ANTH 208 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Ethnography, Participant Observation, Mechanical And Organic Solidarity
Anth. 208 Week Six Lecture Notes
● Malinowski was studying in Poland when he got medical issues and took up
anthropology, influenced by the Golden Bough, Frazer wrote foreward of Argonauts
● Malinowski changes the direction of anthropology and other disciplines with Argonauts in
1922
Argonauts Introduction:
● Introduces trading system and the Kula, goes over the best way to do an ethnography
and be a good ethnographer
○ Describes not being an observer, and living within the village and learning the
language, becoming part of their everyday lives, basically participant observation
○ Says a student must have a scientific goal, put themselves into the culture, and
apply special methods of collecting manipulating and fixing evidence
○ Should actively seek information and not just focus on one aspect of everyday life
○ Get natives points of views, opinions, etc.
○ Emphasized the use of charts especially genealogy charts
○ Describes beginning field work, first recognized of this form of anthropology
Argonauts Chapter One
● Starts describing the location of the island and then how they are all part of the Kula
district, part of a ritual of exchange that stabilizes relationships
● Spends some time describing the islanders, splitting them into the northern and southern
parts
○ Says the southern people garden and are ‘refined’ describes them as ‘soft and
lumpy’ as well as clean
○ In the groups there is matrilineal descent and authority vested in the elders,
women have a lot of independence chastity isn’t very important
○ Marriage natural end to extended liaison
○ Talks about the dobu people who are culturally distinct from the native people,
central to trade, shorter and with dark skin in comparison to other people
○ Totemic divided into clans and lineages, matrilineal but women hold more
influence as they can perform garden and other kinds of magic, talks extensively
about the magic and some stuff about beliefs
○ Authority invested in the elders again
Argonauts Chapter Three
● Kula ring made up of the islands that form a closed circuit, the kula is a ritualized
reciprocal system of exchange with rules
● There are only two items traded, long red shell necklaces and white shell bracelets,
traded in opposite directions with each trade having allocated times and rituals for
posession etc.
● Each village has a limited number of men who takes part in the kula and each man has a
partner or partners depending of rank who they have transactions with, some near some
far transaction wise
● Talks about how it seems like a small form of exchange but a lot goes into it, other items
are traded and a great deal of planning has to go into it for timing, building boats, etc.
Document Summary
Malinowski was studying in poland when he got medical issues and took up anthropology, influenced by the golden bough, frazer wrote foreward of argonauts. Malinowski changes the direction of anthropology and other disciplines with argonauts in. Introduces trading system and the kula, goes over the best way to do an ethnography and be a good ethnographer. Describes not being an observer, and living within the village and learning the language, becoming part of their everyday lives, basically participant observation. Says a student must have a scientific goal, put themselves into the culture, and apply special methods of collecting manipulating and fixing evidence. Should actively seek information and not just focus on one aspect of everyday life. Get natives points of views, opinions, etc. Emphasized the use of charts especially genealogy charts. Describes beginning field work, first recognized of this form of anthropology.
