anthropology 315 third world cultures

Anthropology 315Third World Cultures

• Dr. Siemens• Office-Sierra Hall 240B• Office Telephone (818) 677-4632• Office Hours

– Wednesday & Friday 1-1:30– Thursday 11:45AM-1:15PM – and by appointment

• Email stephen.siemens@csun.edu

3x5 Card

• Name• Reason for Class• Previous Anthropology• Email Address• Is there a particular Third World

Culture of interest to you?• Anything else you want Dr. Siemens

to know about you and your interests.

THE SCOPE OF ANTHROPOLOGY

What anthropologists have you heard of?

What did they study?

Harrison Ford as fictional Indiana Jones

Mary Leakey

Discovered Oldest Footprints

Louis Leakey found fossil

humans

Jane Goodall was first to study chimpanzees in the wild.

Jane Goodall still works for Chimpanzee conservation.

Dian Fossey was first to study gorillas in the wild.

Sigourney Weaver as Dian Fossey

Margaret Mead with Samoan Girls

Deborah Tannen

David Maybury-Lewis(right) Host of PBS series Millenium”Also founder of the human rights group “Cultural Survival”

Anthropologists You may have Heard of

• Indiana Jones*

• Mary Leakey• Louis Leakey• Jane Goodall• Dian Fossey• Margaret Mead• Deborah Tannen

• David Maybury-Lewis

• Explore Ruins (fictional)• Fossil Hunter• Fossil Hunter• Chimpanzees• Gorillas• Samoan Girls• American Women and Men

Talking• Xavante Rights

*Fictitious anthropologist

Anthropologists in the News

Anthropologists contribute to American society as well as to the

international community of scholars

Helen Fisher Studies Brains in Love

• Neurotransmitters – Serotonin (low)– Norepinephrine (maybe)– Testosterone (lust)– Dopamine (novelty)– Vasopressin (Male attachment– Oxytocin (Female attachment)

• Considers three types of love– Romantic

– Lust

– Attachment

• Antidepresents may inhibit love– LA Times, July 30, 2007

Jeanne Arnold Studies Middle Class Los Angeles Residents

• Middle Class spend a lot on yards and don’t use them

• Two wage earners don’t have leisure time

• LA Times August 19, 2007• Arnold is also an

expert on Chumash.

Frederick Kyalo Manthi discovered the most recent

habiline 1.5 mya• Habilines

must not be ancestral to our species since ancestral erectines appear 1.8 mya

• LA Times 8-9-07

Kuhn & Stiner say Neandertals lacked sexual division of labor

• That would establish sexual division of labor as distinctive of our recent evolutionary grouping

• Philadelphia Inquirer April 2, 2007

• Neander-tals were coed hunters

Steven L. Kuhn Mary C. Steiner

Sam Dunn used anthropological

training in heavy metal

documentary• Takes holistic view: religion, gender,

social, global and historical perspectives.

• Main obstacle was convincing artists he was sympathetic. – Metal artists gave thoughtful

responses.– Some appeared hostile on camera but

friendly off camera.

• Anthropological approach was not first choice.

Chicago Tribune 4-14-06

QuickTime™ and aSorenson Video 3 decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Anthropologists in the News• Helen Fisher• Jeanne Arnold• Frederick

Kyalo Manthi• Sam Dunn

• Brain Biochemistry of Love• Los Angeles Middle Class Homes• Fossil human-like species of a couple

million years ago• Heavy metal music

Anthropologists for Our Readings

Trobriands(Weiner)

Mbuti(Turnbull)

Turnbull-Mbuti, Weiner-Trobriands, Flint & de Waal -DarfurEvans-Pritchard and Siemens-Azande

DarfurFlint&deWaal

Colin Turnbull

Mbuti (Sua)

Mitsuo IchikawaMbuti (Sua)

Robert Bailey-Mbuti (Efe)

Justin Kendrick- Mbuti

Bronislaw Malinowski

Trobriand Fieldwork and Functionalism

Annette Weiner Trobriands

Darfur, Sudan

• Julie Flint and Alex de Waal used research on Dor village by anthropologist Adam Abdul-Jalil Musa

Edward Evans-

Pritchard Azande

Siemens Observes Azande Magic

Anthropologists for Our Readings

• Colin Turnbull• Mitsuo Ichikawa• Robert Bailey• Justin Kendrick• Annette Weiner• Bronislaw Malinowski• Adam Abdul-Jalil Musa• Julie Flint and Alex de Waal• Edward Evans-Pritchard• Stephen Siemens

• Mbuti Pygmies• Mbuti Pygmies• Mbuti Pygmies• Mbuti Pygmies• Trobriand Islanders• Trobriand Islanders• Darfur• Darfur• Azande• Azande

Why are all of these called anthropologists?

Anthropology Defined• Anthropology is the study of human beings

in a holistic manner.– Holism means appreciating totalities as more

than mere combinations of parts.– There are two ways anthropology is holistic.

• 1) Comprehensiveness. Because anthropology is holistic its study includes all humans of all places and all times.

• 2) Interrelatedness. Because anthropology is holistic any human group should be studied in its entirety, finding connections among economics, politics, religion, language, etc.

Nature and Nurture

• A hundred years ago anthropology was the same as “racial” studies.– Biological determinism was the prevailing

view.– Eugenics was popular.

• Eugenics seeks to “improve” a population by identifying those with “good” genes and promoting their reproduction. Those with “bad” genes are prevented from reproducing.

– Nazi extermination of Jews was eugenics.

• Eugenics is inhumane and mistaken about genetics.

Cultural Determinism

• Franz Boas argued that the important sources of human variation were learned rather than inherited.– Boas changed the prevailing view to cultural

determinism.

• Boas decreased the importance of biology to anthropology and increased the importance of learned culture.

Anthropological SubfieldsFirst four subfields are results of

differences in methods.

• Physical (or Biological) Anthropology

• Archeology

• Linguistic Anthropology

• Cultural Anthropology

• Applied Anthropology intersects the first four.– Has practical as well as intellectual goals.

Physical Anthropology

• Physical Anthropology uses biological methods.

Physical anthropology studies human origin, related species & variation.

Archeology• Archeology uses excavation

methods and sampling.– Archeology studies artifacts.

• Artifacts are objects made by humans.

Linguistic Anthropology

• Linguistic Anthropology uses linguistic methods.

• Linguistic anthropology studies language in use.

Cultural Anthropology• Cultural

Anthropology uses participant observation.– Cultural

anthropology studies cultures of living people.

• This class is about cultural anthropology.

Applied Anthropology• Intersects cultural, physical, linguistic and archeological

anthropology.• Works with organizations to solve problems using

anthropology: business, government, non-governmental organizations.

– Creates commonality among practitioners

• Marietta L. Baba (right) as worked with major corporations such as Motorola.

• Current interest is in globally distributed work groups.

• Network analysis reveals rifts that hinder productivity.