Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
2023/2024 | Radboud University Nijmegen
Based on “Small Places, Large Issues” (Hylland Eriksen) and other literature
,Wed 6 Sep Introductory lecture by Toon van Meijl (TvM) What is Cultural Anthropology?
Cultural Anthropology:
• Cultural anthropology
o Anthropology: the comparative study of cultural and social life, with participant observation
as its primary method of data collection through lengthy fieldwork in specific social settings.
o This science…
▪ Investigates the customs, beliefs, practices, and social structures of human societies.
▪ Describes, interprets and possibly also explains the cultural customs.
▪ Does this through systematic research, looking at differences and similarities.
• Grapples with the balance between similarities and differences in human social life. The tension between
universality (similarities) and relativism (differences) is a central concern in anthropology.
o Anthropology has focused more on oddities and differentiating cultures.
• The science of anthropology was developed in the United States and the United Kingdom
o Originally, anthropology was based on evolutionism and imperialist theory.
• Traits of anthropology
o Holistic: there are no answers, only theory. It’s a fluid science.
o Comparative: comparing cultures and customs is the essence of this science
▪ Knowledge is gained when experiencing cultural differences
o Open-minded: there is awareness of your own cultural bias. These are pitfalls:
▪ Moral judgement of others before understanding the differences
▪ Ethnocentrism: viewing yourself and your culture as the cultural norm
▪ Hierarchical classification of cultures
• The Anthropological view on humans
o Humans are social beings> socially influenced by our environment.
o Humans are cultural beings> characterized by our behavior, custom, cognition etc.
, Fri 8 Sep TvM: Culture, Comparison and Context (Eriksen ch. 1)
Defining ‘Culture’
• Clifford Geerts on Culture:
o Culture as the “abilities, notions, and forms of behavior that people have acquired as
members of society.”
o Culture as an “integrated and bounded system of meaning shared by a population.”
▪ Critics: Geertz theory doesn’t account for variations within populations
• The ambiguity (tweezijdigheid) of the concept of culture
o Culture serves as a common foundation for humans.
o It’s also a source of systematic differences for humans.
• Culture vs. Society.
o Culture refers to the acquired, cognitive, and symbolic aspects of existence.
o Society refers to the social organization of human life, patterns of interaction, and power
relationships.
o This analytical distinction is important in anthropology.
• Individuality coexists with collectivism.
▪ We tend to think of ourselves as individuals, and of outsiders as collections as people.
▪ This is a human perspective which is common for all humans.
• Traits of culture
o Cultures are integrated, patterned systems> If one-part changes, other parts change.
o Culture is instrumental: Culture serves a purpose, either helping or hindering.
o Culture is adaptive or maladaptive: It can be good (adaptive) or bad (maladaptive) for a society.
• Culture has an evolutionary basis.
o Similarities between humans and apes evident in anatomy, brain structure, genetics, and
biochemistry
o Evolution can be traced back in our human traits (ex: depth and color vision)
• Culture can be…
o Universal: Found everywhere, what makes us human.
o General: Found in some societies, like nuclear families.
o Particular: Unique to a specific culture, getting rarer
• Levels of culture: National culture, international culture and subculture
• Cultural rights
o Cultural rights: rights vested in religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous societies
o Intellectual property rights (IPR): an indigenous group’s collective knowledge and its
applications
• Globalization: series of processes that work to make modern nations and people increasingly interlinked
and mutually dependent
o Economic and political forces, Long-distance communication, Local people must increasingly cope
with forces generated by progressively larger systems
Enculturation: The process by which a child learns of their culture
• Cultural learning amongst humans depends on our human skill to use and interpret symbols.
o Symbols: Signs or gestures that ‘symbolize’ a meaning for humans, that have no necessary
natural connection. This is decided by context, which is also a human phenomenon.
▪ Symbols can unite and divide cultures and societies.
▪ Symbols can be verbal and nonverbal.
o Clifford Geerts on Symbols: “Culture is ideas based on cultural learning and symbols.”
• Culture teaches us how to express ourselves, also taking natural biological urges.
o (Ex:) Response to pain: Auw (Dutch) Auch (English) (Ai) French
