Anthropology Test
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ANTH300_Chapter1LinguisticAnthropology.pptxChapter 1 Linguistic Anthropology
Chapter 1 Linguistic Anthropology
Chapter 1 Key Terms
Linguistic Anthropology:
Examines the contexts and situations in which language is used.
Looks at how language might have begun; how it’s learned, how it changes, and how it is written down, read, and played with.
Looks at how we use words (or the lack thereof) to control situations or to exert power or influence over others, and how we react to different accents and ways of speaking.
Looks at language attitudes, norms…
Does speaking different languages cause us to view the world differently?
Anthropology:
The study of all humans at all times in all places
Four-Field Tradition:
Physical (Biological), Archaeology, Cultural, and Linguistic
Why should we learn all four fields?
Holistic:
Seeing the whole picture with all the parts put together
What does the author mean by having an applied dimension to anthropology?
Comparative:
A goal of gathering and comparing from many cultures, times, and places, including our own. The more the merrier! This helps us learn the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of human behavior.
Also leads to discoveries of similarities
Cultural Relativity:
Differences exist among cultural systems, and we can learn to understand them the way its possessors do.
Ethnocentrism:
Not understanding different cultural systems on their own terms – two parts
Using your own system to interpret what others are doing
Insisting that your own system is the only one that makes sense
How can we overcome ethnocentrism?
Frames of Reference:
The ways we see and interpret and understand the world.
“Learning other frames of reference does not require us to abandon our own.”
Frames of Reference continued:
Exercise: Create a Taxonomy of Objects. Below are some general categories to help get you started:
Furniture
Automobiles
Fabric
Writing Utensils
Worldview:
The ways in which we view the world around us
Edward Sapir said what?
Our linguistic habits might affect the way we experience and think about the world around us
Exercise:
Let’s talk about marriage – How does one have a successful marriage?
-Many people mention “hard work”, “compromise” and “sacrifice” – how does that sound to you?
Fieldwork:
The key to understanding a cultural system and truly gaining an insider’s perspective
Ethics
What can we learn about Ethics from this chapter?
Lets Review the AAA Code of Ethics
I. Preamble
Anthropological researchers, teachers and practitioners are members of many different communities, each with its own moral rules or codes of ethics. Anthropologists have moral obligations as members of other groups, such as the family, religion, and community, as well as the profession. They also have obligations to the scholarly discipline, to the wider society and culture, and to the human species, other species, and the environment. Furthermore, fieldworkers may develop close relationships with persons or animals with whom they work, generating an additional level of ethical considerations In a field of such complex involvements and obligations, it is inevitable that misunderstandings, conflicts, and the need to make choices among apparently incompatible values will arise. Anthropologists are responsible for grappling with such difficulties and struggling to resolve them in ways compatible with the principles stated here. The purpose of this Code is to foster discussion and education. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) does not adjudicate claims for unethical behavior. The principles and guidelines in this Code provide the anthropologist with tools to engage in developing and maintaining an ethical framework for all anthropological work.
II. Introduction
Anthropology is a multidisciplinary field of science and scholarship, which includes the study of all aspects of humankind--archaeological, biological, linguistic and sociocultural. Anthropology has roots in the natural and social sciences and in the humanities, ranging in approach from basic to applied research and to scholarly interpretation. As the principal organization representing the breadth of anthropology, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) starts from the position that generating and appropriately utilizing knowledge (i.e., publishing, teaching, developing programs, and informing policy) of the peoples of the world, past and present, is a worthy goal; that the generation of anthropological knowledge is a dynamic process using many different and ever-evolving approaches; and that for moral and practical reasons, the generation and utilization of knowledge should be achieved in an ethical manner.
The mission of American Anthropological Association is to advance all aspects of anthropological research and to foster dissemination of anthropological knowledge through publications, teaching, public education, and application. An important part of that mission is to help educate AAA members about ethical obligations and challenges involved in the generation, dissemination, and utilization of anthropological knowledge.
The purpose of this Code is to provide AAA members and other interested persons with guidelines for making ethical choices in the conduct of their anthropological work. Because anthropologists can find themselves in complex situations and subject to more than one code of ethics, the AAA Code of Ethics provides a framework, not an ironclad formula, for making decisions. Persons using the Code as a guideline for making ethical choices or for teaching are encouraged to seek out illustrative examples and appropriate case studies to enrich their knowledge base.
Anthropologists have a duty to be informed about ethical codes relating to their work, and ought periodically to receive training on current research activities and ethical issues. In addition, departments offering anthropology degrees should include and require ethical training in their curriculums.
No code or set of guidelines can anticipate unique circumstances or direct actions in specific situations. The individual anthropologist must be willing to make carefully considered ethical choices and be prepared to make clear the assumptions, facts and issues on which those choices are based. These guidelines therefore address general contexts, priorities and relationships which should be considered in ethical decision making in anthropological work.
Ethics
III. Research
In both proposing and carrying out research, anthropological researchers must be open about the purpose(s), potential impacts, and source(s) of support for research projects with funders, colleagues, persons studied or providing information, and with relevant parties affected by the research. Researchers must expect to utilize the results of their work in an appropriate fashion and disseminate the results through appropriate and timely activities. Research fulfilling these expectations is ethical, regardless of the source of funding (public or private) or purpose (i.e., "applied," "basic," "pure," or "proprietary"). Anthropological researchers should be alert to the danger of compromising anthropological ethics as a condition to engage in research, yet also be alert to proper demands of good citizenship or host guest relations. Active contribution and leadership in seeking to shape public or private sector actions and policies may be as ethically justifiable as inaction, detachment, or noncooperation, depending on circumstances. Similar principles hold for anthropological researchers employed or otherwise affiliated with nonanthropological institutions, public institutions, or private enterprises.
Ethics
A. Responsibility to people and animals with whom anthropological researchers work and whose lives and cultures they study.
1. Anthropological researchers have primary ethical obligations to the people, species, and materials they study and to the people with whom they work. These obligations can supersede the goal of seeking new knowledge, and can lead to decisions not to undertake or to discontinue a research project when the primary obligation conflicts with other responsibilities, such as those owed to sponsors or clients. These ethical obligations include:
• To avoid harm or wrong, understanding that the development of knowledge can lead to change which may be positive or negative for the people or animals worked with or studied
• To respect the well-being of humans and nonhuman primates
• To work for the long-term conservation of the archaeological, fossil, and historical records
• To consult actively with the affected individuals or group(s), with the goal of establishing a working relationship that can be beneficial to all parties involved
2. In conducting and publishing their research, or otherwise disseminating their research results, anthropological researchers must ensure that they do not harm the safety, dignity, or privacy of the people with whom they work, conduct research, or perform other professional activities, or who might reasonably be thought to be affected by their research. Anthropological researchers working with animals must do everything in their power to ensure that the research does not harm the safety, psychological well-being or survival of the animals or species with which they work.
Ethics
3. Anthropological researchers must determine in advance whether their hosts/providers of information wish to remain anonymous or receive recognition, and make every effort to comply with those wishes. Researchers must present to their research participants the possible impacts of the choices, and make clear that despite their best efforts, anonymity may be compromised or recognition fail to materialize.
4. Anthropological researchers should obtain in advance the informed consent of persons being studied, providing information, owning or controlling access to material being studied, or otherwise identified as having interests which might be impacted by the research. It is understood that the degree and breadth of informed consent required will depend on the nature of the project and may be affected by requirements of other codes, laws, and ethics of the country or community in which the research is pursued. Further, it is understood that the informed consent process is dynamic and continuous; the process should be initiated in the project design and continue through implementation by way of dialogue and negotiation with those studied. Researchers are responsible for identifying and complying with the various informed consent codes, laws and regulations affecting their projects. Informed consent, for the purposes of this code, does not necessarily imply or require a particular written or signed form. It is the quality of the consent, not the format, that is relevant.
5. Anthropological researchers who have developed close and enduring relationships (i.e., covenantal relationships) with either individual persons providing information or with hosts must adhere to the obligations of openness and informed consent, while carefully and respectfully negotiating the limits of the relationship.
6. While anthropologists may gain personally from their work, they must not exploit individuals, groups, animals, or cultural or biological materials. They should recognize their debt to the societies in which they work and their obligation to reciprocate with people studied in appropriate ways.
Who was Franz Boas (1858-1942) and why does he matter in the field of Linguistic Anthropology?
Theoretical Linguistics:
Focused, specific and intuitive study of language—
Aims to describe the underlying structure of a language – outside of how it is actually used (context)
Seeks language universals Universal Grammar
Uses Introspection or relies on a single native speaker for data
