Cultural Anthropology and its Ethnography and Ethnology Disciplines

Cultural Anthropology
Name
Institution
Cultural Anthropology
Abstract
Cultural anthropology is one of the four major branches of anthropology. It involves the study of cultures and how they vary in terms of the family system, religion, and social structures, among others. In this paper, the theoretical foundations, data collection methods, and major components of cultural anthropology are explored. The paper reveals that cultural anthropology plays a fundamental role in modern-day negotiations as well as in addressing issues of global sustainability.
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc33993751 \h 2Table of Contents PAGEREF _Toc33993752 \h 3Introduction PAGEREF _Toc33993753 \h 4Theoretical Foundations PAGEREF _Toc33993754 \h 4Findings and Results PAGEREF _Toc33993755 \h 6Ethnography and Ethnology as Disciplines of Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993756 \h 8Data Collection Methods in Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993757 \h 9Modern Day Application of Cultural Anthropology PAGEREF _Toc33993758 \h 11Discussion and Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc33993759 \h 12References PAGEREF _Toc33993760 \h 14
Introduction
Cultural anthropology is one of the four major branches of anthropology. Anthropology is a term derived from two Greek words anthropos, which means human and logos, which means study (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018). Thus, anthropology is the study of human populations which focuses on examining their cultural and biological origins, development, and distinctiveness. Cultural anthropology, in specific, involves the study of cultures and how they vary in terms of the family system, religion, and social structures, among others (Haviland, Prins, McBride, & Walrath, 2017).
Theoretical Foundations
There are several theories in the field of cultural anthropology that have been used to explain the behavior of people. Some of the major theories in cultural anthropology include cultural evolutionism, diffusionism, neo-evolutionism, and historical particularism. Cultural evolutionism is based on the premise that there are definite stages of evolution that all societies must pass through (Srivastava, 2013). Cultural evolutionism was penned down by some intellectuals, not in the field of anthropology. They include James Frazer, Lewis Morgan, and J. McLenna, among others (Srivastava, 2013). Under this theory, culture was categorized as savagery, barbarism, and civilization. Lewis Morgan, however, broke down the three categories into seven categories as follows (Ferraro & Andreatta, 2018):
* Lower Savagery, which entails the earliest forms of humanity who survived on fruits and nuts
* Middle savagery, which started when fishing technology and use of fire was discovered
* Upper savagery, which was marked by the invention of the bow and arrow
* Lower barbarism, which was marked by the arrival of pottery making
* Middle barbarism, which was marked by the domestication of plants and animals as well as irrigation
* Upper barbarism, which was marked by the invention of iron smelting
technology
* Civilization, which was marked by the creation of the phonetic alphabet and writing
From this categorization, it is evident that evolution resulted in ...