Cultural Anthropology Human Nature - 1241 Words

Cultural Anthropology Assignment 2 Julie Kopp (100121035) July 28, 2015 Cultural Anthropologists view all aspects of human nature in order to generate an accurate representation of society. It is imperative that anthropologists engage themselves in fieldwork in pursuance to increase understanding among people of the world. Anthropologists found that by becoming an active participant rather than an observer, they are more likely to be accepted as a member. By becoming an insider, it allows the anthropologist to accurately view the range of cultural behavior within a society and draw a conclusion based on their findings, which in turn increases understanding among people of the world. In the article â€Å"Shakespeare in the Bush,† it is apparent that Laura Bohannan visited African tribe, â€Å"The Tiv,† with a preconceived idea that the play Hamlet had one possible interpretation and that interpretation was universally known. As far as the Tiv’s culture stands, story telling is a meaningful art form of their culture. When Bohannan is given the opportunity to share one of her stories, she immerses herself into the play, Hamlet. It becomes evident that the points therein are not universal after all and despite efforts to explain central points to her audience, Hamlet began to loose its meaning. To many people in our culture, Hamlet is an illustrious play and is widely accepted with little or no difficulty. However, to people of another culture, such as The Tiv’s, concepts ofShow MoreRelatedWhat Is Human Nature?1735 Words   |  7 PagesBy observing and analyzing the context of previous time periods, anthropology was certainly not create d by accident or mistake. At the end of the 18th century, the Enlightenment period was occurring. This produced two products during the time period. First, humans were able to possess a newfound understanding of general principals in which the world works. They wanted to know all about universal human nature, such as why all human beings are alike. Secondly, out of the Enlightenment, we have an intellectualRead MoreThe Full Scope Of Human Life871 Words   |  4 PagesHumans are an interesting species because of the strong need humans have to fully understand what it truly means to be human. Many fields such as history, psychology, and sociology all offer a perspective in the study of humanity, but there are distinguishable from anthropology. Anthropology differs from other humanities fields due to its holistic nature, comparative research methods, and the strong emphasis on fieldwork and participant interaction. Anthropology is the study of people throughoutRead MoreThe World A Glo bal Village1644 Words   |  7 Pageswhich affect organizations, relationships, culture and other dynamics of human nature. In fact, different changes have different effects on people, but the fact remains that society is a changing structure. Historians and sociologists have attempted to account for the changes that have taken place and are still taking place at rapid rates (Duranti, 45). The lack of a fixed process in society has forced anthropologists to study humans and the mechanisms of societies across the world. This includes accountingRead MoreAnthropology : A Study Of Humanity1202 Words   |  5 PagesGenerally, anthropology can be defined as the study of humanity. This includes every aspect of the human condition: language, history, culture, biology, past and present. Anthropology is all encompassing and due to its breadth, it can be considered both a study in humanities and science. However, anthropology is easily distinguishable from both hard sciences and humanities. The aspects that distinguish anthropology lie mostly in the methodology that anthropologists use to study human beings. 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Chapters are organized according to each subject’s relevance to the construction of Marx’s anthropology. Chapter one focuses on the greater political state of Europe an d university culture in which Marx received his educationRead MoreAnthropology In The Early-Twentieth-Century Contained Theories872 Words   |  4 PagesAnthropology in the early-twentieth-century contained theories that departed from those of the unilineal evolution in the nineteenth century. The unilineal evolutionary theory argued that all societies passed through a single evolutionary process; therefore, progressing from being a primitive society to the most advanced, or civilized, in a uniform manner. The theory that species were thought to evolve into increasing complexity was applied to societies’ development to progress from a simple to complexRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Mead-Freeman Debate1283 Words   |  6 PagesNature versus Nurture Controversy: Critical Analysis of The Mead-Freeman Debate Research Topic Outline In 1983, Derek Freeman challenged Margaret Mead’s 1928 ethnographic work Coming of Age in Samoa, Freeman asserted that Mead’s conclusion of adolescent behavior conflicted with important facts within the social sciences. Freeman’s critique sparked an intense controversy in anthropology regarding the concept of nature versus nurture. Freeman claimed that Boasians’ insisted on separating cultural determinismRead MoreEconomic Behavior And Its Effects On Society1367 Words   |  6 PagesKatelyn Cathcart ECON 100-01 Hamilton December 11, 2014 Economies According to Anthropology Humans have been evolving the way they live for centuries. With the billions of people that live on the planet today, it would be no surprise that people across the globe have varied ways in which they live. These lifestyles can be as old as those our ancestors thousands of years ago had practiced, to the mechanized practices we see in 21st century Western societies. Communities can be categorized into oneRead More Anthropology and Gender Essay1576 Words   |  7 PagesThough women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was not until the early 1970’s that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a prejudice made more apparent