difference
Differences
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difference [2020/05/24 16:57] – Ryan Schram (admin) | difference [2021/07/01 02:17] (current) – [Anthropology is a qualitative social science] Ryan Schram (admin) | ||
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While there are lots of ways in which individual people are different from each other, many of these differences are continuous variation. This means that people of the same community can be as different from people from different parts of the world. Many of these differences are random and specific to individuals, | While there are lots of ways in which individual people are different from each other, many of these differences are continuous variation. This means that people of the same community can be as different from people from different parts of the world. Many of these differences are random and specific to individuals, | ||
- | Many social sciences are interested in looking at differences among people objectively as something that they can measure and quantify as the value of a variable. How much money someone earns in a year, how many years of education one has, how old one are all sociological variables that people can measure numerically. Gender, race, ethnicity, nationality are all categorical sociological variables, and one can sort people into categories based on a particular definition of each concept. This approach to understanding people' | + | Many social sciences are interested in looking at differences among people objectively as something that they can measure and quantify as the value of a variable. How much money someone earns in a year, how many years of education one has, how old one are all sociological variables that people can measure numerically. Gender, race, ethnicity, nationality are all categorical sociological variables, and one can sort people into categories based on a particular definition of each concept. This approach to understanding people' |
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+ | ## Anthropology is a qualitative social science | ||
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+ | Anthropology is not opposed to this quantitative and objective approach, but it does look at things differently. | ||
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+ | Anthropology is interested in an approach to difference which takes a qualitative and symmetrical view of people' | ||
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+ | * First, for anthropology, | ||
+ | * Second, the knowledge one acquires from one's society is mostly **a way of thinking** and of classifying the world. Each society gives its members a distinct way of telling differences, | ||
+ | * People in Australia learn to sort people into the categories of race, ethnicity, and nationality. | ||
+ | * People in Auhelawa learn to sort people into the (totemic) categories of birds, Magisubu (wedge-tailed eagle), Ao'ao (crow), Gegela (parrot), etc. | ||
+ | * Third, when people acquire their society' | ||
+ | * Fourth, and finally, people are different from each other but their acquired differences are always **relative**. What makes you different from an Auhelawa person also makes an Auhelawa person different from you. Anthropology wants to put people' | ||
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+ | ----- | ||
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+ | <WRAP box similar> | ||
- | * First, for anthropology, | ||
- | * Second, | ||
difference.1590364640.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/05/24 16:57 by Ryan Schram (admin)