ANTH10001 Lecture 4: WEEK 4
29 May 2018
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LECTURE 4: CANNIBALISM – ANTHROPOLOGY OF ANTHROPOPHAGY
Western obsession with cannibalism is represented in media:
- Hansel and Gretel.
- Silence of the Lambs.
- Katy Perrys Bo Appetite ideo appeals to aials.
Why study cannibalism?
- To think about how a certain behaviour, comes to be understood and given meaning in
various ways – and to critically examine our own fears and opinions.
CLASSIFYING CANNIBALISM:
1) Survival Cannibalism.
2) Psychopathic.
3) Endo-Cannibalism (affectionate) – eating kin from natural deaths (a part of funeral
rituals + a symbol of respect + mourning and grief).
4) Exo-Cannibalism (warfare) – aggressive eating of people outside of a clan. –
(exo/endo cannibalism are both classifications which occur within cultural practice
– there are more such as)
5) Auto-cannibalism: eating placenta.
6) The Ne Caialis – technological cannibalism – using cadavers for growth.
USEFUL TO TURN TO CLASSIFICATION TO UNDERSTAND HOW MOST PEOPLE DO NOT
ENGANGE IN CANNIBALISM:
- Mary Douglas – the nature of taboo – as humans we classify between order and disorder
– pure or impure those bewitched between nature and culture atter out of plae. –
cannibalism has been the dirty other beyond the boarders of civilisation.
- Caialis has ee deeed the hadaide of oloialis – construction of the
cannibal in western discourse can be seen to have emerged from the european
expansion. – the elite took their morality and reasoning to africa spreading
enlightenment. – cannibalism was largely a myth used to stereotype others as savages.
– used as a justification for invention in indigenous communities. – the idea of
cannibalism used as a political strategy to put down others and increase the gap between
the iilised ad saage others. - our ability to flip things around to suit our own
narratives.
The extent to which cannibalism can be said to be a mythic construction or not, is contingent
on the area, context, and time – but there is a consensus that the western obsession with
cannibalism was spear headed in the colonial era.
All cultural institutions function to satisfy basic underlying and universal psychological and
biological needs. – any social custom should be interpreted in terms of its ability to satisfy
those needs.
- lead the basis of functionalism.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Western obsession with cannibalism is represented in media: Katy perry(cid:859)s bo(cid:374) appetite (cid:448)ideo (cid:862)appeals to (cid:272)a(cid:374)(cid:374)i(cid:271)als(cid:863). To think about how a certain behaviour, comes to be understood and given meaning in various ways and to critically examine our own fears and opinions. There are more such as: auto-cannibalism: eating placenta, (cid:858)the ne(cid:449) ca(cid:374)(cid:374)i(cid:271)alis(cid:373)(cid:859) technological cannibalism using cadavers for growth. Useful to turn to classification to understand how most people do not. Mary douglas the nature of taboo as humans we classify between order and disorder. Pure or impure those bewitched between nature and culture (cid:858)(cid:373)atter out of pla(cid:272)e(cid:859). cannibalism has been the dirty other beyond the boarders of civilisation. Ca(cid:374)(cid:374)i(cid:271)alis(cid:373) has (cid:271)ee(cid:374) dee(cid:373)ed (cid:858)the ha(cid:374)d(cid:373)aide(cid:374) of (cid:272)olo(cid:374)ialis(cid:373)(cid:859) construction of the cannibal in western discourse can be seen to have emerged from the european expansion. The elite took their morality and reasoning to africa spreading enlightenment. Cannibalism was largely a myth used to stereotype others as savages.
