Ministry of Science and Higher Education

Social Anthropology (Anth 1012)

A Freshman Common Course

Department of Anthropology
Hawassa University, 2013 E.C.
 Course Introduction
The course will acquaint you with the basic essence of
anthropology and its approach to culture, society and
humanity, in general.
It covers a wide array of questions about humanity
and the human condition:
It come up with a number of fascinating themes, key
for a comprehensive understanding of humanity:
Among others, human origin, cultural & biological
diversity, culture & ties that connect society, race,
ethnicity, identity & multiculturalism, power relations
and inequality, local systems of governance, indigenous
knowledge systems and practices.
 Module Learning Competencies
Up on the successful completion of the course, students
will be able to:
Understand the nature of anthropology and its broad
scope in making sense of humanity in a global perspective;
 Understand the cultural/biological diversity of humanity
and unity in diversity across the world & in Ethiopia;
Analyze the problems of ethnocentrism against the
backdrop of cultural relativism;
Realize the socially constructed nature of identities and
social categories –such as gender, race, and ethnicity;
 Explore the various peoples and cultures of Ethiopia;
Develop broader views & skills to deal with people from a
wide variety of socio-economic & cultural backgrounds etc.
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  UNIT ONE: INTRODUCING
ANTHROPOLOGY AND ITS
SUBJECT MATTER
 What is Anthropology – a Mirror for
Humanity?
 Q. What do you know about anthropology?
 Q. How do you define Anthropology?
 What is Anthropology?
 The term- ‘Anthropology’ is;
 Compound of two Greek words, ‘Anthropos’ and
‘Logos’: meaning, ‘Mankind’ and ‘Study or
Knowledge’ respectively.
 Etymological Definition:-
Anthropology is the study/knowledge of mankind.
 Man has two important characteristics: biological
& cultural, which are inseparable elements,
influencing each other.
 Anthropology study mankind, both in its cultural and
biological aspects of existence.

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In more specific terms, ‘Anthropology’ is a
science, which;
Examines why & how people are both similar
and different at the same time.
 It examines the characteristics that human beings share
as members of one species and the diverse ways that
people live in different environments;
Investigates the strategies for living, cultural
adaption, i.e., learned & shared by people as
member of a social group -situated in different
environment.
Analyze the products of human societies: both
material & non-material creations.
Anthropology can also be stated as a comparative
study of cultural and social life.
 It tries to achieve an understanding of culture, society and
humanity through detailed studies of community life,
supplemented by comparison.
Anthropology is the study of people —their
origins, their development, and contemporary
variations, wherever and whenever they have been
found.
To sum, it is a broad scientific discipline dedicated to
the comparative study of humans as a group, from its
origin to its present stage of development.

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 A Short Historical Background of
Anthropology
Anthropology has its roots in the works and ideas of the
great ancient and medieval Greek, Roman, and Hebrew
philosophers & social thinkers - who were interested in
the nature, origin and destiny of man.
Generally speaking, anthropology as an academic
discipline was born, during the 19th c, out of the
intellectual atmosphere of Enlightenment;
 E. is the 18th c social & philosophical movement that
emphasized human progress and the poser of reason, and
based on the Darwinian theory of Evolution.
By the late 1870s, anthropology was beginning to
emerge as a profession.
During its formative years (1870s & 1880s), anthropology
became a profession primarily in museums.
Anthropologists of the early 1900s emphasized the
study of social and cultural differences among groups.
here the social and cultural features of many non-western
societies were studied in detail and documented -this
approach is called ethnography.
By the mid-1900, however, anthropologists attempted
to discover universal human patterns and the
common bio-psychological traits that bind all human
beings -this approach is called ethnology.
Ethnology aims at the comparative understanding and
analysis of different ethnic groups across time and space.
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 Scope & Subject Matter of Anthropology
 The breadth and depth of anth. is very vast & broad:
It has humanity as its object of research –that it
tries to grasp through its most diverse manifestations.
It touches every aspect of human condition -if there is
relation between ‘Man & Man’ and ‘Man &
Environment’.
It concerned with both the biological and the
cultural aspects of humanity.
o It seeks to understand human beings as whole organisms who
adapt to their environments through a complex interaction of
biology and culture.
 Anthropology is the broad study of human kind
around the world & throughout time.
Anthropology is a philosophy with the people in.
It raises different philosophical questions, which it
try’s to respond to by exploring human lives under d/t
conditions.
In this regard, it is interested in different questions
& issues about humanity such as;
Origin: From where did we (human species) come from?
Development: How did humankind arrive at the present
stage of biological, intellectual, and cultural development?
Way’s of Life: What are the social and cultural lives of a
given group? Why variation in way’s of life is existed?

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Anth. studies humanity with its all aspects of existence,
and in its all means of differences (diversities) and
similarities (commonalities).
To conclude, as an academic discipline, anthropology
provides two kinds of insights;
 Things to Think About: it produce & provide knowledge
about actual way’s of life, culture, society & diversity in
the world via conducting empirical studies.
Things to Think With: it offers methods & theoretical
perspectives, enabling practitioners to explore, compare
and understand the varied aspect of the human
condition.
 Unique Features of Anthropology
Among others, anthropology has the following major
distinguishing marks;
Broad Scope: is the main distinguishing
characteristic.
Anthropology has a broad scope in time, space and
human characteristics: biological & cultural dimensions.
It is interested in all human beings & In all things
human.
Anthropology try's to comprehend the entire human
experience.

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Its Unique Approaches: holistic, relativistic & comparative
Holistic Approach: it tries to understand humankind in terms
of the dynamic interrelationships of its all aspects of existence.
Different aspects of culture and society exhibit patterned
interrelationships.
Indeed, anthropology considers culture, history, language
and biology essential to a complete understanding of
society.
Anthropology is Relativistic:
Anthropology tries to study and explain a certain belief,
practice or institution of a group of people in its own
context.
It does not make value judgment.
Anthropology is Comparative:
 Anthropology studies certain aspects of the culture of a group
by comparing it across societies and different times.
 It helps the discipline to understand differences and similarities
among human beings across time and place.
Emphasis on Insiders’ (emic) view rathe than etic
(outsider’s view):
Anthropological studies focus on how the people
themselves perceive & understand their world, explains
their action, or give meaning to their behavior or
cultural practices etc.
This is what anthropologists call emic perspective.
It helps to understand the logic and justification behind
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Its Method of Research:
Anthropology is highly dependent on qualitative research
to understand the meaning behind any human activity.
It’s study relies on first-hand data, collected by conducting
extended fieldwork & using d/t data collection techniques.
The discipline emphasizes the importance of ethnographic
fieldwork, which is a thorough close-up study of a
particular social and cultural environment.
 Micro Focus: a focus more on the local than the macro
social processes has been another exclusive approach in
the discipline.
 Paying great attention to micro-social processes certainly
helps us to better understand big changes in societies.
 Misconceptions About Anthropology

Due to lack of proper knowledge about its nature,

scope & subject matter, d/t misconceptions are told
about anthropology.
The common misconception are related to the scope
& areas of anthropological studies. To mention;
Anthropology is Limited to the Study of
"Primitive" Societies:
Yes & No:- yes, anthropology study so called “primitive”
societies, (especially in the early 19th c);
No, it’s not limited to the study of such societies; due to
its holistic interest on humanity, it study modern,
complex societies as well.

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Anthropology Study only Rural People and Rural
Areas:
Yes & No:- yes, anthropology study rural people & rural
areas, (especially in its formative years);
No, anthropology study not only rural people/areas; its
interest expands to the study of urban people/areas.
As a matter of fact, Urban Anthropology is emerged,
devoted to the study of urban people/life in complex,
heterogeneous cities.
Anthropology is Limited to the Study of Human
Evolution via the Analysis of Fossil Evidences:
Of course, due to its interest on the origin of modern
human, the discipline study human biological evolution.
But, this doesn’t mean that anthropology is limited to
the study of human evolution.
For this particular purpose, Paleoanthropology is
emerged within anthropology to study the biological
evolution of modern human.
Anthropology is a uniquely holistic & comparative
science, studies the whole of the human condition: past,
present, and biology, language and culture.
It attempts to comprehend the entire human experience.
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 The Relationship Between Anthropology and
Other Disciplines
How do anthropology relate to other disciplines and
how it’s different?
Similarity:- due to its holistic interest on humanity,
Anthropology share certain similarity with other social
sciences such as sociology, political sciences, economics,
history… -w/h study d/t aspects human society and peoples
ways of lives.
Anthropology greatly overlaps with such disciplines that
study human society –in terms of thematic areas.
 Anthropology thus, cuts across many disciplines,
encompassing many of the subjects that other disciplines
consider their special province: social life, political life,
economic life, religion, art, and so on.
How do Anthropology differ from other disciplines -?
By its broad scope, unique approach, perspective, unit
of analysis and methods used.
 By its Broad Scope:- it study humankind in its entirety.
By its Approach:- it study culture & society holistically,
comparatively and in a relativistic manner.
By its Perspective:- it locates people‘s, individual and
communal lived experiences…in terms of how these
dimensions are interconnected & interrelated to one
another -the perspective is fundamentally empirical,
naturalistic & ideographic than nomothetic.
It’s Method of research –undertake extended fieldwork …&
develop intimate knowledge on the life and social world of
communities. And, it use culture as an organizing concept.
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 Reading Assignment
 Make a reading on the ‘Contributions of
Anthropology’ and address the following
questions:
 Do you think anthropology can make a difference
in the world?
 What are the practical & potential contributions
of anthropology in the context of the
contemporary world, in general and in Ethiopia in
particular?