ANTHR150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cultural Anthropology, Kinesiology, Stamen
2 May 2018
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Department
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Anthropology 150: Race and Racism
Race and Racism
Introduction to Anthropology and Race
• What is Anthropology?
• Anthropology is the study of humans in all times and places.
• Sociology, psychology, kinesiology, anatomy
• We study everything their is to know about humans
• Anthropology is the study of humankind in all times and places. ( dead and
alive)
• global view of the study of humans
• What does it mean to be human?
• How we have divided ourself into groups called races and how we interact.
• Why humans do the things they do.
• Anthropology gives us a wider perspective of what humans are.
• It is a holistic discipline, i.e, it studies all aspects of humanity in relation to
each other.
• What influences what we eat?
• Geographical - where we live
• religion - what you believe
• socioeconomic status ( might not have enough money, or have enough of
certain things
• ethical beliefs - morals
• personal taste - what you like and don’t like
• Allergies or medical conditions
• Familial decisions
• Know about you as a person and the society.
• It’s easier to describe what they do but harder to describe why they do it.
• It uses the comparative perspective to understand cultural similarities and
differences. ( may not tell us what other cultures do)
• Individual anthropologists specialize in certain aspects of humans
• Sub-disciplines of Anthropology
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• biological anthropology: the study of humans as biological organisms
• cultural anthropology: the study of how variations in beliefs and behaviours
of different human groups are learned and acquired as members of society. (
what you look like and how you behave which has led to discrimination and
stereotypes — common language, rules)
• Archaeology : the study of humans psst involving the analysis of material
remains left behind societies.
• Linguistic Anthropology - study language
• Anthropology and the Concept of Race
• Developed in the 19th Century in response to discoveries of human groups
prevued
• Based on Greek philosophies it sought to explain the nature of the world,
• Early theories were based on natural selection but often confused the
concept of “evolution’ with the con
• Early theories were racist and ethnocentric with Europe as the centre of
civilization an hum achievement.
• They justified the exploitation of foreign cultures.
• Some anthropologists supported the exploitation of native populations while
others condemned it.
• Cultural Evolution and Race
o Lewis Henry Morgan proposed the following theory to account for
diversity of human nature:
o Unilineal Evolution held that all humans was of life go through a
similar sequence of stages in their development of form of cultural
determinism.
o Low Savagery
o Middle Savagery ( had fire but lacked the bow and arrow
o Upper Savagery ( had bow and arrow but lacked pottery
o Lower Barbarism ( had pottery but did not domesticate)
o Middle Barbarism ( domesticated but dud not smelt metals
o Upper Barbarism (used metals but not writing systems)
o Civilization ( only stage to be literate)
o
• Opponents to Cultural Determinism
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o Franz Boas’ Historical Particularism
▪ each culture is the unique product of all influences to which it
was subjected to in the past, making cross-cultural
generalizations questionable.
▪ We have a different history from other cultures and that is why
we are the way we are.
▪ Cultural relativism, the belief that each society should be
understood in terms of its own cultural practices and values
• Anthropology and Racial Classifications
o Early attempts were based on anthropometry, the study of human
body measurement for use in anthropological classification and
comparison.
o Skull the centre of reason
o Modern anthropology attempts to understand population similarities
and differences.
▪ The shape of your skull has nothing to do with your survival
rate.
o These differences are quantitative (clines) rather than qualitative.
o Clines are gradual changes in frequency of certain traits.
A brief history of the concept and race
• Religion and Science
o Origins of the Western Concept
▪ Greek philosophers raised questions as to the origins of
differences between human groups. The two main questions
were:
▪ How are humans different?
▪ Why are humans different? Differences between
populations
▪ One group believed there was something in the
environment that forces individuals to develop the
way they do.
▪ The other group of philosophers
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
It"s easier to describe what they do but harder to describe why they do it. It uses the comparative perspective to understand cultural similarities and differences. ( may not tell us what other cultures do) A brief history of the concept and race: religion and science, origins of the western concept, greek philosophers raised questions as to the origins of differences between human groups. Differences between populations: one group believed there was something in the environment that forces individuals to develop the way they do, the other group of philosophers. Herodotus( 484-425 b. c. ) explained differences among humans by natural forces as opposed to supernatural forces. He believed that the environment was responsible for the differences in behaviour and physical characteristics. The umbrella footed people - one big leg with one big foot. Aristotle ( 384 - 322 b. c) believed that everything was originally created in the state desired by the creator and that the nature of things could not change.
