Part 1: What is anthropology?

(SL and HL) All students of social and cultural anthropology should be
familiar with the set of core terms, the methods used by anthropologists and issues associated with the
construction of ethnographic accounts. The teaching of part 1 should be integrated with the study of
ethnography throughout the entire course. Part 1 will help students to better understand part 2.
Students should have an understanding of how the terms, methods and different approaches to the
construction of ethnographic accounts are connected with the historical context of the discipline. 1.1
Core terms and ideas in anthropology While reading anthropological material, students will encounter
core terms and ideas. These terms and ideas are used to describe and analyse individuals and groups in
their social contexts. Students should be taught that these terms have theoretical and historical
contexts. The meanings of these terms change over time, and new terms and ideas are constantly
emerging. The following list of core terms and ideas is not exhaustive. They should not be presented and
studied as isolated entities. Agency Agency is the capacity of human beings to act in meaningful ways
that affect their own lives and those of others. Agency may be constrained by class, gender, religion and
other social and cultural factors. This term implies that individuals have the capacity to create, change
and influence events. Community Community is one of the oldest concepts used in anthropological
studies. Traditionally, it referred to a geographically bounded group of people in face-to-face contact,
with a shared system of beliefs and norms operating as a socially functioning whole. Communities
existed within a common social structure and government. More recently, communities have also been
defined as interest groups accessed through space, as in “Internet communities” or “communities of
taste”. With the advent of globalism and global studies that often question the stability of territories,
space and place, community is now a highly contested concept. Comparative Anthropologists strive to
capture the diversity of social action and its predictability by focusing on the way in which particular
aspects of society and culture are organized similarly and differently across groups. While social action is
frequently innovative, there are limits to its diversity, and patterns identified in one group resemble
patterns identified in another. Cultural relativism For anthropologists, cultural relativism is a
methodological principle that emphasizes the importance of searching for meaning within the local
context. Non-anthropologists often interpret cultural relativism as a moral doctrine, which asserts that
the practices of one society cannot be judged according to the moral precepts and evaluative criteria of
another society. In its extreme form, this version of cultural relativism can lead to a non-analytical
position that is contrary to the critical commitments of the discipline. Syllabus content Syllabus Syllabus
content Social and cultural anthropology guide 13 For anthropologists, cultural relativism attempts to
recognize and address the problem of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to evaluate the
practices of others in terms of one’s own criteria. Generally, ethnocentrism has the effect of giving
greater worth to the social or cultural context of the evaluator than to the context being evaluated, and
hinders understanding across social boundaries. Culture Culture refers to organized systems of symbols,
ideas, explanations, beliefs and material production that humans create and manipulate in the course of
their daily lives. Culture includes the customs by which humans organize their physical world and
maintain their social structure. While many anthropologists have thought of culture simply as shared
systems of experiences and meanings, more recent formulations of the concept recognize that culture
may be the subject of disagreement and conflict within and among societies. Human awareness of
culture may be only partly conscious, and humans learn to manipulate cultural categories throughout
their lives. It is this ability to manipulate and transform culture that distinguishes humans from other
animals. Ethnographic Anthropology places considerable emphasis on its empirical foundation based on
a direct engagement with particular people and their social and cultural context. Ethnographic materials
are usually gathered through participant observation. Ethnographically grounded anthropology can be
contrasted with 19th century “armchair” anthropology conducted by scholars with no first-hand
acquaintance with the societies they analysed, and with “common sense” or journalistic accounts of a
particular society. Meaning Meaning is both constructed and transmitted through cultural categories.
These attribute particular significance to persons, relations, objects, places and events. This enables
people to make sense of, and give order to, their experiences, which may in turn reinforce or change
meaning. The analysis of meaning is a principal focus of contemporary anthropological thinking. Process
Social process is what humans actually do, including human action that may work against social
structure. Social process is the dynamic counterpoint of social structure. Anthropologists who focus on
processes emphasize the possibility of change over time and the importance of human agency, that is,
the ability to challenge existing structures and create new structures. Process is linked to role, the
dynamic counterpart of status, consisting of the behaviour associated with a person’s status (for
example, a doctor is entitled to prescribe medicine and does not divulge information about the health of
the patient). Qualitative The data that anthropologists gather during fieldwork comes in many forms
because anthropologists are trying to capture the complexity and diversity of social life. This data may
be textual (oral or written), observational, or impressionistic, or may take the form of images or sounds.
Much of the data cannot be reduced usefully to quantitative forms without losing the essence of the
material as perceived from an anthropological viewpoint. Syllabus content 14 Social and cultural
anthropology guide Social reproduction Social reproduction is the concept that, over time, groups of
people reproduce their social structure and patterns of behaviour. This includes not only the
enculturation of individual human beings but also the reproduction of cultural institutions, and material
means of production and consumption. Social reproduction may be contested, leading to social change.
Society Society refers to the way in which humans organize themselves in groups and networks. Society
is created and sustained by social relationships among persons and groups. The term “society” can also
be used to refer to a human group that exhibits some internal coherence and distinguishes itself from
other such groups. 1.2 The construction and use of ethnographic accounts Ethnography is the basic raw
material for a course in social and cultural anthropology. Students must therefore be able to understand
and evaluate ethnographic materials. The data in ethnographic accounts was not collected for the
specific purpose for which the student is using it. The student can only work with the available data
presented in the ethnography. Thus the student must learn how to use such materials to answer
anthropological questions. This requires the development of skills for the thoughtful and critical
understanding of how ethnography is constructed: the research question, the theoretical orientation
and the processes used to decide what data is included. Selection of ethnographies Whatever
ethnographies are selected must take into account the requirements indicated in the syllabus outline. It
is advisable to select a range of ethnographies to cover different core terms, themes and, in addition for
HL students, different theoretical perspectives. In practice, two or more ethnographies may cover the
same as well as different terms, themes and perspectives. These should include some more
contemporary ethnographies. Ethnographic films and other visual or virtual media may be used in the
teaching of ethnography, but these must be treated in the same critical and reflective manner as the
written ethnographies. Students need to identify ethnographic materials in terms of place, author, time,
ethnographic present, ethical considerations, methodology and theoretical perspective. Using various
ethnographic materials students are required to study four societies at HL and three societies at SL.
Representation in ethnographic accounts Understanding the relationship between fieldwork data and
ethnographic accounts is central to the syllabus. The transformation of fieldwork data into ethnographic
accounts presents a variety of challenges that are commonly discussed as problems of representation.
The anthropologist aims to reproduce the reality of the people studied but recognizes differences
between their own accounts and those of the people studied. The anthropologist has the task of
connecting local perceptions to their analytical framework. Contemporary anthropologists recognize
that the distinctions they capture should be examined critically. Ethnographic materials reflect the
specific perspective of an observer and are open to interpretation. Any ethnographic writing or reading
should be examined with the following observations in mind: • social groups are internally diverse and
have a variable sense of identity • different anthropologists may see and represent the same group
differently • actors and observers always operate within a social context • anthropologists make
decisions about what is studied and how it is studied • all anthropological accounts are produced for a
particular audience. Syllabus content Social and cultural anthropology guide 15 Decisions Ethnographic
accounts are often the product of many years of work, from the initial observation to field notes,
analysis and the written report. Today, most contemporary ethnographic accounts focus on a specific
set of questions but necessarily link their particular focus to broader patterns at play in the society in
question and beyond. At all stages, what is recorded or what is not recorded is the product of decisions.
Anthropologists differ in the extent to which they allow these decisions to be stated in the ethnographic
accounts they produce. Decisions are influenced by the anthropologists’ theoretical orientation, the
audience served by the research and the goals of the research. Reading ethnography Each ethnography
presents a point of view, which may be explicit or implicit. When reading ethnography, the student
needs to identify the claims, examine the evidence and evaluate whether the data supports the claims
and conclusions. Evaluation of evidence requires clear definitions of concepts and variables to support
claims and theories. Ethnographic findings can be validated by comparison within a society, within a
region or by cross-cultural comparison. 1.3 Methods and data collection The ethnographic method is
one of the distinguishing features of social and cultural anthropology. The methods selected by an
anthropologist for collecting data in the field relate to the theoretical perspective of the anthropologist
and the production of the final ethnographic text. There are a number of methods and issues of data
collection that anthropologists commonly need to consider in their preparation for fieldwork and during
the data gathering phase of their work. These include the following. • Fieldwork • Participant
observation • Collection of data • Qualitative and quantitative data • Analysis and interpretation •
Ethical issues Fieldwork Anthropological accounts are based on detailed and wide-ranging data collected
over a substantial period of time. The time that an ethnographer spends studying a group is a process
called “fieldwork”. Fieldwork with a particular group often takes place more than once and involves a
long-term personal engagement between the ethnographer and the group. However, in many
contemporary fieldwork settings ethnographers cannot have direct face-to-face contact over a
prolonged period with any group. For example, work in densely populated urban settings or in a virtual
environment requires a rethinking and reconceptualizing of the relations between ethnographer and the
group being studied. Participant observation In the course of fieldwork, many ethnographers become
involved as fully as possible in the activities that they study, rather than acting as detached bystanders.
At the same time they must seek to preserve some analytical distance. The extent of their participation
and its effect on the activity depend on a variety of factors, including the nature of the activity, the
rapport between observers and the particular members of the group being studied or “actors”, and the
goals of the research. Participant observation has traditionally been the main method in anthropological
fieldwork. Syllabus content 16 Social and cultural anthropology guide Ethnographers and the actors
develop social ties in the course of fieldwork. All parties involved must constantly negotiate the nature
of these ties. Social relations in fieldwork are as complex as other social relations that human beings
form in the course of their lives. Collection of data Ethnographers use a broad variety of techniques in
collecting data, including interviewing, observation, note-taking, audio and visual recording, discussing
recordings with members of the group being studied, keeping journals, collecting censuses, life histories,
questionnaires, archival materials, material culture and genealogies. Data may also be collected in a
variety of forms that illustrate different aspects of a given society and culture at a given time and place.
These may include expressive forms and internal accounts such as music, lyrics, literature, letters, stories
and films/movies. The nature of the data and the techniques used to collect it depend on the goals of
the research. Each technique provides a partial view and therefore cannot stand alone, nor be used
uncritically. It is essential that any such material should be examined from an anthropological
perspective. The body of data collected during fieldwork is often substantial, and is used selectively in
analysis and in writing up the results of the fieldwork. Fieldwork data is often supplemented with the
materials gathered in libraries and museums. Qualitative and quantitative data Qualitative data consists
of texts, lists and recordings, which do not lend themselves to numerical representation, while
quantitative data can be expressed in numbers. For most anthropologists, qualitative data is more
crucial than quantitative data, although the quantitative often provides useful support for the
qualitative. Analysis and interpretation The analysis of anthropological data consists of discovering
consistencies and other recurrent patterns in the data. This discovery process often relies heavily on the
anthropologist’s theoretical framework and on the relevant works of other anthropologists.
Anthropologists recognize that description and analysis are never free of theoretical and personal biases
but always involve selection and interpretation. See part 1.2. Ethical issues Ethnographers are bound by
ethical principles governing their conduct as fieldworkers and as professional practitioners. Among other
things, these principles dictate that the ethnographer respects the dignity of the members of the group
being studied, gives attention to the possibility that any disseminated information may be used against
the best interests of those being studied, and recognizes any power differentials between the parties
involved in fieldwork. Ethics is also concerned with the relationship between ethnographers and their
colleagues, students and audiences. What constitutes ethical conduct is often the subject of debate and
is best understood in context. Syllabus content Social and cultural anthropology guide 17 Part 2: Social
and cultural organization (SL and HL) Both SL and HL students must have an understanding of all eight
themes listed below as 2.1 to 2.8. When designing a course of study, each theme must be given equal
importance. Themes can be treated in any order. The themes are closely interconnected and should not
be taught in isolation from each other. They should be taught in relation to ethnographic material.
Teaching of the themes should emphasize patterns and processes of change in society and culture and
that anthropological knowledge changes over time. Examples of topics for detailed study are given for
each theme. Teachers should not attempt to cover all of the examples given; rather these should
emerge from the ethnographies chosen for study. The lists are not exhaustive, and teachers may explore
other possibilities. Examples of topics for detailed study are often relevant to more than one theme. 2.1
Individuals, groups and society Description Examples The person is embedded in social structures and
cultural dynamics that shape individual identity and actions. The individual is committed to different
groups simultaneously. Both the nature of the group and the individual’s commitment to it are dynamic
and context-dependent. The person’s actions may either reinforce or undermine these structures and
dynamics. Anthropologists seek to understand these actions with reference to the structures in which
the individual is embedded, even though the individual’s own understanding may make no reference to
these structures. This is often described as a tension between structure and agency. • Socialization •
Status and role • Gender and sexuality • Personhood • Conformity and nonconformity • Public and
private • Social and group identity (for example, ethnicity and race, nationality, class, age, religious
identity) • Ritual (for example, rites of passage, rites of revitalization) • Social movements (for example,
environmental movements, human and cultural rights, indigenous movements) • Modernity •
Globalization 2.2 Societies and cultures in contact Description Examples Societies have always interacted
with one another and they define themselves, in significant ways, through these interactions. •
Population movement (for example, migration, forced removal, refugees) • Ethnocide and genocide •
Indigenous movements • Modernity • Revitalization • Tourism and travel • Colonialism and post-
colonialism • Resistance • Globalization Syllabus content 18 Social and cultural anthropology guide 2.3
Kinship as an organizing principle Description Examples Kinship can be seen as a basic unit of human
social relations. It is structured in many different ways to define groups and the differences between
them. Kinship groups are not static units but define fields of relationship and meaning through which
economic and political processes occur. • Family and household • Marriage • Rights and property •
Rules of descent and residence • Corporate descent groups • Gender relations • Migration •
Globalization 2.4 Political organization Description Examples Political organization takes many forms, but
all have the common element of ordering internal and external relations. • Power, authority and
leadership • Formal and informal political systems (for example, egalitarian, rank, stratified, state,
global) • Social control and legal systems • Inequality (for example, class, caste, ethnicity, age, gender,
health and illness) • Social organization of space and place • Status and role • Conflict and resistance •
Ideology • Nation building • Colonialism and post-colonialism • Social movements • Globalization
Syllabus content Social and cultural anthropology guide 19 2.5 Economic organization and the
environment Description Examples Societies interact with and transform the environment in the
production, allocation and consumption of material and symbolic goods. • Division of labour • Space
and place • Systems of production and consumption (for example, subsistence, peasant, industrial,
transnational) • Exchange systems (for example, reciprocity, redistribution, market) • Scale (for
example, local, global) • Environmentalist movements • Social views of the environment • Development
(applied anthropology, for example, advocacy, medical) • Industrialization and proletarianization •
Urbanization • Commodification • Colonialism and post-colonialism • Globalization 2.6 Systems of
knowledge Description Examples Systems of knowledge are ways of organizing and comprehending
social and natural environments. • Symbolism • Arts and expression • Classification systems •
Relationships with the environment • Interaction, media and communication 2.7 Belief systems and
practices Description Examples This element focuses on beliefs and ideologies both sacred and secular. •
Religion • Religious movements • Myths • Rituals • Witchcraft, magic, sorcery and divination •
Conversion and syncretism Syllabus content 20 Social and cultural anthropology guide 2.8 Moral systems
Description Examples By enabling and constraining behaviour, moral systems regulate the life of the
individual in society. • Ethics • Justice • Taboos • Suffering • Good and evil • Purity and impurity •
Honour and shame • Globalization Part 3: Observation and critique exercise (SL only) In the first six
weeks of the course, students are required to undertake an observation and to produce a written report
from their field notes. Teachers should advise students about appropriate settings for the observation
and on the writing of the report. About six months later students are required to produce a critique of
their written report. Part 4: Theoretical perspectives in anthropology (HL only) The teaching and learning
of theory at HL should be based on theoretical perspectives in anthropology, their application to
ethnographic materials and their manifestation in particular historical contexts. The course of study
should include contemporary theoretical perspectives in anthropology. In anthropology, a theory is an
abstract framework that systematically organizes facts in order to make sense of the world. Theoretical
perspectives need to be linked to, and grounded in, the study of ethnographic accounts to help students
to: • recognize how theory frames analysis • appreciate the ways in which theory influences the
selection, presentation and interpretation of ethnographic materials • appreciate how ethnography
influences theory and its development • identify and compare alternative theoretical interpretations of
the same ethnographic materials • recognize that anthropologists incorporate multiple perspectives to
ethnographic material in their analyses and explanations. Students need to be familiar with theoretical
perspectives in anthropology and their historical context, and be able to use them to evaluate
ethnographic material.