76.122 Cultural Anthropology
Module I Introductory Overview:
Concepts, Methods, and Theories
Notice: The material in this module is under development for a course to
be offered in Sept. 1997.
All content is preliminary and is not intended for citation or quotation.
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© 1996 University of Manitoba, All Rights Reserved
Contemporary world conditions are bringing us into direct contact with
peoples of many regions with vastly different values and ways of life. We
are, accordingly, faced with the challenge of tolerating and
appreciating other culture systems in order to avoid the terrible
alternative of increased ethnic nationalism and hostility. In this
course you will be introduced to the basic concepts and findings of
cultural anthropology, the systematic and comparative study of human
institutions and behaviour and will acheive an understanding of the
cultural diversity with which we are increasingly confronted and the
common humanity that lies beneath it.
This introductory module will discuss the main tools that anthropologists
use to collect and analyze information about cultural institutions and
cultural variatation throughout the world. We will be considering the
concept of culture, methods of ethnographic data collection, and
principles of ethnological theory.
- Define and discuss the central unifying concepts and principles of cultural anthropology.
- Demonstrate the cultural character of human experience, behaviour, and thought as conditioned by the use of symbols to interpret and interact with the real world.
- Emphasize the importance of learning and social milieu for cultural transmission.
- Discuss the interrelatedness of cultural elements within total cultures.
- Describe and evaluate the techniques and processes of ethnographic data collection and representation.
- Identify and compare the main ethnological (theoretical) orientations within cultural anthropology in relation to basic assumptions about the causes and origins of cultural phenomena.
Outline of Topics
- The Culture Concept
- A Brief History of the Culture Concept
- A Definition of Culture
- Emphases in the Culture Concept
- symbolic composition,
- systematic patterning,
- learned transmission,
- societal grounding.
Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology
- Ethnographic Methods
- Objectivity in Ethnography
- Dimensions of Theoretical Difference
- Ethnological Schools
- The Case of Dani Warfare
- Unit Summary
- Glossary of Terms
Bates & Plog, Cultural Anthropology
Part I. The Anthropological Perspective, pp. 2-71
- Chapter 1. Anthropology and the Study of Culture
- Chapter 2. The Development of Anthropological Theories
- Chapter 3. Methods of Cultural Anthropology
Heider, Grand Valley Dani
Chapter 1. Studying the Dani, pp. 1-23.
Department of Anthropology
University of Mantioba