ANT 2410 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Neoevolutionism, Franz Boas, Margaret Mead
19 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Reginald radcliffe-brown (1881 1955) is a main founder: placed an emphasis on social functions rather than individual functions. Malinowski believed in functionalism that the focus is on the needs of the individual: radcliffe believed that culture should be more focused on the needs of the overall society. The functionalist approach is based on two fundamental principles: universal function, functional unity. Examines the social and cultural influences on individual psychology and the psychological foundations of social behavior. Two main founders: ruth benedict (1887 1948, margaret mead (1901 1978) Researched gender roles and adolescent behavioral issues in samoa. Anthropologists need to explore the relationships between psychological and cultural variables. It is believed that personality is largely the result of cultural learning. The idea of looking for systematic cultural changes through time fir in better with. American anthropology because of its inclusion of archaeology: looking at cultural changes through time. Most important contribution was the concern with the causes of change.
