Invitation to Social and Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example

In what specific ways do you plan to think or live differently or to carry out your personal or professional roles differently as a consequence of this course? Anthropology is wisdom. If life has to be lived effectively, it has to be studied. It is superior to other disciplines because of its thorough analysis. Each branch of anthropology gives its own important lessons. All these combine to form a complete discipline that presents guidelines which are necessary and vital (Eriksen, 5). Walking with a caveman, meeting Alexander the Great and Winston Churchill simultaneously, seeing the blue-green globule turn blue-brown from the satellite, witnessing the dramatic evolution of Olympics to which no evolution is comparable to; these might be the experiences of an immortal, ubiquitous being. But these are also the lessons that are learnt from anthropology. Anthropology is the science of mankind. Anthropology can be considered a consequential effect of age of exploration. In the 17th century it started developing when the Europeans started interacting with the natives of their colonies. In the beginning this was used to understand and manipulate the natives so that they can become submissive slaves. It was also used to trace their descent. However, in the 18th century, Renaissance brought an enlightening phase for anthropology. Thinkers started talking of equality. Anthropology evolved for the better and became perhaps the most important discipline. Since Renaissance, anthropology has been trying to establish how despite apparent differences, all human beings are the same. It helps people see beyond these differences and also in tackling problems that arise from these differences. So whenever people are coexisting with differences, anthropology is needed. That is why it was a need of age of exploration. This is what it is happening even now and will continue to happen. It helps in interaction when there is diversity by avoiding friction due to lack of understanding of others. Even today, humans are dependent on it even though it has been said that we are living in a time when the world has acquired an almost common culture. It remains important because each individual is very different from the other one. Even identical twins are different. They learn how to interact with the members of the society and even with each other gradually. They are aided in this by their mother or other mature people. The guidelines that she is giving are some of the lessons we learn from anthropology. So it is safe to say that anthropology makes bridges and is needed by everyone. In addition to that, it also teaches you how to cross that bridge. It does this not by burdening you with weighty theories or laws. Instead it tells you what you should expect. It makes you mature. You become intellectually independent when you are able to think of possibilities. In simple words, it means that anthropology has made the initiation and the process of socialization very smooth and easy. There is no cost of it for example the person does not have to think critically or repetitively. Instead, anthropology has done something opposite and comes with a fringe benefit. It has granted freedom by maturing people. They do not have to be studious or calculating but just a bit considerate. Anthropology can judged to be superior to all social sciences. Social sciences include sociology, psychology, politics, economics, history, geography and cultural studies. All these subjects try to explain aspects of human nature or behavior using one frame only. They are not deep at all. Anthropology is better than all these because it has a thorough and holistic approach. It seeks to study, understand and explain a phenomenon with respect to all the aspects. Out of all these aspects, there is special emphasis on culture. It is because nothing is contained in a vacuum. However all the social sciences ignore this crucial aspect. They have a narrow base. They just have rigid theories which are only applicable in utopia. Utopia does not exist. Utopia is simply the opposite of real world. Nothing will be unexpected and humans are robots. So they are obviously unfit for the real world. These theories actually fail to explain anything and then defeat their own purposes. They are for the ideal world. When the theorists say that things can be different in the real world, it is actually highlights a weakness of the theories and hence the disciplines. It is because these disciplines never seek to cover all the aspects. Only if the theories of such disciplines like economics were taking all this into account, they would have been true for the real world. On the other hand, anthropology takes all the aspects into account and hence is fit for explaining the real world. There are four main branches of anthropology. The first is socio-cultural anthropology. Social anthropology explains how individuals, groups and societies interact. Cultural philosophy studies the behaviors, values and practices of people of a society. Socio-cultural anthropology evaluates how behaviors, values and practices are developed during socialization and how do they evolve over time. It also considers the cross-cultural differences as well as similarities (Dash, 4). Study of this area has made me a better member of society and has allowed me to think out of the box. First of all, I am glad that I am a member and not an outcast and enjoying all the benefits; I have learnt the benefits of membership of social groups and society as a whole. I want to receive them. So now I am more willing to stick to the norms of the society if they are right and convenient. Even if they cause a small inconvenience, I will still follow them and live my life accordingly. I am now more attentive to sanctions. If I get a positive sanction, I am determined to repeat that action in another situation. But I have also learnt that what is acceptable in one situation might not be acceptable in another one. If I receive a negative sanction I will try not to repeat that action or learn what circumstance caused the disapproval. Then I will avoid that. I will effectively use sanctions myself to make children learn how to behave correctly. If they are doing something wrong, I will try to convince them not to do it. If they are doing something good I will encourage them by rewarding them. I also got close to my culture. I understood its norms and values in a better way. I acknowledged this is what makes us who we are. I also noticed some of the flaws in the society. They arise from the contradiction between the norms and the values. This means that the values suggest that this action is wrong but it still continues to be the norm. One example is smoking. However. smoking is a universal flaw. I also came across other cultures. I read about their norms and values. I also researched on how they enforce these ie the sanctions they use. I also learnt that there are some actions that are desirable in one society and can be unpleasant and even offensive in another one. Now I try to understand the culture of the person before dealing with him or her if he or she is from a different one. I also learnt that immediate gratification can be a bad thing and prevent you from achieving self-optimization. Deferred gratification is better. It is wise. You should prefer test preparation to a television show. This is what will make you truly happy later. Another branch is the linguistic anthropology. This tells us how and why language affects the social life. It also shows how language forms social identity hence cultural representation on a large scale. This also helps in understanding the disparity in the society. Language can be used to form values and impart social roles. An example is of stories that are told to young children. Men are usually hardy breadwinners and women are meek housewives. The children learn of the expectations of the society. I learnt many things. I now try to avoid ethnocentrism in my speech and writing. I try to say everything clearly. I incorporate more quotes. Moreover, I have learnt that sometimes it is about how you say something. Now I take care. I have learnt to elaborate. Additionally, it has enabled me to judge the uses of language of other people and the motives. Now I am quite aware how some politicians are doing their jobs just by being smart linguists or models of eloquence rather than doing some real work. Another branch of anthropology is archaeology. This branch studies the remains of ancient civilizations and uses the artifacts discovered to learn their culture and lifestyle. This branch is also very important. We learn basic things like living near a large water body comes with a risk of getting submerged by a flood or tsunami. It also made me realise that someday I would be a part of the history. Some archaeologists will be seeing my remains and assigning meaning to it. I was motivated to live an effective life and be responsible. Another branch is biological anthropology. This type observes and compares trends like behaviors, growth, development, disease and death. It also sees evolution and adaptation. There is also a thorough study of primates, fossil fuels, prehistoric people and general biology. It also provides knowledge regarding ancient cure and their efficacy (Larsen, 9). This branch has taught me several things. I have learnt that we should let go of the new unhealthy habits. Ancient humans were healthier because they were more close to nature. They would not fall ill this often. They had simpler lives and healthier habits. So I have learnt that we should not let technology and this general chaos of today overcome us and we should get rid of artificial things as much as we can, natural is better. Then our lives would be simpler too. I have also learnt that evolution is not a deception. Humans have evolved and will continue to evolve. Anthropology generally has made me learn several important things. I have learnt how different people see religion. I have compared it with my own beliefs. I now know that the differences in these beliefs are not important. The important thing is how you coexist keeping these differences aside but maintaining your individuality at the same time. It can be concluded that anthropology is an important discipline. Its holistic approach makes it unique and reliable. Everyone should incorporate it in their daily lives because without this you cannot be a proper human being and will never understand others too. References: Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Dash, K N. Invitation to Social and Cultural Anthropology. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2004. Print. Eriksen, Thomas H. What Is Anthropology?London: Pluto Press, 2004. Print. Larsen, Clark S. A Companion to Biological Anthropology. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Internet resource. Read More