Cultural Anthropology : Human Nature

Anthropologists make a substantial difference in the world today. How they use specific methods and research to help better understand groups of people that are different from themselves. Not all Anthropologists travel to different parts of the country or across the world to study different cultures or groups of people, but some also are involved in the business world, corporate organizations, different sectors of government, and even the medical and political fields. Anthropology is used in various ways of daily life, even though we don’t realize it.

Gaining rapport from story telling and collecting emic data through participation observation were the fieldwork techniques that she employed while researching. The theoretical perspectives seemingly prominent within Bohannan’s article are structuralism and interpretivism. Clearly, interpretivism dominates the article as the focus is the interpretation of Hamlet among the Tiv.

When we look into the interior history of the literary works Hamlet, Candide, and Popol Vuh, we see how diverse each culture was. They were created in different times and had their own trials and tribulations, but at the same time had a connectedness to us now. We get an inside look of how the societies functioned, people lived, and what they valued the most. Most importantly, the significance of how each text unfolded every characters truth, helped the reader to capture the essence of how and why the text made us feel a certain way. While the authors reflect on the characters stories, the reader’s purpose is to dissect the meaningful life lessons portrayed.

What is anthropology? This is a question that can be answered in numerous ways, but we are going to define it as simple as possible. If we break the word down into its two components it means the study of human beings. “Anthropo” means human beings or human kind and “logy” or “logia” is Greek for the study or knowledge of something. When we put it all together, it is the study of human beings which can be very broad. Anthropology can be broken down into four subfields: physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology.

• Anthropologists study the origin, development, and customs of human beings • They may research many questions related to what it means to be human:

Today, MSC visited Jeffrey at his Dau Habilitation program located on 1221 E14th street, Brooklyn, NY. MSC greeted the receptionist and she called his Day Hab. Supervisor Yocheved Mordkontech. She guided MSC to his classroom and Jeffrey was happy to see his MSC. Jeffrey asked MSC how she was doing and MSC stated good. Jeffrey was dressed appropriatelt in a green shirt, jeans and sneakers. Jeffrey had a clean hair cut. He told MSC that she spoke to his sister and is a little worried about here. He also worries about missing medical appointments. MSC informed him not to worry, Marie Rose will make sure he attends each medical appointments in a timely manner. Yocheved stated that Jeffrey has been doing good. He has been cooperative and he has improved in being courteous of others.

“Could I have a drink of water?” Macomber asked. Wilson spoke to the older gun-bearer, who wore a canteen on his belt, and the man

James P. Spradley (1979) described the insider approach to understanding culture as "a quiet revolution" among the social sciences (p. iii). Cultural anthropologists, however, have long emphasized the importance of the ethnographic method, an approach to understanding a different culture through participation, observation, the use of key informants, and interviews. Cultural anthropologists have employed the ethnographic method in an attempt to surmount several formidable cultural questions: How can one understand another's culture? How can culture be qualitatively and quantitatively assessed? What aspects of a culture make it unique and which connect it to other cultures? If

Reading this puzzling but interesting article, Shakespeare in the Bush, left me with some thoughts and feelings about the universal lesson from it. Also was wondering if the author, Laura Bohannan’s was shocked as much as I was after the Elders response to Hamlet and his little lesson of wisdom. The beginning introduces Bohannan's objective of her trip, and some interesting background stories of the African Tribe Tiv and shocking behavior from the elders, shocked by the fact of that they have beer down there. As we learned in class, culture and customs are learned, as Bohannan’s states “Human nature is pretty much the same the whole world over; motivation of the greater tragedies would always be clear”. I was thinking just like her in the beginning of the story and the class,

This essay will discuss several literary criticisms of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. After skimming through several articles, I ended up with four peer-reviewed journal articles, each a different critical perspectives of the play: feminist, psychoanalytical/freudian, moral, and new historicism. My previous studies of Hamlet, as well as my rereading of the play this semester, has collectively given me a general knowledge of the text. My familiarity of the play made it easier for me to decipher the academic journals and see the connections each critic made with the play.

For Miner, he was writing from his years of personal observation of American homes, but often the anthropologist is not already a member of the community to be studied and must develop a rapport within a community. This relationship must be created without being deceptive and creating a negative impression so that members of the community will act naturally and not suppress their habitual or instinctive reaction to life issues (Kawulich, 2005). This method collects data not only from personal observation but also includes interviews, natural conversations, checklists, and surveys. The effective use of this method includes having a nonjudgmental attitude, being aware of culture shock tendencies, wanting to learn more about others, and practicing good listening skills (Kawulich, 2005). When the anthropologist properly explores the organized routines and ritualistic behaviors of the group, they become becomes a part of the community and reports the information about how the group is operating from a holistic understanding of the viewed events.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is a timeless play which continues to remain relevant across all generations due to its presentation of ideas that are fundamental to humanity. The play highlights aspects that relate to the society of not only Elizabethan England but also that of our modern society. Hamlet, as a character, considers ideas from outside his time and is somewhat relatable to modern day man. By drawing from ideas of archetypes and the human psyche, it reveals that Hamlet relates deeply to the elements of humanity.

Anthropology, as a discipline in the field of human sciences, is based on certain ethical principles to guide its practitioners through their research. This creates a stable framework on which to start any research project. Avoiding deviation, however, can be complicated. Anthropologists have a responsibility to their field,

Humans are an interesting species because of the strong need humans have to fully understand what it truly means to be human. Many fields such as history, psychology, and sociology all offer a perspective in the study of humanity, but there are distinguishable from anthropology. Anthropology differs from other humanities fields due to its holistic nature, comparative research methods, and the strong emphasis on fieldwork and participant interaction. Anthropology is the study of people throughout the world, their evolutionary history, how they behave, adapt to different environments, communicate and socialize with one another. In order for anthropologists to examine the full scope of human life, they employ the four field approach that embodies the holistic nature of the field.

“Fictions are less unruly than histories. The beginnings are more engaging, the characters more co-operative, the endings more in line with expectations of morality and justice.” (King xi-xii) Thomas King gives an unusual presentation of history, using storytelling techniques and humour to keep readers engaged, while including his own series of arguments and conversations in his book. However, not only are the characters uncooperative, the story also seems to be out of line with any expectation of morality and justice. His narrative shows that The Inconvenient Indian is definitely not fictitious, but indeed a tragic history of the Natives. In this essay, I will accompany my reading of The Inconvenient Indian with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The play touches on many aspects of memory that relate to King’s representation of history. I will first talk about how King defines and utilizes the subjective nature of history, then discuss matters about memory and finally the significance of history.