INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY SSF1044 INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY

Learning outline What is Anthropology ? What is Sociology? Some common ground? Differences? Importance of Anthropology & Sociology

At present, what do you currently know about anthropology and sociology?

Anthro & Socio: Similarities Common interest: People and society Social relations Organization Behaviour Social and cultural realities of life Comparative study of human life in historical and contemporary times

What about differences What about differences? But first of all, what is Anthropology and what is Sociology. Then, we discuss about differences.

ANTHROPOLOGY

What is Anthropology? Anthropology = Anthropos (human) + logia (study) = “study of human” The nature of anthropology Holistic Past, present, future Society, culture, biology, language etc. Comparative: to gain complete understanding of “human nature”.

What is Anthropology? Anthropology is the study of the human species and its immediate ancestors. Anthropology is holistic in that the discipline is concerned with studying the whole of the human condition: past, present and future. Anthropology studies biology, society, language, and culture. Anthropology offers a unique cross-cultural perspective by constantly comparing the customs of one society with those of others.

What is Anthropology? People share both society and culture. Society is organized life in groups, a feature that humans share with other animals. Cultures are traditions and customs, transmitted through learning, that govern the beliefs and behaviors of the people exposed to them. While culture is not biological, the ability to use it rests in hominid biology

What is Anthropology? Interested in diversity: biologically and culturally Variations across time and space. How do people vary? Why? How do people adapt to different environment and social conditions? What changes can be seen across time/changes? Why?

Discussion Compare 2 different societies. For example, one living in a cold climate and the other in a hot climate. How do they differ? Biologically? Culturally? Why do they differ? Does biology influence culture, and vice versa? Example?

Sub-disciplines of Anthropology Physical (Biological) Anthropology Archaeology Cultural Anthropology Linguistic Anthropology

Physical Anthropology Physical anthropologists are interested in: Palaeoanthropology/Human Palaeontology: emergence of humans and their later evolution (i.e. researching 'ancient humanity' – the fossil record of human and hominid evolution) Human Variations: biological or physical variations in contemporary human population

Physical Anthro: Palaeoanthropology In order to reconstruct human evolution Search and study fossils of human, prehuman and related animals Also interested in behaviour and evolution of our closest “relatives”: Primates (prosimians, monkeys and apes)  primatology Fossil of “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis) Dian Fossey - primatologist

Anthropology on the big screen

LUCY (Australopithecus afarensis) 3.2 million years ago

Physical Anthro: Human variation Why are there differences (physically, biologically) between contemporary humans? Physical anthropologists uses the principles, concepts and techniques of three other disciplines: Human genetics – study of human traits that are inherited Population biology – study of environmental effects on, and interaction with, population characteristics Epidemiology – study of how and why diseases affect different population in different ways

Spencer Wells “Journey of Man”

Archaeology Seeks to reconstruct the culture of the past through the study of material/cultural remains Also to trace cultural changes and to offer explanations of those changes In order to study past cultures, archaeologists collect materials (usually by excavations) from sites of human occupations Difference between archaeology and history? Use techniques and findings borrowed from other fields such as: geology, physics, chemistry, history, geography etc.

Archaeology: Gua Tupak, Bau, Sarawak Evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 1,100 years ago Findings: food remains (shells and animal bones), pottery, stone flake

Archaeology on the big screen

Cultural Anthropology Studies society and culture: describing, analysing and explaining social and cultural similarities and differences. 2 aspects: Ethnography (based on fieldwork) To gather data from the field Traditionally, ethnographers have lived in small communities and studied local behaviour, beliefs, customs, social life, economic activities, politics and religion Ethnology (based on cross-cultural comparisons) Examines, interprets and compares the results of ethnography

Cultural Anthropology Comparison between Ethnography and Ethnology ETHNOGRAPHY ETHNOLOGY requires fieldwork to collect data draws upon data collected by a series of researchers descriptive synthetic group/community specific comparative/cross-cultural

Culture on the big screen

Linguistic Anthropology The study of languages in its social and cultural context (in space and through time) Linguists are interested in the emergence of languages and also with the divergence of languages over thousands of years Examples: Study universal features of language, linked perhaps to uniformities in human brain Reconstruct ancient languages by comparing their contemporary descendants Study linguistic differences to discover varied perceptions and patterns of thought in different cultures

Austronesian Languages

SOCIOLOGY

What is Sociology? Sociology = Socius (Latin for “companion” or “associate”) + logia (Greek for “study”) Sociology is the study of human behaviour in society. Sociologists are interested in: Human social life, groups and societies. How society affects human behaviour. How changes affects human behaviour.

Example: eating

Sociology The sociological perspective  the ability to see societal patterns that influence human behaviour. It requires us to think imaginatively and to detach ourselves from preconceived ideas about social life.

Example: The quest for “beauty” Who defines what is “beautiful”?

Sociology The scope of sociology – extremely wide! Levels of analysis Ranging from analysis of passing encounters between individuals on the street to investigation of global social processes (e.g. globalisation, religious fundamentalism etc.) Levels of analysis Microsociology: the study of everyday behaviour in situations of face-to-face interaction Macrosociology: the analysis of large-scale social systems e.g. political system or economic order Also includes the analysis of long-term processes of change, e.g. development of industrialism Why is macro-analysis important? Micro-analysis?

What Is Sociology??? Sociology Scope of Sociology The systematic study of human societies, with special emphasis on social groups in modern industrialized systems. Scope of Sociology The scope of sociology studying all human relationships, groups, institutions, and societies Health illness, racial ethnic conflicts, poverty, education, immigration, sexuality, gender, class, and crime punishment, environment economic development all come under the scope of sociology.

The Development of Sociological Thinking Sociology encompasses a diversity of theoretical approaches. Theories - constructing abstract interpretations that can be used to explain a wide variety of empirical situations. Micro and Macro Approaches to the Study of Society Micro-sociology individual characteristics social interactions Level of Analysis Macro-Sociology Micro-Sociology Microsociology - the study of everyday behavior in situations of face-to-face interaction. Macro-sociology large-scale phenomena Macrosociology - the analysis of large-scale social systems. The two are closely connected.

Developing Sociological Perspective Social reproduction the way societies keep going over time. Social transformation processes of changes derived from conscious intentions to change processes of unintended outcomes via social reproduction Sociology studies the resulting balance between these two processes.

Early Sociologists Auguste Comte Emile Durkheim He invented the word sociology. Scientific evidence Seeing sociology as a means to predict control human behavior, which in turn contributes to human welfare Emile Durkheim Social changes division of labor Sociology must study social facts Harmony among specialized institutions Society is an integrated whole (organic solidarity).

Early Sociologists Karl Marx Max Weber All human history thus far is the history of class struggles. Emphasizing economic inequality its influences on social changes The ruling class exploited the working class and the working class struggled to overcome that exploitation. Max Weber Emphasizing Durkheim's notions of social values and ideas. Values and ideas, such as those of religion and science, can shape a society. Rationalization of social and economic life Bureaucracy-efficiency and red tape Sociology of religion

Modern Theoretical Approaches Symbolic Interactionism Symbols The exchange of symbols between individuals in social interaction Small-scale interactions of individuals, not society as a whole Functionalism Seeing society as a whole Robert Merton has been particularly influential Manifest, latent functions and dysfunction Study of deviance

Modern Theoretical Approaches Feminism Linking sociological theory and political reform womens lives and experiences Gendered patterns and inequalities are socially constructed. Postmodernism Society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no "grand narrative" guiding its development.

Is Sociology a Science Science Systematic methods of empirical investigation Data analysis Theoretical thinking Logical assessments of arguments A body of knowledge about a particular subject matter Value-free, objective observable Empirical evidence facts

How Can Sociology Help Us in Our Lives? Understanding social circumstances provides us a better chance of controlling them. Sociology provides the means of increasing our cultural sensitivities. We can investigate the consequences of adopting particular policy programs. Sociology provides self-enlightenment, offering groups individuals an increased opportunity to alter the conditions of their own lives.

Thank You! Questions?