Life of Construction Workers in Roseburg, Oregon - Essay Example

To establish the ethnicity of Roseburg, Oregon construction workers 2. To establish the religious background of the construction workers in Roseburg, Oregon 3. To establish the education background of the construction workers in Roseburg, Oregon 4. To establish the social class of the people of Roseburg, Oregon 6. To establish the social norms of the construction workers. Assumptions In the study of anthropology, one of the main factors under consideration is culture. Culture has been defined by various experts differently.

Taylor defines culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" (Anthrobase par 3). “Yet another definition proposed by Taylor that is releveant today is that Culture refers to the totality of the humanly created world, from material culture and cultivated landscapes, via social institutions (political, religious, economic etc.), to knowledge and meaning” (Anthrobase par 3).

The study will assume the definitions of culture as proposed by Taylor. Yet another assumption that will be held is that construction workers will include those who live and work in Roseburg as well as those who only work in the area. Literature Review Background to Anthropology Anthropology mainly is concerned with the study of human life. As such, the subject deals with how humans originated, how people from a community relate with one another and with “others”, the differences or variations that exist between community members and how people are organised in their communities or societies with respect to culture.

In a broad sense, anthropology may be divided into four subfields including physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and socio-cultural anthropology. Anthropology is important in that it makes people be able to appreciate other people’s cultures and way of living. By extension, this is important in communicating and dealing with people in various fields including business, politics, ecology and medicine just to mention a few. Setting Roseburg, Oregon is a place located in the North West side of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean.

Among the several activities carried out in the area include fishing, commerce and construction work. The people of Roseburg and more specifically, the construction workers have diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds making the culture of the construction workers subject to various influences. In order to establish the ethnographic characteristics of the population under study, it is important to conduct primary research on the area and people involved. As such, construction sites in the area need to be visited considering that this is mainly where the workers gather and interact as a community.

In many cases, construction workers have poor economic backgrounds. This is mainly the case considering that the work involved is labour intensive and is therefore less preferred by people who are better educated and those who are well endowed economically. Most of these workers in the US come from minority groups including Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian communities. Community as a term is quite elusive in meaning according to anthropologists. However, it may be taken to mean a collection of individuals living in a particular geographical location.

A community in many cases