Cultural anthropologists use the ethnographic method to study humans; they interview people and observe then in their everyday life, they also compare their findings with those of other societies. What cultural anthropologist seek to find is a way to help people of other societies understand and tolerate the differences other societies might have. Studying other societies will help us see ours more clearly, because we will be seeing it with background from another society. Before anthropologists use to study all aspects of a society now they might just specify on one part of the society such as economy, religion, or politics. Another kind of anthropologist are linguistic anthropologist they study language they look at its history and evolution.
The most important detail in understanding these tidbits is to understand that almost all of them in some form or another revolve around history, the history of a family, friends, a town, and a relationship. These problems and issues involving history draw heavily on problems that still to this day remain prevalent, especially living in a state such as New Mexico. This all leads up to a rather spectacular conclusion in which classical notations of history are “re-worked” if you would to show a stark new knowledge (or lack thereof) of how In certain situations human nature tends to transcend its own history. These conclusions, the special conclusions are more common in our conditions of today. Lone star especially during a time in which these types of inferences and stigmas were so prevalent, provided an insight into the ways we can exist outside our cultural history by choosing to exist only in the present.
Cortés became almost completely dependent on her for her language capabilities and her understanding of native culture (Greenblatt 145). Some scholars, such as Stephen Greenblatt in his book, Marvelous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World, focus their discussion of Doña Marina on analyzing this significant role that she played in the Conquest of New Spain. Greenblatt’s writing is an example of a scholarly approach to analyzing Marina because his reasoning logically stems from historical evidence. Other scholars, however, such as Cordelia Candelaria in her essay, “La Malinche, Feminist Prototype,” and Frances E. Karttunen in her book, Between Worlds: Interpreters, Guides, and Survivors, become entangled in the futile debate that investigates Doña Marina’s motives for aiding Cortés. Through analysis of her motives, they both attempt to argue that Marina should be viewed as innocent in regard to the downfall of the Aztec Empire.
James Clifford’s argument is that we can learn about our own society’s culture by looking at what we choose to collect and why, as well as our motivations behind these. Objects may have a completely different meaning to us than originally intended, including how they relate and fit within our own culture and pre-conceived notions. In Frank Ettawageshik’s article “My Father’s Business”, (Ettawageshik, 1999) he describes the ways in which the native
Checkpoint: Culture Shock Crystal Castillo SOC/120 January 17, 2013 Jennifer Graham Checkpoint: Culture Shock If I were to visit and study the “Yanomamo” I would have to prepare myself for any culture shock that may occur by doing what many people would do and that is to learn about the culture of the people who live in the area. Along with this I would try to consume as much information as possible such as their religious beliefs, what they eat, how they live as well as what their clothing if like. The most common elements of culture stated in chapter 2 are symbols, language, values and beliefs and norms. Symbols are anything that can carry a meaning that is recognizable by people from the same culture. Examples of Symbols are
Brand New Our lives are filled with a plethora of new and reoccurring experiences that although many of them seem generic are all unique to each and every one of us. How we define a “new” experience is mostly dependent on if we have experienced it in person and not on how much we know or have heard about that experience. Humans are unique in that we all experience things differently because of our personalities, emotions, and backgrounds. Walker Percy provides a different perspective on what really is “new” and on the human experience in his article The loss of the Creature. Percy argues that having a packaged idea of something can cause you to create a symbolic amalgam of ideas about that thing that can block the true essence of the real experience when you actually do experience it for yourself.
* Can you identify any biases that you might have about the cultural practices you will discuss in either Part I or Part II of your Final Research Paper? I have not identified any biases on the culture practices that I’ve read about in the book or from Boys to Men of Heart: Hunting as Rite of Passage. * Identify any problems you might be having in looking at your own culture from an etic perspective or the other culture from an emic perspective. One problem I feel I may face looking at other cultures from an emic perspective would be fully understanding different cultures and the reasons they do certain things, including rite of passages. It is difficult for me to explain things I do not understand by learning from an insiders or natives meaningful account.
Clifford Geertz is in ethnographer who used historical references interviews and cross cultural analysis to explain the game of cockfighting. Clifford Geertz explains in “Interpretations of Culture” that he is in interpretative anthropologist whose job is to not only state that facts but to interpret them. This idea is often referred to as semiotics which looks at how aspects of culture code for set messages that express that society. He shares the same idea of Paul Rabinow in that anthropologist are not the only analyst of a cultural phenomena and instead he is a second or third interpreter. IN this same article he states how he is a ethnographer who uses Gilbert Ryle's idea of thick description.
He uses Clyde Kuckhohn’s Mirror of Man, a work he believes is a good general introduction to anthropology, as a basis to describe his own view. He believes that Kluckhohns definition of culture as “the total way of life of a people”, is slightly constricted and does not represent the complete picture. He sees the concept of culture as predominately a semiotic one. Semiotic being the study of signs and sign processes. Geertz sees culture as “webs of significance” and the analysis of these webs.
[4] Anthropologists such as Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski argued that any human science had to transcend the ethnocentrism of the scientist. Both urged anthropologists to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in order to overcome their ethnocentrism. Boas developed the principle of cultural relativism and Malinowski developed the theory of functionalism as guides for producing non-ethnocentric studies of different cultures. The books The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia, by Bronisław Malinowski, Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict, and Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead (two of Boas's students)