Social Anthropology - Assignment Example

How useful is social anthropology for an overseas in looking at and understanding modern British society? Anthropology has often been viewed as an entire study of man. Social anthropology is sometimes regarded as an effective medium that explores the certain features of man as a social being. It is one among the different branches of Anthropology which has often been viewed as a serious discipline in modern times. Like the study of Anthropology, Social anthropology also is a vast field of study enabling one to unveil the features of man, human cultures and societies. The words of E.E. Evans-Pritchard makes it clear when evaluating Social anthropology thus, “Social anthropology is a title used in England and to some extent in the United States, to designate a department of the larger subject of anthropology, the study of man from a number of aspects. It concerns itself with human cultures and societies” (Pritchard 3). Therefore, it is evident that the study of Social anthropology deserves greater significance. Many researchers have identified that ‘social anthropology’ is quite a recent name which was taught under the names of anthropology or ethnology (Prichard 3). A very good definition of Social Anthropology can be found in the official website of Harvard University that writes, “Social Anthropology is concerned with the social and cultural diversity of contemporary human communities and groups” (Harvard). The website adds that through ethnographic methods and intensive participant observation “Social Anthropologists study topics such as gender, race and ethnicity; religion; economic development; illness and healing; human rights and political violence; popular culture and the role of media in society; food and consumption; and the impact of globalization” (Harvard). This leads one to the inference that social anthropology will have an elite role in making an overseas student looking at and understanding the British society, its race and ethnicity, religion, economic development, illness and healing, and the like. The purpose of the study is to explore the certain factors of social anthropology that help an overseas student to properly understand the modern British society. Social anthropology helps to identify gender Identifying gender has an elite role in assuring a good educational standard for an overseas student. When one selects a particular country for one’s further studies, it is mandatory that he or she should have proper awareness about the gender differences existing in that region. One should keep in mind that fact that ‘diversity, and complexity and change are, then, features of contemporary British society’ (Abercrombie, Warde, & Deem 6). Furthermore, it is to be noted that ‘Any individual will know of, or share, only a very small proportion of the variety of experiences that make up the social mosaic of the modern society’ (Abercrombie, Warde, & Deem 6). This makes clear that if one needs to properly understand the contemporary British society, one has to understand the diversity and complexity of this region. Identifying gender will be also helpful in unveiling the biological and behavioural differences in males and females, an extremely significant knowledge that an overseas student requires. One should also keep in mind the fact that “...social anthropologists still seek to make connections between the conventional domains of politics, religion, culture, gender, economic development, and so on; and they give high priority to the portrayal of individual knowledge, feeling, and values as this ‘private’ sphere relates to the public one” (Social Anthropology at Oxford University). Analysing this, it is crystal clear that social anthropology is exerting tremendous role in helping one to identify gender. Identifying race and ethnicity Social anthropology can be aptly used of identifying race and ethnicity which is equality significant as identifying gender for a foreign student in Britain. As it has already said, Britain is a land of diversity and complexity. This diversity is also identifiable in race and ethnicity that one may be puzzled at the behavioural as well as physical nature of the people. So it would be better for one to have a prior knowledge regarding what kind of race are the prevalent and their cultural and social features, and so on. It is possible for one to identify various races and their cultural and social variations in Britain. As anthropology is designed to study about the humans and their characteristic traits, it studies about different races also. One can see that “there is not a shred of anthropological evidence to justify race discrimination” (European Association of Social Anthropologists 46). As such, a student of anthropology is supposed to be free from any class or race divisions and “it is the duty of anthropologist to proclaim this truth and to continue dispassionately to investigate the biological and social qualities of human groups without regard for race privilege” (European Association of Social Anthropologists 46). This underlines the fact that anthropology, particularly social anthropology takes note of race and ethnicity. Studies about religion The study of religion is another grave function served by social anthropology which will enable the foreign students to have an overall view of the religions existing in the England. Social anthropology has a branch that deals with religious studies, varying from the textual sources– the Bible, the Qur’an, the Buddhist scriptures, or the writings of religious scholars and luminaries. This facilitates the students the opportunities to know of various religions. But it has a departure from the general type of religious studies. One can see that “the social anthropology of religion emphasises ethnography - knowledge gained through practical fieldwork studies amongst living religious communities – communities that are central to the social, political and economic world of the 21st century” (University of Glasgow). It is common knowledge that when one selects a foreign country for one’s further studies, one should certainly have some basic awareness about the existing religions of that country. Social anthropology of religion helps one to gather knowledge about various religious communities that exert predominant influence in various sectors of social life. Studies about economic development Identifying the economic development of the foreign country which one chooses for the future studies has an integral role in promoting or assuring better education. It has been generally accepted that majority of the development projects in poor countries fail due to the lack of the ‘social variables.’ Anthropology has claimed to have found solutions for such problems, though the number of anthropologist working in this field is very rare. A social anthropologist can contribute too much for the human-well being and efficiency management. But even then there are criticisms against them. One of the significant criticisms is from the Economists. “Economists often purport to believe that anthropologists are concerned solely with the study of myth, symbolism and ritual, and that they reject as unworthy of consideration secular issues such as how people make living and makes them preventing form making a better living” (Devitt). However, one can see that this is not quite true of the anthropologists. Here one will have to join with the view point of Shasie Ayoub when commented about anthropology. Shasie Ayoub, in the online article entitled; ‘What Can You Do With Social Anthropology?’ writes, “According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, anthropologists study the origin and development of human behaviour by examining lifestyles, languages, archaeological remains and physical characteristics of people” (Ayoub). Analysing this view point one can say that an overseas student of social anthropology will have the right opportunity to have a very closer view of the economic development of Britain and he can judge the economic ups and downs. Identifying illness and healing An overseas student of social anthropology in Britain, through qualitative methods, can unveil the illness and their prevention methods existing in that country. Social anthropology enables the student collect extensive filed notes through interviews and observations and can adapt with the existing social life situations. One of the branches of anthropology, Anthropology of Health & Illness takes students away from the idea that there is only one standardized best practice and shows them the astounding diversity of therapeutic methods, ideas of disease causation, healer personalities and spaces for healing (Anthropology of Health and illness). This makes one surmise that social anthropology can help the student in exploring the illness and healing of contemporary Britain. To conclude, one can infer that social anthropology serves various functions that enable an overseas student to have a clear understanding of the contemporary British society. The student can inculcate certain qualities in him through the studies of social anthropology and many regard this science as exciting and broadens the mind. The student can have perceptions and these perceptions are really effective for him to understand the contemporary British society. Identifying the gender will provide him the opportunities to know of the behavioural and complexity of the region. Identifying the race and ethnicity will help one to identify various races and their cultural and social variations in Britain. Furthermore, social anthropology explores human rights and political violence; popular culture and the role of media in society; food and consumption; and the impact of globalization, and so on. Thus, one can infer that social anthropology is really helpful for an overseas student to understand the contemporary society. Works cited: Anthropology of Health and Illness. University of Edinburgh. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. http://www.san.ed.ac.uk/research/ahi Ayoub, Shasie. What Can You Do With Social Anthropology? eHow.com. 2010. Web. 9 Dec.2010. http://www.ehow.com/about_6787454_can-do-social-anthropology_.html#ixzz17cHAIWXh Anthropology. Faculty of arts and sciences. Harvard University. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. http://webdocs.registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ugrad_handbook/2009_2010/chapter4/anthropology.html Abercrombie, Nicholas., Warde, Alan., Deem, Rosemary. Contemporary British society. Edn.3, illustrated. Wiley-Blackwell. 2000. Print. Devitt, Paul. Social Anthropology in Development. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3032411 European Association of Social Anthropologists. Social anthropology, Volume 15, Issue 1.CUP Archive. 2007. Print. Pritchard, E. E. Evans. Social Anthropology. Routledge. 2004. Print. Social Anthropology at Oxford University. PRM. 2001. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. http://wws.princeton.edu/study-abroad/oxford/academic-program/anthropology.pdf Social Anthropology of Religion. The Science Registry Ltd. 2010. Web. 9 Dec.2010. http://www.findamasters.com/search/courseDetails.aspx?CID=735&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 Read More