1. C ULTURAL A NTHROPOLOGY

2. C ULTURE What cultures are you a part of? What distinguishes them? Culture: a set of learned beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, values, and ideals that are characteristic of a particular society or population Subculture: the commonly shared customs of a group within a society Society: a group of people who speak a common language and occupy a particular territory

3. C HARACTERISTICS OF C ULTURE 1. Culture is learned 2. Culture is shared 3. Culture is everywhere

4. E LEMENTS OF C ULTURE Language (physical, written, and verbal) Beliefs and values Values: shared beliefs about what is right and wrong Norms: values in action Folkways: norms with little social significance “ Man Laws ” Mores: norms with great social significance Laws Customs and rituals Time and space Dress and appearance Kinship relations Cultural Diffusion: the spreading of cultural traits to other cultures

5. D IFFICULTIES IN S TUDYING C ULTURE Ethnocentrism: judging other cultures in terms of your own culture

6. D IFFICULTIES IN S TUDYING C ULTURE Cultural Relativism: the attitude that different cultures should be described objectively and understood in the context of a particular society Etic approach: Culturally neutral approach Problem: should the anthropologist be morally relative as well?

7. R ESEARCH M ETHODS Participant Observation: studying a culture by immersing one ’ s self into that culture Fieldwork: first-hand experience with the people being studied Informants: individuals within the community that help the anthropologist Ethnography: a description or analysis of a single society

8. S TUDYING E THNOGRAPHIES Ethnology: a cross-cultural comparison Approaches to ethnography 1. Cultural Ecology: studies the relationship between a culture and its environment as the main shaping force of culture

9. A PPROACHES TO ETHNOGRAPHY 2. Political Economy (or the “ world- system ” view): studies external political and economic forces—generally from powerful, imperialist states—as the main shaping force of culture

10. A PPROACHES TO ETHNOGRAPHY 3. Behavioral Ecology (or socio-biology): studies culture and behavior as the result of evolutionary development, with a focus on individual behavior in a cultural context.