The Anthropological Lens: Harsh Light, Soft Focus PDF
Preview The Anthropological Lens: Harsh Light, Soft Focus
This page intentionally left blank THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL LENS Harsh Light, Soft Focus SecondEdition Anthropologyisacomplex,wide-ranging,andeverchangingfield.Yet, despiteitsdiversity,certainmajorthemesdooccurintheunderstandings of the world that anthropologists have offered. In this clear, coherent, andwell-craftedbook,JamesL.Peacockspellsoutthecentralconcepts, distinctivemethodologies,andphilosophicalaswellaspracticalissuesof cultural anthropology. Designed to supplement standard textbooks and monographs, the book focuses on the premises that underlie the facts thattheformerkindsofworksgenerallypresent.Freefromunnecessarily abstracttheoreticallanguageandbasedoncompellingconcreteanecdote and engaging illustration, it is written in terms understandable to the anthropologicalnovice,aswellasbeingofvaluetotheprofessional. Thebook’sthreemainconcernsarethesubstance,method,andsignifi- canceofanthropology.Inhisdiscussionofsubstance,Peacockexamines themajorassumptionsandconclusionsofanthropology,suchasthecon- ceptof culture,aswellas holism.In writing aboutmethod,he explores the distinctive character of ethnographic fieldwork and raises questions ofinterpretationandcomparison.Finally,heconsiderstherelevanceof anthropologywithrespecttobothitspracticalapplicationandwhatitcon- tributestounderstandingofhumanaffairs.Therevisededitionconsiders recentissuessuchasglobalism,feminism,power,andhumanrights. Using the photographic metaphors of “harsh light” and “soft focus” Peacockcharacterizestheanthropologicalworldviewasconsistingoftwo elements:ontheonehand,aconcernwiththebasicrealityofthehuman condition,freeofculturalinfluence;ontheother,abroadlybasedholism thatattemptstograspallaspectsofthatcondition,includingitsrelation to the anthropologist. This book will appeal widely to readers intersted inanthropology,atalllevels. JAMESL.PEACOCK isKenanProfessorofAnthropologyattheUniversity ofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill.HispreviouspublicationsincludeRites ofModernization,;TheHumanDirections,;Indonesia:Anthropological Perspectives,;ConsciousnessandChange,;MuslimPuritans,;and PilgrimsofParadox,.HewasPresidentoftheAmericanAnthropolo- gicalAssociation–,andwasinitiatedintotheAmericanAcademy ofArtsandSciencesin. THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL LENS Harsh Light, Soft Focus SecondEdition JAMES L. PEACOCK UniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHill The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org ©Second Edition, Cambridge University Press 2004 First published in printed format 2001 ISBN 0-511-02936-5 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-80838-3 hardback ISBN 0-521-00459-4 paperback First published 1986 © Cambridge University Press 1986 Second edition 2001 © Cambridge University Press 2001 Contents Prefacetothefirstedition pagevii Prefacetothesecondedition xv Substance It’sreal!Culturebeheld Anthropologydefined:aholisticdiscipline Perceivingholistically Wholesdifferentiatedintoparts:analyticalconstructs Cultureandexperience Theconceptofcultureinrelationtonature Society Theexoticlocationofcommunityandculture Cultureandcommunityinrelationtoindividual andmeaning Globalization,power,andgender Power Essentialismandgender Overview Method Travel Fieldwork Fieldworkandrelatedendeavors Interpretation Generalization Themiddleground:ethnographicgeneralization Deduction,experimentation,andintrospection Fieldwork,ethnography,andtheory Significance Thegreateststoryevertold v vi ListofContents Theevolutionaryandtheinterpretiveperspectives Implicationsforpractice:themasteryofourfuture andthefutureofourmastery Harshlightandsoftfocus Notes Index Preface to the first edition Canyouseethemoon?Canyouseeitseen... GertrudeStein,ACircularPlay Fallsemesterbegan,andIgavethefirstlectureinanintroductory courseinanthropology.Thiscourse,atastateuniversity,wasbeing taughtinthegymnasiumandwasheavilyattendedbypeoplewhose clothing and demeanor suggested more interest in sports than in study. The class ended, and I asked if there were questions. I was startledwhenayoungmaninquired,“What’syourhermeneutic?” “Hermeneutic”inthenarrowsensepertainstothestudyoftexts in order to interpret their meaning. This student used the term in a broad sense. He wanted to know the meaning of this course. Perhapshewantedtoknowthemeaningofanthropology. Thestudent’squestionwasprofound.Thisbookattemptstoan- swerit,atanelementarylevel.Thestudyofafieldlikeanthropology canbeallsoundandfury,signifyingnothing:excitingfactswithout sufficient understanding of their meanings. Introductory courses teach such facts. Such courses tell about “bones and stones,” as some students term human fossils and artifacts; the varieties of economies,governments,andfamilyorganizationsthroughoutthe world; how grammars of language vary as we move out of our Indo-European heritage to exotic cultures. What is meant by all thisinformation? Meaning at a certain level is given by substantive synthesis. All thesefactscanbemadetocomposeapictureofhumanexistence. The stones and bones can be woven into a story of human ori- gins and evolution. The varieties of social life and languages can display pattern in human culture. Such a panoramic synthesis of vii viii Prefacetothefirstedition humanexistenceisanimportantobjectiveofanthropology,anda majorpurposeofintroductorycoursesistoprovidesuchapicture. Knowing these facts and weaving them into a coherent synthesis, one still does not grasp the full meaning of the anthropological perspective. Mywife’selderlyunclerecentlywenttoameetingandhearda speech.Whenhecamehome,someoneasked,“Whatdidtheman say?”Theoldmanreplied,“Hedidn’tsay.” Everystatementoffactinanthropologyoranyotherdiscipline islikethestatementsofthespeakerwhosaidsomethingbutdidnot say what he was saying. The speaker spoke but did not get across what he meant: What was his point? What did he imply? What weretheassumptionsbehindhisstatements?Onlybygraspingthe assumptions behind statements do we begin to comprehend their meaning. Such understanding is what we seek in exploring the question,Whatistheanthropologicalperspective?Throughwhat kindoflensdoestheanthropologistviewtheworld? Asking the question, one immediately encounters a problem. Doesanthropologyhavejustonelens–asingleperspective?There are as many perspectives as there are anthropologists. Consider threeautobiographicalaccounts.MargaretMead,inherautobiog- raphyBlackberryWinter,sawanthropologyasintimateinterpersonal understanding. She extended insights and experiences from her ownchildhoodandfamilytoencompasstheentirehumanfamily, includingthevariouscultures–inSamoa,inBali,inNewGuinea– where she lived and studied. Anthropologist Richard MacNeish presented a different picture in his autobiographical account The Science of Archaeology? No families – in fact, no living people – appearinthelandscapesfeaturedinMacNeish’saccount.Hisworld is not intimate social circles but the outdoors, broad vistas of ad- ventureandtravelfromarcticCanadatotropicalAmerica,where hesearchedforpotsherds,fossilseeds,andotherarcheologicalre- mains.HoveringsomewherebetweentheperspectivesofMeadand MacNeishisTristesTropiques,theenchantingautobiographicaltrav- eloguebyFrenchanthropologistClaudeLe´vi-Strauss.Le´vi-Strauss recounts his experiences with living peoples, but they are hardly portrayedasintimatesinafamilycircle.Insteadtheyaredepicted rather objectively and analytically as ciphers, carriers of abstract
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