Cultural Baggage

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the problems of ethnocentricity and cultural baggage in anthropology using the huge difference in Mead and Freeman's research on adolescence in Samoa as an example.

From the Paper:

"One of the cornerstones of anthropological thinking is the idea that in studying a society it is important not to judge it by our own standards but to try to understand it from its members? cultural viewpoint. By avoiding ethnocentricity we see the irrelevance of comparing or, even worse, ranking societies by how "westernized" they are (for example GNP, cars per capita, literacy rates etc). However, even if we can get past the "we are right, they are wrong" view of other societies, it is impossible to completely put aside our own cultural upbringing and preconceptions. Geertz (1988) states that, however much one tries, it is impossible for an anthropologist's writing to escape the influence of his/her social and educational background. This "cultural baggage" may not be obvious to an audience with a similar background but as the author's own society changes it becomes more obvious. Evans-Pritchard, in his work with the Azande, was one of the first anthropologists to make a deliberate effort to understand the validity of his subjects' beliefs and practices from their cultural viewpoint but to a modern reader his colonial era attitudes and prejudices are clear. Even something as fundamental as language forms part of our cultural baggage."

More papers on Cultural Baggage:

• Analytical Essay # 130733 : "Cultural Globalization and Cultural Homogenization"
• Research Paper # 93088 : "An Analysis of Cross-Cultural Management Issues"
• Argumentative Essay # 102446 : "Inter-Cultural Harmony"

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