 bd31-1fa3-c549d77e6ca6aa bd31-1fa3-c549d77e6ca6aa37  suicide_rates/en suicide_rates/en

 c c 3

 Born: Krakow, Poland on April 7, 1884  Parents: Lucyan & Jozefa Malinowski  Family: Upper-class  Very cultured  Scholarly 4

 Ph.D. in Philosophy, Physics, and Mathematics  University of Krakow in 1908  1913: Lectured at London School of Economics  Ph.D. in Science in

 Founded: Functionalism  Social Anthropology  All components of society interlock to form a well-balanced system 6

 Britain: Reaction to 19 th c. evolution  Shift from Social change  Evolution  To  Social stability  How societies stayed the same 7

 World->Colonies  Problem: Ruling native people?  Required:  Practical knowledge of social & political structures 8

 Research focus: Functioning of social systems  Information served colonial administration  Focus: Maintaining order & stability

 Social Structure = Enduring patterns of social relationships  Function: Society= Organism  Parts work together to maintain system  Emphasis on equilibrium  Change->Upsets the equilibrium 10

 Emphasized characteristics of:  Beliefs  Ceremonies  Customs  Institutions  Religion  Ritual  Sexual taboos 11

 First field study came in  Studied the Trobriand Islanders of New Guinea in the southwest Pacific  Used holistic approach to study natives’ social interactions including:  Annual Kula Ring Exchange 12

 1915 WW I started  Remained in New Guinea for duration of the war  Lived with Trobriand Islanders  Became a well-known anthropologist  1922 Argonauts of the Western Pacific 13

 Society: Functions to meet needs of individuals  All people have these needs  3 Levels of Needs: 1. Biological 2. Instrumental 3. Integrative 14

 These fundamental needs must be supplied by culture  Anthropologists could study the ways in which a culture meets these needs for its people.

1. Biological needs:  Nutrition  Reproduction  Bodily comforts  Safety  Relaxation  Movement

2. Instrumental needs:  Law  Education

3. Integrative needs:  Religion  Art

 Culture provides:  Stability, cohesion, and physical survival through:  Myths  Symbols  Rituals

Characteristics of Malinowski’s method Lived as a native among natives Watched them daily at work and at play Conversations with them their language Information from personal observation Statements directly by the natives 20

Documents people’s routine daily lives Explores a cultural group Live with group being studied, or spends a lot of time with them “Guiding question” that evolves during the study 21

Unobtrusive Identify geographical & temporal location To reveal little known societies To obtain insider’s view Understand point of view from inside the group 22

 Identify behavior patterns  Make reader understand perspective of native  Understand:  Context  Complexity  Politics of social processes 23

Accuracy of information Complexity of information Careful Observation Speak native language No contact with white people Seek information naturally Instead of through informants 24

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 HOLISM: Kula is an exchange system in Trobriand Islands:  Politics  Alliance formation  Prestige  Feasting  Economic trade  Magic  Contributes to the integration of society 26

 Ethnographic work (Holism): Deal with the totality—an anatomy of culture  To study only religion (or technology) creates an artificial field of inquiry 27

 Ethnology introduced law & order into what seemed chaotic & freakish  Transformed sensational, wild & unaccountable world of “savages” into a number of well-ordered communities  Key: Society exists to fulfill the needs of the individual 28

Subsistence--fishing and yam agriculture Matrilineal society: Descent traced from mother’s line Inheritance passes from mother’s brother to sister’s son Brother required to gift (yams) his sister’s family

Most spectacular and prestigious exchanges occurred between islands Known as kula Involved long sailing expeditions across open sea

Separation between utilitarian exchange (gimwali) and ceremonial exchanges (kula) Separation between utilitarian exchange (gimwali) and ceremonial exchanges (kula) Kula: Exchange of ceremonial items: soulava (necklaces) and mwali (armbands) Kula: Exchange of ceremonial items: soulava (necklaces) and mwali (armbands) Items not kept permanently Items not kept permanently At most 1 or 2 years At most 1 or 2 years Possession of famous kula items brings person renown & prestige Possession of famous kula items brings person renown & prestige

Partners in the kula were lifelong trading partners obliged to each other for: HospitalityHelpAssistance Minor kula exchanges within a group of islands preceded major expeditions. Usually one overseas trading expedition per year.

Prow of a Kula Canoe, c. 1993

 Two types of Kula gifts  Symbolic value 1. Shell-disc necklaces (Soulava) that are traded to the north (circling the ring in clockwise direction) 2. Shell armbands (Mwali) that are traded in the southern direction (circling counter- clockwise).

Soulava Mwali

 A founding father of British social anthropology  British anthropology paradigm shift:  From speculative and historical (evolutionary) to  The ahistorical study of social institutions

 Greatest contribution as an ethnographer  Importance of studying social behavior in cultural contexts  Participant-observation  Consider observable differences between norms and action:  Between what people say they do and what they actually do

 Detailed descriptions of Trobriand social life and thought  Kinship & Marriage (e.g., "sociological paternity“ vs “biological”)  In economic anthropology  (e.g., “Reciprocity")  Explain human economic behavior using both economics and anthropology