THEORY IN ANTHROPOLOGY

Learning Objectives 1) Develop a timeline for anthropological theory 2) Recognize the early influence of European scholars on American anthropological theory 3) Discriminate between the various anthropological theoretical schools of thought 4) Explain the main contributes of each scholar to anthropological theory 5) Distinguish between early ideas of cultural and biological variation and current understanding of such processes.

Unlinear Evolutionism ‘Armchair’ Anthropologists [Note: As emphasis on scientific methodology grew, both methods and ‘theories’ were challenged]

Unlinear Evolutionism Result of ‘Armchair’ Anthropology = Unilinear Evolutionism All human ways of life pass through a ___________ ________________________________________ Cultures evolve in a _______________________________ Cultural traits have a ______________________

Unlinear Evolutionism Louis Henjry Morgan _____________ development, with subdivisions: _____________  ____________  _________ Problem(s) with Morgan’s scheme _______________________________

Unlinear Evolutionism E. B. Tylor Anthropology of ____________ _________  __________  _________  _________ Different starting points & speeds along the unilinear continuum Viewed some cultures as _________________ Checkpoint: What does ‘living fossils’ mean?

Unlinear Evolutionism Positive Negative Unilineal Evolutionism Summary

Historical Particularism Emphasized that each culture has its own unique _______________ Cultures should be understood based __________ ____________________________________ Methods of cultural analysis = _________________ Rejected _________________

Historical Particularism Franz Boas (Father of American Anthropology) Cultures may take ___________________ Cultural histories are __________________ Emphasized ______________ Checkpoint: How is diffusion defined in cultural anthropology? ___________________________________ Example: Subsistence practice

Historical Particularism Positive Negative Historical Particularism Summary

Functionalism Emphasizes the role (function) of________________ Challenged both ______________________________ Important scholars: Malinowski (Father of Ethnography) Radcliffe-Brown

Functionalism Malinowski, a Functionalist because of: All customs & institutions were ____________________ If one changed, ____________________ Each were therefore a ____________________ ‘Needs Functionalism’ Cultural customs are developed to_______________

Structural Functionalism Radcliffe-Brown Role that ____________ play in the life of societies today Theoretical category of Structural Functionalism Culture & cultural practices _________________ maintained by the ____________________________ Social systems similar to _______________________

Functionalism Functionalism – Still Present in Anthropology Despite challenges to the general theme, a form of functionalism is still a very active perspective in anthropology

Configurationalism Culture viewed as _____________________ Pulled from both ____________________________ Diffusion is ______________________ _____________ barriers and/or _____ barriers Considered to be part of psychological anthropology Scholars: Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead

Configurationalism Benedict Believed that each culture is ______________________ “made over into consistent patterns in accordance with unconscious cannons of choice that develop within a culture,” (Benedict, 1961, p.34) Illustrated her point through studying the ____________

Configurationalism Mead Viewed human nature as a ________________ Focused on relationship between ___________ Studied ____________________________ Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) – pioneering fieldwork, ‘classic’ anthropological text

Neoevolutionism Leslie White & Julian Steward – American Anthropologists Renewed interest in cultural change & evolution after WWII Theoretical school of thought: Neoevolutionism

Neoevolutionism Leslie White Foundation of __________________________________ ___________= unit of measurement & cause of cultural change Rejected ___________________

Cultural Ecology & Neoevolutionism Julian Steward Environmental Influence: Cultures in ___________________ would tend to follow the same developmental ______________________________to their ____________________________ _____________influence ______________

Cultural Materialism Marvin Harris Proposed Cultural Materialism: __________________________________ All societies have __________________ Reinforced anthropology as a science

Symbolic Anthropology Study of symbols in their ___________________ Victor Turner – Mary Douglas –

Structuralism Levi-Strauss ____________________underlie all human activity, giving shape to seemingly _________________________ Used ____________ to emphasis his point Underlying ___________________

When we get to Globalization… We will cover: Processual Approches World System Theory Political Economy

Anthropology Today Increase specialization Specializations of Cultural Anthropology: Four-field approach continues to be present among Anthropologists Economic Anthropology Anthropology of Migration Anthropology of Religion Medical Anthropology Educational Anthropology Urban Anthropology Psychological Anthropology

Summary Become comfortable with: Scholars outlined on previous slide Theoretical school of thought Main contribution Example: Leslie White’s idea that energy capture propelled cultures forward & his rejection of unilinear evolutionism