Anthropological view of culture
How and why cultures differ and are similar
Theoretical orientation – attitude about how cultural phenomenon is to be explained.
Early evolutionism (Tylor and Morgan)
- culture evolved from simple to complex- 3 stages of development savagery, barbarism, civilization
- to account for variations – societies in different stages of evolution
Ref.
Primitive Culture(1871) by Tylor
Animism →monotheistic religion
Ancient Society (1877) by Morgan
Historical Particularism – (Boas)
Disagreed with evolutionists that cultures are governed by universal laws
- cultural trait has to be studied in the context of the society in which it appeared
- only after body of the data was gathered could theories be proposed and interpretation made.
Diffusionism - British school
– most aspects of civilization were developed in Egypt and diffused to other parts
Functionalism (Malinowski)
- cultural traits serve the needs of individuals in a society function of cultural traits is its ability to satisfy same basic needs or derived needs of the members of the group.
Structural Functionalism
- cultural function as he structure in the society that exists to meet human need.
e.g.) Funeral to cope with death of a person
Ethnoscience
- attempts to derive these rules from a logical analysis as free as possible from cultural biases (indigenous knowledge)
Sociolobiology
- Culture is not only socially constructed but affected by human biology
e.g.) Why society prohibits incest?
Political economy
- assumes external forces explain the way a society changes and adapts
Cultural ecology (Steward)
- explanation for cultural variation could be attributed to adaptation to the environment
e.g.) People living in the snowy country are good at skating.
