Anthropology 320
Theory in Anthropology
Fall 2014
Mondays, 3-5:30 pm

Study Guide Questions for Readings
Week 2: September 15

Read: Tylor, "The Science of Culture" (Moodle)
**Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, Chapters 1, 2, and 9 (You may also wish to read the introductory materials for background on Engels's work and its significance)
Boas, "The Methods of Ethnology" (Moodle)

1. What is Tylor's model for cultural evolution? Why does he claim this model is scientific? Are there tensions between his sense of the common origins of human beings (often called, "the psychic unity of mankind") and his claim that some groups are more evolved or advanced than others?

2. How does Engels use anthropology, particularly Morgan's work, to construct his model of economic and cultural evolution?

3. How does Engels explain the evolution of the patriarchal household? How does he relate economic change (infrastructure) to changes in social relations and cultural attitudes (superstructure)? Do you find his model convincing? Why or why not?

4. What approach to broader questions of cultural development does Boas advocate?

5. What is Boas's critique of theories of cultural evolution? Do you agree?

6. Would the authors for this week see the theoretical question you developed last week in class as a valid research question for anthropology? Why or why not?

 

Question for Response Paper #1: A Science of Human Culture

Early anthropologists strove to make anthropology scientific in both its methods and its theoretical conclusions. Based on your reading of Tylor, Engels, and Boas, what do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of science as a model for anthropology? Paying particular attention to the goal of developing cross-cultural theories of human behavior and cultural patterns, do you think that anthropology can effectively accomplish this goal? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?

Please email your paper to Prof. Leshkowich (aleshkow_at_holycross) before class.

For tips about crafting response papers, click here.

 

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