Mission Research
The challenges of anthropology
Research Summary
Thomas Hylland Eriksen (2010) examines some key terms of anthropology: ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. He explores how defining anthropology can be a difficult task. The article also asserts the importance of the discipline.
Details
- Author: Thomas Hylland Eriksen
- Article Name: The challenges of anthropology
- Journal: International Journal of Pluralism and Economics
- Date: 2010
- Issue: 1 (3)
- Page Numbers: 194–202
- URL/DOI: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 227440816_The_challenges_of_anthropology
- Accessed: 2 April 2022
Summary
The importance of anthropology has increased outside of academia. This has been caused by increased contact between cultures, media removing barriers between cultures, rapidly changing cultures and the growing importance of cultural identity.
Anthropologists desire to describe the interrelationships between different experiences of human existence (p. 198). It compares cultural and social life, using, most importantly participant observation and ‘lengthy fieldwork’ (p. 198).
The diversity of what anthropologists study creates various tensions. Do they focus on similarities or differences, universality or relativism? (p. 198) Relativism is the general methodological principle in anthropology (p. 200).
It is also helpful to consider ethnocentrism. Cultures should be studied in their own terms, but it is always studied from a particular cultural perspective (p. 199).
Anthropologists also focus on the ‘informal social life’ (p. 201).
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Good: Helpful overview of the discipline and some of the key issues.
- Bad: Some of the assertions are very brief and without further examination.
- Ugly: It states anthropology does not ‘privilege certain ways of life above others’. Is that actually true? Does that not contradict the discussion about the problem of ethnocentrism?
Questions
- Should anthropology be neutral in how it describes ways of life?
Links to Other Research
Theology, anthropology and the invocation to be otherwise addresses the question about neutrality from a theological perspective.
Justin Marsh is a missionary who has served in Asia for over six years. He is the country leader of a team of missionaries and has just completed an MA that looks at missional practice. Whilst his team works within a range of contexts across the country, Justin’s focus is the Muslim minority groups. He is the owner of the publication THE CO-MISSION.
