Cultural Relativism In Anthropology Research
General anthropology consists of exploring the basics of human biology, society and culture, the anthropology includes four fields of study, sociocultural, also known as cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. There are different ways to learn study anthropology, conduct your own research, studying and analyzing another anthropologists’ research, or going out and conducting your own ethnographic fieldwork. Ethnographic fieldwork is conducted by choosing a culture to study, traveling out to where your study is located and spending a year or more in that society living with the local people and learning their way of life. There are different anthropological methods that allow researchers to obtain two views of a culture, these include emic and etic perspectives. Emic is qualitative data that comes from an internal or native source or point of view, whereas etic is quantitative data that comes from the anthropologist’s external point of view. There are many positives and negatives when it comes to doing ethnographic fieldwork a few including, not being welcomed by the people and learning to respect other customs and beliefs.
In some parts of the world there are places where people are still practicing the same way of life that their great ancestors also practiced. These people have little to now contact or relationships with the 21st century including technology, new and improved agriculture, and new man-made materials, because they have not been introduced to these new things it comes across as a shock and fear when they see an outsider coming and wanting to not only learn but to be a part of their group. Often it is easier said than done to be a part of these groups because they do not share the same language as the Anthropologists making it difficult to try and inform and ask to stay. Anthropologists struggle with ethnocentrism, judging another’s way of life and culture based on preconceptions found in one’s own culture and values, making it difficult to really learn and be a part of a different culture. Once anthropologists overcome ethnocentrism they can have an open mind while conducting adequate data and research on the people or place they are researching. They will learn to have respect for other cultures customs and beliefs.
Cultural relativism is conveyed as being that no culture is superior or inferior to any or all other cultures. It is an important concept to remember in Anthropology and Ethnographic field work because when studying another culture, we can let our thoughts from our values and customs interfere with being accepting and keeping an open mind when doing research.
