Presented by: Miqdad SibtainBS Social Sciences Section B
Instructor: Sohail Muhammad Ali
Types of Anthropologies
•Symbolic anthropology•Cultural anthropology•Biological anthropology•Masculine anthropology•Feminine anthropology•Interpretative anthropology•Physical anthropology•Psychological anthropology•Forensic anthropology•Social anthropology
Basic PremisesSymbolic AnthropologyAn area of Cultural anthropologysymbolic system that arises
primarily from human interpretations of the world
Continuation….Furthermore there are two major
premises governing symbolic Anthropology:
Basic Premises: The ways in which people understand and interpret their surroundings as well as the actions and utterances of the other members of their society
The second major premise is that actions are guided by interpretation.
CultureGeertz believes that an analysis of
culture should "not (be) an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning".
Principal Concepts of CultureThick Description was a term which
was originally borrowed by Clifford Geertz from a renowned anthropologist Gilbert Ryle to describe and define the aim of interpretative anthropology.
Social Anthropology is based on ethnography or the study of culture.
In order to understand culture, it is very important to understand symbols that guide social behavior.
By analyzing culture, one develops a thick description of culture.
3 characteristics of thick descriptionInterpretative
Interpretative consists of taking the said and changing it into things that can be studied.
Microscopic
(A twitch and a wink can look exactly the same, but have completely different intents)
Object of Thick Description“Stratified hierarchy of meaningful
structures” thin description – what you can observe thick description – the meaning behind the
action.
Examples of Thick DescriptionWhy do Muslims condemn the eating of pork,
ham or any other foods related to pigs swine?
Why do Muslims condemn drinking when a hardcore drinker can stand upright or behave normally(according to the social circle) even if he is 5 pegs down?
Why do male teachers usually act cheeky with female students?
Sources and References:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_scienceswww.ssrc.orgvlib.org/SocialSciences www.doaj.org/doaj?func=subject&cpid=88www.doaj.org/doaj?
func=subject&cpid=87 Ssrn.comNotes and HandoutsClass Lectures
SAY
To Social Sciences… Warning: It causes mental disorder
Thank You