Cultural Anthropology Essay Topics

What is anthropology? This is a question that can be answered in numerous ways, but we are
going to define it as simple as possible. If we break the word down into its two components it
means the study of human beings. "Anthropo" means human beings or human kind and "logy" or
"logia" is Greek for the study or knowledge of something. When we put it all together, it is the study
of human beings which can be very broad. Anthropology can be broken down into four subfields:
physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology.
Physical anthropology is all of the physical aspects of being human like human evolution and human
variation. People come in different heights, weights, and etc. The next subfield is archaeology which
is the human cultures in the past. Examples of these are artifacts and architecture like pyramids and
buildings. The third subfield of anthropology is called linguistic anthropology is the study of
language. The last subfield is called cultural anthropology and it is focused on the study of cultural
variation throughout the world. Cultural anthropology can also be called ethnology. Two of the
subfields that I thought were evident in most of the movies we watched were cultural anthropology
and linguistic anthropology.
One of my favorite examples of cultural anthropology was from the beginning of the semester in the
movie The Gods Must be Crazy. When Xi was venturing to the end of the earth to drop off the Evil
Thing, he has
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The time that I have spent in this anthropology course brought many concepts to my attention. Life
is full of so many aspects but we always seem to pay attention to the ones that interest us the most.
This course made me realize that I do not have to like something to have knowledge about its
existence and principles.
It is easy in life to lose contact with certain concepts because there are so many. Culture for instance,
is one of those concepts because it is such a vast topic. As we know, each individual is born and
raised in a culture that they reflect most of the time throughout their lifespan. For example, I was
born in the very strict Haitian culture that my parents taught me to appreciate. According to me,
my culture requires for someone to be responsible by believing and firmly practicing Catholicism,
by respecting and applying the rules of how someone should behave in society and to be educated.
These beliefs are the highlighted points that my parents passed on to me according to their culture.
However, this could be very different to someone else in the same Haitian community. What I am
try to point out is that every culture and even in the same culture there are many different aspects
that someone could or could not believe in and adopt. We could spend hours, days and years talking
about culture but one thing is certain, we will all never agree to the same aspects, norms and
principles of life. Each culture sees certain aspects of the world through different

Culture encounters
"Art simply consists of Different points of view" Cultural Encounters focuses on the study of
cultural identities interpreting human social costumes, religious practices and symbolic objects of
arts such as, statues, masks and bronze plaques as essential part of the human cultural identity.
{1}Ethnography is a method of Anthropology which is "a branch of natural sciences concerned with
the study of mankind through a close analysis of human society and through comparison between
cultures over time". cultural encounters can take the shape of clashes or at least opposition between
groups in one society, but it have often taken the form of war or conquest and submission as the
British conquest of Benin (1897) or as diplomacy and trade, organized exchange of ideas, politics,
goods and commodities i.e. the Portuguese trade agreement with Benin in the fifteenth century. the
relationship between cultural encounter, Anthropology and art, explores not only how art
contributed in encounters between Africa and Europe, but more how the study of encounters brings
into question the vary in the use and category of art between two different cultures such as, Benin vs.
Portuguese then Benin against European.
Benin, a kingdom in west Africa which was home to a simple and unique tradition of sculpture, the
materials used in Benin's arts – primarily ivory, brass and coral. Ivory is associated mainly with
figures of the Oba because the material is so hard and white

Cultural Anthropology And Cultural Diversity
The cultures' of everyone around the world are so varied and interesting. Sometimes a person
visiting a foreign country, state, or region may find it difficult to even comprehend the actions of
people within a certain culture. Even anthropologists are often astounded by how much difference
exists in the world. Culture is typically something sacred to a group of people, but it does have a
tendency to change overtime. Although there are many different aspects to culture, so much so that
their is a whole field dedicated to researching and understanding it, it's ultimately defined by its
interpretations, differentiations, and adaptations. In Cultural Anthropology: Appreciating Cultural
Diversity, a few chapters are dedicated to explaining the field of anthropology and culture within
an anthropological context. The first definition of cultures presented is, "Cultures are traditions
and customs, transmitted through learning, that form and guide the beliefs and behavior of the
people exposed to them," (Kottak, 2014, 3). This definition clearly covers a lot of ground, and
was likely drawn from many different perspectives. Another view provided later on was,
"Culture... is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and
any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as member of society," (Tylor, 1871/1958, 1).
Kottak's definition seems to be more broad, whereas Tylor's is very specific in its application of
what qualifies as culture. Difference

The Discipline Of Cultural Anthropology
The discipline of cultural anthropology falls into the idea that culture everywhere is our lives
impacts every aspect of our human lives. "Anthropology is the scientific study of human beings–that
is, human creature viewed in the abstract: male, female, all colors and shapes, pre–historic, ancient,
and modern. Many cultural anthropologists come to believe that the idea of our past and present
societies, from the social and cultural structure of them, to the religion and language, as well as the
symbols of that society all contribute to the bigger picture. Anthropology, then, most fundamentally
viewed, is simply the attempt of human beings to study and hence to understand themselves at all
times and in all places" (Langness 1998: 1). Many anthropologists focus their studies on a specific
society or rather, an aspect of the human beings in that society. The search for the bigger
understanding of humankind, all of the different ways of life. Anthropologists like to focus their
needs to look at the full range of human variety, and they like to study people that are part of all
different areas of the world. Cultural anthropology compares methods to evolutionary perspective of
human culture. Culture represents that knowledge we have, the values that we hold for ourselves,
the traditional ways that we view the world, as well as the words we use, the concepts we come to
understand, and the symbols that represent us.
Cultural anthropology is looked at to be the study of humans,

An Applied Anthropologist knows that understanding other people around is necessary in
functioning and interacting with others. Applied anthropology benefits humanity by looking at
diverse groups and finds the similarities among them. The increasing number of people on earth
consistently change because of the influences of other cultures and changes in their environment.
Applied anthropology allows for people to have a broad open minded perspective into the unknown
misunderstood cultural worlds of other people. They have a perspective on people and cultures
different from their own. Anthropological analyze has been turned onto the cultures of today,
including urbanized environments like Southern California where many sub cultures thrive

Cultural Anthropology Study Guide
1)According to the Guest textbook, what is cultural anthropology (summarize in your own words in
a sentence or two), and what is a key method used to conduct research in cultural anthropology. How
does one employ this method, according to Guest (pp. 7–19)?
Cultural anthropology is the study of human beliefs and values. It is a way of learning and
understanding how humans act in different countries and cultures. Ethnography is one of the main
key method used to conduct research in cultural anthropology. Ethnography is designed to observe
other people's lifestyles and understands from the people natives' point of view. The researchers went
into the area to study and learn on their own about the culture of the people instead of just reading
about...show more content...
In order to achieve his goals, he and his family moved to the Appalachian Valley. He studies by
being in that culture and trying to experience and think like the people in the Appalachian Valley.
In order for him to have a better knowledge of the mountain people, he specifically joined with a
storekeeper because the local store it is the center of the town where Hick can see a lot of people
talk and gossip. That how Hick figured out their social relationship.
2) With regard to the Introduction to the Culture and Ethnography section of the Conformity and
Conflict (C & C) text, what is "tacit cultural knowledge" and what is an example of tacit cultural
knowledge from your own culture? You can choose an example from either the broader "American
culture" or your own specific cultural group?
Tacit cultural knowledge is information that would be difficult to explain or write to others. It is a
knowledge that people would lack words for. It is limited number of sound categories. Oftentimes,
researchers discover them only by observed the behavior from the people in the

Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology 1A03 Exam Review Week 7 Monday October 18–Thursday October 21 "Expressive
Culture" (Miller Text Chapter 11) Expressive Culture October 18: Expressive Culture is: Behaviour
and beliefs related to art, leisure, and play. – linked to other cultural domains such as: Exchange: pot
latching art and dance, Bodily modification. Decorations, tattoos Religion: clothing, practices, etc.
What is Art? Art is application of imagination, skill and style to matters movement, and sound that
goes beyond the purely practical. * High art= in a museum * Low art= graffiti Who decides: What
is Art? Emic/etic confusions regarding art * Emic: insider (member) view or members of culture *
Etic: outsider (observer)...show more content...
Wrote the Midterm Communication: October 27 Linguistic and Cultural Anthropology: * Material
from both fields of anthropology about human communication * Connections to biological
anthropology, ex. Nonhuman primate communication and archaeology regarding communication in
past cultures The Varieties of Human Communication: * Language and verbal communication * Non
verbal communication/language and embodied communication * Communicating with media and
technology Basic Concepts: Communication: conveying meaningful messages from one person or
animal to another. Language: based on a systematic set of learned and shared symbols and signs.
Two distinctive features of Human Language: 1. Productivity= the ability to create an infinite range
of understandable messages. 2. Displacement= the ability to refer to event in the past and future
(displaced domains) What do the Pirahas have to teach us: language as a tool, happiness is way of
life – seem very happy, Daniel Everett– Endangered languages video – the ways in which the case of
the piraha can teach us about language elsewhere, they don`t use numbers culturally. Little evidence
of productivity and displacement in Piraha language – their language is adequate for their culture.
Language

Importance Of Culture In Anthropology
Culture and society is a very important part of anthropology. Although the way that anthropologist
view these terms may be different that what other people view them as. Culture from an
anthropology is shared behaviors, trends, beliefs, and rituals. It gives meaning and is shaped by our
experiences. Where according to the dictionary, culture is the arts and other manifestations of
human intellectual achievements regarded collectivity. It is quite similar, but in ways very
different. When you talk about culture in classes or to others, many view it as you belong to one
certain culture. For example, when people ask what was the culture like in a place that you have
visited, they assume that there is one belief that is practiced, or a religious practice.
From an anthropology prospective, society is groups of internal and external relations are governed
by rules, preform a variety of function, and which endure beyond lives of their constituent. An
interest in society has more to do with understanding the way that people associate with one another
and how activity is organized. Outside an anthropology perspective, there is two main ways that
people would define society. One is a group of people living together in a community, otherwise
known as a community or the general public. Where the other is an organization or a club, like the
national honors society.
Society and Culture are very important concepts to anthropology. Culture is very important in
anthropology because it is

Cultural Anthropology and Ethnographic Fieldwork
James P. Spradley (1979) described the insider approach to understanding culture as "a quiet
revolution" among the social sciences (p. iii). Cultural anthropologists, however, have long
emphasized the importance of the ethnographic method, an approach to understanding a different
culture through participation, observation, the use of key informants, and interviews. Cultural
anthropologists have employed the ethnographic method in an attempt to surmount several
formidable cultural questions: How can one understand another's culture? How can culture be
qualitatively and quantitatively assessed? What aspects of a culture make it unique and which
connect it to other cultures? If...show more content...
This interpretation must make meaning from the culture in the same way that natives draw meaning.
According to Spradley (1979), the structural components of cultural meaning come from what people
say, what they do, and what artifacts they use (p. 9). In anthropological field work, he or she attempts
to observe and document these cultural aspects. In addition, and more importantly, the
anthropologist must then, as accurately as possible, make inferences which parallel those of the
natives.
The grandiose task of wearing another's cultural skin understandably comes with a host of opinions
on how such a job can be accomplished. Anthropologists have long argued about the accuracy of
ethnographies (Levinson & Ember, 1996, pp. 419–21). Much of the discussion stems from the
assumption that some cultural aspects are ineffable and subconscious. Can an anthropologist
approach his subject, as Spradley argues, "with a conscious attitude of almost complete ignorance"?
Is it possible to consciously withhold one's own cultural interpretations while attempting to study
that very thing in another culture?" (Spradley, 1979, p. 4 & Levinson & Ember, 1996, pp. 419–21).
Anthropologist Robert M. Keesing, in his essay "Not a Real Fish: The Ethnographer as Insider
–Outsider," (1992) deals candidly with the problems of fully becoming an

The Importance Of Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology is the social sciences discipline that looks to understand humanity. In this discipline
there are subdivisions such as cultural anthropology and primatology, and the beauty of anthropology
is that you can more than you think, link some of your life event to some anthropological context.
Cultural anthropology is one of the four fields of anthropology. It looks for patterns of beliefs or
behaviours in a group and how they are connected. Anthropologist looks at differences and
similarities between different groups and different cultures. They obtain their data through field
work. There is actually two method of for anthropologist to study a culture of a group; ethnography
and ethnology. Ethnography is a detailed description of a particular group based on the information
you get with field work. Most anthropologist actually go live with this particular group for a certain
amount of time to get the more information possible and write the most detailed and accurate
description of this group. The other method, ethnology, is a study of different cultures from cross
cultural comparison. In this method, they generalized a lot and they using the information of some
ethnographic studies already done.
Imagine that I have chosen to pursue research cultural anthropology and that I have received a
research grant to fund my study, I will choose to focus on the indigenous people in Canada
(MГ©tis and Inuit). I would like to know why this people have decides to live in particular

Cultural Anthropology : Physical Anthropology
glossary
Anthropology: It is a general comprehensive science of man in the past and present of any culture.
This is divided into two main areas: physical anthropology, dealing with biological evolution and
physiological adaptation of humans, and social or cultural anthropology that deals with people living
in society, ie forms of evolution of language, culture and customs. Anthropology uses tools and
knowledge produced by the natural sciences and the social sciences. Aspiration of anthropological
discipline is to produce knowledge about the human being in various areas, but always as part of a
society. Thus, attempts to encompass both the biological evolution of our species, development and
lifestyles of people who have disappeared, the social structures of today and the diversity of cultural
and linguistic expressions that characterize humanity.
Physical Anthropology: Physical anthropology is primarily concerned with the evolution of man,
human biology and the study of other primates, using working methods used in the natural sciences.
In other words, the study of man considering its nature and culture.
Cultural Anthropology: The branch of anthropology that studies the characteristics of learned
behavior in human societies, ie science of human culture. Overall, it is the science that studies the
origin, development, structure, characteristics and variations of human culture both past societies
like those of the present. Ethnography, ethnology, archeology, linguistics and

What is anthropology? Anthropology is the scientific and humanistic study of human beings. So
what is cultural anthropology? Cultural anthropology is the study of human thoughts and behaviors.
As soon as we are born we are taught what our cultural knowledge is; what our norms and values
are, as well as cultural construction and world view. Everyday we experience and encounter
phenomenons that are part of our culture; without realizing it. Before taking this class, I often
thought that our advanced society was the standard to which to measure all other societies from,
but after reviewing the material in this course, it is impossible to make such a comparison. Many
of the people in a culture similar to the U.S. would probably find most of the cultures we have
studied to be "slow" strange or undesirable. In fact, it seems that many of the societies actually
prefer to live the way they do and they accept it as normal. "Normal" is a relative term, and it is
difficult to establish evidence to label a culture or its characteristics as abnormal. What may seem
to work here in the U.S. often would be disastrous to other cultures. Last summer I had traveled
parts of Europe with my friends, and it was astonishing to see the difference between cultures. One
thing that was noticed right off the bat was that the Europeans start their week on a Monday and it
ends on Sunday. While in the U.S. we start our week on Sunday and it goes to Saturday. Also while
here in the U.S we think of

2015–11–09 12:34 PM
Anthropology
Anthropos = humanity Archaeology, Biological/Physical, Linguistic (salvage ethnography)
Ethnography
Ethnos = culture Graphy = writing Field work: 'go native' – live among, adapt and become the kind
of people
CHAPTER 1 – What is Anthropology?
How is anthropology different from...
Sociology – both study social relations Political Science – both interested in power relations
Economics – both study material conditions of peoples lives History Psychology – both study
relationships between people and society
Key Distinguishing Features:
A focus on the concept of culture A comparative perspective A holistic perspective– look at culture
as an integrated whole...show more content...
Often occurs under pressure from the domination of a more powerful group over a subjugated one
Global Culture: a constellation of technologies, practices, attitudes, values, and symbols that spread
internationally Globalization: the process by which the exchange of products, investment, and
people across national and regional boundaries increases Liberalization policies: policies that attempt
to eliminate national government controls on investment, imports, currency rates, and many other
practices that ere considered to constrain

Cultural Anthropologist Essay
Anthropologist are known to play devil's advocate, to accumulate knowledge on a global scale and
to ultimately make the familiar strange and the strange familiar. Their whole purpose is to study the
language, traditions and customs of societies so knowledge on how humanity has developed over
time may be advanced. Cultural anthropologists use a wide range of techniques in order to reach an
insightful understanding of human behavior in a specific culture. Cultural Anthropologists play a
vital role in spreading what knowledge is accumulated from other regions of the world.
Before an anthropologist is to set foot in another man's land; research is first to be done. An
anthropologist will read up on previous studies and articles done by past anthropologists.

Cultural Anthropology And Race Essay
Race stood out to me the most in Chapter 12 of the text Cultural Anthropology. п»їп»їп»їThis is a
topic that I see or hear п»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їissues about daily. It shapes so much of our society
and how we view and interact with each other. The book basically sums up most of how race is still
viewed in the world today. For centuries, whites have been seen in the United States as the
п»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їп»їtop of the global race chart while
people with darker skin fall towards the bottom. Because of meaningless charts such as these, racism
was created and has continued to become a problem. The Barbie article discussed events that
happened 15+ years ago that coincides with events still happening today. After launching a new
African American Barbie named Shani, Mattel

What Is Anthropology? Essay
For the past century, Anthropology has come to be known as a study of an infinite curiosity about
humans. Not only concerned with an interest in human beings and their developements,
Anthropology is much more broad in concept of trying to understand the relationships between
human beings and all possible questions about them. Anthropology is trying to understand all aspects
of human beings through the broad discovery, study, interpretation and inference of past and present
cultural characteristics. In appling the knowledge aquired, one can gain an understanding of
individuals in society, regardless of the resulting conclusion being right or wrong.
The scope of anthropology is much more broad than that of other disciplines ofscience....show more
content...
Motivated by the will to eliminate error and inaccurate theory, Anthropology seeks to find consistent
data for analysis of human exsistence. By removing skeptic ideals, Anthropologists can form a
widley accepted explanation of human developement through time.
To further an already in–depth approach into the validety of human exsistence, Anthropology
provides a holisitc way of joining the cultural traits of humans. In effort to define a certian people,
an Anthropologist may use several factors of that peopel's tradition. The geography of an area, the
formation of a peoples' language, conflicting religious sanctians, and the political history of a
people are key factors in a human experience. Not only studying a variety of people, Anthropology
discerns why such a variety exsists and how a differenciation between people and their habits has
occured.
In studying such specific details of perhaps only one area, Anthropologists can gather information to
further the reason such great civilizations have exsisted during the ages of time. By also using a
multifaceted system, Anthropologists of recent years have found themeselves specializing in
different studies and branching the already diverse field of Anthropology. Investigating partcular
areas of the discipline, Anthropologists center their attention toward a designated sub–field. Despite
this, Anthropology still

Cultural Anthropology Essay
Almost all cultures world wide have highly developed traditions of music and dance. According to
Mari Womack, author of Being Human: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, music and dance
carry much importance within a culture. "As do other artistic forms, music and dance reflect cultural
and social organization. Cultural values can be conveyed in the words of a song, and the
performance of a song or a dance is dependent on the social context" (Womack 226). Music and
instruments are of great significance in many places world wide. For example, the BaMbuti foragers
from Africa's Ituri rain forest have an instrument which they call the molimo which looks like an
extremely long pipe. The men of the BaMbuti...show more content...
When done correctly, it looks like an advanced version of "the wave." These are fine examples of
Marching Band as the art of music and dance.
Marching Band is, in most high schools, on the fringes of society. Those instrument–toting kids
spend countless hours fine tuning their skills, only to receive little respect from the rest of the
students. They are called "band nerds." They are laughed at. And yet they persist. But why? Why
not give into the mainstream high school culture and join football or cheer leading? Why spend
countless hours playing and replaying their parts until their fingers are worn to the bone when they
could be watching movies, going on dates, and eating pizza? These were my questions based on my
limited knowledge of high school marching bands. So, I decided to use my budding role as
anthropologist to find out.
My first step was to select a marching band to study. Luckily, the local high school, Goshen High
School, has an excellent marching band which has competed at the state level for the last decade.
A friend of mine at Goshen College who was a member of the band helped me to contact a current
member of the band who could assist me by being my informant. For my informant, I chose a
student, Jordan, who is currently involved in the band as a section leader, but has been in several
other roles as well. Jordan also has been involved in the Marching Band for all of his four years of
high

The Anthropology Of Cultural Anthropology
This course covers the basics of cultural anthropology, which seeks to understand the
purpose and place of the humans in this world. It will include anthropology as a social science,
the concept of culture, and it would also introduction the human evolution and to archaeology,
ethnographic field methods. The importance of human language, human development, patterns,
global economy, marriage and the family, gender issues, global politics and local political
organization, social stratification, medical anthropology, ethnicity, the anthropology of religion,
the arts, culture change, and applied anthropology. Culture is that complex whole which includes
art, morals, law, politics, and any other capabilities acquired by humans as members...show more
content...
Other anthropologists, while recognizing that culture is an abstraction and is difficult to
measure, nevertheless hold that a worthy goal of anthropologists is to understand the structure of
ideas and meanings as they exist in the minds of members of a particular culture. Such an
approach is often labeled subjective, rationalist, or humanistic, and sometimes called an emic
approach. By emic, anthropologists mean that the central goal of the anthropologist is to
understand how culture is lived and experienced by its members (Boas 1940).
Cultural anthropology, therefore, has its roots as a colonial enterprise, one of specializing
in the study of small–scale, simple, "primitive" societies. This is, however, not an accurate
description of contemporary cultural anthropology. Many anthropologists today work within
complex societies. But the anthropology of complex societies is still much different than
sociology. The history of working within small–scale, isolated cultural settings also led to the
development of a particular methodology that is unique to cultural anthropology (Pickering

2006).
Anthropologists working in a specific cultural setting typically acquire information about
topics not necessarily of immediate importance, or even interest, for the research project at hand.
Nevertheless, anthropologists, when describing the culture they are working with, will

Overview of Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology The nature of the culture: farming, hunting, gathering, fishing, cattle raising,
industrialization etc. The uses and measures of wealth. Jamaica has a history of farming, hunting,
gathering and fishing going back to colonial days. This is when the British colonized the country in
order to provide them with a number of agricultural products they could sell on the world markets.
The most notable include: sugar cane, coffee, bananas, yams, citrus fruits, vegetables and fish. As the
country developed, is when industrialization began to occur. This took place with tourism becoming
the most dominant industry. At the same time, there was a focus on bauxite, chemicals, paper,
cement and textile production. These different areas are used to account for the majority of it
exports. This is based upon figures illustrating where the majority of GDP growth is occurring.
("Jamaica") (Rogozinski) (Taylor) Geography and environmental limitations: climate, environmental
stresses, hardships, and subsistence requirements. Jamaica has a tropical climate that is warm year
round. The biggest environmental stresses are the damages the country will face are from June 1st
to November 30th related to hurricanes and tropical storms. The biggest hardships are the continuing
amounts of poverty, with this impacting nearly 70% of the nation. This means that many people are
dependent upon remittances sent to them from their families abroad and the government is
dependent upon

Cultural Anthropology Essay Topics

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