Introduction
There is probably no phenomenon or event that has as many focused views of researchers from around the world as a culture. It is this phenomenon that enjoys increased scientific popularity as anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, and philosophers seek to understand what culture is. The diversity of research positions is justified by many accents that professionals place on such a broad definition. From the anthropological point of view, culture is a set of a particular material and spiritual values created by humanity throughout its existence. This approach to cultural phenomena may include everything that has a connection with humans, from primitive rock paintings to the most progressive ideologies. This essay aims at an anthropological approach to the study of culture.
Defining Culture
In order to understand a person’s culture, it is necessary to study their behavioral patterns in life, everyday situations purposefully. The specificity of the anthropological approach to the definition of culture is that the emphasis is placed on the individual, around which the known characteristics of the phenomenon are built. There are several scientific approaches to the notion of culture, but the universal is that, anthropologically, culture is a holistic and common system of knowledge and beliefs inherited by members of a given community and manifested in human behavior (Geertz, 1973). It is essential to recognize that there are two-way cause-and-effect relationships in the human-culture relationship, as one cannot exist without the other. The human being is born within one culture while the culture continues to develop by human hands. As a result, a self-replicating system is created, which undergoes mutational changes with each new generation of representatives. However, it is fair to say that there is no unequivocal interaction between an individual and culture. As an object of action, a person can either obey or contradict the culture’s vectoral attitudes, thus introducing alternative views. The study of all possible forms of interaction becomes possible because anthropological science was able to generalize the whole spectrum of cultural elements that have been found over the centuries.
Data Retrieval and Processing
Before searching for cultural materials, anthropologists are identified for their research purposes. According to Anthropology 4U (2019), there are three qualitative approaches for cultural — the study of living systems, past systems, and comparative analysis. The first approach is most relevant because it provides relevant results about specific communities. Anthropologists conduct field trials by observing a population or group. Furthermore, all the characteristics necessary to the study — from language specifics to thinking styles — are considered (Hall, 2002). Specialists record their observations, analyze them, and propose hypotheses and theories.
The field of ethnohistorical research deals with the study of past cultures. Anthropologists work with available archival data for scientific purposes. Moreover, it does not necessarily have to be historically valuable sources — about the culture of a particular community can say many things preserved family videos, correspondence, and diaries. Anthropologists’ primary mission in the study of past cultures is an attempt to restore an unknown matrix of those times and cultural features that have already passed.
The comparative analysis takes place as an intercultural study to assess the specificity and patterns that characterize the sample. The adoption of cultural relativism, which guarantees all cultural representatives’ equality, is not insignificant in this approach. Anthropologists compare multiple communities by observing or examining archived data and then statistically processing the qualitative or quantitative results obtained.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many scientific views on the interpretation of culture. The anthropological approach implies that culture is the content of the community’s social life, lying outside the genetic inheritance plane. Thus, culture is nurtured and transmitted through learning. Anthropologists can study both existing cultures and those that no longer exist. Moreover, field trials by specialists usually include observation, but in the case of cultures, it may be archival materials – books, newspapers, video, or audio. Any hypothetical data are critically processed so that the anthropologist can confirm the validity of the results.
References
Anthropology 4U. (2019). How do anthropologists study culture? Medium. Web.
Geertz, C. (1973). Thick description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. Turning points in qualitative research: Tying knots in a handkerchief, 3, 143-168.
Hall, S. (2002). The Work of Representation In: S. Hall (Ed.) Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices (pp. 15-74). Sage.