October 26 Exit Ticket
Comparative analysis of postmodernism and cultural materialism in anthropological research, exploring their methodological applications and evaluating their effectiveness in studying cultural phenomena.
Summarize the main ideas of two anthropological schools of thought.
The Postmodernism think the world is a big “Blind people touch elephant”, and everyone’s opinion has a limited to see the truth.And the culture materialism think the infrastructure of given society influence both the structure of itself and the superstructure.
Explain one way anthropologists use these theories to study culture.
Postmodern anthropologists use reflexive ethnography, where they examine their own biases and seek multiple perspectives from community members rather than claiming one truth. Cultural materialists focus on how economic factors shape cultural practices, like studying how different production systems influence initiation rituals.
Which school of thought makes the most sense to you? Why?
Postmodernism. Because it acknowledges that multiple interpretations of the same cultural phenomenon can all be valid, rather than claiming there is one universal truth.