Reflection Introduction To Anthropology

Reflection Introduction To Anthropology
Throughout this Introduction to Anthropology course, we covered many important topics and their relevance to anthropology. Almost every week, we
focused on one specific topic and completed a field exercise relating to that topic. Through these fieldwork exercises, I learned that thinking on the spot,
being constantly aware of your own bias, and writing efficiently are all important skills that are essential for anthropologists. Although each skill
presents its own challenges, such as speaking without preparation, recognizing your own bias, and turning in flawed field exercises, it is important to
work through those challenges to improve these crucial skills.
One thing I learned about anthropology through doing all of the fieldwork exercises is how critical it is to be able to think on the spot. This came up
in almost every field exercise where we had to interview other people. Even though I had planned out the exact questions I wanted to ask the people I
was interviewing, the interviewees would often give answers that required additional or even different questions than from what I had planned. In
order to properly address everything that the people I interviewed said, I had to come up with related questions that would better fit what they spoke
about. For example, in the fourth field exercise, I needed to press Anna for specific examples of things she feels she needs more time to do. At first,
she had only said that she has enough time for some things and not for others,
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Anthropology Reflection
Follow Up Reflection, Ben Parfitt
During this Anthropology Convention, I have learned many things on their duties, what they discover, research and how they compare it to modern
life these days. I would start off by saying that this assignment helped me become more confident about the knowledge of common type Anthropology.
It was interesting learning about bones, discoveries and especially different cultures, tribes and beliefs that people are included in across the world
that I never knew existed. My group created a fish, stingray like species that we named the Guaca Puca. This species swims in the sand like a fish
in water, it is very large, lived in the Sahara desert and became extinct millions of years ago when the sun became more powerful in that area and
their habitat was lost because of the dry soil. We created a slideshow full of the information about our species to introduce to the class. This was the
most resourceful way because it provides slides that we can group information in an organized fashion. We wanted our audience to see visuals of
each slide because many people in this world are visual learners. Kahoot is an easy electronic way to get the class involved with your presentation. It
also tests to see if people have been paying attention to our detail and key information about our species.
I was asked if I were to leave a box filled with items we commonly use today for future Anthropologists to find hundreds of years from now, what
would I leave? Well today's generation has evolved drastically in the past century, so there would be a huge difference on what we would put in that
box today compared to the 1800's. I would place a cell phone, a new car, our written language, common sports equipment, and a list of our common
laws (some of the most important ones) in the box. The following reasoning below is why I would place those certain items in the box. Firstly, the cell
phone. These electronic devices are what most to all teenage, adults and adolescents are constantly using throughout the day. These small items are part
of our everyday life, and has changed common form of communication massively. In the future, they will most probably have a device that is much
more advanced, and people

Anthropology Lessons Learned
The most important lesson I learned as an anthropology major is that it is necessary for people to work together and ensure the safety and
wellbeing of others, and I believe that social workers are able to make that direct change for individuals in need. Clinical social workers have the
ability to invest their time and be activists for their community while helping people at a micro level, which enables an interpersonal relationship
that provides them with the necessary tools to work on social problems and make a difference in their lives. My journey into social work started
when I was volunteering in my city. At the YMCA, I was a youth leader. Not only did I take care of the children, I also worked on improving the
space for kids and teens,...show more content...
Since then, I have worked hard to make sure that I chose classes that specifically dealt with issues pertaining to social issues. And I made sure to take
jobs that helped me improve my communication skills so that I can better empathize with people. I believe that I am a strong candidate for the Masters
in Social Work from Simmons College because I have committed a lot of time working for my community and I gained a lot of the necessary skills
through that. And with Simmons's dedication to giving their students hands–on experience, I believe that I will learn more important skills and
improve the skill that I have. Through Simmons's dedication in teaching students proper counseling techniques and social justice, I will be able to
learn how to be a professional in this

Anthropology : A Study Of Humanity
Generally, anthropology can be defined as the study of humanity. This includes every aspect of the human condition: language, history, culture, biology,
past and present. Anthropology is all encompassing and due to its breadth, it can be considered both a study in humanities and science. However,
anthropology is easily distinguishable from both hard sciences and humanities. The aspects that distinguish anthropology lie mostly in the methodology
that anthropologists use to study human beings. Methodology in the anthropological field not only includes the specific kind of data collection, but
also the attitude that researchers take on as they approach their research as well as the main ideas they address. Anthropologists aim to study human
evolution and culture holistically, comparatively, and relativistically through fieldwork. The way that anthropologists utilize and integrate each aspect
of this methodology allows them to add specificity to this broad topic and to set it uniquely aside from all others. The way that anthropologists conduct
research is generally believed to be what sets anthropology aside from all other humanities and hard sciences. Anthropologists hold fast to the emphasis
on fieldwork, which is defined as data collection while in contact with the people, sites, and animals being studied. While each subfield of anthropology
(linguistics, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology) approaches field work differently, types of fieldwork

Anthropology Essay : Practicing Anthropology
Practicing Anthropology When I think of anthropology, in my mind I think of a researcher of different cultures or the study of people, places, and
the historical life of others from around the world. Never, would I have thought that I practice anthropology in my personal life. This paper will
describe situations in my life that led me to unknowingly practiced anthropology. I grew up in a home that was very much dysfunctional and full of
hypocrisy. This was difficult for me because I was often confused about what was expected from me. Theculture of my surroundings was that of
entitlement, prejudism, racism, and ethnocentrism. They valued nothing and took whatever they could from government funding and from others
while often put others...show more content...
As a parent, I ensured that my children were raised with the polar opposite of social structure that I had received. When my children do well, I praise
them and display their hard work for everyone to see. As my children grew up, I taught them about my religious culture and allowed them to choose
their own religious or non–religious path, (even though I may want them to have the same beliefs as I have). When I was eleven years old, my
biological mother had requested I come live with her. Despite my excitement to go live with my mother, in my mind, I moved to a foreign country
where I felt as if I were an alien. I moved from Eugene, Oregon with a population of mostly white Caucasians to Indio, California highly populated
with the Hispanic culture. I was the minority in my neighborhood and in my school. Indio was a city full of enculturation, and the children practiced
the same cultures as their parents and their parent's parents. It was highly populated with the Hispanic culture. Everyone spoke both English and
Spanish but Spanish was used most often. While I did not learn the language, I was intrigued by everything around me such as the primary religion
most practiced (Catholic), the language, food, music, and the family values. The social structure of the Hispanic people was something I was not
familiar with, these were very large families who cherished one another and their religion was taken serious. They valued hard work and play. I truly
enjoyed living within the

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 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 Essay
Cultural Anthropology
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

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

Essay on anthropology
Anthropology proves to be satisfying and intellectually fulfilling to many in the field.
However, there are also many challenges and bumps in the road along the way. Napolean A. Chagnon and
Claire Sterk faced many of these challenges themselves. During his fieldwork with the Yanomamo, Chagnon faced many challengesinteracting with the
natives. Chagnon could not practically communicate with the people until about six months after he arrived. He notes ? the hardest thing to live with
was the incessant, passioned, and often aggressive demands they would make.? An example of this is the natives threatening with a shout such as; ?If
you don?t take me with you on your next boat trip to Widokalyateri, I?ll chop a hole in your canoe!? While...show more content...
Developing a relationship and trust with women who had never had any trustworthy people in their lives was quite challenging as well. Sterk was
once followed home by one of the woman?s pimps and his friends, and was jumped. The woman admitted to Sterk over a year later that they wanted
to teach her a lesson and she knew about it all along. Sterk describes ? At one time, I felt true hatred for a crack house owner and was unable to adhere
to the rules of courteous interactions.? ( Sterk 10)
In Gmelch?s work with ethnography, he took students to do fieldwork in Barbados. He says his students usually come out of the experience learning
more about themselves than they did about the people they were supposed to be studying. The students learned more than they ever had about intimacy
in relationships than they ever had in their culture. They compared it to the impersonality and detachment of their suburban lives. One of the biggest
adjustments the students had to make was adjusting to the slow–pace of village life. Many got used to being entertained just by socializing with the
people and had no desire to leave if given a chance. Materialism diminished as the students began to feel embarrassed that they have so much. The
people in the villages had so little and were seemingly so much happier than Americans. The students became minorities for their stay in the villages.
One student says ? I have never been in a

Anthropology Essay
Jonathan Turner Mr. Grosh Ant–160 5/27/2013 Exam 1.1 In many anthropological studies, the scientists attempt to define a culture that is unknown to
society. They go in and find people that are considered "other." They pick apart and analyze everything that they find. All of the articles we have read
and discussed in class do this. In this paper, I will show you how the directors and anthropologists do this. In the movie, Summer Pasture, the director
attempted to analyze the lives of Tibetan nomads and how they survived in their daily lives. He put major emphasis on their raising of livestock, the
raising of their children, and their interactions with the Chinese people. One of the most prominent scenes in the film is when the...show more content...
Miner points out to us that they believe their bodies to be ugly (Miner 503). He talks about the shrines dedicated to rituals that make the people
beautiful. Rituals these people don't believe that they can live without (Miner 503–504) He points to many different potions and magical materials that
these people use many times. Telling us that they are believed to cure the body of its ailments (Miner504). He points out that this "other" does their
rituals daily and they keep them a secret from everyone else. Miner tells us about a "mouth man" that these people visit once or twice a year. In this
article, Miner also says that, "the Nacerima has certainly shown them to be a magic–ridden people." Miner also describes a "listener" that is able to
exorcise the "devils" that may reside in the body. This listener is able to do so just by talking to the people, sometimes by giving them yet more
magic materials (Miner 506). Miner shows us that these people are very different from us. We think of them as magical and doing things we would
never do, nor do we understand. But are they really that much different from us? Anthropologists from all over the world are interested in any and all
"other" people. Many go out of their way to analyze

1.Anthropology is a holistic study of the human race, past and present. In order to effectively achieve this, the field has to be sub–divided to achieve a
deep reaching understanding of the human race. The sub–divisions in America are biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural
anthropology, and archaeology. These divisions arose as early American Anthropologists studied the native people of North America. In order to study
the customs, languages, social traits of Native Americans, early Anthropology scholars realized the 4 fields would be relevant. Cultural anthropologists
studied how the people live in the present. Biological anthropologists studied the bones and other biological traits of the native North American people
(past and present). Archaeological anthropologists excavated tools, pottery and building and linguistic anthropologists study the various languages that
exist between them and how they exist. Through the conjunction of anthropologists from the various sub–divisions, a holistic picture of the native
North Americans has emerged and they frequently share their findings in conferences and other meetings.
2.Anthropology is a humanistic science because it takes a holistic view in the study of the humankind. Everything that is associated with being human is
carefully and thoughtfully studied and nothing human is excluded. It tries to propagate all that is known about who humans are, how we evolved to
become this way and our future potentials

Reflection Paper On Anthropology
When I first began taking Anthropology at the beginning of the semester, I was not exactly sure what to expect. I quickly learned anthropology is a
topic that covers a little bit of everything. We began the semester with learning about different cultures, to medicine, and all the way to race and
ethnicity. For every career field, there is always something to learn from anthropology that pertain to specific jobs. Anthropology teaches the employee
fields the background of various cultures they might encounter and teaches them how to communicate with different types of people. As a nursing
major, there are so many units I can use to help better myself in my career field. There are so many topics that have had an impact on me as I prepare
for my future. Not only has the medical and healthcare units impacted me, but also the cultures and communication help me get a better understanding
of other people and how to respond to their culture. The very first unit was all about culture. I learned exactly what culture is and what makes up a
culture. I found it very interesting at how many different cultures there are. Even in the West Georgia area, there are so many different cultures around
us. I had never realized just how diverse this small college down is. Many times, at the beginning of the unit, I thought that this unit would not have as
much to do with me because I assumed we were all similar. While that may be true to a certain extent, the culture we grow up in play major roles

Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology what a vulnerable observer you are! You may well have to jump into the arms of the scientists if you are going to try to keep your grass
hut at the academy! –– Ruth Behar
Debates on the role the reflexive plague the field of cultural anthropology as postmodern critics join the bandwagon attempting to claim authority in this
dubiously recognized discipline. In the borderline realm between the sciences and humanities, cultural anthropology has tried to find a niche in which it
can comfortably rest. For many, this has been in building a foundation of the methodical. If anthropology can classify, categorize, and synthesize, it can
assert its legitamacy to the glares of academia. However, in the attempts to...show more content...
The anthropologist is not a data classification machine. The anthropologist is a human being with specific angles, interpretations, and background.
Reality is perception. By reading ethnographies, we are learning from other's perception. The range of approaches is specifically what gives this
discipline it's richness and depth. Johannes Fabian in Remembering the Present: Painting and Popular History, comments,
Which and whose reality? Once the ethnographer has ceased to think that being in touch with reality and truth is guaranteed by following the rules of
scientific investigation, the outcome of contests and confrontations cannot be a victory of one kind of knowledge over the other. (p304)
Fabian in this ethnography beautiful depicts his role to give the reader a sense of the dialogue and exchange.
When two cultures interact, the exchange itself reveals insight. Fabian does not dismiss this in his ethnography. Like a stone thrown to water, the
anthropologist cannot attempt to study the environment without the acknowledgement of the ripples he/she creates. An example of Fabian's reflexivity
is as follows,
Perhaps Tshibumba sensed my incredibility and imagined the explanations I might come up with. That is why he made sure I understood what he
wanted to accomplish with this painting –– to create a kind of presence. (p300)
In this example, Fabian shows the reader how his presence may have an effect on the data. With the use of the word "perhaps", he

Anthropology and Its Branches
Anthropology is the study of human beings, in particular the study of their physical character, evolutionary history, racial classification, historical and
present–day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural history. Anthropology can be characterized as the naturalistic description and
interpretation of the diverse peoples of the world.
Modern–day anthropology consists of two major divisions: cultural anthropology, which deals with the study of human culture in all its aspects; and
physical anthropology, which is the study of human physical character, in both the past and present.
Anthropology emerged as an independent science in the late 18th century, it developed two divisions: physical anthropology, which focuses on...show
more content...
For example, paintings on walls of tombs may throw light on the status of the person buried there. Such paintings often depict practices prevalent in a
society. Study of burial sites can helparchaeologists understand the religious beliefs of a group of people.
Biological Anthropology
Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, deals with tracing the biological origins, evolutionary changes, and the genetic diversity
of the human species. In the process, biological anthropologists study primate behavior, and anatomical variations between primates and human beings
in order to understand physical changes that have taken place in humans during their evolutionary journey from apes. They may also take up genetic
analysis and anthropometric studies to find reasons behind the physical differences between people of various groups.
Besides these major branches, anthropology also has other divisions like forensic anthropology, medical anthropology, and ecological anthropology.
Although each branch is a specialized field of study, they are inter–related. This gives anthropologists an edge over researchers from other fields in
addressing human problems, as they study human existence not in isolation but in totality.
Evolution Of Man – What is it?
The modern theory concerning the evolution of man proposes that humans and apes derive from an apelike ancestor that lived on earth a few million
years ago. The theory states that man,

Why Do We Study Anthropology?
Why Study Anthropology?
Intro: The study of anthropology is important because it gives the public insight as to why people act the way they do. By studying anthropology the
world can have a better understanding of different cultures and why people have different norms and values. If people have more insight on why
individuals act the way they do we can appreciate and respect peoples' choices more. For instance, instead of people looking at hijabs as a restricting
clothing item that women in the Middle East wear, ethnographic research could help the public understand that women can wear hijabs by choice.
However, anthropology is inherently "othering" because typically the anthropologist is entering into a country in which they were not raised and is
observing peoples day–to–day lives. Despite the flaws of anthropology, I think the research and field work, when done accurately, produces more
benefits than harm.
Pros: It is important to remember that each culture has their own values that are incomparable. A prime example of two cultures conflicting over
ideas is women in the Middle East wearing a hijab. What is liberating for a woman in the west might be different for a woman in the Middle East.
Generally speaking, women in the west feel liberated by wearing what ever they want to wear. Women who choose to wear hijabs in the Middle East
feel liberated in wearing them. Women from the west try to impose their ideas regarding liberation on to other cultures but being

Essay on Linguistics in Anthropology
Linguistics in Anthropology
When we begin to dive into the study of humans, also known as Anthropology, there are so many subdivisions we can learn about. One very interesting
clump within the study of Anthropology can be classified as Linguistic Anthropology. In this instance, anthropologists studylanguage and how the
development and its use can be studied to understand culture. According to the department of Anthropology at California State University Long beach,
Anthropologists are interested in learning "how many languages there are, how those languages are distributed across the world, and their
contemporary and historical relationships. We are also interested in language variation, why variations exist, how the variations are used...show more
content...
This can help to discover why some humans speak a certain way or how social groups differ from one another. In addition this gives an insight to how
humans in the past might have interacted with each other when they were in different social groups.
We use developmental linguistics to uncover the process of speech development. We are able to understand why people develop a certain ways in
regards to speech, what influences their speech habits, and how speech plays a role in development as well. One case study, about a little girl Genie,
who was neglected and abused by her family, shows how language is critical in child development. "The only words addressed to her were angry ones.
She could say 'stopit', 'nomore,' 'no,' and a few other negative words. At age 13, she understood only 20 words" (Ellensburg). With limited speech
interaction and abuse from her parents, she had many mental and physical disabilities. Developmental linguistics magnifies how important language is
and the effects it can have on those who have no understanding of language.
When learning about how our brain interacts with language, we learn about neurolinguistics. Researchers try to find out how the brain can understand
the complexity that is the human language. It goes much deeper than us being able to memorize words. We have to understand imaging, theoretical
ideas and situations, time, sarcasm, mannerism, and much more. This is something that cannot be figured out by a

The Importance of Anthropology Anthropology is a scientific field that seems to be largely misunderstood by the general public. Many people hear
the word "anthropology" and think of an old man with a magnifying glass looking at some dusty old fossils. In reality, anthropology is much more
broad than archaeology, which people normally associate with it. Forms of anthropology are used in many aspects of daily life from advertising to
law enforcement. Anthropology is difficult to define, as it is extremely broad as a science, but it is vital to everyday life. The best way to define
anthropology is as the study of humans. Anthropology has four disciplines that all focus on different aspects of the human race. The first is called
biological...show more content...
Real archaeologists spend most of their time in labs, studying their own findings and the findings of others in hopes of finding another clue about the
human race's past. Occasionally, an archaeologist may find a location that can serve as an archaeological dig, in which case they will spend a lot of
time in the field, digging up and preserving new artifacts for study in a lab. The final, and probably least understood, discipline of anthropology is
linguistics. Linguistics, as defined by Texas State University, "examines how human speech and written text, made possible by the evolved human
capacity for language, is a fundamental mechanism through which people create culture and social life" ("What is Anthropology"). Linguistic
anthropologists try to find how language and other forms of communication affect culture in various regions of the world. All of these branches of
anthropology work together to find a deeper understanding of the human race. Every branch of anthropology works together in a number of ways. The
primary goal of anthropology is understand the human race's past. Archaeology discovers and interprets clues from past civilizations while biological
anthropology uses knowledge of past humans to aid in interpretation. Cultural and linguistic anthropology work together to form an idea of past
cultures based on their observation of current cultures. All of these disciplines come together to form a clear picture of a past civilization that fills in a
gap in

Anthropology and Social Work Essay
Anthropology and Social Work
Anthropologists like myself try to figure out why present day humans are the way they are.
Meredith F. Small Female Choices
Who are we? How old is the human species? Where did we come from? What do we believe and why? Is our own culture the epitome of civilization?
What is reality? How have we arrived at a position where destroying the earth doesn't bother us very much? These, and many, many more are the
questions that drive anthropologists to study human beings and our interactions. In fact, the presence of a driving question is the seed that creates
anthropologists, as we will soon see.
Anthropology is the study of humanity. As one might suspect, given the scope of the questions in the previous paragraph,...show more content...
It is quite startling (and exhilarating) to realize that not all people view reality the same way we do, and the only way to fully understand another's
reality is to live it. As Spradley so eloquently puts it:
Ethnography offers all of us the chance to step outside our narrow cultural backgrounds, to set aside our socially inherited ethnocentrism, if only for a
brief period, and to apprehend the world from the viewpoint of other human beings who live by different meaning systems. (pg. v)
There are good reasons to go to all this trouble to learn about different cultures other than for the sake of pure knowledge. By studying other cultures,
we can very possibly create innovative solutions to problems that plague our own culture&SHY;&SHY;not the least of which is our intense feelings of
separation. David Mayberry Lewis (in his film for the PBS Millennium series entitled "Inventing Reality") speaks of the Australian aborigines belief that
everything in the universe is spiritually connected, which he compares to Western cultural beliefs:
Our way is to objectify reality&SHY; define it in cut and dried terms&SHY; and in so doing we distance ourselves from everything else in the
universe. It is a dangerous and sad position. The danger is being certain. We've all seen the cruelty that proceeds from certainty. Dogma. The sadness is
losing our sense of being connected to

Reflection Introduction To Anthropology

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Reflection Introduction To Anthropology