons
2. the demands of an unfamiliar setting (language)
3. transport problems and bureaucratic obstacles.

3
Perspective: Emic and Etic Research
Emic Approach (Actor-Oriented)

Etic Approach (Observer-Oriented)

Perspective of the respondents, local

Perspective of the trained anthropologist,

perspective, inside perspective of the

scientific perspective, outside perspective

community studied
Meaning of actions in the community under Analysis, comparison of data obtained in
study

the community under study

How do respondents see and categorize the

How does the anthropologist categorize the

world? What are their rules for behaviour

data according to his scientific perspective?

and thought? What has meaning for them?

How do they imagine and explain things?

Interaction: Culture Shock and the Personality of the Researcher

Culture shock refers to the whole set of feelings about being in an alien
setting, and the ensuing reactions. It is a chilly, creepy feeling of alienation, of
being without some of the most ordinary, trivial (and therefore basic) cues of
ones culture of origin (Kottak 1994: 4).

What is culture? (definition)

Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts,
morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as
member of society (Tyler 1871, quoted in Kottak 1994: 39).

History of the term culture

Culture developed from a singular word to a plural word (cultures

instead of culture)

Culture became an interchangeable term (synonymous with society,

people)

Culture is abused for ethnocentric or relativistic positions

(ethnocentrism, cultural relativism)

4
Features of culture

Culture is all-encompassing

Culture is general and specific

Culture is learned

Culture is symbolic

Culture seized nature

Culture is shared

Culture is patterned

Culture is used creatively

What is ethnicity?
Ethnicity became popular in the 1970s.

Substituted the older term tribe

Multi-ethnicity was discovered as research topic

Ethnicity is a process of group identification.

What common elements does the group identify with?

What is the aim of this process of ethnic identification?

Three views on ethnicity

Primordialist view

Instrumentalist view

Constructivist view

Ethnicity

Primordialist view

Instrumentalist view Constructivist view

Elements that hold

Biological, genetic,

Cultural forms,

Ascription, choice of

the group together

geographical factors

values and practices

certain cultural

(unity of blood, soil)

features (ignoring
others)

Aim of group

Survival,

Basis for the creation Establishment,

formation

transmission of

of political identity

maintenance of

family genes

in the competition

borders between

over power and

groups; structures

resources

group interaction

Criticisms

Possible basis for

Ethnicity is just seen

nationalism, racism,

as a means to an end

social exclusion
Anthropological Evolutionism

Working Definition of Evolutionism

In the early years of anthropology, the prevailing view was that culture
generally develops in a uniform and progressive manner. It was thought that
most societies pass through the same series of stages, to arrive ultimately at a
common end. The sources of culture change were generally assumed to be
embedded within the culture from the beginning, and therefore the ultimate
course of development was thought to be internally determined (Ember/Ember
1981: 40).

What does this working definition tell us?

1. Culture develops in a uniform and progressive manner.
2. Most societies pass through the same stages to arrive at a common end.
3. The sources of change are embedded within the culture. The course of
development is internally determined.

6
Early Evolutionism (Edward B. Tyler, Henry Lewis Morgan)
Tylers three stages of evolution:
1. Savagery
2. Barbarism
3. Civilization

Criticisms:

Evolutionism cannot account for cultural variation.

Evolutionism cannot explain the disappearance or extinction of certain

societies.

Evolutionism cannot explain the omission of certain stages.

Evolutionism is based on insufficient research.

Later evolutionism (Leslie White, Julian Steward, Marshall Sahlins and Elman
Service)
Two kinds of evolution (Sahlins/Service):
1. Specific evolution: This is the evolution of a particular society in a
particular environment. Environmental and historical influences are
considered. Every society has its own stages of development which are
examined.
2. General evolution: This is the general development all human societies
pass through. It is assumed that there are universal laws of evolution.
Some societies develop to be more complex while others remain at a
simple stage.

Diffusionism

The basic question: cultural similarities independent invention or diffusion?

Independent invention: All human beings are capable of inventing the

same aspects of social life.

Diffusion: Every cultural feature is invented only once.

7
British diffusionism (G. Elliot Smith, William J. Perry, W.H.R. Rivers):
1. Egypt as origin of all inventions
2. Uninventive attitude of people
3. Application of biological concepts to culture

German-Austrian diffusionism (Friedrich Ratzel, Fritz Graebner, Wilhelm

Schmidt):
1. Uninventive attitude of people
2. Culture complexes and culture circles

Anthropology: Functionalism
Functionalism views society as a complex system whose various parts work
together to produce stability and solidarity (Giddens 2006: 20).

Anthropological Functionalism: Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942)

Fieldwork

Functionalism with focus on individual needs and cultural responses

Seven Basic Needs and their Cultural Responses (according to Malinowski)

Basic Needs = Individual Needs

Secondary/Derived Needs =
Collective Cultural Responses

Nutrition

Food Production

Reproduction

Marriage and Family

Bodily Comforts

Domicile and Dress

Safety

Protection and Defense

Movement

Sets of Activities

Growth

Training and Apprenticeship

Health

Hygiene

Criticisms
Functionalism neglects

Social change

Cultural variation

Dysfunctional elements

8
Psychological Approaches

Basic Questions in Psychological Anthropology

What is the relationship between:

Culture

Personality structure

Child-rearing practices?

Basic Assumptions and Criticisms

Assumptions:
1. Child-rearing practices determine our adult personality
2. In every society there is one set of typical personality characteristics
3. The basic personality shapes the cultural institutions of a society
4. Anthropologists may assess the basic personality without ethnocentric
bias

Child-rearing practices

Basic personality

Cultural institutions

Criticisms:

Ethnocentric bias

Cultural variation

Example for studies in psychological anthropology

Margaret Mead: Western conceptions of masculine and feminine

behavior are reversed in New Guinea. Masculinity and femininity are
culturally determined.

9
Marxist Anthropology and Cultural Materialism

Karl Marx and his perspective on society

Starting point: Society in turmoil in 18th and 19th century Europe, Industrial
Revolution and political revolutions
Marx evolutionist explanation: all societies pass through the same stages from
communal ownership in the beginning to slavery, feudalism, capitalism and
finally to socialism/communism in the end. Conflict is the motor of history.
Two levels of society: 1. infrastructure = basis: technology of production and
raw materials + social relations = mode of production. 2. superstructure: ideas,
values, family life, religion, social and political processes. All changes start at
the level of the infrastructure.

Marvin Harris and his Cultural Materialism

Three levels of society: 1. infrastructure: technology, use of energy,
environmental factors, 2. structure: household and family organization,
political system, 3. superstructure: ideas, values, science, arts, religion. All
changes start at the level of the infrastructure.

Criticisms

Economic determinism: Society is not completely determined by the

economy

History has proved Marx evolutionism wrong: Communism and

socialism on the decline

Symbolic Anthropology

Postmodernist Ideas in Anthropology

There is no grand theory which is valid for all human societies.

There is no objective perspective on cultures.

The research process is a dialogue the ethnographer conducts with the

people he or she studies.

10
Symbolic Anthropology
How do symbolic anthropologists view culture?
Symbolic anthropologists view culture as a relatively independent entity. It is a
system of meanings which the anthropologist has to decode through the
interpretation of symbols.
How can anthropologists describe culture?
As culture is a system of meanings it can be seen as a text. Research is a
process of reading, interpreting and writing culture.

Criticisms

Neglect of interconnections between cultures and a diversity of

meanings.

Overemphasis on subjectivity at the expense of a science-based

approach.

Material conditions of society are neglected.

Economic Anthropology

What is the subject of economic anthropology?

Economics

Economic Anthropology

Has its roots in the study of Western

Focuses mainly on non-Western, non-

industrialized economies.

industrialized economies.

Assumes that certain principles observed in Emphasizes that non-industrialized

the West (i.e. profit maximization) are

economies can be based on different

universal.

principles (i.e. reciprocity, redistribution).

11
Allocation of resources
Type of Society
Hunters and Gatherers

Allocation of Resources

No individual or collective land ownership.

Little control of resources as animal, water and

plant resources are unpredictable.

Pastoralists

Corporate control of pastures.

Arrangements with other pastoralists and

horticulturalists.

Horticulturalists

Family ownership of animals.

Communal control of land, but individual

allocation of plots for temporary use (shifting
cultivation).

Intensive Agriculturalists

Private ownership of land and resources

(Industrialized Societies)

Production

Non-industrialized societies

Division of labor

Organization of labor

Age and sex

Family, kinship
Temporary, informal work
groups

Industrialized societies

Age and sex

Work contract

Occupational specializations Formally organized groups,

organizations

12
Distribution
Type

Explanation

Details

Reciprocity

Exchange of goods and

services without money

Redistribution

Monetary Exchange

Generalized
reciprocity

(gift-giving, work

Balanced reciprocity

assistance, barter etc.)

Negative reciprocity

Accumulation of goods for

Only possible in societies

the purpose of distribution

with political hierarchies

Exchange of goods and

Based on an overproduction

services for money (a

of food

standardized value)

Anthropology of Kinship
Why is the study of kinship so crucial in anthropology?
Kinship is the most important principle of social organization in small-scale
societies.

Patterns of residence (Ember/Ember 1981)

Residence

Explanation

Pattern
Patrilocal

Percent of all

Linked to

societies in 1965
Couple lives with husbands

67 %

Internal warfare

15 %

External warfare

7%

Depopulation,

family.
Matrilocal

Couple lives with wifes

family.

Bilocal

Couple chooses to live with

husbands or wifes family.

environmental
hardship

Avunculocal

Couple lives with husbands

4%

mothers brother.

Internal warfare,
strong
matrilineality

Neolocal

Couple lives separately from

5%

kin.

Wage labor and

commercial
economy

(Percentages quoted from Ember/Ember 1981:192).

13

Rules of descent

Unilineal descent (patrilineality, matrilineality)

Bilateral kinship

Ambilineal descent

Functions of Unilineal Descent

Explanation

Marriage Regulation

The incest taboo is extended to the whole

descent group.

Economic Functions

Members of the descent group are expected

to support each other in economic activities
and to share resources.

Political Functions

Descent groups organize warfare.

Religious Functions

Descent groups may have their own

religions or places of worship.

Political Anthropology

Political anthropology: what does it deal with?

Political refers to activities, beliefs and attitudes related to power,

authority, policy-making, legal systems and modes of conflict
resolution.

Power is the ability to exercise ones will over others.

Authority is the socially approved use of power.

Different forms of political organization

Elman Services (1962) classification of societies according to their level of
political integration:

Bands

Tribes

Chiefdoms

States

14
Elman Services (1962) Classification of Types of Political Organization
Band
Tribe
Chiefdom
Level of
Local group
Sometimes
Multi-local
Political
multi-local
Integration
Specialization
Informal
Informal
Some
of Political
leadership
leadership
specialized
Officials
political officials
Predominant
Mode of
Subsistence

Hunting and
gathering

Shifting
agriculture and
herding

Population
Very small
Small
Density
communities
communities
Social
Egalitarian
Egalitarian
Differentiation
(Adapted from Ember/Ember 1981:243)

Extensive or
intensive
agriculture and
herding
Large
communities
Rank

State
Multi-local

Many
specialized
political
officials
Intensive
agriculture

Cities and
towns
Classes

Anthropology of Religion

What is religion and what does religious anthropology deal with?

Religion is a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural
power, whether that power be forces, gods, spirits, ghosts, or demons
(Ember/Ember 1981: 275).

Theories and functions of religion

Psychological Functions (individual needs)

Sociological Functions (societal functions)

intellectual need to explain certain

social control: rewards and punishments of

phenomena

behavior

need to reduce anxiety and uncertainty felt

conflict resolution: reduction of conflict

by human beings

between social groups

group solidarity: enhancement of solidarity

Supernatural forces and beings

impersonal supernatural forces (positive/negative energy)

person-like supernatural beings (gods, ghosts, ancestral spirits)

15
Differences between religion, magic, sorcery, witchcraft
Differences/Similarities of Religion and Magic
Religion

Magic

Non-rational systems of belief which are not susceptible to scientific verification

Religion deals with major issues of human Magic deals with specific immediate
existence (meaning of life, death etc.)
problems (curing an illness, bringing rain
etc.)
Religion uses power and sacrifices to appeal Magical practitioners believe they can
to supernatural powers
control nature and human beings by their
own efforts
Religion tends to be a group activity
Magic tends to be practiced individually
Religion is practiced at specific times
Magic is practiced irregularly in response to
immediate problems
Religion involves officially recognized
Magic is performed by practitioners who
functionaries (priests etc.)
may or may not be recognized within their
community
(adapted from Ferraro 2004: 332)
Witchcraft

Sorcery

Witches are born with the capacity to bring

Sorcery is the deliberate use of supernatural

about harm to other people. They perform

powers to cause harm. Sorcery may be

witchcraft involuntarily and often without

practiced by trained specialists or by every

knowing. Witches only use psychic powers member of society. It involves the use of
(emotions, thoughts) and no material

material substances and thus generally can

substances. This is why witchcraft is

be proved.

difficult to prove.

Applied Anthropology

Anthropology as academic discipline and applied science

The Four Fields Approach:
1. Biological Anthropology
2. Archeology
3. Anthropological Linguistics
4. Cultural Anthropology
Fifth Field: Applied Anthropology

16
Academic versus Applied Anthropology
Academic anthropology

Applied anthropology

Is concerned with research, methods

and theories.

Tries to interfere in a society as little

particular social problems.

as possible.

Depends on applied anthropology

Is concerned with the solution of

Tries to bring about planned social

change.

Depends on the theories, methods

for outlining new research areas and

and data that have been developed

for the development of theories.

by the academic discipline.

History of applied anthropology

Involvement of applied anthropology in

Colonial matters

Matters of warfare (Second World War)

Three possible positions of an applied anthropologist:

1. The anthropologist represents the interests of a local community.
2. The anthropologist mediates between the interests of a local community
and another party.
3. The anthropologist works in a local community but represents the
interests of another party (his sponsor).

Ethics of applied anthropology

Informed consent

Confidentiality

Responsibility for the survival of local communities

Problems of planned social change

Applied anthropologists who want to bring about planned social change have
to answer three questions:
1. Will the project be beneficial to the target population?
2. What are the side-effects of social change in the long run?
3. Is the project compatible with the cultural values of the target
population?

17
Culture Change and Globalization

Introduction: Evolutionism and Diffusionism

Evolutionism: all change comes from within
Diffusionism: change through takeover of external cultural elements

Culture Change: Innovation and Diffusion/Acculturation

Innovation : change from within through inventions, changes occur
intentionally and unintentionally, mainly stimulated by marginal and
educated people
Diffusion: change from outside, more important than innovation, has three
basic features (selectivity, modification and reciprocity)
Acculturation: forced borrowing of external cultural elements under
conditions of pressure

Globalisation and Culture Change

Homogeneity thesis: cultures are getting more and more similar
Differentiation thesis: local cultures transform and re-organize elements
that are globally spread; diversity and differentiation instead of
homogeneity