History of Theory So Far 19 th -century evolutionists –Comte – organic analogy –Darwin – biological evolution, adaptation –Spencer – organic analogy, social progress, evolution of social systems toward more complexity, 'survival of the fittest' –Marx & Engels – materialism, infrastructure (economic base/means & relations of production/subsistence) determines superstructure (social organization, ideology), societies evolve through stages based upon modes of production, class struggle is the underlying dynamic –Morgan & Tylor – unilineal cultural evolutionism, savagery-barbarism-civilization American Cultural Historicism –Boas and his students – anti-evolutionist, anti-racist, cultural relativism, inductive method, historical particularism, fieldwork British Social Anthropology - Functionalism –Malinowski – parts of society function to benefit individual –Radcliffe-Brown – structural-functionalism: parts of society function for benefit of society as a whole –Merton – dysfunction American Psychological Anthropology –Culture and personality (Boasian school) –Mead – life stages and gender culturally constructed, not biologically determined Cultural Ecology & Neoevolutionism –White and Steward – materialist, technology drives change, multilinear evolution = adaptation to specific environments

Cultural Materialist Model of Society Infrastructure (means & mode of production + reproduction )  development of culture in certain directions Causality

Cultural Materialism Marvin Harris Provide causal explanations for shapes cultures take Infrastructural determinism –Causes for institutions and behavior are found in infrastructure (subsistence based upon resources in the environment & technology) Material aspects  cultural variation Emphasized etic, scientific, objective –Environment, material circumstances –Like cultural ecology but less concerned with evolution –Functionalist Culture and behavior in the present Practical adaptations Function in context of whole The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle –Materialist: ideology result of economic rationale –Functionalist: practical function of cattle

Claude Lévi-Strauss ( ) French Structuralism Universal structures of human mind Linguistics – binary opposition –Words get their meanings by contrasts E.g., light/dark, male/female, good/evil, sacred/profane Human brain –Programmed to think in pairs of opposites –These dichotomies give shape to culture Psychic unity of humankind

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Influence of language on culture English vs. Hopi concepts of time & space –English time Objectified, quantified, linear, past, present, future Separate from space –Hopi Time Manifested – past and most of present Manifesting – coming-to-be, future, hoped for, intended, expected, in the heart Same as space Language shapes perceptions, world view

Symbolic Anthropology Cultural meanings Culture as mental phenomenon Ways people interpret and give meaning to their world How this world is expressed in cultural symbols Interpretation of symbols  cultural meaning Agency = potential to act creatively Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz

Victor Turner ( ) British social anthropology –Structural-functionalism –Maintenance of social order Marx: normal state of society is conflict and contradiction Turner: social unity is problematic –Not primordial need for togetherness –Must be continually maintained through effort Centrality of ritual symbols –Symbols create social solidarity out of conflict –E.g. national flag, singing national anthem, statue of liberty –Function to reproduce of social order

Victor Turner – Anti-structure ‘Anti-structure’ & ‘communitas’ –Van Gennep Rituals of rebellion –E.g. Mardi Gras, Carnival, Holi –Expressions outside of structure –Communitas = emotional connection and equality –Safety valve that enables maintenance of social solidarity

Clifford Geertz ( ) American cultural anthropology Emphasis on culture and meaning Symbols –Carriers of cultural meanings –Communicate worldview, values, ethos –Shape and reflect how people see, feel, and think about the world Culture embodied in public symbols – e.g. flag, 4 th of July Turner: function to reinforce social solidarity Geertz: represent cultural values –History, independence, patriotism, democracy, freedom, etc. “Actor-centered” –What does it mean to the individual Emic

Interpretive Anthropology How people themselves explain and interpret their own values and behaviors Ideas, meanings Reflexivity –Ethnographer’s position vis-à-vis informants included in description –Combines self-knowledge with knowledge of the people studied Emic, relativistic, reflexive Interpretivism vs. Cultural Materialism –Meaning, beliefs, emic vs. material environment, economic system, etic

Feminist Anthropology Political movements of 1960s and 1970s Internal critiques in anthropology Androcentric bias –Most anthropologists were male –Limited access to women in cultures studied –Emphasis on men, war, politics, economics, religion –Women only described in passive terms & relationships with men 1970s focus on women & inequality Gender socialization, cultural construction Differences (race, class, ethnicity, etc.) Gender and power

Contributions of Feminist Anthropology Importance of gender in all aspects of social life Power relations –Critique of all inequalities Overlap with postmodernism Rejection of positivism (objective, scientific) Promote interests of women & other oppressed Reflexive ethnography –Mitigate status differences between researcher & informant –Collaborative –Qualitative methods Empathy, subjectivity, emic –Multivocality (variety of viewpoints) E.g. Weiner’s vs. Malinowski’s Trobriand fieldwork

Postmodernism Modernism –1920s-70s –Detachment, objectivity –Scientific neutrality –Rationalism Postmodernist critique/rejection of: –Grand theories (e.g., evolutionism, cultural materialism) –Positivism: Idea that human progress is based on scientific knowledge –Idea that objectivity is possible Ethnography –Always subjective –Cannot discover ‘truth’ –Reflexive approach Dialog, collaboration –Transparency Take account of power relations, class, gender, etc.

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