cultural anthropology
Human cultures discipline
Cultural anthropology is the branch of anthropology that studies human societies and cultures—their beliefs, practices, social structures, and ways of life.
It relies heavily on fieldwork and participant observation, with researchers living among the people they study.
The field examines how cultures differ and what they share, from kinship systems to religious rituals to economic exchange.
Her cultural anthropology professor spent two years with a remote Amazonian tribe.
Research conducted on location
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
- qualitativeRelating to characteristics, not quantities
note-taking · transcription · coding · holism · contextualization · rapport · immersion · observation
Formal observances with ritual
- festivalsOrganized communal celebrations
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
rites-of-passage · oral-history · costumes · initiation · coming-of-age · dance · music · storytelling
Ceremonial repeated practices
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
- shamanismMediation between worlds
totems · sacred · profane · rites · taboos · syncretism · divination · sacrifice
Formal union between partners
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- patrilinealTraced through fathers
matrilineal · exogamy · endogamy · bride-price · dowry · moiety · consanguinity · affinity
Belief one's culture superior
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- postcolonialismStudy of imperial aftermath
- Lévi-StraussFrench structural anthropologist
Benedict · agency · holism · comparison · othering · representation
Study of language variation
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- pidginImprovised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
honorifics · proverbs · translation · multilingualism · registers
fieldwork
Research conducted on location
- informantsPeople providing secret intelligence
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
- ethnographerScholar of cultures
qualitative · note-taking · transcription · coding · holism · contextualization · rapport · immersion · observation · reflexivity
ceremonies
Formal observances with ritual
- festivalsOrganized communal celebrations
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
folklore · rites-of-passage · oral-history · costumes · initiation · coming-of-age · dance · music · storytelling · feasting
rituals
Ceremonial repeated practices
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
shamanism · totems · sacred · profane · rites · taboos · syncretism · divination · sacrifice · pilgrimage
marriage
Formal union between partners
patrilineal · matrilineal · exogamy · endogamy · bride-price · dowry · moiety · consanguinity · affinity · polygyny
ethnocentrism
Belief one's culture superior
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- postcolonialismStudy of imperial aftermath
Lévi-Strauss · Benedict · agency · holism · comparison · othering · representation
sociolinguistics
Study of language variation
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- pidginImprovised contact language
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
discourse · honorifics · proverbs · translation · multilingualism · registers
- social sciencessociology, psychology, economics, political science, criminology
- anthropologyfieldwork, ethnography, paleoanthropology, ethnology, archaeology
- subdisciplinesbiochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics
- behavioral sciencespsychology, behaviorism, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology
- cultural exchangestudent exchange, intercultural, exchange program, student exchanges, exchange programs
- psyche and cultureunconscious, collective unconscious, archetypes, symbols, ego
cultural anthropologyarchaeology
Study of physical remnants
forensic anthropology · paleoanthropology · primatology · bioarchaeology · human biology
cultural anthropologybehavioral genetics
Study of inherited behavioral traits
sociobiology · evolutionary psychology · econometrics · psychometrics · biometrics
cultural anthropologynatural science
Empirical study of nature
hard science · physics · biology · chemistry · neuroscience
culture, cultural, cultures, multicultural, anthropology, culturally, subculture, acculturation, counterculture