The Importance of Objectivity

 



Please listen to the following article by Horace Miner.  Afterwards, we will discuss the culture described in the article.  See if you can identify the culture described but don't shout out what it is, please.

What is objectivity?  What is bias?

Note to self:

1. Bring copy of article
2. Ask these questions after reading.

•  What are the stereotypes you have heard or seen about Maine?  How do they hold up after you have spent some time in the state?
• How are stereotyped notions about place and ritual useful, both for natives and locals as well as for outsiders and visitors?  How are they limiting?  Now watch this.
• Could you make a report about the culture of Maine without using stereotypes?  How would you do it? 

Tonight!!!  Find two items in your room that represents your present or your past.  It should be something that typifies American life and culture.  Bring it to class tomorrow.

Work of Anthropologists

Recall:

1. What do biological anthropologists study?
2. What do cultural anthropologists study?

 What skills, tools, methodology and questions do you think you will need to study a new culture?

 Our goal today is to learn

1. The METHODS anthropologists use to study the evolution of human beings.
2. The METHODS anthropologists use to study past and present human societies.
3. How to predict the pitfalls inherent in studying biological and cultural anthropological topics.

We'll all work together on a handout about studying a new alien civilization.

On Thursday, read through and watch the clips in this tutorial when you're finished.

Fields of Anthropology

Listen to these two stories.

1. Lucy
2. Mbuti Pygmies

Let's decide what specialties would be needed to study these two topics.

There are two basic divisions within anthropology:  Biological and Cultural



The Subfields of Biological Anthropology include

• Primatology
• Human evolution
• Human variation
• Paleoanthropology

and are supported by geology, paleontology, biology and genetics.


Bronislaw Malinowski

The Subfields of Cultural Anthropology include

• Archaeology
• Sociolinguistics
• Historical Linguistics
• Ethnology

and are supported by history, sociology and psychology.

Homework:

Complete the handouts with the help of a dictionary or the textbook.