Essay On Anthropology

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
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Essay about Anthropology
Paulina Para
November 2, 2015
Anthropology 101
"Cold Water"
Cold Water, directed by Noriko Ogami is a documentary from 1986 about cross–cultural adaptation
and culture shock. It is about diving into a new culture and having it feel, as one foreign student
puts it, like a "plunge into cold water." Twelve Boston University foreign students express their
perceptions of their experiences in the U.S. as each of them (plus one American student and three
specialists) is interviewed about living and studying in a new culture. Initial focus is on the arrival
and immediate post–arrival period and the culture shock which, for most of the interviewees, follows
on its heels. It becomes clear that central to the problems encountered...show more content...
Next, things gets easier. The third stage said from this documentary happens to be the adjustment
stage. Here things start to clear up and you start to feel more at ease and at home. Frustrations are
often subdued as travelers begin to feel more familiar and comfortable with the cultures, people,
food, and languages of new environments. Soon the navigation becomes easier along with the
friends and communities of support are being established.
Finally the last stage is referred as the "acceptance stage," according to one foreign student. After
some weeks or months we are noticing improvement within ourselves after have wrestling with the
emotional stages. The final stage of cultural shock doesn't mean that the new cultures and
environments are completely understood, it signifies realization that complete understanding isn't
necessary to function and thrive in new surroundings. During this stage, travelers have the
familiarity and are able to draw together the resources they need to feel at ease.
The same students which laid out for us the stages of cultural shock also shared their experiences
expressing how they felt about Americans. Tina Lang, one of the foreign students at Boston
University referred Americans as "superficial." As direct and straight forward as that description
was I like to agree with her. As Americans we are so focused on looking our best on the outside that
we never put aside any time to work on our

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

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 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

Narrative Essay On Anthropology
He tied his boat off and started to climb the cliffs. He knew that no one had lived to tell what was
behind the cloud, but still he climbed. Fearing what could be up there, a psycho, a snake in the
grass all of the things that the town people that come on boat to the island spread rumors about it
or some people call her because of the sounds they can hear when near the rock a laughing little girl
some people say. Jerry decided fear was just a road block so he just thought about how he can find a
pot of gold or some kind of fantasy object but he sighed knowing that it was all in his head. Water
was rushing down below, Jerry cautiously moved his hand in stable, non wet rocks but every now
and then he made a risky move to jump to the rock...show more content...
Jerry woke up and notice that he was in his house but it wasn't right he has lived in the same
house the whole time at 3445 kurama dr. but he could just tell, it was like he was in his house but
one thing was is that he could see himself with his yellow airplane shaped backpack "am I dead" he
asked then a voice came out of the darkness "no, you are the first one to climb the rock you have
helped my family escape my daughter has been up on that rock for 20,000 years you see. we have
been stuck up there to but you have gave us our freedom but for you now you will stay for another
20,000 years until someone like you comes again" "no, no, no why? Was this a trap" shouted Jerry
as he fell to his knees but no one

Essay on What Is Anthropology? How Is It Done?
What Is Anthropology? How Is It Done?
People enter the field of anthropology for a variety of reasons. Some people enter the field by
accident. This means that they did not intend on becoming an anthropologist. Some people were
interested in the field from the start. One person married a social anthropologist; and, after living
with a group of people for two years wrote an ethnography about the people.
The first story is about Adrienne Zihlman. She is a paleoanthropologist. She collects all kinds of
bones; so, she can "contrive and test ideas about the origins of humans by studying the remains of
living things" (Shell 1991:37). Zihlman went to Miami University of Ohio, where she decided to
major in anthropology after reading...show more content...
The second story is about Barbara Smuts. She is a primatologist. Smuts decided to be a
primatologist after seeing Jane Goodall's first article about chimpanzees in National Geographic
(Rosenthal 1991:23). She graduated from Harvard in 1972; so, she started her graduate studies in
biology at Stanford (Rosenthal 1991:24). While doing her graduate research, she flew to Goodall's
Gombe Stream Research Center in Tanzania to study foraging patterns and social relationships in
female chimps (Rosenthal 1991:24).
During her first few years of research, Smuts had a lot of problems (Rosenthal 1991:24). On her
first expedition, she and three other students were kidnapped (Rosenthal 1991:24). They were
returned safe, but no one was allowed to research in Gombe except for Jane Goodall (Rosenthal
1991:24). Smuts decided to change the focus of her study to olive baboons (Rosenthal 1991:24).
Her first baboon project fell through because of problems in Masai Mara, Kenya (Rosenthal
1991:24). She found that baboons are the perfect species to study because they are very social; and,
she was interested in social relationships (Rosenthal 1991:24). She followed the baboons everywhere
throughout the day (Rosenthal 1991:24). She thinks that she had a lot of success with the baboons
because she was small and female (Rosenthal 1991:24).
In the late 1980s, Smuts started to study

Essay on Medical Anthropology
Medical Anthropology
Introduction and Description:
My topic, Medical Anthropology, is a field of study that uses culture, religion, education, economics
/infrastructure, history, and the environment as a means to evaluate and understand "cross–cultural
perspectives, components, and interpretations of the concept of health" (Society for Medical
Anthropology, pg. 1).
To further introduce Medical Anthropology, I will reiterate highlights of my previouspresentations.
Early on in Turkey, I asked each person in our program the following question: "I would like you to
tell me about health and what it means to you?" The answers to this question varied widely, making
it difficult to define a global conception of health. In analyzing...show more content...
I have also considered social implications of health, cultural, and spiritual values. With this
knowledge, I hope to adapt each patient's medical care to reflect his or her individual needs in an
effort to promote an optimal healing outcome.
Research and Methods:
I applied class lectures from our "Cross–Cultural Learning in Context" course on cross–cultural
communication. I also utilized the personal application of cultural competency theories to obtain "a
functional awareness of cultural dynamics present in intercultural relations" (Paige, p. 22). This
allowed me to become more "effective in cross–cultural situations" (Paige, p. 23).
On a smaller scale, since I was communicating in a multicultural environment, I used the
anthropological techniques below to gather my research data:
Interviews
Surveys
Field Observation
Cultural Immersion
Library and Internet Research
The sources included WHO; USAID; World Bank; The Ministries of Health for Turkey, Morocco,
Egypt, Greece; and The Center for Cultural Competency.

Results & Outcomes:
This next section will address the results and outcomes of my goals for the project according to
country. Namely, I will discuss aspects of each health program, highlight the components of Medical
Anthropology, and give a brief

Essay On Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the physical or biological studies of a human skeleton. The purpose of a
forensic anthropologist is to discover secrets hidden in bones. Forensic anthropologists are trained
physical anthropologists. The difference between the two are the amount of knowledge involved in
forensic anthropology. In forensic anthropology science, biology, and culture are applied to the legal
process.
Forensic anthropology is a relatively new field. Although, in the 20th century people solved murders
through examination of the bones the term forensic anthropology just came about. Around the 1930s
police and anthropology became one. The gangland murders at the time caused the FBI to become
physical anthropologists.
The Korean war and World War 2 helped develop a database of information used to identify
people. They used this information and tools to help identify the dead soldiers. Before the soldiers
went to war, their height, age, illness history, and dental records were recorded. This was done to
help researchers when they needed to identify a dead body. The procedure was successful and
researchers were able to identify the soldier's name and a database of the skull and bone statistics.
Trained...show more content...
During this period there were events that took that left an impact on forensic anthropology. World
War 2 was one of the events that left an impact. The bodies killed during this time were
decomposed and it was hard to identify because of how bad they were disfigured. Mildred Trotter
took over the lab in 1948 and began working on ways to improve determining stature from the
lengths of long bones. The Korean War was the other event that left an impact on forensic
anthropology. During this war there were problems identifying the servicemen so the U.S. Army
began an identification laboratory in Japan. Thomas Mckern began to study the ages of aspects of
the skeletal remains of dead

Essay about Ethnography
Ethnography
One of the most complex and interesting aspects of cultural anthropology is the ethnography. The
idea of being able to read stories about groups of individuals is something that is intriguing to many
people. With the ethnography, the authors many times feel that they have control and understanding
over the individuals that they are writing about. Furthermore, many of these authors assume that the
individuals among whom they are living and studying exemplify the entire society as a whole.
Ethnographers have used many different means of establishing their ethnographic authority. One
such method is the use of reflexivity in the ethnography. Ethnographers such as Renato Rosaldo in
his work Culture and Truth: The Remaking of...show more content...
Marcus is stating that with the use of reflexivity the author can in fact produce an ethnography that
informs the reader of the role in which the ethnographer plays in the story, and furthermore,
demonstrates the fact that the ethnographer is not an omnipotent character.
In order to illustrate the notion that with reflexivity the ethnographer can explain to his or her
audience the fact that they are not omnipotent, this knowledge has to be stated as fact. For example,
Marcus states "Cultural translation, which is what ethnography is, never fully assimilates difference.
In any attempt to interpret or explain another cultural subject, a surplus of difference always
remains..."(Marcus 186). Marcus' definition is very important because he is stating that there are
always differences between the ethnographer and those in which he or she is studying. He is
explaining that by definition ethnography is composed of a conglomeration of differences which
cannot be reconciled and always remain constant. With this fact in mind, one can demonstrate
through reflexivity that the belief of the ethnographer's superiority is false due to these differences.
Marcus discusses the fact that there are ethnographic texts in which the ethnographer strays away
from the classic assumption

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

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 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

Reflection Of Anthropology
This semester we dove into the complicated study of the development and application of human
culture. Over the course of 16 weeks we covered topics ranging from understanding the importance
and development of kinship, to the social structure of politics and it past and current impact, to the
spread and interconnection of the people of our planet in globalization. As a design major, a few of
the topics that were covered this semester jumped out in relevant significance more than others. In
general, topics that reveal human behavior in large populations and how a culture develops art and an
aesthetic style. All of this to better understand what it is people want and what is best for better
developing a culture.
The start of the semester we...show more content...
The order that Malinowski structure, that takes the shape of a pyramid to signify the bottom most
needs are the most necessary, is; Nutrition, Reproduction, Bodily comfort, Safety, Relaxation,
Movement, and Growth. Understanding this order and the weight of necessity is crucial to
understanding what it is that people need and want.
A bit later in class, we discussed the fundamentals of culture and what it actually is to an
anthropologist. Starting with how culture is shared with a person who is born directly into one.
We discussed the unresolved question of nature verses nurture with an individual's identity.
Nature being that a person's behavior is developed by his or her surrounding while it is alive, as
opposed to simply nurture what is just acquired from a parental figure. But aside from an
individual's behavior, a society may develop customs that are based on the collective knowledge
of the people. Because it is impossible it is impossible for a single person to live long enough to
experience everything that a live can offer, the group will use a thing called language to
communicate ideas that can either be physically or mentally recorded so that I can be used to create
rules and tradition making the culture more dynamic. This passing down on knowledge is what
created foundations so that new knowledge can be acquired. However, this is not always to last.
Hostility can arise either internally or when one culture conflicts with another's ideas, beliefs,

Anthropology : Anthropology And Anthropology
I would've never imagined the endless careers that are available to anthropology majors, before
taking Professor Sharratt's Intro to Anthropology course. The things that I have learned in
anthropology have opened my mind to a variety of different career paths that is possible with a
degree in anthropology. Anthropology majors go off to a plethora of careers with their degrees in
anthropology. Anthropology is "the study of humankind in all times and place". Anthropology has
four different subfields which include: Physical/Biological, Socio/Cultural, Linguistic, and
Archeology. This wide range of a study allows for one to stand out to companies in a various amount
of industries including law, health, and often times business. Some job duties...show more content...
Forensic anthropologist document and investigate human remains from past experiences. Forensic
anthropologists are also very helpful when mass disasters occur and a large amount of people die
due to a certain event. Tersigni–Tarrant, Teresa, and Shirley state howforensic anthropology takes
place during a mass disaster by stating "The staff working in the disaster morgue has several
responsibilities: documentation and processing of remains, identification of the victim, examination
of remains for medicolegal interpretations (e.g., cause of death), and documentation of the overall
process" (444). Forensic anthropology can be very vital to a culture or country because it allows for
one to understand how someone has passed away, which could possibly effect the same culture or
country in the future. Forensic anthropologist take the time to examine the cause of one's death and
help a certain culture or country understand a particular outcome. There are forensic anthropologists
employed by the FBI. Another possible career opportunity in anthropology that I ran across that
intrigued me was an exhibit designer. Exhibit designers are mainly employed at museums. Their job
duties include researching, educating, and designing in a museum setting. Exhibit designers are
responsible for the preservation of anthropology related items such as human remains and past
objects. In the search for an exhibit designer

Anthropology and Gender Essay
Though women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was
not until the early 1970's that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology
emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the
contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The
substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a
prejudice made more apparent because what little women–centered fieldwork was done received
insufficient attention from the academic community. While anthropology was considered one of the
more egalitarian fields of study, it was dominated by white, Western males who...show more content...
One of Slocum's contemporaries, Eleanor Leacock (1922–1987) chose to differently analyze gender
research, focusing on distinctions in power as it relates to society, the economy, and politics (2011:
397). She concentrated on North American natives and aboriginal Australians and their changing
gender roles as the result of Western influence. Another feminist trend gave emphasis to gender
identities, analyzing the ways in which race, class and gender converge. David Valentine, born in
1966, illustrates such an emphasis in his work which concerns the cross–cultural variations on the
westernized concepts of gender identity and sexuality, by which we categorize sexual desire
(2011:398). As evidenced by the variety of emphases within the theory, feminist anthropologists were
fully committed to assessing all previously ignored facets of the subjugated female within numerous
cultures worldwide.
Several decades ago the idea of women as subordinate was considered to be a universality by the
aforementioned white, Western male anthropologists who lead the field. Despite an anthropologist's
endeavor to be unbiased, the fact is these traditional anthropologists came from a culture where many
aspects of human life were male dominant. Though many studied

Essay on The Role of Medical Anthropology
This paper seeks to show the inter–relationship of bio– medical professionals such as doctors and
nurses in comparison with medical anthropologists and try to show their relevancy in the healthcare
system and their collaboration in inter–professionalism. Medical anthropology is an advancing
sub–discipline of anthropology. Medical anthropology is intended to provide a framework, which
should enable students to identify and analyze social, cultural, behavioural and environmental factors
in relation to health and disease/illness in any given society. Medical anthropologists are not medics
or professional doctors but they are usually found within the health care system since they provide an
insightful role of involving cultural aspects in...show more content...
This paper seeks to show the relevance of anthropologists in the success of any healthcare system. It
further outlines the necessity of medical anthropologists in any clinical setting. In many scientific
disciplines researches try to explain their objects by reducing them to become principles, however
in anthropology ,the approach is to understand issues in their context meaning that practises ideas
are looked at from a wider perspective. Significance of Human Body to medical anthropologists. We
cannot talk about health, without focusing on the body because ill health presents suffering to the
human body and the mind. To the medical anthropologists, the human body is more than just a
physical organism; it is also a focus of a set of beliefs about its social and psychological
significance about its inner structure referred to as anatomy and structures called physiology. These
sets of cultural beliefs about the body are called body image and are culturally determined .Social
status, gender or occupation is expressed through the body and its adornments. The body is
important to medical anthropologists because it lays meaning of structure and functioning of the
body influences the way people perceive sickness. Ethnophysiology refers to the lay understanding of
the functioning of the body and sometimes differs from bio–medical functioning of the body. The
body is important to anthropologists

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 challenges interacting 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

Race and Ethnicity According to Anthropologists
Examining the ideas and beliefs within ones own cultural context is central to the study of
Anthropology. Issues of Race and Ethnicity dominate the academic discourses of various disciplines
including the field of Anthropology. Race and Ethnicity are controversial terms that are defined and
used by people in many different ways. This essay shall explore the ways in which Anthropologists
make a distinction between race and ethnicity and how these distinctions serve as frames for
cross–cultural comparison and analysis. It is important to accurately define these coined terms
before one is able to make accurate comparisons and distinctions between them, and their relation to
the concept of...show more content...
The concept of race and the meanings associated with the term have continuously changed and
evolved throughout history. Many negative connotations have been associated with the word race
and these are evident as one reflects on the historical origins of the term. Commonly the term race
is closely connected to the notion of 'racism.' Racism is a specific form of prejudice which
focuses on physical variations between people. It describes the ideological belief that a person, or
groups of people can be classified into 'races' which can be ranked in terms of superiority and
inferiority (Spoonley, 1988:4). Giddens defines racism as "the attribution of characteristics of
superiority or inferiority to a population sharing certain physically inherited characteristics"
(1997:584). This supports the idea that racism is a manner of prejudice or animosity against people
who have different physical characteristics. It is in virtue of circumstances such as these that
Anthropologists find it necessary to make a distinction between the concepts of race and ethnicity.
In contrast to the idea of race, Ethnicity refers to ethnic affiliation, or the "cultural practices and
outlooks of a given community of people that set them apart from others" (Giddens, 1997:210).
Members of a particular ethnic group see themselves as culturally distinct from other groups of
people in a society or culture. There are different characteristics which serve as a way of

Essay On Anthropology

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Essay On Anthropology