ANTH326 Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa

Meeting 7, October 22, 2007

Business

• Djenne film, H1120, Noon, Friday (Oct 26)• Project Plan• Media Critique (November 5)• Lecture/discussion• News items (e.g. BBC’s Africa Today podcast)

Today

• Reading Themes• Relativisms• Conceptions• Keim• Appiah• (Social Groups)• ((Education))

Keim Themes 2

Appiah Themes

Relativisms

Ethnocentrism

• Attitude– Focus on own group (parallel egocentrism)– Cultural specificity as normal/natural/universal– Reification/naturalisation– “Own culture is better”

• Common– Worldview– “Separate worlds”

Eurocentrism

• Typical ethnocentrism• Not unique• Occidentalism– “Western”– “White”– (Judeo-)Christian–Market economy (Capitalism/Socialism/Liberalism)– Individual freedom?

Relative Relativism

• Not “anything goes”• Epistemological foundation (ways of knowing)• Assess natural/universal/absolute• Terminological habits– “Appropriate” instead of “good”– “Optimal” instead of “perfect”

Anthropology on Relativism

• Fighting Ethnocentrism• Cherish diversity• Mode of scientific inquiry• Academic tendency• Anthropocentrism

Cultural Relativism

• Fighting ethnocentrism• Linguistic relativity– Einstein from Winterer (Saussure)

• Primacy of context– Holistic perspective– Avoid determinism/reductivism/positivism

Moral Relativism

• Apply relativism to values• Neither condone nor condemn– Relative value vs. absolute value (math)– Try to understand, not judge

• “Who am I to say…”• Not typically “moralists”• Abuses of moral relativism

Relativism in Ethnography

• Partial and temporary suspension– Enculturation (cultural)– Value judgement (moral)

• Consequences• Intellectual honesty• Establishing rapport• Insight

• Particularism/holism/culturalism

Conceptions of Africa

• AIDS, Blacks, Chaos, Circumcision,, Cradle of Humanity, Diamonds, Diversity, Ethnic cleansing, Fear of the Unknown, Health, Movies, Nature, Polygamy, Popular Culture, Population density, Poverty, Primitive, Slavery, Turmoil, War

Chaos

• Corruption• War• Turmoil• Disorder• Poverty• Fear of the Unknown

Stereotypes• Primitive• Chaos• Movies• Fear of the Unknown• AIDS• Turmoil• Corruption

Pop Culture and Politics

Political, Economical, Socio-Cultural

• AIDS in cultural• With Poverty

Health and Body

• AIDS• Circumcision• Nature (mosquitoes)• Poverty• Population density

Readings

Readings 1

• Stereotypes• Functions of stereotypes• National Geographic• Categorizations• Dualism/dichotomies

Readings 2

• Dark/Romanticism• Wise Africa• Afrocentrism• Spread of ideology• Equality in diversity• Language• Molefi Asante response