LEARNING THEME1 – THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY
OF CULTURE IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT (APY1501)
Learning outcomes
Introduce you to anthropology as a discipline
Explaining Anthropology and other disciplines
Defining the anthropological perspective and approach
Outlining the subfields of anthropology
Understanding the reason of why becomes an anthropologist?
INTRODUCTION, ORIENTATION AND WELCOME TO
ANTHROPOLOGY LEARNING THEME 1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY
OVERVIEW
Definition of Anthropology
The term anthropology comes from the Greek anthropos for “man/human” and logos
for “study”
Anthropology is the study of ourselves and others and appreciating our own and other
people‟s ways of being and doing.
Anthropology is the study of humankind everywhere, both past and present.
Anthropologist study people and their behaviour which require spending extended
periods of time with people in their own environment.
Anthropology produces information (data), knowledge and understanding of what
makes people different from one another and what makes them similar, and looks at
what all human beings have in common.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS
pg. 1
, violence against foreign African nationals and the phenomenon of xenophobia (the fear
or hatred of foreigners)
the ongoing controversy about the changing of place names in South Africa
The coach of the national rugby team labelling supporters “racists” for criticising a
(black) player, but not commenting on the affectionate roar of “Beast!” (the player‟s
nickname) by a mainly white crowd (when the black rugby player played particularly
well)
Looking at the above examples you would ask yourself questions like why?
The above critical questions give a platform as to why anthropologists
are curious about studying people.
They strive to make sense of human behavior
They try to seek answers for the above raised questions related to human condition and
the human experience.
Develop a better understanding of diverse societies in different contexts by spending
time with people in their particular settings ( a process called fieldwork)
Fieldwork”
Form of direct contact with people in their “world” in order to learn more about them
This “field” involves a great diversity of settings
Anthropologists thus take themselves out of the comfort zone of their own familiar
surroundings to experience other people and their activities in an unfamiliar context
You did the same thing when you moved to a new fl at in another building; when you
arrived at your first or a new job;
Some of the questions anthropologists seek to answer
What are our similarities?
What makes us distinctly human?
Despite sharing common human traits, why are we so very different?
Why do people differ in appearance, that is, physically and biologically?
pg. 2
, Why do people have different patterns of behaviour?
The basic question which anthropology has always tried to answer is:
How can we explain the uniformity and diversity of humans and human behaviour – that
is, the human experience?
Anthropology and other disciplines
There are several other disciplines that also study people
For example:
Psychology, sociology, history, geography, political science, economics, human biology,
philosophy and literature.
What distinguishes anthropology from these other disciplines?
Anthropology uses a particular approach, characteristic perspectives and distinctive
methods of doing research.
Defining concepts
Discipline
Is a branch of instruction or learning, a branch of science
Different disciplines have different fields of study and
Each has its particular approach and methods of obtaining data.
Other disciplines also study people, but they tend to be narrower in their emphasis and usually
focus only on a certain aspect of the human condition.
A few examples are:
Psychology
Studies the mental life of humans by means of scientific and interpretive methods.
Focuses on the nature and characteristics of the human psyche or mind
Anthropologists would argue that individual psychology is shaped by the particular human
environment or sociocultural context in which a person grows up and lives.
Anthropologists, in fact, have provided and continue to provide cross-cultural perspectives on
psychoanalytic propositions and on issues of development and cognitive psychology
Specialist fields developed as a result of anthropology:
Psychological anthropology,
Culture
pg. 3
, Personality,
Ethnopsychology, etc
Sociology
Is the study of the people‟s social life, more particularly the social relations, organization
and human behaviour of human societies.
Anthropology and sociology share these interests but there are significant conventional
differences between the disciplines
Sociology Anthropology
Inclined to study societies, and different Worked mainly among nonindustrial people
groupings within them, in the industrial “West” (“traditional” or “preliterate” or “pre-industrial”
(“modern” or “developed” or “urbanised”
people).
Developed different methods of data Developed different methods of data
collection. collection.
rely on questionnaires and other techniques to The populations anthropologists originally
produce quantifiable data – sampling and concentrated on were smaller, nonliterate
statistical methods to study complex (without writing) groupings of people in mainly
communities rural settings
Developed qualitative research strategies in
these contexts
Lived with the people for extended periods of
time, participated in their daily activities and
observed, at first hand, the normal routine of
their lives.
History
Is inclined to focus on past events and individuals,
Historians seek to explain why such events occurred in the sequence that they did, as
well as the role of particular individuals and circumstances in such a process.
pg. 4
OF CULTURE IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT (APY1501)
Learning outcomes
Introduce you to anthropology as a discipline
Explaining Anthropology and other disciplines
Defining the anthropological perspective and approach
Outlining the subfields of anthropology
Understanding the reason of why becomes an anthropologist?
INTRODUCTION, ORIENTATION AND WELCOME TO
ANTHROPOLOGY LEARNING THEME 1. WHAT IS ANTHROPOLOGY
OVERVIEW
Definition of Anthropology
The term anthropology comes from the Greek anthropos for “man/human” and logos
for “study”
Anthropology is the study of ourselves and others and appreciating our own and other
people‟s ways of being and doing.
Anthropology is the study of humankind everywhere, both past and present.
Anthropologist study people and their behaviour which require spending extended
periods of time with people in their own environment.
Anthropology produces information (data), knowledge and understanding of what
makes people different from one another and what makes them similar, and looks at
what all human beings have in common.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS
pg. 1
, violence against foreign African nationals and the phenomenon of xenophobia (the fear
or hatred of foreigners)
the ongoing controversy about the changing of place names in South Africa
The coach of the national rugby team labelling supporters “racists” for criticising a
(black) player, but not commenting on the affectionate roar of “Beast!” (the player‟s
nickname) by a mainly white crowd (when the black rugby player played particularly
well)
Looking at the above examples you would ask yourself questions like why?
The above critical questions give a platform as to why anthropologists
are curious about studying people.
They strive to make sense of human behavior
They try to seek answers for the above raised questions related to human condition and
the human experience.
Develop a better understanding of diverse societies in different contexts by spending
time with people in their particular settings ( a process called fieldwork)
Fieldwork”
Form of direct contact with people in their “world” in order to learn more about them
This “field” involves a great diversity of settings
Anthropologists thus take themselves out of the comfort zone of their own familiar
surroundings to experience other people and their activities in an unfamiliar context
You did the same thing when you moved to a new fl at in another building; when you
arrived at your first or a new job;
Some of the questions anthropologists seek to answer
What are our similarities?
What makes us distinctly human?
Despite sharing common human traits, why are we so very different?
Why do people differ in appearance, that is, physically and biologically?
pg. 2
, Why do people have different patterns of behaviour?
The basic question which anthropology has always tried to answer is:
How can we explain the uniformity and diversity of humans and human behaviour – that
is, the human experience?
Anthropology and other disciplines
There are several other disciplines that also study people
For example:
Psychology, sociology, history, geography, political science, economics, human biology,
philosophy and literature.
What distinguishes anthropology from these other disciplines?
Anthropology uses a particular approach, characteristic perspectives and distinctive
methods of doing research.
Defining concepts
Discipline
Is a branch of instruction or learning, a branch of science
Different disciplines have different fields of study and
Each has its particular approach and methods of obtaining data.
Other disciplines also study people, but they tend to be narrower in their emphasis and usually
focus only on a certain aspect of the human condition.
A few examples are:
Psychology
Studies the mental life of humans by means of scientific and interpretive methods.
Focuses on the nature and characteristics of the human psyche or mind
Anthropologists would argue that individual psychology is shaped by the particular human
environment or sociocultural context in which a person grows up and lives.
Anthropologists, in fact, have provided and continue to provide cross-cultural perspectives on
psychoanalytic propositions and on issues of development and cognitive psychology
Specialist fields developed as a result of anthropology:
Psychological anthropology,
Culture
pg. 3
, Personality,
Ethnopsychology, etc
Sociology
Is the study of the people‟s social life, more particularly the social relations, organization
and human behaviour of human societies.
Anthropology and sociology share these interests but there are significant conventional
differences between the disciplines
Sociology Anthropology
Inclined to study societies, and different Worked mainly among nonindustrial people
groupings within them, in the industrial “West” (“traditional” or “preliterate” or “pre-industrial”
(“modern” or “developed” or “urbanised”
people).
Developed different methods of data Developed different methods of data
collection. collection.
rely on questionnaires and other techniques to The populations anthropologists originally
produce quantifiable data – sampling and concentrated on were smaller, nonliterate
statistical methods to study complex (without writing) groupings of people in mainly
communities rural settings
Developed qualitative research strategies in
these contexts
Lived with the people for extended periods of
time, participated in their daily activities and
observed, at first hand, the normal routine of
their lives.
History
Is inclined to focus on past events and individuals,
Historians seek to explain why such events occurred in the sequence that they did, as
well as the role of particular individuals and circumstances in such a process.
pg. 4
