Intro and What is Anthropology?

The study of human sciences
Scientific study of human beings as social, cultural, and biological beings

Universalism
Holism
Culture is Integrated
Cultural Relativism

A principle of Anthropology
All peoples are fully and equally human, no matter where they are from or what they look like
*Anthropology is the first to say there is no such thing as race!

A principle of Anthropology
Is concerned with the whole human condition: Past, present and future; Biology, society, and culture.
*In order to understand one culture, we need to understand it from the totality of that culture/ society.

Every aspect of a culture is integral and is an integrated part of the larger biological and social environment within which people live.
*Everything is connected together

A principal of Anthropology
Judging and interpreting the behavior and beliefs of others in terms of their traditions and experience
*This is the opposite of Ethnocentrism

The interpretation of the behavior of others in terms of one's cultural values and traditions

Socio-cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology
Physical or Biological Anthropology

It is one of the four subfields of anthropology
Studies Human cultural and social life in living societies and cultures

It is one of the four subfields of Anthropology
Culutre is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits aquired by humans as members of society

1.Culture is learned, shared and patterned. Anybody can learn it. No single person knows all about its own culture. Culture is NOT random.
2. Culture is a whole systerm, integrated network (econ, politics, society, etc)
3. Culture is complex. Diverse origins, originated from integration of many ideas, it is dynamic and it CAN change.
4. Also... Culture is MATERIAL.

Participant observation!

Ethnography
Ethnology

A component of socio-cultural anthro which is Primary data gathering component
Describes lifeways, behavior and culture of single groups

Is the second part of Socio-cultural antho.
It uses info from several societies to compare and try and understand human behaviors

It is apart of Ethnology, and the comparative method is our refust to accept generalization of behavior coming from our own experiences, in our own culture or even 2 or 3 cultures.

One of the four subfields of Anthropology.
It is the study of the socio + cultural aspect of languages.

Descriptive Linguistics
Historic Linguistics
Socio-Linguistics

One of the subgroups of Linguistic anthropology
Descriptive linguistics studies the sound of languages. Vocab, grammar, pronunciation, and sounds.

It is one of the subgroups of Linguistic anthropology. Studies the history of language.

One of the subgroups of linguistic anthropology.
Socio-linguistics studies the socio-culture you use language in.

One of the the four subgroups of Anthropology
Physical or biological anthropology studies human biological variation in time, space and environment.

Biology of living people
Studies of the dead
Forensic Anthropology

One area of study in Biological Anthropology. Studies their characteristsic, Explanations adapatations of characteristics due to some biological factor and others due to behavior
EX: Skin color vs. Teeth

Look at evolution and how change and variation occured. They study huminoids to modern humans.
The look at adaptation, and how past populations adapted to different conditions.