ANTH 1150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Sociocultural Anthropology, Cultural Relativism, Medical Anthropology

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Anthropology
• Course: ANTH 1150
• Professor: Victor Gulewitsch

Document Summary

Early theory: cultural progress , all cultures pass through evolutionary stages until reaching the technologically advanced level of western society. Boaz (franz, 1858-1942) promoted cultural relativism - belief that all cultures are equally valid and must be studied on their own terms. Anthropology is the study of humans, in multiple aspects, such as cultural, biological, linguistically, and archaeologically. Anthropology is studied to understand human behaviours, culture and make sense of their differences. Cultural anthropology is more relevant today, and is made up of many sub elements( primates/ humans), humans have always been sophisticated, whether primitive" or not. Sociology is closely related to anthropology, in fact almost considered modern anthropology as some sociologists are now looking at sub cultures/ micro cultures among society who have similar goals and interests. Some subcultures include, hipsters (skateboarding), motorcyclists, and even video games. Anthropology is cultural sociology, or the sociology of others. Biological/ physical anthropology: the study of human origin from physical evidence and remains.