Explore Cultural Anthropology and Its Impact on Society

Cultural anthropology is a vital branch of anthropology that focuses on how human culture shapes societies and individuals. It explores the customs, beliefs, norms, and values that define groups, providing insights into our shared humanity and diverse ways of life.

What is Cultural Anthropology?

Cultural anthropology examines human societies through the lens of culture, encompassing the shared customs, myths, beliefs, norms, and values that guide group behavior. It operates on the premise that humans are social beings, and our interactions within groups lead to the sharing and assimilation of individual perspectives, which collectively form a distinct culture. While closely related, cultural anthropology specifically emphasizes the study of culture itself, whereas social anthropology typically focuses more on the organization and structure of societies.

Historical Evolution of Cultural Anthropology

The endeavor to understand other cultures has a long history, though early attempts often lacked rigor and were colored by ethnocentric biases. Figures like Herodotus in ancient Greece and Marco Polo in the Middle Ages documented other peoples, yet their accounts were filtered through their own cultural frameworks.

The 15th century marked a significant increase in global exploration, exposing Europeans to diverse civilizations. However, the observations of early travelers, missionaries, and colonists were profoundly influenced by their European worldview, preventing objective analysis.

A major shift occurred in the early 20th century with Bronisław Malinowski, a pivotal figure in anthropology. His pioneering work introduced ethnographic fieldwork, requiring anthropologists to live directly within the communities they studied. This revolutionary approach moved the discipline away from speculative interpretations based on secondary accounts towards direct, immersive investigation. Since Malinowski’s foundational contributions, cultural anthropology has continually evolved, shedding earlier colonialist perspectives to embrace a more nuanced and less Eurocentric understanding of global cultures.

The Anthropological Method

The core of cultural anthropology’s methodology is participant observation. This method involves researchers immersing themselves in the daily lives of the communities they study to gain firsthand information about their habits, traditions, and customs. Through this process, the anthropologist becomes familiar with the group members, who, in turn, grow to accept the researcher’s presence, sometimes even integrating them as a temporary member.

This immersive approach allows the cultural anthropologist to witness behaviors firsthand and understand the function and meaning of specific practices within their context. It helps decipher why a certain custom is performed or how a particular habit was acquired. For thorough data collection, anthropologists often adopt the lifestyle of the host culture, which can include learning the local language, trying new foods, participating in local rituals, and observing or engaging in traditional games. While participant observation is also utilized in disciplines like psychology, sociology, and human geography, cultural anthropology has uniquely established it as the fundamental pillar of its identity as a human science.

Defining Culture in Anthropology

Anthropologists define culture much more broadly than the popular understanding, which often limits it to art and leisure. This anthropological concept has grown increasingly complex, informed not only by social and human sciences but also by discoveries in primatology, biology, and neuroscience.

Edward B. Tylor (1832-1917) famously defined culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” However, Tylor’s view also posited a problematic linear evolution from “barbaric” to “civilized” states, often positioning 19th-century England as the peak of civilization—a viewpoint now recognized as ethnocentric and supremacist.

This linear evolutionary model was critiqued by Franz Boas (1858-1942), who argued that cultures do not evolve uniformly. Instead, Boas proposed that different degrees of social complexity develop based on the unique historical events experienced by an ethnic group and their responses to these events. Today, the anthropological definition of culture aligns more closely with Boas’s idea: culture is understood as an integrated system of symbols, values, and ideas that must be studied holistically, almost as an organic entity.

Boas also distinguished between “Big C” Culture and “small c” culture. “Big C” refers to broad societal cultures, such as the overall American culture. “Small c” encompasses more localized traditions and practices within specific communities, like the unique customs of a particular city or region.

Culture as a “Second Nature”

Cultural anthropology proposes that to fully understand human beings, it is essential to comprehend the environment in which they develop. This environment directly influences an individual’s behavior, personality, and intelligence.

The culture of each ethnic group constitutes a kind of “second nature.” It provides a framework within which certain patterns of conduct are accepted, and specific social norms must be adhered to by its members. This allows individuals to develop as subjects fully adjusted to their habitat. As humans grow within a group, they assimilate and internalize these local norms, ethics, and morals, which become deeply ingrained and often unquestioned, seen as logical within their specific context. These cultural aspects can vary significantly across different groups and historical periods.