Welcome to

Cultural
Anthropology!

Moazzam Khan Durrani

[email protected]
 Today’s Agenda
Anthropology and Sociology

Anthropology and History

• Anthropology and economics

• Anthropology and Psychology

• Anthropology and Political science

 Anthropology and Sociology
• The relation between anthropology and sociology
is widely recognized today.
• In fact, anthropologist, Kroeber, pointed out that
the two sciences are twin sisters.
• Robert Redfield writes that “viewing the whole
united states, one sees that the relation between
anthropology and sociology is closer than those
between the anthropology and other social
sciences”.
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• Sociology is greatly benefited by anthropological studies.

• Sociologists have to depend upon anthropologists to
understand the present-day social phenomena from our
knowledge of the past which is often provided by
anthropology.
• The studies made by famous anthropologists, like
Radcliffe-Brown, B. Malinowski, Ralph Linton, Lowie,
Raymond Firth, Margaret Mead, Evans-Pritchard and
others have been proved to be valuable in sociology.
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• Sociological topics, such as The Origin of
Family, The Beginning of Marriage, Private
property, The Genesis of Religion etc, can
be better understood in the light of
anthropological knowledge.
• The anthropological studies have shown
that there is no correlation between
anatomical characteristics and mental
superiority.
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• The notion of racial superiority has been disproved by
anthropology.
• Further, sociology has borrowed many concepts, like
cultural areas, cultural traits, interdependent traits,
cultural lag, cultural patterns, culture configuration etc.
from Socio Cultural anthropology.
• The knowledge of anthropology, physical as well as
socio- cultural is necessary for a sociologist.
• An understanding of society can be gained by comparing
various cultures, particularly the modern with primitive.
 Anthropology and History:
• Anthropology and History are very much interrelated.
• Anthropology is becoming one of the most genuine fruits
of history to which it is intimately connected.
• The two sciences are so close that some writers refuse to
accept anthropology as a science different from history.
• Some anthropologists regard anthropology as a branch
of history.
• Human being is born in a natural way, but social life is not
the product of nature.
• It is true that human nature is such that human beings
have to live in united groups, but human nature does not
decide the cultural level of society.
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• In other words, culture of a particular society is not a
product of human nature.
• The structure of society has no natural order like that of
the structure of the solar system or an atom.
• Society is a web of social relations supplied by history
and are united among them by moral values.
• Anthropologists have been doing the work of social
reformation.
• History and anthropology are both related to human
actions. Social anthropology discusses human actions
which cause social events.
• History presents a description of these events.
 Anthropology and Economics:
• Anthropology and Economics, as social sciences, have very
close relation.
• The relationship between the two sciences is so close that
one is often treated as the branch of the other.
• Anthropologists have contributed to the study of different
aspects of economic organization.
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• An economist provides knowledge of
property system, division of labor,
occupations, industrial organization etc. to
the anthropologists.
• Some matters such as labor relations,
standard of living, employer-employee
relations, social classes, socio-economic
planning, socio-economic reforms etc. are
common to both economists and
anthropologists.
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• The area of co-operation between anthropology and
economics is widening day by day.
• Economists are now analyzing the social factors influencing
economic growth.
• Economists are working with the anthropologists in their
study of the problems of economic development in
underdeveloped countries.
• Economists are more and more making
use of the anthropological concepts and
generalizations in the study of economic
problems.
• Problems like poverty, beggary,
unemployment, overpopulation, and
unregulated industrialization have both
social and economic implications.
 Anthropology and Social
Psychology:
• Anthropology and Psychology are contributory sciences.
• Psychology is defined as the study of human behavior.
• Anthropology studies man in all places and times. Psychology
is the science of human experiences and behaviors.
• It also studies man’s behavior in relation to environment.
• Anthropology is also a comparative and analytic study of
human behavior and experiences.
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• These two subjects are complementary to
each other.
• On one side a psychological knowledge helps
an anthropologist in understanding the root
causes of human behavior in different cultures
and on the other side anthropological studies
help the psychologists in calculating the
influence of cultural environment of human
behavior.
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• In modern times, the various anthropological studies
have rendered important help in the field of psychology.
• By studying different primitive cultures, anthropologists
have shown how human behavior differs in different
cultural environments.
• Every culture has its special method of social control,
which has an important influence on the personality of its
members.
• The closest relation between psychology and
anthropology is seen in the relation between the main
branches, Social psychology and Cultural anthropology.
In Social psychology, individual behavior is studied under
social environments.
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• Social anthropology also studies human society, social
institutions and groups.
• The famous anthropologist, Hoebel writes that, “The
anthropologist concentrates chiefly on society of
primitive people, and the sociologist concentrates on our
contemporary civilization”.
Anthropology and Political Science:
• Anthropology and Political science are very closely
related.
• In fact, political activity is only a part of social activity.
• Thus, political science appears to be a branch of
anthropology.
• Political activity is influenced by the social life of man.
• In fact, political activities will have no
meaning outside the social context.
• Politics is after all the reflection of society.
• This is made clear by the common saying,
“people have the government which they
deserve”.
• Political science gives anthropological
facts about the organization and functions
of the state and government.
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• Political science is concerned with the state but
anthropology studies state as one of the human
associations.
• The laws of the state have a great influence upon
society.
• These laws are largely based on customs, traditions,
conventions and usages.
• But these customs, traditions etc, are the concerns of
anthropology.
• The institution of family is an element in social life. It is a
concern of anthropology.
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• There are some common topics of interest for both
anthropologists and political scientists.
• Such topics are war, mass movements, revolutions,
government control, public opinion, propaganda,
leadership, elections, voting, political minorities and
social legislations like civil code.
• Communal riots, racial tensions between Whites and
Negroes, Asians and Europeans, border disputes
between different states, caste conflicts etc are problems
that have political as well social implications.