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Cultural anthropology.

Cultural Anthropology publishes ethnographic writing informed by a wide array of theoretical perspectives, innovative in form and content, and focused on both traditional and emerging topics. It also welcomes essays concerned with ethnographic methods and research design in historical perspective, and with ways cultural analysis can address broader public audiences and interests.

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Vol. 39 No. 1 (2024)

We present six original papers in this issue as well as the inaugural guest commentary.

When the Society for Cultural Anthropology selected our distributed, international editorial collective to lead Cultural Anthropology , they did so in part to support our commitment to opening channels of this crucial platform of our discipline beyond the scope of privileged, endowed higher educational institutions in the United States. As one step of this process, in this issue we provide space to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to describe their work since the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990. As Deanna L. Byrd, the NAGPRA Liaison-Coordinator and Research and Outreach Program Manager of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and Ian Thompson, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, writes, since that time, “Native American communities gained a measure of say in how ancestral burials are treated on federal lands. The law also established a mechanism to help Native American, Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian communities have open dialogue with institutions across the country about the return of their ancestors, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.”

In dialogue with critical disability studies, Eliza Williamson zooms in the everyday practices of Bahian mothers with children diagnosed with Congenital Zika Syndrome. Mothers, she shows, assert their children’s personhood by refusing their medically diagnosed lack of futurity through what she defines as habilitative care: “a bodymind potentializing set of practices” involving a myriad of “substances, technologies and techniques understood to encourage maximum potential development of embodied abilities in young disabled children.”

Leniqueca Welcome delves into unaccounted forms of violence on and in those “who occupy the category of poor black woman in Trinidad” to develop a “capacious, relational and historically layered” approach to entangled forms of gender-based violence and life searching. In so doing, a sharp critique of the masculinist state and legacies of colonial extraction emerges.

By spending time with loggers, timber industrialists, and state technocrats across Peru’s Amazonian region of Loreto, Eduardo Romero Dianderas tracks technical maneuvers and political controversies around timber volumetric calculation. Far from a mathematical abstraction, his ethnography invites us to think that the practice of volume-making—scaling, standardizing, and accounting for timber—is a contact zone in which “power, history and bodily experience” saturate a crucial operation for global environmental governance.

Focusing on demonstrations held outside Yangon, Myanmar, in favor of a plan to build a New Yangon City, Courtney Wittekind’s article intervenes in the binaries of “truth” versus “falsity” and “genuine” versus “fake” to advance an anthropological theorization of demonstration, speculation, and spectacle.

For centuries, the Curse of Ham, the originary anti-Black myth of the Abrahamic faiths, functioned as the foundational and legitimating narrative of white supremacist ideology across the African continent. To Justin Haruyama’s disconcertment, this was also the narrative invoked by some of his Zambian informants to explain the predicament of Black people today. In his paper for this issue, Haruyama stages a conversation with Black liberation theology to suggest that these narratives articulated, however, a profound refutation of liberal egalitarianism and, from the situated premises of a transnational Zambian perspective, put forward an alternative vision for a decolonial abolitionist anthropology.

In his article, Ramy Aly interrogates the anthropology of ethics and revolution in dialogue with a phenomenological and situated account of the 2011 January Egyptian Revolution. He does it through the experiences and narratives of those that were too young to take part in street protests and political movements but for whom the revolution still takes precedent in everyday practices of self-making.

Cover and table-of-contents image by Eduardo Romero Dianderas.

Guest Commentary

No stone unturned.

Habilitating Bodyminds, Caring for Potential: Disability Therapeutics after Zika in Bahia, Brazil

On and in their bodies: masculinist violence, criminalization, and black womanhood in trinidad, volumes: the politics of calculation in contemporary peruvian amazonia, “take our land” : fronts, fraud, and fake farmers in a city-to-come, anti-blackness and moral repair: the curse of ham, biblical kinship, and the limits of liberalism, the ordinariness of ethics and the extraordinariness of revolution: ethical selves and the egyptian january revolution at home and school, curated collections.

War on Palestine

Sovereignty

Reclaiming Hope

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Cultural Anthropology, Essay Example

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Introduction

Cultural anthropology relates to the study of different people and their culture, beliefs and economies. Researchers have focused studies on both industrial and post-industrial societies. The study also embraces areas of politics and religion. Recent studies have focused upon the political unrest in both North Africa and the Middle East. The particular focus upon the demands of youth in these regions has had a profound impact on long held values of religion, politics, sociology and economics of the regions affected. (Allison).

Cultural Anthropology – Influence of Youth

Youth culture has formed an important part of 20 th century anthropological research but before this time it was largely ignored. Recent events has illustrated how modern communications like computers, cell phones, and social media sites have had a profound effect on developing youth education, awareness and forums for debate on a truly global scale. Modernity and globalization has placed youth culture into a new sociological context as such it has increased their visibility and opinion in a modern capitalistic society. This has resulted in the demand for increased equity and more accountability for Government actions. (Bucholtz).

The recent riots being experienced in England are a result of a disenchanted youth structure that has rallied against unemployment, lack of education and a government they feel has forsaken them in times of a severe economic downturn. This stems beyond the social classification of hooliganism to carefully orchestrated campaigns using technology as a means to organise a sustained citizen revolt. (Mitchell).

Globalization has increased the interest in concepts of cultural anthropology. The concepts of a more integrated and diverse set of cultures has resulted in close examination of the interaction between peoples beliefs, religions, politics and tolerances in understanding one another and ability to create international trading relationships.

Works Cited

Allison, C. Piot and A. “Cultural Anthropology & Youth.” Cultural Anthropology Vol 26 Iss 3 (2011): 1360-1548.

Bucholtz, Mary. “Youth and Cultural Practice.” Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol 31 (2002): 525-552.

Mitchell, Dan. Riots in England Are another Sign of the Looming Collapse of Europe’s Welfare States. 10 12 2010. 9 8 2011 <http://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/riots-in-england-are-another-sign-of-the-looming-collapse-of-europes-welfare-states/>.

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Anthropology

What this handout is about.

This handout briefly situates anthropology as a discipline of study within the social sciences. It provides an introduction to the kinds of writing that you might encounter in your anthropology courses, describes some of the expectations that your instructors may have, and suggests some ways to approach your assignments. It also includes links to information on citation practices in anthropology and resources for writing anthropological research papers.

What is anthropology, and what do anthropologists study?

Anthropology is the study of human groups and cultures, both past and present. Anthropology shares this focus on the study of human groups with other social science disciplines like political science, sociology, and economics. What makes anthropology unique is its commitment to examining claims about human ‘nature’ using a four-field approach. The four major subfields within anthropology are linguistic anthropology, socio-cultural anthropology (sometimes called ethnology), archaeology, and physical anthropology. Each of these subfields takes a different approach to the study of humans; together, they provide a holistic view. So, for example, physical anthropologists are interested in humans as an evolving biological species. Linguistic anthropologists are concerned with the physical and historical development of human language, as well as contemporary issues related to culture and language. Archaeologists examine human cultures of the past through systematic examinations of artifactual evidence. And cultural anthropologists study contemporary human groups or cultures.

What kinds of writing assignments might I encounter in my anthropology courses?

The types of writing that you do in your anthropology course will depend on your instructor’s learning and writing goals for the class, as well as which subfield of anthropology you are studying. Each writing exercise is intended to help you to develop particular skills. Most introductory and intermediate level anthropology writing assignments ask for a critical assessment of a group of readings, course lectures, or concepts. Here are three common types of anthropology writing assignments:

Critical essays

This is the type of assignment most often given in anthropology courses (and many other college courses). Your anthropology courses will often require you to evaluate how successfully or persuasively a particular anthropological theory addresses, explains, or illuminates a particular ethnographic or archaeological example. When your instructor tells you to “argue,” “evaluate,” or “assess,” they are probably asking for some sort of critical essay. (For more help with deciphering your assignments, see our handout on understanding assignments .)

Writing a “critical” essay does not mean focusing only on the most negative aspects of a particular reading or theory. Instead, a critical essay should evaluate or assess both the weaknesses and the merits of a given set of readings, theories, methods, or arguments.

Sample assignment:

Assess the cultural evolutionary ideas of late 19th century anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan in terms of recent anthropological writings on globalization (select one recent author to compare with Morgan). What kinds of anthropological concerns or questions did Morgan have? What kinds of anthropological concerns underlie the current anthropological work on globalization that you have selected? And what assumptions, theoretical frameworks, and methodologies inform these questions or projects?

Ethnographic projects

Another common type of research and writing activity in anthropology is the ethnographic assignment. Your anthropology instructor might expect you to engage in a semester-long ethnographic project or something shorter and less involved (for example, a two-week mini-ethnography).

So what is an ethnography? “Ethnography” means, literally, a portrait (graph) of a group of people (ethnos). An ethnography is a social, political, and/or historical portrait of a particular group of people or a particular situation or practice, at a particular period in time, and within a particular context or space. Ethnographies have traditionally been based on an anthropologist’s long-term, firsthand research (called fieldwork) in the place and among the people or activities they are studying. If your instructor asks you to do an ethnographic project, that project will likely require some fieldwork.

Because they are so important to anthropological writing and because they may be an unfamiliar form for many writers, ethnographies will be described in more detail later in this handout.

Spend two hours riding the Chapel Hill Transit bus. Take detailed notes on your observations, documenting the setting of your fieldwork, the time of day or night during which you observed and anything that you feel will help paint a picture of your experience. For example, how many people were on the bus? Which route was it? What time? How did the bus smell? What kinds of things did you see while you were riding? What did people do while riding? Where were people going? Did people talk? What did they say? What were people doing? Did anything happen that seemed unusual, ordinary, or interesting to you? Why? Write down any thoughts, self-reflections, and reactions you have during your two hours of fieldwork. At the end of your observation period, type up your fieldnotes, including your personal thoughts (labeling them as such to separate them from your more descriptive notes). Then write a reflective response about your experience that answers this question: how is riding a bus about more than transportation?

Analyses using fossil and material evidence

In some assignments, you might be asked to evaluate the claims different researchers have made about the emergence and effects of particular human phenomena, such as the advantages of bipedalism, the origins of agriculture, or the appearance of human language. To complete these assignments, you must understand and evaluate the claims being made by the authors of the sources you are reading, as well as the fossil or material evidence used to support those claims. Fossil evidence might include things like carbon dated bone remains; material evidence might include things like stone tools or pottery shards. You will usually learn about these kinds of evidence by reviewing scholarly studies, course readings, and photographs, rather than by studying fossils and artifacts directly.

The emergence of bipedalism (the ability to walk on two feet) is considered one of the most important adaptive shifts in the evolution of the human species, but its origins in space and time are debated. Using course materials and outside readings, examine three authors’ hypotheses for the origins of bipedalism. Compare the supporting points (such as fossil evidence and experimental data) that each author uses to support their claims. Based on your examination of the claims and the supporting data being used, construct an argument for why you think bipedal locomotion emerged where and when it did.

How should I approach anthropology papers?

Writing an essay in anthropology is very similar to writing an argumentative essay in other disciplines. In most cases, the only difference is in the kind of evidence you use to support your argument. In an English essay, you might use textual evidence from novels or literary theory to support your claims; in an anthropology essay, you will most often be using textual evidence from ethnographies, artifactual evidence, or other support from anthropological theories to make your arguments.

Here are some tips for approaching your anthropology writing assignments:

Make sure that you understand what the prompt or question is asking you to do. It is a good idea to consult with your instructor or teaching assistant if the prompt is unclear to you. See our handout on arguments and handout on college writing for help understanding what many college instructors look for in a typical paper.
Review the materials that you will be writing with and about. One way to start is to set aside the readings or lecture notes that are not relevant to the argument you will make in your paper. This will help you focus on the most important arguments, issues, and behavioral and/or material data that you will be critically assessing. Once you have reviewed your evidence and course materials, you might decide to have a brainstorming session. Our handouts on reading in preparation for writing and brainstorming might be useful for you at this point.
Develop a working thesis and begin to organize your evidence (class lectures, texts, research materials) to support it. Our handouts on constructing thesis statements and paragraph development will help you generate a thesis and develop your ideas and arguments into clearly defined paragraphs.

What is an ethnography? What is ethnographic evidence?

Many introductory anthropology courses involve reading and evaluating a particular kind of text called an ethnography. To understand and assess ethnographies, you will need to know what counts as ethnographic data or evidence.

You’ll recall from earlier in this handout that an ethnography is a portrait—a description of a particular human situation, practice, or group as it exists (or existed) in a particular time, at a particular place, etc. So what kinds of things might be used as evidence or data in an ethnography (or in your discussion of an ethnography someone else has written)? Here are a few of the most common:

Things said by informants (people who are being studied or interviewed). When you are trying to illustrate someone’s point of view, it is very helpful to appeal to their own words. In addition to using verbatim excerpts taken from interviews, you can also paraphrase an informant’s response to a particular question.
Observations and descriptions of events, human activities, behaviors, or situations.
Relevant historical background information.
Statistical data.

Remember that “evidence” is not something that exists on its own. A fact or observation becomes evidence when it is clearly connected to an argument in order to support that argument. It is your job to help your reader understand the connection you are making: you must clearly explain why statements x, y, and z are evidence for a particular claim and why they are important to your overall claim or position.

Citation practices in anthropology

In anthropology, as in other fields of study, it is very important that you cite the sources that you use to form and articulate your ideas. (Please refer to our handout on plagiarism for information on how to avoid plagiarizing). Anthropologists follow the Chicago Manual of Style when they document their sources. The basic rules for anthropological citation practices can be found in the AAA (American Anthropological Association) Style Guide. Note that anthropologists generally use in-text citations, rather than footnotes. This means that when you are using someone else’s ideas (whether it’s a word-for-word quote or something you have restated in your own words), you should include the author’s last name and the date the source text was published in parentheses at the end of the sentence, like this: (Author 1983).

If your anthropology or archaeology instructor asks you to follow the style requirements of a particular academic journal, the journal’s website should contain the information you will need to format your citations. Examples of such journals include The American Journal of Physical Anthropology and American Antiquity . If the style requirements for a particular journal are not explicitly stated, many instructors will be satisfied if you consistently use the citation style of your choice.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Scupin, Raymond, and Christopher DeCorse. 2016. Anthropology: A Global Perspective , 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Solis, Jacqueline. 2020. “A to Z Databases: Anthropology.” Subject Research Guides, University of North Carolina. Last updated November 2, 2020. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/az.php?s=1107 .

University of Chicago Press. 2017. The Chicago Manual of Style , 17th ed. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation Term Paper

Introduction, natural sciences, argumentation, works cited.

It is essential to mention the fact that cultural anthropology explores the features of human communication and culture. In particular, it investigates the cultural institutions, customs, traditions, way of living, language, and socialization features in different cultures, and problems associated with these aspects of people’s lives. In addition, this sub-science, which is quite often combined with social disciplines, describes and explains social and cultural similarities and differences. There are many opinions and debates as to whether cultural anthropology refers to the humanities or natural science. Some scientists first identified themselves with one category and then changed their minds. The purpose of this paper is to consider two given points of view and to provide arguments for their justification.

The cultural branch of anthropology examines not only the results of field research and data but also the domains based on cross-cultural comparisons. Thus, based on peripheral data, cultural anthropology studies the huge reservoir of scientific knowledge. In addition, it is erroneous to claim that it deals with racial differences and biological evolution; it examines and reflects the realities regarding the cultural differences and the development of human society as a whole (Welsch and Vivanco 7). This discipline studies group behavior, social norms, religion, the mechanisms of authority, as well as the roots of technology. Nonetheless, anthropology reveals a broad humanistic view of society and human interaction. It is important to stress that for the study of primitive societies, the science utilized the biographical methods to obtain data, which do not fall directly into the category of scientific knowledge, however, at present, it utilizes a philosophical and humanistic approach to validate concepts.

Prior to providing the arguments for placing the cultural anthropology within either science or humanities category, it is essential to define the core of this distinction. Some researchers emphasize that these are two extreme ends; nevertheless, many other scientists and theorists stress that this conflict is a false dichotomy. In terms of natural science, it is considered that it is a field of study aimed at observation and an objective approach towards assessment. In their turn, the humanities employ interpretation of data, evidence, and information and follow a subjective approach towards evaluation. Nevertheless, cultural anthropology is a subset of science, which perceives and views the human experience as a coherent entity through the prism of culture (Welsch and Vivanco 101). From the standpoint of humanities, anthropology comparatively investigates social setups in their relation to culture. From the standpoint of natural sciences, it studies a phenomenon relying and placing emphasis on the data. For instance, it uses evidence to provide insights into evolutionary or other characteristics. Thus, this debate is reasonable enough.

It should be noted that studies conducted by Franz Boas have brought another perspective to the way cultural anthropology was perceived. Since then it has been distinguished as a social discipline as, in Boas’s researches, he strived for an in-depth examination of the phenomenon. In that matter, it is reasonable to mention that he used cross-cultural comparisons and, as it has been mentioned earlier, it is the core of the humanitarian perception of this scientific branch. For instance, his research on the Kwakiutl population was a long-term, experimental immersion to cognize the particular society and its culture (Boas 126). To be able to understand and testify the discoveries, he utilized the participant-observation method to obtain the first-hand experience.

In general, the scientist has contributed greatly to the development of cultural anthropology as part of humanities, for example, through the idea of cultural relativism or arguments against racial ideology. In the same manner, Margaret Mead is considered to be one of the greatest researchers who has influenced scientific thought (Gilliam and Foerstel 101). For instance, through her research activities, she advocated for gender equality. She tried to reveal the need for sexual liberation and confronted the oppression of people (Gilliam and Foerstel 107). The guiding thread throughout her scientific research was the promotion and encouragement of multiculturalism. Mead resorted to intensive field studies to investigate the social organization of concrete populations and cultures. She did not aim to study cultural symbolism but the social organization, which denotes the comparative aspect of this anthropological branch.

Nonetheless, the two researchers formed a concept that implied that cultural anthropology is a study, which is holistic in nature due to the fact that it considers a variety of aspects when making assumptions about other cultures. In addition, every society should be viewed as a shared representation (Welsch and Vivanco 103). Thus, the historical past is reached differently by various societies. To comprehend a phenomenon, it is essential to avoid breaking the population down but to investigate the different foundations while looking at a general picture.

Regarding natural science, cultural anthropology can be attributed to this category as well for several reasons. It is crucial to note that the relevance of cultural factors is revealed in the course of the observation, which subsequently establishes a steady repetition of patterns. Moreover, researchers-anthropologists determine the validity of a concept through experiment, which relates to the core of science. Moreover, if a proposed hypothesis is incorrect, it should be modified. In particular, cultural anthropology is engaged in empirical research, and science presupposes the existence of general laws, a platform for the experiment, and testing the initial assumptions through practice (Welsch and Vivanco 203).

Despite the fact that researchers study cultural reality, it occurs in a wide variety of contexts and situations. This suggests the existence of many skills in researchers, including the skill of observation and carrying out fieldwork and, at the same time, every scientist should possess and rely on a strong theoretical base to carry out a cultural analysis. Based on the theoretical framework, a scientist conducts the selection, classification, and option of specific cultural elements. Thus, researchers-anthropologists develop a basis for the determination of similarities and differences. For example, Malinowski used a similar scientific approach to his study of the culture of Trobriand Islands inhabitants. He conducted field research using a variety of methods and checked his findings (Malinowski 5).

Observing the array of phenomena, he singled out the facts that could be considered universal and drew conclusions about their value while checking the data based on the ethnographic material that was available to him. Along with the fieldwork, the scientist engaged in the enrichment of the theoretical framework. The theory was used as a tool for the selection of facts and as a narrative element of the scientific work. Further on, in terms of the comparative nature of this discipline, Rowe claims that “it is anthropology’s recognition of the scientific importance of such differences which chiefly distinguishes it from other disciplines concerned with man and human behavior” (1). Therefore, cultural anthropology is not only a descriptive, empirical science, but it also occupies the level of theoretical generalizations, which involves the detection of common properties and laws in the life of people belonging to ethnic and other communities.

Notwithstanding a large number of counter-arguments, cultural anthropology should be considered a natural science. The main argument in support of this position is its contribution to the development of theoretical models of social organization for different society types and interaction forms between people. Moreover, the paradigmatic status of the scientific branch can be reflected in the application of both traditional scientific and non-traditional approaches to the study of phenomena (Welsch and Vivanco 209).

Cultural anthropology appeals to a variety of theories, concepts, methods, and techniques for the study of context. It also uses a number of cognitive processes such as the selection of cultural classes for the analysis, development of conceptual apparatus, justification of problem statement, identification of specific boundaries of the study, description of categories, establishment of dependency, and identification of links. Further, researchers build analytical models and create a holistic concept based on the identified dependencies (Welsch and Vivanco 54). Moreover, anthropological research is aimed at a complete picture of knowledge and not the particularities. The isolation of specific fragments occurs at different stages; however, the outcome of the research is a universal idea.

Overall, there are certain criteria, which would evidence that an area of study is scientific. The discipline should investigate the empirical phenomenon; it should rely on the theoretical base, be non-contradictory and objective, imply universal laws, and be progressive. As discussed earlier, cultural anthropology does research empirical phenomena, although they are not always replicable and cannot be justified by a controlled scientific experiment due to the progressive nature of society. Nonetheless, it applies scientifically discussed methods and uses a scientific investigation (Welsch and Vivanco 201).

Notably, cultural anthropology relies on historical data and theories to explain the bygone occurrences. However, most importantly, it increases the knowledge, consequently, it is progressive. Therefore, it can be stated that cultural anthropology is a natural science, but it also combines the methods applied in humanities. This compilation allows more holistic and in-depth research and reproduces a picture of the society that is more complete (Welsch and Vivanco 210). In addition, this combination of different approaches enables the discipline to opt for the most suitable methods and theoretical frameworks that would address the research questions more effectively and comprehensively.

Thus, it can be concluded that the debates over the place of cultural anthropology either within natural sciences or humanities is reasonable. It is rational to assert that the main link between cultural anthropology and humanities lies in the fact that it aspires for descriptive integration of particular occurrences rather than general rules. Nevertheless, it can be stated that the study of society does have parallels with science. It can be proved by the fact that it strives to establish generalizations with the help of which the cultural life of societies can be comprehended. Moreover, the methods used in anthropological research are similar to those of scientific studies. The fact that cultural sensibilities or some approaches do not fall into the scientific approach to researching does not make cultural anthropology less scientific.

Boas, Franz. “The Social Organization of the Kwakiutl.” American Anthropologist, vol. 22, no. 2, 1920, pp. 111-126.

Gilliam, Lenora, and Angela Foerstel. Confronting the Margaret Mead Legacy . Temple University Press, 1994.

Malinowski, Bronislaw. A Diary in the Strict Sense of the Word. Stanford University Press, 1967.

Rowe, John Howland. “The Renaissance Foundations of Anthropology.” American Anthropologist, vol. 67, no. 1, 1965, pp. 1-20.

Welsch, Robert, and Luis Vivanco. Asking Questions about Cultural Anthropology. Oxford University Press, 2015.

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IvyPanda. (2020, September 15). Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-anthropology-debate-and-argumentation/

"Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation." IvyPanda , 15 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-anthropology-debate-and-argumentation/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation'. 15 September.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation." September 15, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-anthropology-debate-and-argumentation/.

1. IvyPanda . "Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation." September 15, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-anthropology-debate-and-argumentation/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Cultural Anthropology: Debate and Argumentation." September 15, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-anthropology-debate-and-argumentation/.

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Explorations in cultural anthropology; essays in honor of George Peter Murdock

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Uploaded by station22.cebu on February 8, 2020

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Home / Essay Samples / Culture / World Cultures / Cultural Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology Essay Examples

Analysis of cultural appropriation.

Appropriation is a tricky subject to navigate because opinions on it’s morality, artistry and ethics are so widely varied. Many artists use appropriation in their work to appreciate a specific culture or to enhance and influence their creation. However when working with outside sources you...

Folk Dance: Traditional Dances in Different Cultures

Traditional folk dances are integrated into the histories of many countries like China, Columbia, Russia, and others – all with different movements, music, and rhythms. It is all dependent on where the dance is being observed. The traditional folk dance in the Philippines will significantly...

Regulation of Emotion in Moroccan Culture

In collectivist cultures, there is a tendency to regulate through injecting feelings of shame guilt and culpability. A constructive discussion will highlight the child’s wrong doing as a violation of a rule to assure that they would properly behave the next time when dealing with...

Shakespeare’s Invocation to Overlook Differences Between Jews and Christians for Economic Prosperity in the Merchant of Venice

The Jews who flocked to England following the Norman Conquest “remained sharply separated from, at any rate, the common people around them by peculiarities of speech, habits and daily life”. Such dissimilarities “aroused dread and hatred in an ignorant and superstitious age”. Charging interest for...

Food in Cultural Anthropology: Differences in Food Productions Among Cultures

‘You are what you eat’ – it is the phase your mom told you when you were young and did not wanted to eat your vegetables. But how does food as well as this phase demonstrate itself in other cultures? ‘Next to breathing, eating is...

Why Eradicating Polio is More Complicated than It Seems

While one might initially presume an article about polio would belong to the field of biological anthropology; I feel that it can be argued that this topic intersects with both the biological and cultural anthropologic fields. As the researchers gained an understanding of why polio...

The Use of Symbols in the Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

Jean Auel’s novel The Clan of the Cave Bear incorporated a wide foundation of ecological, archaeological, and anthropological data, leading it to be a realistic story of survival and hope. However, Auel used artistic license throughout the novel to express a major point in gender...

The Role of Rāhui in the Maori Culture

Rāhui is expressed in the Maori language as a ban or restriction on a place of conservation due to the scarcity of resources. New Zealand law has adopted this Maori concept of Rahui and can be seen in legislation as drawing on three of the...

The Changes of the Mayan Civilization from Late Preclassic to Early Classic Period

When referring to most civilizations of the past, what sparks in our minds is often its golden age. The period in which a civilization’s development in its societal structure and people reach maximum prosperity, stability and happiness. It is also commonly known to be the...

Safeya Binzagr – Painting the Saudi Arabia Story

The impact of arts and paintings has been felt throughout many generations, yet one thing still stands out which is the undeniable fact that the creation of a piece of art is one of the easiest and safest means to preserve history and recall the...

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