Personal Views On Anthropology And Ethnography

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

The main arguments of Mohanty, Liederman, and Sen have similarities and differences. First, Mohanty’s main argument emphasizes the issue of white Western women belittling those of other cultures and ethnicities within the feminist movement. By asserting a universal notion of womanhood, these white Western women show ethnocentric universality through their ignorance of how the meaning of femininity, oppression, and liberation in the women’s movement vary in ethnic and cultural contexts (Mohanty, 1984, p. 335). By using a mindset that ignores ethnic differences, they therefore falsely construct and analyze “third world women,” believing that these women desperately need help to advance in society. Mohanty argues that in order for a feminist movement to advance, women must discontinue a paternalistic method of marginalizing women of different ethnicities to recognize the varied meanings of femininity, oppression, and liberation and enhance their solidarity and effectiveness as a whole group. This ethnocentrism is also present in Liederman’s

Though women have played an integral part in the history of the discipline of anthropology, it was not until the early 1970’s that the field of anthropology and gender, or feminist anthropology emerged. Sex and gender roles have always been a vital part of any ethnographic study, but the contributors of this theory began to address the androcentric nature of anthropology itself. The substantial gap in information concerning the study of women was perceived as a male bias, a prejudice made more apparent because what little women-centered fieldwork was done received insufficient attention from the academic community. While anthropology was considered one of the more egalitarian fields of study, it was dominated by white, Western males who

Dorothy Smith’s approach challenges Sociological Theory and the way it has been constructed. She offered a framework to close the gap between the objective knowledge and the personal experiences that people encounters in everyday life. Most importantly, Smith challenges one of the most traditional sociological discourses of male dominance through the use of concepts, theologies, and textual concepts that confines human behavior. Her framework known as institutional ethnography constitutes that bridge between the macro and micro level in society. She also focuses in marginal groups from the micro level and the way their agency is conceptualized to and dominated by the macro level’s ruling relations. She takes women and her experiences to rebuild this framework from a standpoint of inquiry rather than social scientific inquiry. At the end, she sets forward a new goal for marginal groups inner circle to be interconnected with the subjective world and influencing the ongoing theoretical method to find the overall meaning of women. She doesn’t only challenge the official and personal texts mediating the relation of ruling between the abstract theories and the standpoint of women, but she challenges women to be part of a sociological turn for them instead of contributing the limitations of sociological discourses and theories.

The women’s liberation movement (or feminism as it is now known) of the 1960s and 1970s touched every home, business, and school (WA, 705). The movement even touched the sports and entertainment industries, in fact, “There are few areas of contemporary life untouched by feminism” (WA, 717). The word feminism in the early 1960’s wasn’t often used and when it was it was used with condescension or hatred. However, in the late sixties that changed thanks to a new group of women. This new diverse group of women included the: young, old, heterosexual, lesbians, working class, and even the privileged. This diverse group came together and collectively created the second wave of feminism.

The grandiose task of wearing another's cultural skin understandably comes with a host of opinions on how such a job can be accomplished. Anthropologists have long argued about the accuracy of ethnographies (Levinson & Ember, 1996, pp. 419-21). Much of the discussion stems from the assumption that some cultural aspects are ineffable and subconscious. Can an anthropologist approach his subject, as Spradley argues, "with a conscious attitude of almost complete ignorance"? Is it possible to consciously withhold one's own cultural interpretations while attempting to study that very thing in another culture?" (Spradley, 1979, p. 4 & Levinson & Ember, 1996, pp. 419-21).

We have all heard the saying, “it’s a man’s world”. It appears that our world is governed according to a man’s perspective and thoughts as to how the world should be run, and women gracefully bow down to this perspective and internalize those male supremacist notions of patriarchal dominance. Even with this seemingly innate belief that men have, it is still apparent at times that there is another view that is often glossed over and ignored in the pursuit of extreme power and superiority. In Edwidge Danticat’s The Farming of Bones and Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of Butterflies, we are able to dissect society through the eyes of women who have had

In Bromley’s “Feminism Matters”, Chapter Four effectively argues that the way in which race, gender, class, ability, sexual orientation, and a variety of other social categories interact within each other to create a hierarchy of power within our society that has lead to an imbalance of privileges. Additionally, she manages to convince the reader that all these concepts are incorporated in the theoretical tool of intersectionality and that once we can understand this we will be better equipped with the approach to handle the struggles of modern day. Thinking of our positionality as being a blend of pre-existing conditions, we can realize that the advantages and disadvantages we receive in life are not only due to our gender, but the reality that “[we] might be living in Canada, in [our] first year of university, born in South Africa, a Buddhist, and struggling to pay for [our] living expenses, yet able-bodied and employed” (Bromley 2012).

In the !Kung society everyone plays a role but no one is abstained from doing other things. A man is taught at a young age to hunt as women are shown to gather for their family, but no one is restricted to the jobs they’d like to do. Females can hunt just as well as the males can grow up gathering. The !Kung people are part of an egalitarian society.They all considered each other to be equal and that everyone deserves the same type of opportunities.

Leacock’s approach to anthropology stemmed from materialist theories, but her ethnographical works were a detailed mix, which focused on historical processes. In Women’s Status in Egalitarian Society: Implications for Social Revolution, She argues that ethnographies presented on the topic were misguided due to their ahistorical approach, ethnocentric perspectives concerning social-economic notions attributed to Western societies, and the oversight of the effects of capitalism. Leacock claims taking a historical approach when analyzing women’s status in egalitarian band societies will lead to a less oppressed view of women’s standing. She rejects the idea that women’s roles are submissive and subservient to men, pointing out they are assumptions that “…both derive from and perpetuate a view of such society as merely an incipient form of our own” (Moore, 2009, p.246). Leacock points to the lack of evidence in research stating that, “Women are commonly stated or implied to hold low status in one or another society without benefit of empirical documentation” (Moore, 2009, p.247). Another major fault she uncovers is in the contradictory findings within Ruth Landes’ “Objiwai Women”; women of the same society are initially portrayed to be “self-sufficient” and “independent”, but later are described as “inferior” to men, unskilled, and dependent on men. In this piece Leacock concludes that ahistorical approaches do not correctly describe women’s status in egalitarian

Also, throughout this ethnographic piece it is evident that there is some divide in the way men and women are treated. This relates to Mascia-Lee’s piece on Gender and Anthropology as it examines the borders that (usually, women) are faced with throughout the field of anthropology. On page 20 of this article, it discusses the implications that borders and limitations impose on the levels of sexual stratification throughout the anthropology world. (Masica- Lee, 2000)

In this essay, I will be creating a discourse on anthropological activism and how it relates to the basic principles of anthropology, whilst referring to the case study Activist Anthropologists by Victoria Sanford. I will provide my anthropological views on this subject based on my research.

There are controversial topics that make feminist standpoint theory present in today’s society. Feminist standpoint theory sculpts who we are, our consciousness, and in addition our knowledge though our opinions (Wood, 2005). Our identities as well as well as our consciousness make us the human beings that we are. Our consciousness is what makes us aware of who we are and how we perceive those around through our knowledge of what we know. Our knowledge is the facts, information, and skills that are acquired through experience and learning. I will examine three claims of feminist standpoint theory which are social groups structured by power relations, social groups constructed knowledge and how a marginalized privileged perspective is

Bolatito A. Lanre-Abbas, (2013) "Feminism in the Postmodernist Age." The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies 28 (3): 355-368, Proquest, Accessed Dec. 27, 2016.

In the world of anthropology, the study of human societies and their cultures or development, the people that study those topics often turn to scientific field notes rather than photography. Anthropologists are supposed to maintain objective and impartial conclusions when studying cultures or societies and for years the only consistent way of doing so was to only consider unbiased field notes, or simply scientific notes or observations. However, over time anthropologists came to realize that the only way to be able to see everything was through photographs that encapsulate the entirety of what is being seen in a way that the use of merely field notes cannot. When looking at the science of anthropology, the addition of photography into the previously field note dominated margins of observations has had a beneficial and significant impact on the field, proving that the use of photography in anthropology is immensely effective.