Anthropos
What is it exactly, the antropothing that you are studying? Last year these kind of question was frequently asked to me. Oh, social and cultural anthropology! Nice, but what does it mean? And at these humiliating moments I am standing there, as a stuffed turkey at Christmas day who can not find its way to the preheated oven. Standing there, not knowing how to explain, possibly even not being able to clear out for myself the very thing I am studying. Is it too complicated maybe? Well, yeah, it is, but no, not really. Alright, but what is it then? What kind of beast is blessed with the name of this rare field of study. Only God can tell! Yeah, what is a god actually? Is it a human invention? And does it have a necessary function in different cultures all over the world? We are coming nearer to the answer. What is (a) culture anyway? Could not be so complicated or am I mistaken? Well, it is quite clear to me: well, culture is … damn … I do not know how to explain. You do not know at all, do you? Yes, I do… And then there was Wikipedia …luckily…
Thanks to the smart creators of Wikipedia, I am finally able to give a possible definition of what (socio-cultural) anthropology actually is and what anthropologists do during their lazy lifes. Wikipedia says:
Anthropology is the study of humanity. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. Ethnography is both one of its primary methods, and the text that is written as a result of the practice of anthropology.
Since the work of Franz Boas and Bronisław Malinowski in the late 19th- and early 20th-and social anthropology has been distinguished from other social science disciplines by its emphasis on in-depth examination of context, cross-cultural comparisons (socio-cultural anthropology is by nature a comparative discipline), and the importance it places on long-term, experiential immersion in the area of research, often known as participant-observation. Cultural-Social anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativity and the use of their findings to frame cultural critiques. This has been particularly prominent in America, from Boas’s arguments against 19th-century racial ideology, through Margaret Mead’s advocacy for gender equality and sexual liberation, to current criticisms of post-colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism.
Je kan even gaan grasduinen in ‘de encyclopedie van de antropologie’ of op de website van de Master Antropologie aan de KU Leuven.
Heden ten dage zijn er vele organisaties actief in de ontwikkelingssamenwerking. De meeste van hen zijn de zogeheten NGO’s, van welke we er allemaal wel enkele kennen. In Vlaanderen zijn de meeste van deze organisaties verzameld onder de welbekende noemer ’11.11.11′. Hun website is het startportaal voor de Vlaamse Noord-Zuidbeweging. Als je meer wil weten over ontwikkelingssamenwerking biedt deze site een uitgebreide uitvalsbasis.
Een van opzet iets andere organisatie, die niet actief is in België maar wel in onze buurlanden, is ‘Survival International’. Deze NGO houdt zich niet direct bezig met ontwikkelingssamenwerking in de klassieke zin van het woord, maar eerder met het beschermen van de status, zelfbeschikking en levenswijze van ‘traditionele samenlevingen’ over de gehele wereld. Hun website is zeker een bezoekje waard. Je vindt er trouwens prachtige foto’s van mensen in hun eigen specifieke leefomgeving.
Meer uitleg volgt…
“Nothing is more educational, in the end, than the mode of being of other people.”
- Iris Murdoch -
