1. Very Brief Intro to Anthropology By Diana Lee, February 2013

2. Colonial Bias Early anthropology coincided with colonialism. Western anthropologists studied those who were colonized.

3. Darwin’s Influence Darwin’s theory of evolution inspired early anthropologists to analyze how some cultures evolved to become more advanced.

4. Ethnocentric Bias:  Judging another culture based on the standards and values of your own culture. For example, an ethnocentric American might criticize other cultures that find it acceptable to eat dogs or cats.

5. Cultural Relativism In the early 1900s, some anthropologists criticized the ethnocentric notion that one culture could be superior to another. They tried to describe other cultures from an “insider’s” perspective.

6. Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski:  Infamous for his personal diaries (1967) which expressed his condescending and racist disdain for what he described as the “doglike” natives.  Famous for his attempts to provide an unbiased interpretation of the Trobriand Islanders’ culture.

7. Question Is cultural relativism possible? In other words, is it possible to eliminate our biases, even if we consciously attempt to do so?

8. Consider Malinowski’s Words: