Anthropology 5 Magic, Science

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Anthropology 5Magic, Science Religion

• Spring 2010
• Katherine Schaefers, Instructor
• Office 3109 OH 330-400 M/W

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Chapter 1The Anthropological Study of Religion

• Film Inventing Reality
• We use Religion/Science/Spirituality for the same
  goal
• The attempt to comprehend and control our
  circumstances and our world

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Anthropology

• The study of humanity
• Greek Anthropos (Man) logy (study of)
• Also, an integrated study of humanity
• Holism Integrating as many different aspects of
  human society (like psychology, politics,
  religion, customs, institutions like marriage,
  funerary rituals, gender, subsistence economy,
  etc.) to create the most complete picture
  possible.
• Goal of Anthropology?
• Why do we study other people? What can be
  gained?

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To make the strange familiar, and the familiar
strange

• Strangeness, the unfamiliar is scary and can lead
  to misguided feelings of anger and hate, which
  may eventually lead to warfare and death.
• Most interpersonal or inter-group conflicts are
  caused by a lack of understanding.
• Discovering similarities between ones own
  culture and that of others leads to more
  harmonious relationships.

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4 Traditional Fields of Anthropology

• Physical
• Human Biology and Evolution
• Genetics, DNA studies, evolutionary theory,
  primate behavior, paleontology, fossil record.
• Evolutionary origins the neurobiology of
  religious experience
• Archaeology
• Physical and Cultural remains
• Religion in remains of temples, art, ritual,
  artifacts, ancient texts.
• Linguistics
• Origins and distribution of language
• Many religious beliefs are passed down orally in
  the form of myths or other narratives.
• Cultural
• Social organization, economics, technology,
  political organization, marriage, family life.
• The study of Magic, Science and Religion falls
  under this sub-category.
• These 4 fields are rarely mutually exclusive
  todays anthropology scene is very fluid, often
  incorporating techniques from outside disciplines
  like psychology (study of the human psyche/mind)
  and sociology (study of human society).

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Terms and techniques used by Cultural
Anthropologists

• Participant Observation To truly understand a
  culture, an anthropologist will usually study a
  culture for an extended period of time, sometimes
  taking many years. Oftentimes, the
  anthropologist will live within the community and
  partake in daily life and activities.
• Ethnography A Cultural Anthropologists work
  usually culminates into something called an
  Ethnography, or a written description of the
  studied society. These are usually published in
  books and journals.
• Ethnographies are to Cultural Anthropology as the
  Rosetta Stone was to Egyptology They crack the
  code.

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Terms and techniques used by Cultural
Anthropologists cont.

• Culture Area This class will make use of
  ethnographic material from around the world from
  locations that are termed Culture Areas or
  geographical areas where societies tend to share
  many traits, either because of similar responses
  to the environment or because of cultural
  diffusion (sharing of culture) between these
  groups.
• Chart pgs. 5-7 in book. Look through and make
  sure you can identify the different culture areas
  and which groups inhabit them.
• Ethnographic present Cultures which may no
  longer exist (like some Native American groups)
  will still be referred to in the present tense by
  Cultural Anthropologists.

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A question of perspectiveThe Fore of New Guinea

• Problem The Fore are a group of 14,000
  horticulturalists (cultivators of domesticated
  plants without the use of modern agricultural
  techniques) from the Melanesia Culture Area who
  have had about 200 of their members die from
  mysterious causes each year. The locals call it
  Kuru or to tremble with fear.
  Jerking/shaking/unable to coordinate are the main
  symptoms. After 9 months, the individual is no
  longer able to eat or drink and soon dies. Women
  and children are mainly afflicted.
• Solution? If you were asked to look into this
  case, what would your first hypothesis be as to
  the cause of the affliction?
• Think back to our film Inventing Reality and
  the interplay between modern western medicine and
  traditional beliefs.

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Holism solves it

• We must look to all aspects of the Fores society
  for the answer, specifically, their religious and
  funerary practices
• Kuru is caused by an infectious agent that is
  ingested by family members when they consume the
  remains of their dead loved ones. To the Fore,
  the holiest, most sacred resting place for the
  deceased is within the bodies of their loved
  ones. The deceaseds remains would be cooked and
  distributed amongst family as a form of utmost
  respect. Women and children, having lower social
  status, were more likely to ingest the brain (the
  seat of the infectious agent).

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Etic/Emic Analysis

• Etic Analysis Viewing and labeling a culture
  with our own words and terms.
• Advantages Finding patterns that the studied
  group may be unaware of. Applying an Etic
  Analysis to all cultures that you study makes it
  easier to identify Human Universals. Terms and
  categories can be made for new information to be
  nicely organized. Etic Analysis is mainly used
  in Anthropological studies.
• Etic Analysis Kuru is caused by a virus in the
  afflicteds bloodstream that is later ingested by
  family members.
• But what are bacteria, germs, diseases, a virus
  to the Fore? These are not only foreign words,
  but also foreign ideas.
• Emic Analysis Viewing a culture through the eyes
  of the people being studied.
• Advantages Better understanding of the studied
  culture, but much, much harder to attain.
  Argument is it even possible to see through the
  eyes of another culture? To undo and place aside
  ones own worldview and wholly adopt another? (HW
  question).
• Emic Analysis Kuru is caused by Sorcery. The
  Sorcerer will obtain a personal belonging of the
  individuals, combine it in a bundle with leaves,
  bark and stones and bury it in the cold muddy
  earth. The Sorcerer will then recite a spell and
  let the bundle rot. The individual then develops
  Kuru.

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Cultural Relativism

• Cannibalism. Right/Wrong? Does context matter?
  Who gets to make up the rules?

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Cultural Relativism cont.

• The norms and values we grow up with seem right
  and correct
• We use our own society as a base for judging
  others
• Thinking of others as simple, primitive, immoral,
  less-than-human or somehow fundamentally wrong
  is how wars start and propaganda is spread.
• Exploration Have you ever been in a situation
  where you found yourself in the role of the
  other. Have you ever been stereotyped or judged
  based on another groups values?
• Take 5 minutes and discuss with a neighbor

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Western Societys past attempts at getting to
know other cultures

• Modernism Began with the Renaissance and the
  Enlightenment.
• A reaction to the superstition and hysteria of
  Europes Dark Ages (The Witch hunt era that we
  will get into later).
• Rationality, objectivity, reason can discover
  knowledge and truth and lead to progress.
• We can understand everybody/thing everywhere if
  we adhere to these principles of logic.
• This is where our modern thoughts of linearity
  come from. Are we really more advanced/improved
  than previous generations?

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For every movement, there is a counter-movement

• Post-Modernism No true knowledge, only
  subjective and objective knowledge.
• 1980s-Today
• Knowledge as a human construction that we must
  deconstruct.
• Science is limited it does not integrate
  multiple viewpoints/truths. One must be aware of
  ones own biases.
• We cannot remove our cultural lens but we can
  become more aware of it.
• Both Modernism and Post-Modernism are Western
  Societys Etic ways of viewing other cultures.

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What is Culture?

• The beliefs and behaviors of a society
• Culture is learned
• Culture is based on Symbols

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Culture gives meaning to reality

• Culture is the lens through which we view our
  world, it invents our reality
• Ex What is a tree?
• Ex Constellations pg. 17 (book)

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Exploration

• 5 groups (1 notetaker for each group)
• Answer the following in your groups
• What does religion mean to you?
• What role does it play (if any) in your life, and
  how is it connected to other aspects of your
  cultural life?
• Do you hold any beliefs that you would consider
  as being part of a spirituality/religion?
• How/by whom was it started?

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ReligionAnother Slippery term

• A Western concept like work/economy/politics/techn
  ology.
• In western society, Religion is mostly seen as a
  clearly delineated aspect of society, separate
  from the other terms above. Not the case within
  all cultures.
• Ex the Fore, ancient Egypt

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Defining Religion within a Society3 good basic
questions to start with

• Functional What function (or role) does religion
  have in society?
• Does it provide a moral code? Explanations for
  natural events?
• Analytic How is religion manifested in society?
• Through Narratives? Rituals? Ethics?
• Essentialist What is the nature relationship
  between society and the supernatural?

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The Sacred and Supernatural

• Sacred Entitled to reverence and respect
• Supernatural above the natural
• Not obeying the laws of nature as we know them.
• Many times the supernatural is explained by
  science, further blurring the line between
  religion and science.

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ReligionTheoretical Frameworks

• Cultural Anthropologists will traditionally pick
  one of the following 5 theoretical approaches to
  work under. In your own ethnographic research,
  pick one of these
• Evolutionary
• Marxist
• Functional
• Interpretive
• Psychosocial
• Or combine the above to create your own
  framework.
• See pgs. 20-24

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Evolutionary

• When/how religion began
• This theory was introduced in the 1800s and went
  hand in hand with Modernism and the
  Enlightenment.
• Logic, science and Monotheism were the pinnacles
  of human achievement
• Western Society represented this pinnacle
• Positivism
• The only real knowledge is scientific knowledge
• This approach generally carries a lot of negative
  baggage and is seen as outdated.
• All other societies were seen as primitive
  compared to Western Society.
• The quest for Religions origins is still ongoing
  and many elements of Evolutionary Theory are now
  combined under the Psychosocial Approach

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Psychosocial

• What is the connection between culture,
  personality, society and the individual?
• Sigmund Freud
• Psychoanalysis
• Child?Parents Adult ? Supernatural elements
• Nurturing/authority figure
• God Module
• A part of the brain that is hard-wired for
  religion
• How did this evolve? When humanity became self
  aware did we have fear of the unknown? Did that
  lead to religion?

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Marxist

• Developed in the 1800s around same time as the
  Evolutionary Approach
• Karl Marx
• Religion as a construction of those in control of
  society
• Obey this religion us and you will be happy
• A crutch for people too depressed by the miseries
  of capitalism.

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Functional

• What role does religion serve in society?
• Émile Durkheim
• Collective Conscious Religion serves to hinder
  selfish tendencies of the individual and promote
  social cooperation. Symbols are a manifestation
  of the collective conscious and, when brought up
  during religious rituals, help to reinforce
  social cooperation.
• Radcliffe-Brown
• Need group solidarity (Religion) in order for
  society to survive
• Bronislaw Malinowski
• Magic and religion as emotional and mental support

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Interpretive

• Developed in response to the Functional Approach.
• Clifford Geertz
• The goal of the anthropologist should be to
  discover meaning, not to look for origins and
  laws!
• Based on the work of Max Weber, who was the first
  to propose looking at culture through Emic
  Analysis.

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For Monday

• Please pick 2 Study Questions from the end of
  Chapter 1 (i.e. please do not make up your own
  questions) and write 2 paragraphs for each.
• We will have a roundtable discussion and a
  follow-up activity.
• There will be a Vocabulary Quiz on the boldfaced
  terms found in Chapter 1.
• 20 matching with a small extra credit section.