PAPER-III-Contemporary-Perspectives-in-Cultural-Anthropology-English-Version-munotes

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1.1NEO -EVOLUTIONISM
1.2-CULTURAL ECOLOGY
Unit Structure
1.1 NEOEVOLUTIONISM
1.1.1 Introduction
1.1.2 V. Gordon Childe
1.1.3 Leslie White
1.1.4 Julian Steward
1.1.5 Conclusion
1.2 CULTURAL ECOLOGY
1.2.1 Introduction
1.2.2 Emergence of Cultural Ecology Approach
1.2.3 Cultural Type and Cultural Core
1.2.4 Conclusion
1.0OBJECTIVES
To examine the evolution of anthropological thought through historical
perspective
To explain the methodological approaches related to the origin of
culture
1.1 NEOEVOLUTIONISM
1.1.1 INTRODUCTION
Neo-evolutionism as a social theory, attempts to explain the
evolution of societies by drawing on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution
while discarding some dogmas of the previous theories of social
evolutionism. Neo -evolutionary anthropological thought emerged in the
1940s, in the work of the American anthropologists Leslie A. White,
Julian H. Steward and others. It developed extensively in the period after
the Second World War —and was incorporated into anthropology as well
as into sociology in the 1960s.
Neo-evolutionary anthropology developed in the mid -Twentieth
Century as a response to the need to develop theories that better explained
cultural differences, similarities and the processes of culture change.munotes.in

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2While the 19th -century cultural evolutionism attempted to explain
how culture develops by describing general principles of its evolutionary
process, historical particularism dismissed it as unscientific in the early -
20th century. Neo -evolutionary thinkers brought back evolutionary ideas
and developed them, with the result that these became acceptable to
contemporary anthropology. Neo -evolutionism discards many ideas of
classical social evolutionism.
Neo-evolutionism is a new 20th century perspective on th e evolution
of society. In contemporary neo -evolutionism, there are two main currents
of thought. These are:
1.Universal evolutionism of V. Gordon Childe (1892 -1957) and Leslie
White (1900 -1975)
2.Multi -linear evolutionism of Julian steward (1902 -1972)
1.1.2V . G O R D O N C H I L D E
V. Gordon Childe was a trained archaeologist and he described
evolution of culture in terms of three major events, viz., Invention of food
production, Urbanization and Industrialization.
He presented an overall view of evolutionary p rocess by analyzing
the transitions that took place under the impact of these major events and
delineated its common factors.
Archaeological Period Level of cultural
Development
Stage 1 Paleolithic Savagery
Stage 2 Neolithic Barbarism
Stage 3 Copper Age Higher Barbarism
Stage 4 Early Bronze Age Civilization
Childe’s order of evolution differed from those of 19th century
evolutionists. According to him, a drastic change in the life pattern of
mankind appeared in the stag e of civilization in which an aggressive
attitude towards environment developed among mankind. First, dwellers
or cave dwellers became house dwellers, hunters and gatherers became
food producer by adopting agriculture. Writing made them capable of
preservi ng their tradition and mathematics came into being for counting
things. The development of cities made them urbanized and technological
advancements made them capable of producing durable utensils and
implements. Thus, according to him, at each stage of cu ltural
development, mankind developed their technological skills to exploit
natural resources. In the early stage, less advanced technological skill had
made them less aggressive towards environment but as knowledge
accumulated they became more and more ag gressive.
Gordon Childe made an attempt to apply the Darwinian formula to
cultural evolution and said, “variation is seen as invention, hereditary asmunotes.in

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3learning and diffusion, and adaptation and selection as cultural adaptation
and choice”. He sought an e xplanation for the universal laws of culture
change, recognizing that all universal laws do change in the course of
history.
The scheme of neo -evolution proposed by Childe is fraught with
limitations, which are as follows: Firstly, he did not differentia te between
the old hunters and the hunter -gatherers of today despite the fact that there
is a significant difference between the possession, types and application of
technology used for hunting. Secondly, there was too much emphasis on
archaeological data as an explanation for cultural evolution. Thirdly, he
categorically rejected the idea of universal precedence of matriarchy,
sexual communism, etc., an argument put forth by the classical
evolutionists.
In other words, Childe relied too much on archaeo logical data to
explain cultural evolution and secondly he did not take any interest in the
civilizational sequence outside Middle East and Europe. Thirdly, he did
not take into consideration the universal existing institutions of
matriarchy, sexual promis cuity, etc. But despite such criticisms he was
successful in presenting universal scheme of cultural evolution in terms of
archaeological sequences. Despite the weaknesses, Childe is credited for
introducing the theory of technological determinism in the s tudy of
cultural evolution.
1.1.3 LESLIE A. WHITE: Theory of Cultural Evolution
Leslie White developed the theory of cultural evolution; which was
at that time ignored by most anthropologists. White was impressed by
Morgan’s model and logic of his e volutionary theory, which prompted
him to restore the evolutionary topic started in the 1920s. After careful
study of the 19th century evolutionist literature, White concluded that
evolutionism was not wrong in theory, and that cultural evolution was just
as real and demonstrable as biological evolution. White developed the
basic law of cultural evolution i.e. culture evolves as the amount of energy
harnessed per capita per year is increased. White claims that industrialized
cultures and complex societies are more advanced because they have the
capacity to harness more energy –“thermo -dynamics” than non -
industrialized and simple societies. In other words, a more advanced
technology gives humans control over more energy (human, animal, solar,
and so on) and cultures expand and change as a result. White treated
societies as entities that evolved in relation to the amount of energy
captured and used by each member of society. This energy is directed
towards the production of resources for their survival.
Whil e explaining cultural evolution, White believed that culture
has general laws of its own. The task of the anthropologists is to discover
those principles and explain the particular phenomena of culture. He
termed this as the culturology approach, which a ttempts to define and
predict cultural phenomena by understanding general patterns of culture.munotes.in

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4White assumed that the greater the energy, the more highly
evolved the socio -cultural system. White perceived 3 cultural sub -systems:
1) technological, 2) soci ological and 3) ideological. The way society uses
its technology to sustain life, influences the sociological and ideological
systems. Technology and therefore culture evolve as more energy is
harnessed. White's hypothesis of cultural evolution explained t he
differences in technology and energy production. He hypothesized, for
example, in the first stage , the small -scale hunting and gathering societies
had not developed complex socio -cultural systems because they depended
primarily on human energy for production. Their societies were simple
and undeveloped due to limited energy resources. However, socio c ultural
systems changed dramatically following the second stage ,t h ec a p t u r eo f
energy through the domestication of plants and animals. The third stage is
the technological changes as the result of the agricultural revolution led to
the emergence of cities , complex states, powerful political and religious
elites and new ideologies. According to White, the changes in the
agricultural societies had been gradual taking several thousand years till
thefourth stage , of the Industrial Revolution. But the industri al revolution
has taken less than five hundred years to produce wide spread global
transformation, which is accompanied by the fifth stage wherein the
nuclear energy is harnessed. White focused on socio -cultural change on
the global level rather than on pa rticular societies. So, his approach has
been called general evolution. His main contribution was that he provided
scientific insights to the evolution of culture.
White’s orientation has been criticized for the same reasons that
the ideas of Tyl or and Morgan were. In the process of describing what has
happened in the evolution of human culture, White assumed that cultural
evolution is determined strictly by conditions inside the culture
(predominantly technological conditions). In other words, he categorically
denied the possibility of environmental, historical, or psychological
influences on cultural evolution. The problem with such an argument is
that it does not have the potentiality to explain why some cultures evolve,
whereas others either do not evolve or become extinct. Additionally,
White’s theory of energy capture does not answer the question as to why
only some cultures are able to increase their energy capture.
1.1.4 JULIAN STEWARD: Multi -linear Evolutionists:
Multi -linear evolut ion is a methodology based on assumption that
significant regularities or parallels occur in cultural change and it is
concerned with the determination of cultural laws. Multi -linear
evolutionism is proposed by Julian Steward . He elaborated his theory of
neo-evolution in his famous book ― “Theory of Culture Change”,
published in 1955. He referred to himself as the universal evolutionist as
he placed general stages of evolution applicable to mankind as a whole
and not of specific or particular culture.
Steward proposed his theory of multi -linear evolutionism in order
to reconcile evolutionary theory with the growing evidence of cultural andmunotes.in

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5social diversity available as a result of the advances of modern
ethnography and cross -cultural comparative studies. H e, for the first time
gave a broad typology of evolutionists on the basis of his methodological
study of different culture areas of the world.
Steward defined cultural evolution as “a quest for cultural
regularities or laws” and added that there are three distinct ways in which
evolutionary data may be handled.
1)Unilinear Evolution is the formulation put forth by 19thcentury
classical evolutionists, which dealt with particular culture rather than
with cultures. According to Steward, Unilinear evolutionis ts are those
that refer to cultural evolution in terms of three stages -savagery,
barbarism and civilization. Tylor, Morgan and others were the
theorists who supported this scheme of cultural evolution. Steward
observes that new empirical ethnographic an d archeological research
that concerns the history of individual culture has emerged in recent
times. This research is relevant as it recognizes significant patterns
and processes of change in particular cases.
2)Universal Evolution is an arbitrary term t o refer to the remodeling of
the Unilinear evolution. Julian Steward (1955) pointed out that
universal evolution is represented by V. Gordon Childe and Leslie
White and is the heritage of the 19thcentury evolution. These theorists
emphasized on evolution ary concept of cultural stages by relating
these stages to the culture of mankind as a whole. The distinctive
cultural traditions and the local variations of the culture areas and sub -
areas which have emerged as the byproduct of special environments
are excluded as irrelevant.
3)Multilinear Evolution emphasizes on multiple developmental
sequences. The distinguishing feature is that it searches parallel of
limited occurrence instead of universals. Steward does not believe that
culture followed a single li ne of development. His generalizations are
based on intensive study of particular cultures. For him, multilinear
evolution is a methodology based on the assumption that regularities in
culture change occur. This is concerned with historical reconstructi on
with any set laws.
Steward’s evolutionary theory, cultural ecology, is based on the
idea that the environmental resources available to a people, determine
their social system. He outlines three basic steps for a cultural -ecological
investigation. Fi rst-the analysis of the relationship between subsistence
strategies and natural resources. Second -the analysis of behavior patterns
involved vis -a-vis particular subsistence strategy. Third –the analysis of
how other aspects of the society are determ ined by and impacted by these
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6The principal concern of cultural ecology is to determine whether
cultural adaptations towards the natural environment bring about social
transformations of evolutionary change. Although Steward did not b elieve
in one universal path of cultural evolution, he argued that different
societies can independently develop parallel features. Steward’s
evolutionary theory is called multilinear evolution because the theory is
based on the idea that there are varied patters of progress toward cultural
complexity. In other words, Steward did not assume universal
evolutionary stages that apply to all societies.
1.1.5 CONCLUSION
Neo-evolutionary theories are based on empirical evidence from
fields such as archaeology, paleontology and historiography. Neo -
evolutionism is considered to be object and a simply descriptive approach,
eliminating any references to a moral or cultural sys tem of values. While
the 19thcentury social evolutionism used value judgments and
assumptions when interpreting data, neo -evolutionism relies on
measurable information for analyzing the process of cultural evolution. In
the years since White’s and Stewar d’s seminal work, neo -evolutionary
approaches have been accepted, rejected, challenged and revised, yet they
continue to generate a lively controversy among those interested in long -
term cultural and social change.
Check your progress :
1. Can you briefly explain Neo evolutionism ?
1.2 CULTURAL ECOLOGY
1.2.1 INTRODUCTION
Cultural ecology is a theoretical perspective that endeavours to
explain the adaptation of a culture to a specific environment and how
changes in that environment bring about changes in that specific culture.
This is a first theoretical approach that provides a causal explanation for
the similarities and differences between cultures, since it focuses on
overall environment, natural resources available, population and density,
how the material culture, or technology is related to basic survival or
subsistence. It also studies how a traditional system of beliefs and
behavior allows people to adapt to their environment. Cultural ecology
was created as an an thropological sub -discipline which stresses themunotes.in

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7adaptive function of culture. Elements of the cultural ecology approach are
reflected in ethnoecology, human behavioural ecology, political ecology
and the ecosystems approach.
The central task of cultural ecologists is to study how humans in
their society and through specific cultures interact with the larger
environment. Human beings engage in what can be called as learned
behavior that can be referred to as learned skill, technology and other
cultural r esponses of a people in a society.
1.2.2 EMERGENCE OF CULTURAL ECOLOGY APPROACH
Cultural ecology approa ch was first developed by the American
anthropologist Julian Steward in the 1930s and 1940s and became an
influencing factor within anthropology and archaeology. It represents an
approach that is distinct from the sociologically oriented human ecology
approach. Steward studied materially simple culture of Native Americans
in the arid areas of the Great Basin. He emphasized on the adaptive
function of culture, a process that he called cultural ecology, and inquired
how culture change is induced by adaptat ion to environment. The concept
of culture as a non -biological adaptation does not necessarily mean
mechanical environmental determinism. Culture is a creative process
which is influenced and stimulated by, but not determined by, the
environment. These i deas are reflected in the book “Theory of Culture
Change: The Methodology of Multilinear Evolution” (1955).
Steward coined the term “cultural ecology” to describe his
approach and is frequently referred to as the father of ecological studies in
anthrop ology. Cultural ecology is understood as a continuation of his
theory of multilinear evolution. Multilinear evolution searches for
regularities in cultural change. Cultural laws can be understood as
explanations as to why these changes occur. Patterns o f interaction
between parts of a society and the larger environment are related to
patterns of historical change. In this context, cultural traditions with
distinctive elements can be studied. Similarities and differences between
cultures are meaningful and change in meaningful ways. Each society has
its own historical trajectory through time. This, according to Steward, sets
the ground for cross -cultural studies.
Steward was the first to combine four approaches in studying the
interaction between c ulture and environment: 1) Culture was explained in
terms of the environment where it existed, rather than just a geographic
relation with economy; 2) The relationship between culture and
environment is considered to be a process (and not just a correlatio n); 3)
There was consideration of small -scale environment, rather than culture -
area-sized regions; and 4) The connection between ecology and
multilinear cultural evolution.
Steward’s eminent ecological work, “Basin -Plateau Aboriginal
Sociopolitical Group s” (1938), studied the lives of native peoples of themunotes.in

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8Great Basin. In that work, Steward described the following: the general
environment, important resources located, and utilization of those
resources. Within the same work, he discussed the sociopoliti cal patterns
and established their relation to technology, environment and distribution
of resource.
Steward made some path breaking arguments which are as follows:
1) cultures in similar environments may have similar adaptations; 2) all
adaptations hav e a short life and are constantly adjusting to changing
environments; and 3) alterations in culture can elaborate existing culture
or result in entirely new ones.
Several anthropologists at the time used Steward’s approach to
compare cultures in order t o understand the factors that influence similar
cultural development; in other words, similar adaptations. The basic
premise of cultural ecology is that cultures, not individuals, adapt. This
approach assumes that culture is superorganic, a concept Stewa rd
borrowed from Alfred Kroeber.
Check your progress :
1. Can you briefly explain the concept of cultural ecology ?
1.2.3 CULTURAL TYPE AND CULTURAL CORE
Cultural ecology can be considered to be an adaptation by a unique
culture modif ied historically in a distinctive environment. In the context
of this definition, Steward outlined a creative process of cultural change.
Steward focused on recurrent themes that could be understood by limited
circumstances and distinct situations. This helps to identify and classify
cultural types. Cultural type is an ideal heuristic tool designed for the
study of cross -cultural parallels and regularities. This analytical instrument
has several benefits. It allows the researcher to assemble regulariti es in
cultures that have vastly different histories. This type of classification is
based upon selected features of culture which are interrelated and are
causally interdependent. These features are determined by a particular
research problem within its own frame of reference.
Steward states that economic patterns are important because they
are more directly related to other social, cultural, and political
configurations. This is the cultural core. Steward proposed that themunotes.in

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9adaptations need to be unde rstood by first examining the cultural core,
which was considered a crucial cultural component that determined the
ability of culture to survive. The cultural core can be defined as the
features of a society that are the most closely related to subsistence
activities and economic arrangements. It consists of knowledge,
technology, labour, and family organization, all of which were used to
collect resources from the environment.
Cultures are made up of interrelated parts. Depending on which
traits are mo re influential than other traits, interdependence will also vary.
The cultural core is grouped around subsistence activities and economic
relationships. Secondary features are more closely related to historical
contingencies and less directly related to the environment. Several
technological innovations take place. Whether these technological
innovations are accepted or rejected depends upon the environmental
constraints and cultural requirements. Several factors such as: population
pressure, internal d ivision of labour, regional specialization,
environmental tension, economic surplus, create the cultural conditions in
which the technological innovation becomes attractive, leading to other
cultural changes. These social adaptations have profound effects upon the
kinship, politics, and social relations of a group.
Since the introduction of cultural ecology approach by Steward,
anthropologists have expanded the definition of cultural ecology to
include more abstract social concepts like social and politica le c o n o m y .
They have gone further to apply it to the study of concepts and
applications of power and resources. The theory has also contributed
substantially in modern archaeological techniques and theories. One such
technique is ‘procedural archeology’ which places an emphasis on
documenting the ways ancient cultures have adapted their technologies to
suit their environment. It also studies how these cultures use of resources
have led to changes in the physical and biological characteristics of their
surroundings.
Cultural ecology theory has been criticized primarily for its undue
emphasis on environmental determinism. Scholars regard this as a
potentially dangerous oversimplification of social and cultural processes
because it gives importance to the environment and ignores the
significance and power of social and individual agency. Despite the
criticism, the value of cultural ecology approach and its impact on the
social sciences cannot be denied and today, is still being used very
effectively.
1.2.4C O N C L U S I O N
Steward observed that the ecology of humans both biological and
cultural aspects, which were distinct from each other, yet were
intertwined. He argued that the cultural aspect was associated with
technology. This set humans and their culture s as important and separate
from the rest of the environment. While Steward was correct inmunotes.in

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10recognizing the difference between the biological and cultural aspects of
human ecology, he was wrong to view humans as separate from the rest of
the environment.
1.3 SUMMARY
Neo -evolutionary anthropological thought emerged in the 1940s, in
the work of the American anthropologists Leslie A. White and Julian H.
Steward and others.
V. Gordon Childe was a trained archaeologist and he described
evolution of culture in terms of three major events, viz., invention of food
production, urbanization and industrialization.
Leslie White claims that industrialized cultures and complex
socie ties are more advanced because they have the capacity to harness
more energy –“thermodynamics” than non -industrialized and simple
societies.
Multi -linear evolution is a methodology followed by Julian
Steward is based on the assumption that significant reg ularities or parallels
occur in cultural change and it is concerned with the determination of
cultural laws. Cultural ecology is a theoretical perspective that endeavours
to explain the adaptation of a culture to a specific environment and how
changes in t hat environment bring about changes in that specific culture.
Steward discussed the sociopolitical patterns and established their
relation to technology, environment and distribution of resource.
Cultural type is an ideal heuristic tool designed for th e study of
cross -cultural parallels and regularities.
The cultural core is the configuration of the features of a society
that are the most closely related to subsistence activities and economic
arrangements.
1.4 QUESTIONS
1.Discuss the emergence and deve lopment of neo -evolutionism as
an approach in anthropology.
2.Examine the contributions of Gordon Childe, Julian Steward and
Leslie White to the theory of neo -evolutionism.
3.Examine the key arguments of the cultural ecology approach and
discuss its relevance today.
4.Evaluate the theory of cultural ecology with special reference to
the cultural type and cultural core.munotes.in

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111.5 REFERENCES
https://www.lkouniv.ac.in/site/writereaddata/siteContent/20200406192
3053959Sayed_Mashiyat_Husain_Rizvi_anthro _CULTURAL_EVOL
UTIONISM.pdf
http://faculty.cascadia.edu/tsaneda/cultural/theories/neoevolutioni
sm.html
Sutton, M. and Anderson, E.N. (2010): Introduction to Cultural
Ecology, Second Edition, Alta Mira Press, New York
https://www.ynufe.edu.cn/pub/shyjjxwyjzx/docs/20140512093722308
008.pdf

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2.1CULTURAL MATERIALISM
2.2MARXIST ANTHROPOLOGY
Unit Structure
2.1 CULTURAL MATERIALISM
2.1.1 Introduction
2.1.2 Cultural Materialism
2.1.3 Basic Assumptions
2.1.4 Levels of Social Systems
2.1.5 Base Structure and Super Structure
2.1.6 Conclusion
2.2 MARXIST ANTHROPOLOGY
2.2.1 Introduction
2.2.2 Conclusion
2.0 OBJECTIVES
To examine Marxist influence on anthropological theory
To apply anthropological approach to study factors influencing social
structure
2.1 CULTURAL MATERIALISM
2.1.1 INTRODUCTION
Marvin Harris (1927 -2001), a cultural anthropologist, is
responsible for the most systematic stateme nt of cultural materialist
principles. Cultural materialism is a systems theory of society that
attempts to account for their origin, maintenance and change. Harris
expanded upon the cultural ecology and called his approach “cultural
materialism”. Cultural materialism is one of the major anthropological
perspectives for analyzing human societies. It incorporates ideas from
Marxism, cultural evolution and cultural ecology.
Materialism contends that the physical world impacts and sets
constraints on human behavior. The materialists believe that human
behavior is part of nature and therefore, it can be understood by using the
methods of natural science. Materialists do not necessarily assume that
material reality is more important than mental reality. How ever, when
they explain human societies, materialists give priority to the materialmunotes.in

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13world over the world of the mind. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels have
been in the forefront of the doctrine of materialism. They present an
evolutionary model of societies based on the materialist perspective. They
argued that societies go through several stages, from tribalism to
feudalism to capitalism to communism. This work attracted limited
attention from anthropology in the early 20thcentury. However, since the
later 1920s, anthropologists have increasingly come to depend on
materialist explanations to analyze developments in society and
understand some inherent problems of capitalist societies.
2.1.2 CULTURAL MATERIALISM
Cultural materialism contends that huma n communities are
interconnected with nature through work, and work is structured through
social organization. In all human societies, this is the basis of the industry.
Thus, the task of social science is to understand the deeper underlying
connections between specific social actions and global trends. Within this,
social structure is established by the industry, commerce, production,
exchange and distribution. This, in turn, gives birth to the ideological
possibilities of any culture. The interaction between technology and social
organization in a particular environment provides the basis for the social -
economic classes. The needs of every society and individual must be met
and this creates its own ideological support. For example, with the
developme nt of the capitalist society, science develops to meet the needs
of its economic requirements. Thus, science and modern industrial
capitali sm are closely interconnected. This is supported by the fact that the
principal ideas of any class society are that o f the ruling class. The values
and belief systems of a society are defined by the class that controls t he
material forces of society. The dominant ideology reflects the dominant
mate rial relations of the society. In that sense, cultural ecology, cultural
materialism shares the same threads with Marxism.
2.1.3 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
Cultural materialism is based on two key assumptions about
societies. First, the various parts of society change, othe r parts must also
change. This means that an institution, such as the family cannot be looked
at in isolation from religious, economic or political institutions of a
society.When one part changes ,it has an effect on other parts of the
system. It views so ciety as a system of interrelated part and this is at the
core of most sociological theories. Other theories can be differentiated in
terms of the organizing principles. The second assumption of cultural
materialism is that the environment is regarded as the foundation of the
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14Check your progress :
1. Can you explain the meaning of cultural materialism ?
2.1.4 LEVELS OF SOCIAL SYSTEMS
Cultural materialists identify three l evels of social systems that
constitute a universal pattern: 1) Infrastructure, 2) Structure, and 3)
Superstructure. Infrastructure is the foundation for all other levels and
includes how basic needs are met and how it interacts with the local
environment . Structure refers to a society’s economic, social, and political
organization. Superstructure ,on the other hand, refers to ideology and
symbolism. Cultural materialists like Marvin Harris contend that the
infrastructure is the most critical aspect as i t is here that the interaction
between culture and environment occurs. All three levels are interrelated
and interdependent so that changes in the infrastructure results in changes
in the structure and superstructure. These changes, in fact, might not be
immediate. This may appear to be environmental determinism; cultural
materialists do not disclaim that change in the structure and superstructure
cannot occur without first change in the infrastructure. However, they do
claim that if change in those str uctures is not compatible with the existing
infrastructure ,the change is not likely to become set within the culture.
2.1.5 BASE STRUCTURE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE
There exists a complex relationship between the material base of
technology, the environm ent, population pressure, and the ideological
superstructure. All the above should be considered as important factors
while studying social change. The social consciousness, while being the
product of real material relations of society, in turn has an im pact on those
social relations. This feedback loop is of central importance while
understanding the historical dynamics of society. Social consciousness
becomes the collective reflection of social relations. Social consciousness
brings awareness among p eople and pushes them to act upon nature and
society. Forms of social consciousness reflect a specific social existence.
However, this social whole is not a static or passive relationship. Each
community has a distinct ideological superstructure which u ndergoes
changes as the economic relations of that society change. All parts of the
society share an interactive relationship. Of all the interactive parts,
economics is the most important. Simply put, all the interactive parts such
as: religious express ions, commonly held feelings, ways of thinking,
worldview and different forms of property relations are established frommunotes.in

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15economics. Thus, the social conditions of existence are reflected through
the ideology of a society.
Members of a community are abl e to take from nature what they
need to survive. This is possible through the means of production, which
includes technology, environment (also referred to as Infrastructure), and
work relationships (referred to as structure). The interaction between the
structure and infrastructure, in turn, creates what is possible for the various
parts of the superstructure. The superstructure includes not only the
ideology but also the social psychology of a people. The infrastructure
shapes and limits the structure and superstructure. The infrastructure also
sets the limits of what is possible for both the structure and superstructure.
The interaction between social organization (structure) and the use
of technology within an environment (infrastructure) can be used to
understand many particulars about the total culture. This gives us more
information about the evolution from band -level society to tribal -level
society, tribal to chiefdom, and chiefdom to state -level society.
Additionally, it gives us informatio n about the changes in the organization
of labour, including the growing division of labour and, ultimately,
changes in the technology used by a people. With changes in the
organization of labour, there are corresponding changes in the relationship
to pro perty. As technology and social organization become more complex,
societies move through various stages to a more restrictive control over
property. Over a period of time, with a state society, there develop
restrictions on access to property, based upon m embership in economic
classes.
All the three approaches -Marxism, cultural ecology, and cultural
materialism agree that a social system is a dynamic interaction between
people, as well as dynamic interaction between people and nature. The
foundation of the society is production for human subsistence. In
producing what people need to live, people also produce their
corresponding set of ideas. People create their own ideologies. The
productive forces act upon people continually changing them, but at the
same time people are always changing their relationships associated with
these productive forces. In other words, people continuously change
nature and thus change themselves in the process.
2.1.6 CONCLUSION
In spite of the criticism, it needs to be re cognized that Harris left a
significant legacy of creating an anthropological theory and disseminating
to his students and the public. His work is widely recognized and cited by
both proponents and cr itics of cultural materialism. Harris’
anthropological textbook ‘Culture, People and Nature’ is a widely read
text that proves the quality of his work.munotes.in

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162.2 MARXIST ANTHROPOLOGY
2.2.1 INTRODUCTION
This section briefly deals with the theory of Marxism followed by
an insigh t into the growth and development of Marxist Anthropology.
Essentially Marxism is an economic interpretation of history based
primarily on the works of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels. Marxist
thought is considered to be revolutionary in nature as the cen tral argument
is to understand capitalism in order to overthrow it. Marx’s work on
“Capital” (1867) and “The Communist Manifesto” (1848) discusses in
length the rationale for the development of capitalism and the need to
move towards communism. Taking a materialist and historical approach,
Marx analyses four central points. These are as follows: 1) the physical
reality of people, 2) the organization of social relations, 3) the value of the
historical context of development, and 4) the human nature of co ntinuous
praxis.
The anthropological influence on the Marxist theory was first
noticed in the work of Engels. Lewis Henry Morgan had taken a
materialist perspective to understand evolution of societies. This led Marx
to make extensive notes on “Ancient Society” (1877), which Engels later
expanded into “The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State:
In Light of the Investigations of Lewis H. Morgan” (1884). Both Marx
and Engels were influenced by L.H. Morgan and his model of social
evolution based on material concerns. Morgan observed that societies
moved from more primitive to more civilized stages of development. The
Marxist version of the same was that societies transitioned from primitive
communism, through ancient slave trade, feudalism and capitalism to
communism. These stages are understood in terms of the modes of
production which are dominant in each stage. Marx did not see these
stages as progressive steps that every culture must progress through, but as
being the development of h istorically contingent communities and their
modes of production.
The modes of production form the base or infrastructure of a
society. This base determines the superstructure (government, laws,
courts, legal and political apparatus) and both determine the ideology
(including philosophies, religions and the ideals prevailing in a society at
any one time). Class struggle is the biggest factor of social change. It is
inevitable that change will occur and that the classes will reorganize and
realign thems elves. However ,the ruling classes will use any means at
their disposal to maintain the status quo. They have a vested interest in
maintaining their power and will resist change at any cost. A key tool of
the ruling classes is the elaboration of mystifi cation in ideology, which
results in the false consciousness of the lower class. Social evolution can
be slowed, but not stopped.
“Marxist Anthropology is typically understood as a phase within
the history of Euro -American anthropology. In the 1960s, t he disciplinemunotes.in

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17of anthropology was dominated by functionalist and structural -
functionalist approaches. Sherry Ortner’s (1984) essay on “Theory in
Anthropology since the Sixties” describes how Marxism emerged as a
disruptive theoretical force creating a den t in the popularity of
functionalism and structuralism perspectives.
Marxist anthropology is an anthropological theory used to study
different cultures around the world. The approach focuses on the ways
material factors cause social transformation and social change. This
comprises the study of the forces of production and their relationship to
social organization. The basic premise is that economic relationships are
based on power, leading ultimately to class struggle. This approach
studies social cl ass, class conflict, economics, production and distribution,
and their relationship to social transformation within a community. The
theories of Marx and Engels were published in the 19thcentury, yet the
anthropological insights into peasant life were co nducted only after the
Second World War. Moore (2009) in his work on “Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists” argues that
peasants are important to Marxist Anthropologists because they are the
backbone of the agraria n economy and community. To cite an example,
the study of peasants in Puerto Rico by anthropologist Eric Wolf, where
he found there are three significant modes of production. One mode of
production is the capitalist mode. Wolf identified three features of the
capitalist mode of production: 1) that capitalists control the means of
production, 2) that labourers must therefore sell labour to capitalists, and
3) this results in a spiral of capital accumulation, exploitation of labour,
and reorganization of production. As a result, society is divided into
classes. This aspect is very interesting to Marxist anthropologists because
it helps in understanding how social classes were created, and how mode
of production was related to social organization. The imp ortant highlight
of Marxist anthropology is that it studies culture from a historical
perspective, and accepts that culture and societies change over time.
Check your progress
1. What is Marxist Anthropology ?
2.2.2 CONCLUSION
The most significant critique of Marxist Anthropology is that it
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18characteristics. Marxism is an anthropological approach which is based
on the premise that “human social life is a res ponse to the practical
problems of earthly existence.” Other approaches, such as Cultural
Ecology, argue that economy is not the only factor that determines cultural
phenomena because there are so many other factors that determine cultural
relevance.
Another point of criticism is that conventionally the Marxist
approach focuses solely on the premise that all cultural characteristics are
based on economic factors. There is also the concern that this approach
tends to be a historical which means that it ca nnot be applied to explain
how something has come to be as it is today. Other scholars have rejected
the central idea of Marxist theory of class struggle. They argue that
functionalists would probably maintain that class stratification exists for a
reaso n and all the classes perform functions to maintain the social order.
2.3 SUMMARY
Cultural materialism is a systems theory of society that attempts to
account for their origin, maintenance and change.
Cultural materialists identify three levels of social systems that
constitute a universal pattern: 1) Infrastructure, 2) Structure, and 3)
Superstructure.
There exists a complex relationship between the material base of
technology, the environment, popu lation pressure, and the ideological
superstructure.
Marxist anthropology is an anthropological theory used to study
different cultures around the world.
Both Marx and Engels were influenced by L.H. Morgan and his
model of social evolution based on mat erial concerns.
The modes of production form the base or infrastructure of a
society. This base determines the superstructure.
The most significant critique of Marxist Anthropology is that it
places too much emphasis on economy and status to assume one’ s cultural
characteristics.
2.4 QUESTIONS
1.Discuss the basic assumptions of the cultural materialism approach.
2.Examine how Marxist principles are used to study culture change.
3.Evaluate the contribution of Marvin Harris to the understanding of
cultural m aterialism.
4.Examine Marxist influence on anthropological theory.munotes.in

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192.5 REFERENCES
Marxist Approaches in Anthropology:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2949362
https://www.ynufe.edu.cn/pub/shyjjxwyjzx/docs/20140512093722308
008.pdf
https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/cultural -materialism/
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.an.04.100175
.002013
https://www.sciencedirect .com/topics/social -sciences/cultural -
materialism

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203
SYMBOLIC INTERPRETATIVE
APPROACH :VICTOR TURNER
Unit Structure:
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology
3.2 Origin of Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology
3.3 Schools of thought within Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology
3.4 Symbolic Anthropology
3.5 Nature of Symbolic anthropology
3.6Victor Turner's views on Symbolic Anthropology
3.7 A Case Study in Symbolic Anthropology
3.8 Interpretive Approach
3.9 Clifford Geertz
3.10 Criticism on Geertz's Interpretive Approach
3.11 Summary
3.12 Questions
3.13 References
3.0 OBJECTIVES:
To exami ne the nature and origin of symbolic and interpretative
Anthropology
To comprehend the significance of Symbolic and Interpretative
Anthropology
To identify various schools of thoughts within these approaches
To assess the contribution of Turner and Geertz to these approaches.
3.1 SYMBOLIC AND INTERPRETIVE
ANTHROPOLOGY
The theoretical school of Symbolic and Interpretive
Anthropology assumes that culture does not exist beyond individuals.
Rather, culture lies in individuals’ interpretations of events and things
around them. With a reference to socially established signs and symbols,
people shape the patterns of their behaviors and give meanings to their
experiences. Therefore, the goal of Symbolic and Interpretive
Anthropolog y is to analyze how people give meanings to their reality andmunotes.in

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21how this reality is expressed by their cultural symbols. The major
accomplishment of symbolic anthropology has been to turn anthropology
towards issues of culture and interpretation rather than grand theories.
3.2ORIGIN OF SYMBOLIC AND INTERPRETIVE
ANTHROPOLOGY:
Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology emerged in the 1960s
when Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, andDavid Schneider were at the
University of Chicago and is still influential today. S ymbolic and
Interpretive Anthropology does not follow the model of physical sciences,
which focus on empirical material phenomena, but is literary -based. This
does not mean that Symbolic and Interpretive anthropologists do not
conduct fieldwork, but instea d refers to the practice of drawing on non -
anthropological literature as a primary source of data. The Symbolic and
Interpretive Anthropologists view culture as a mental phenomenon and
reject the idea that culture can be modeled like mathematics or logic.
When they study symbolic action in cultures, they use a variety of
analytical tools from psychology, history, and literature. This method has
been criticized for a lack of objectiv ity. In other words, this method seems
to allow analysts to see meaning wher ever and however they wish. In spite
of this criticism, Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology has forced
anthropologists to become aware of cultural texts they interpret and of
ethnographic texts they create. In order to work as intercultural translators,
anthropologists need to be aware of their own cultural biases as well as
other cultures they research.
3.3 SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT WITHIN SYMBOLIC AND
INTERPRETIVE ANTHROPOLOGY
There are two schools of thought within Symbolic and Interpretive
Anthropology. The British school was interested in how societies
maintained cohesion and this is illustrated by the work of Victor Turner
and Mary Douglas .The American school is exemplified by Clifford
Geertz and Sherry Ortner and was focused on “how ideas shaped
individuals’ subjectivities and actions” (Johnson 2013: 842). An important
contribution of Symbolic and Interpretive anthropologists, specifically
Clifford Geertz, is “thick description,” which encourages rich descripti ons
and explanations of behaviors with an end goal of understanding their
cultural significance. Geertz borrowed this concept from Gilbert Ryle, an
Oxford philosopher. The classic example of thick description is the
difference between a wink and a blink. A blink is an involuntary twitch
(thin description) while a wink is a conspiratorial signal to another person
(thick description). The physical movements are identical, but the meaning
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223.4 SYMBOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Edward Tylor, the nineteenth century pioneer in anthropology
referred to the power of using words as signs to express thoughts with
which their sound does not directly connect them. He also regarded
language or symbolic communication to be the highest grade of human
faculty, the pres ence of which binds together all races of mankind in
substantial mental unity.
Symbols objects events, speech sounds or written forms to which
humans attribute meaning. The primary form of symbolizing by human
beings is through language, but humans also c ommunicate by using signs
and symbols in art, dance, music, architecture, facial expressions, gestures,
body postures, clothing, ritual, religion kinship, nationality, space
arrangements and material possessions, among many other things.
Human beings can attribute meaning, to any event, action, or
object which can evoke thought, idea, and emotion. The perception of the
use of symbols as a significant human feature has bec ome an important
object of study in anthropology. Leslie White (1940), in an article o n
humans as a symbolizing species, pointed to the importance of context in
the meaning of symbols. Ernest Cassirer argues that without a complex of
symbols, relational thought would be impossible. Humans have the
capacity to isolate relations and consider them in their abstract meaning .
Geometry, for example, conceptually deals with universal spatial
relationships for which expression there is a symbolic language and a form
of representation. Yet, this abstract system can be applied to buildin g
problems. Cassirer expresses the symbolic nature of human experience as
follows.
"No longer in a merely physical universe ,man lives in a symbolic
universe. Language, myth, art, and religion are parts of this universe. They
are the varied threads which weave the symbolic net, the tangled web of
human experience. Al human progress in thought and experience refines
upon and strengthens this n et." As anthropologists began to develop a
perspective of culture as a system of symbols, meanings and values,
vario us sub -disciplines of anthropology with this orientation came into
being. Two of these w ere semantic anthropology (the study of signs) and
symbolic anthropology.
It is worth recalling that anthropologists of very different
theoretical stripes agree that s ymbols mark the threshold of culture. For
example, an arch -materialist like Leslie White writes, “The symbol is the
universe of humanity” (1949:22). Yet relatively few anthropologists were
concerned with how symbols mean. Sapir, for example, distinguished
between primary symbols, which directly mimic an object —the picture of
ad o gt h a tm e a n s“ d o g ” —and secondary symbols, in which “a connection
is no longer directly traceable between words, or combinations of words,munotes.in

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23and what they refer to,” as in the sentenc e, “The red, white, and blue
stands for freedom” (1929:211).
Check your progress
1. Who was Edward Taylor ?
3.5 NATURE OF SYMBOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Symbolic anthropology views human beings as the carriers and
products, as subjects and objects, of a system of signs and symbols which
serve as a means of communication to import knowledge and messages.
These provide the foundation for action and behaviour, as well as ideas
and values. The symbolic theory of culture is a model of human beings as
as y m b olizing species, as compared with a materialist theory of culture
based on humans as primarily a producing species.
The symbolic definition of culture is part of a trend which sees
culture as the science of meanings. Symbolic anthropologists study the
system of codes and messages received by human beings through their
interaction with other human beings and with the natural world. The entire
universe is perfused with signs, says Charles Peirce, who laid the
foundations for the discipline of semiotics. The fact that all creatures
communicate with some form of sign and symbol, symbolic anthropology
is engaged in research which is universal in scope.
Most of the knowledge, thoughts, feelings and perceptions of
human beings is wrapped in language, a symbol sys tem.Words convey
meanings or name and classily objects and thoughts. As such, they are
conceptual perceptions of the word couched in symbols. Word symbols,
languages are appropriate to a society at a particular time and place. The
word "planet' meant some thing different in the first century than it does in
the twentieth. Language and its development provide the foundation for
the symbolic view of culture. Linguistics, the study of language, has given
the symbolic anthropologists the techniques with which t ou n r a v e lt h e
code which represent the complex of motives, experiences, and knowledge
which shape and express beliefs and actions. Thus, linguistics is the
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24The philosophical ideas of Immanuel Kant provide an important
base to the orientation of symbolic and semiotic anthropologists, as does
the structuralism of Levi -Strauss. Kant developed a general theory of
symbolic forms. He argued that there were basic structures of thinking
which were independent of the content of thought. Kant claimed that
humans had no direct insight into the real world. It was only certain 'pure
intellectual concepts, he believed, like those of possibility, existence,
necessity, substance, cause, time and place, that enable humans to h ave the
descriptive tools to gain knowledge about the external world. As Kant put
it, in knowing, it is not the mind that conforms to things, but things that
conform to the mind (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1985, Vol. 22:493 -494).
Human Knowledge is wrapped in language, a symbol system.
Words convey knowledge, and knowing is couched in words. Words,
which become signs when written, are appropriate to particular societies at
particular times and places. Symbolic systems represent knowledge
developed by a commu nity of persons with a historic tradition and a
particular system of communication. Symbolic analysis can proceed on an
individual or a societal level.
The outside world and the subjective view of it are intertwined.
Subject and object become one in the c ognitive and symbolic view.
Events, objects, and experiences are embedded in a set of meanings,
enmeshed in a system of cultural symbols. Reality exists out there, but not
as pure experience or as pure events. In the symbolic perspective culture is
the mea ningful aspect of concrete or objective reality and the coming -to-
be, the appropriation to consciousness, of objective reality.
According to Victor Turner, Symbolic anthropologists are
classified into two groups -
1.The abstract syst ems group which includes linguists, systems groups
which includes linguists, structuralists and cognitive anthropologists;
(This group concentrates on formal analysis and is less concerned with
content than with methods and logics),and
2.The symbols and soc ial dynamics group, which includes semiotics and
symbolic anthropologists, sociolinguists, folklorist and literary critics
(This group tries to combine the formal analysis with content and
perception and meaning with social action).
3.6 VICTOR TURNER'S VIEWS ON SYMBOLIC
ANTHROPOLOGY
Turner points out that signs are deliberate constructs for precise
communicative purposes and, as such, play an important role in social
action, particularly in technical, political and economic action. In
technology, there is the cad/cam computer system t od r i v em a c h i n e s .I n
politics, there are posters and pictures of leaders used to foster nationalmunotes.in

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25support, for leaders and their programmes. In economics, there are indexes
which signal the growth or decline of the economy and can stimulate or
put a brake o n actions in the market place.
Wherever symbol systems are guides to action, they operate within a
social context. This gives a symbol or a sign its specific meaning, which
may vary from one social context to another. The word 'father' has one
meaning within a kinship structure, and a different one within the context
of the catholic religious structure. Society is the result of the intersecting
actions and behaviours of persons occupying different boundaries and
social contexts. Signs and symbols are c ues which set humans in motion.
In the symbolic view, the combinations of signs, symbols and context give
meaning and interpretation to human actions and behaviour.
Turner’s contribution —and an example of his sophisticated
common sense —was to consider sym bols within specific fields of social
action. In analyzing Ndembu ritual, Turner wrote,
I found I could not analyze ritual symbols without studying them in
a time series in relation to other “events,” for symbols are
essentially involved in social processe s. I came to see
performances of ritual as distinct phases in social processes
whereby groups become adjusted to internal changes and adapted
to their external environment. From this standpoint the ritual
symbol becomes a factor in social action, a positiv e force in an
activity field. The symbol becomes associated with human
interests, purposes, ends, and means, whether these are explicitly
formulated or have to be inferred from the observed behavior. The
structure and properties of a symbol become those of a dynamic
entity, at least within its appropriate context of action. (1967:20)
Thus, the symbol of the American flag takes on different meanings
if it is flapping on a flag post in a schoolyard, hanging in the back of a
Chevrolet van, or draped across t he casket of a slain soldier. The image is
the same, but the meanings associated with it are different in kind and
intensity.
Turner considers cultural symbols, including ritual symbols, “as
originating in and sustaining processes involving temporal cha nges in
social relations, and not as timeless entities” (1974:55). Symbols have
some basic properties in common. They are powerful condensations of
meaning: “Many things and actions are represented in a single formation”
(Turner 1967:28). For example, Turn er analyzes the meanings associated
with the chishing’a, a Ndembu hunting shrine consisting of only a forked
stick placed in the ground, a piece of earth from a termite hill trimmed into
a rectangle and placed at the base of the branch, and a braid of gras s. The
associated meanings include social relationships between hunters and
nonhunters, the hunter’s immediate family and matrikin, toughness of
mind and body, piety toward the hunter’s ancestors, fertility, skill in the
use of weapons, and fairness in the distribution of meat —some fifteenmunotes.in

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26different meanings directly associated with this shrine. “This is but a
single example of the mighty synthesizing and focusing capacity of ritual
symbolism,” Turner observes; “It might almost be said that the greater the
symbol, the simpler its form” (1967:298). A moment’s reflection on the
evocative nature of the Christian cross —simply two perpendicular pieces
of wood of unequal length —suggests the truth of Turner’s observation.
Therefore, symbols are “‘multivocal,’ susc eptible of many meanings”
(Turner 1974:55), though their meanings tend to cluster around two
extremes of a continuum; at one end, there is often a cluster of meanings
around physiological and natural phenomena, and at the other, another
cluster of meanings about social relationships. For example, the red in the
American flag is sometimes explained as representing the blood of those
who have died in defense of freedom, the stripes as the original thirteen
colonies, and the entire symbol as evoking values of patriotism and
respect.
But the important point is that symbols, condensed and multivocal,
may speak to different people in different ways; the construction and
reconstruction of meaning occurs with specific, dynamic contexts of social
process. This has profound theoretical implications. If, as so many
anthropologists have argued, symbols are the key to cultural life, and if, as
Turner suggests, symbols are dynamic social creations —with the potential
for contradictory, but coexisting, interpretations —then how can a cultural
trait or a social structure be abstracted from its dynamic context? Why
should one believe that cultural patterns serve to create social stability
(Radcliffe -Brown) or meet discernible human needs (Malinowski) when
the very nature of cu ltural life is fluid, contradictory, and dynamic as
opposed to stable, congruent, and static?
Turner’s insights into symbols touch a central nerve in twentieth -
century anthropological thought. Culture exists as experience; it only
occurs insofar as it is practiced. This leads to an anthropology of
performance and a concern with praxis (literally, “action” or “practice,” as
in the performance of an art or skill), rather than an anthropology of social
structure.
Check your progress
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273.7 A CASE STUDY IN SYMBOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Mary Douglas, Professor of anthropology at University college,
London writes on Social and Religious Symbolism of The Lele. Like
many other primitive peoples, theLele have no systematic theology, nor
even any hall -systemati zed body of doctrines through which their religion
can be studied. There exists a bewildering variety of prohibitions, falling
on certain people all the time. However, we need to appreciate their idea
of propriety, their ideals of womanhood and manhood, and of personal
cleanliness in order to interpret their rites.
The Lele grow maize, hunt, weave raffia and draw palm wine. Of
all their activities, hunting is the highest in their own esteem. It i sn o t
surprising that the richest vein of symbolism is derived from reflections on
the animal world, on its relation to the human sphere, and on the relations
between the different breeds of birds and beasts. They are hunters and yet
they feel certain symp athy with other living inhabitants of their land.
The idea of the basic distinction, the opposition between mankind
and animal kind, is expressed by the Lele, by relating it to one dominant
value, the virtue of buhonyi, which means shame, shyness or modes ty.
The most shameless animal according to them is the dog who shares his
master's domestic life but never acquires the human virtue of buhonyi.
Buhonyi is the sense of propriety. It is nothing less than the
reaction of the nicely cultivated person to any improper behaviour. It
provides the standard for all social relations. Infants are not expected to
feel it, but the informal training of childhood is directed to awakening a
lively sense of buhonyi. If a whole moral code can be summed up in one
word, such as honour, or charity, for the Lele it would be "buhonyi.
Symbolic anthropologists can thus understand and interpret the
intricacies of people's behaviour only by sharing their language or symbol
system, which convey specific meanings and influence the p rocess of
social interaction and interpersonal relations.
3.8 INTERPRETIVE APPROACH
Humanistic or interpretive anthropology seeks to redirect cultural
anthropology from a strategy of finding causal explanations for human
behaviour to one that seeks the i nterpretations and meaning in human
action. It is a strategy which seeks the humanities rather than science as
the model for anthropology. It seeks analogies based on theatre, play,
drama and literature rather than those based on crafts mechanics and
organ ic structures.
Humanistic anthropology is mentalist in its orientation, seeing
culture as a system of ideas, values and meanings. Interpretive ormunotes.in

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28humanistic anthropology eschews the search for causal explanation in
favour of a hermeneutic approach which s eeks meanings through
interpretations of behaviours or texts.
Interpretive anthropology does not look at how people behave as
much as the meanings which persons living in the society give to their
actions and behavior. These meanings are conveyed through the use of
symbols which stand for values, codes and rules. This viewpoint does not
deny the material world but believes that the material and social world of
humans can be best understood by listening to the way persons living in
the society explain and u nderstand their institutions and custom s.T h ej o b
of the anthropologists is to interpret the interpretations of the "Natives".
3.9 CLIFFORD GEERTZ
Geertz is the theoretical leader if not the founder, of the approach
to anthropology called Interpretive. He asserts that anthropology cannot
aspire to be a science in the way that the physical sciences are, with laws
and generalizations based on empirical and verifiable data. G eertz believes
that anthropology must be based on concrete reality, but, from this reality,
one derives meanings rather than predictions based on empirical data. Use
of models, Geertz argues ,strips social analysis of its living qualities for
models tend to be too abstract. Instead, anthropology should base itself on
the humanistic disci plines, utilizing description, poetics, literature, myths,
symbols and features of human beings which differentiates them from
other species .Geertz is not the first to develop the idea that the human
sciences are different from the natural sciences. Germa n philosophers, like
Rickert and Dilthey (Wilk 1984: 176) believed the study of human
phenomena should be historical and ideographic, as contrasted with the
study of human phenomena which is abstract and generalizing.
Ideographic studies are particular and unique. They are based on the case
study and as such, can capture the totality of life within a society in its
complexity and variation. Ruth Benedict (1934) stressed the ideographic
study, as did her mentor, Franz Boas. Benedict believed there was a
discontinuity, in kind, between two whole cultures which as often
overlooked in the process of cross -cultural comparison and generalization.
German philosophers believed that since human beings had the
mental capacity for language and learned knowledge, the s tudy of human
society required methods, techniques and orientations different from the
study of other natural phenomena. Geertz and other humanistic
anthropologists shared this view.
Miles Richardson makes the case for interpretive anthropology asa
scien ce of “humanity”. He believes interpretive anthropology combines
the concept of culture as symbol with the concept of culture as social
interaction. He states that the search for underlying causes for human
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29Geertz sees the cultural context, not as a set of general
propositions, but webs of significance, which humans spin and in which
they operate as they go about their daily activities. In his view, to reduce
the world to a cause -and-effect perspective is to mis s the human mode of
being. This is similar to Sartre's existentialist approach which, while
edging the materialist basis for existence, insists on the importance of
humans' everyday activities in any social analysis.
Geertz's view of the importance o f the single case is not a radical
break with the past. Boas, Malinowski and Radcliffe -Brown used the
study of a single culture in depth to derive insights about the functioning
of human societies. Again Geertz's belief that meaning in a society should
bederived from the "native" point of view is not a radical departure from
anthropological tradition. The argument against ethnocentrism, and the
insistence on the integrity of all cultures is part of the perspective that tries
to see other cultures from the native viewpoint. This was a strong element
in Boasian anthropology.
Geertz's orientation to seek meanings based on the native view is
relativistic. It is designed to make the anthropologists sensitive to views
other than his or her own. Geertz seeks is s elf-knowledge, self -perception,
self-understanding that sorts out who the observer is and who the people
are that he is trying to understand. In his book "Local Knowledge, Geertz's
interest in the individual case, seeks knowledge by starting from the base
of native knowledge and combining it with that of the observer.
Geertz's perspective in anthropology can be called humanistic as
well as interpretive, in the sense that he aims for expositions which retain
the individuality and complexity of human behavio ur usually found in
literature and art. He argues that a work of fiction, a play, a painting, or a
poem captures and provides insights into the human condition often
missed by abstract theorizing. He likes his type of anthropology to a sort
of cultural her meneutics, a semantics of action.
3.10 CRITICISM ON GEERTZ'S INTERPRETIVE
APPROACH
Most anthropologists agree with the position that there is room in
anthropolog yfor both theorizing and concrete interpretation of a
particular. Disagreement comes only w hen Geertz makes a claim for the
superiority of his approach. He calls h isorientation more human!
Shankman counter this claim saying that the test of superiority should be
based on whether it provides a better understanding of a particular
phenomenon.
There are two assumptions in Geertz's interpretive anthropology
which could be subject to challenge. One is that a scientific approach is
necessary a dehumanizing one. The second is that people reveal themunotes.in

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30essence of their culture through symbolic forms. One could argue that
scientific theory and data have been employed ‘against’ the dehumanizing
phenomena of fascism, sex determination, ethnocentrism andsuperstition.
One could also argue that people are unaware of the symbolic significance
of their actions, i deas and values. Therefore, a theory of culture benefits
from the interpretive approach using the data of natives, as well as the
scientific approach using the models and categories of social scientific
observers.
Geertz's work has stressed that culture a nd social organi zation do
not exist apart from individuals but rather in and through individuals ’
interpretations of events and objects around them. He has thereby asserted
the idea that the social order is both subjective and objective, a matter of
indivi dual values and motivations, yet bound up in public symbols and
communication.
It is interesting to compare Geertz's ideas with that of Heidegger
(1927), truth according to whom is sought through human engagement
with the world. For Heidegger, hermeneutic s, or interpretive
understanding is not a way of knowing the world, it i sthe way we are. It is
the basic form of human existence. Interpretation is not a tool it is the
essence of being human. He believes that there is no way for the
subject/observer to s eparate himself or herself from the object/observed. In
this view, the search for knowledge is conditioned by culture, context, and
history.
Gadamer (1975) insisted that consciousness is not historically
neutral, as thought by Descartes. Rather, it is his torically built up and is
shaped by ways of seeing by attitudes, and concepts embedded in our
language and in our cultural norms and styles. Gadamer does not believe
in the possibility of the social sciences carrying humans beyond their
culturally shaped c ontext to some standpoint from which they can see the
things in themselves. Geertz's view of anthropology shares these
perspectives of Heidegger and Gadamer.
3.11SUMMARY
To summarize, 'symbolic anthropology' is based on the notion that
members of a society share a system of symbols and meanings called
'culture ’. The system represents the reality in which people live. Symbolic
anthropologists stress system, whether it is lo osely or tightly integrated,
since members of a society must articulate and share to some degree. If
communication is the 'sine quo non' of human society, symboli ze(Leslie
White's term), signing and conveying meaning on thoughts and actions, is
what defin es a culture. Symbolic anthropology is dedicated to studying
and researching the process by which people give 'meaning to their world
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31To summarize interpretive and humanistic anthropology o f Geertz,
we may say the problem of meaning is part of the problems of
understanding in the social sciences. Positivism, a philosophic approach to
understanding the world that da from the nineteenth century, is an
approach to knowledge based on sense perce ption and logic. The
traditional anthropological view is that, it one is to understand the cu ltures
of other people, one must take on the roles of others. Malinowski believed
at only by actually doing what the native did could one understand what it
meant to him. Geertz argues for a "native point of view as one road to
anthropological understanding. He went beyond this to add an interpretive
approach allied to hermeneutics. In this approach, interpretations are
assembled, one set of perceptions compared wit h one another. The
perception and knowledge of the observer are welded to those of the
native. The medium for the comparison is a system of symbols which give
meaning to individual and social life.
With the compilation of interpretations of texts, actions ,s y m b o l s ,
social forms and events, understanding slowly emerges. It is then
presented in the form of thick description, which leads to an understanding
of the meaning of one's own, as well as other s’cultures. This briefly, is the
interpretive and humanis tic anthropology of Clifford Geertz. It takes the
humanities as its model. It is a new trend in anthropology. It is based, in
part, on new trends in scientific methodologies in the human sciences.
These methodologies and perspectives have modified the trad itional,
empirical epistemologies in favour of interpretive ones.
Yet the significance of Geertz's interpretive approach is amply
borne out by what Edward Tylor, the nineteenth century pioneer in
anthropology wrote, "The power of using words as signs to e xpress
thoughts with which their sound does not directly connect them, in fact as
arbitrary symbols, is the highest grade of the special human faculty in
language, the presence of which binds together all races of mankind in
substantial mental unity. The p erception of the use of symbols as a
significant human feature has become an important object of study in
anthropology. Susanne Langer sees it as a changing trend in modem
human intellectual activity.
3.12 QUESTIONS
Briefly evaluate the origin of symboli c and interpretative anthropology
and various schools of thoughts within.
Examine the nature of Symbolic Anthropology, with particular
reference to Victor Turner's views on it.
Discuss in detail the tents of Interpretative Anthropology with
reference to Cl ifford Geertz.munotes.in

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323.13 REFERENCES:
Brown, Curtis. “Functionalism.” In International Encyclopedia of the
Social Sciences, Vol. 3, edited by William A. Darity, Jr., 231 -233.
Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.
Douglas, Mary. 1970. Natural Symbols: Explor ations in Cosmology.
New York: Pantheon.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973a. The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the
Concept of Man. In The Interpretation of Cultures. Pp. 33 -54. New
York: Basic Books, Inc.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973b The Cerebral Savage: On the Work of Claude
Levi-Strauss. In The Interpretation of Cultures. Pp. 345 -359. New
York: Basic Books, Inc.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973c The Interpretation of Cultures. New
York: Basic Books, Inc.
Geertz, Cliffor d. 1973d Thick Description: Toward an
Interpretive Theory of Culture. InThe Interpretation of Cultures. Pp.
3-30. New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973e Religion as a Cultural System. In
TheInterpretation of Cultures. Pp. 87 -125. New York: B asic Books,
Inc.
Geertz, Clifford. 1973f Notes on the Balinese Cockfight. In
TheInterpretation of Cultures. Pp. 412 -453. New York: Basic Books,
Inc.
Harris, Marvin and Orna Johnson. 2007. Cultural Anthropology, 7th
edition. Boston: Pearson.
Harrison, Anth ony Kwame.2013. “Thick Description.” In Theory in
Social and Cultural Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, edited by
R. Jon McGee and Richard L. Warms, 860 -861. Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE .
Johnson, Michelle C. 2013 “Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology.”
In Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology: An Encyclopedia,
Vol. 2, edited by R. Jon McGee and Richard L. Warms, 841 -846.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Lukas, Scott A. “Postmodernism”. 2013. In Theory in Social and
Cultural Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, V ol. 2, edited by R. Jon
McGee and Richard L. Warms, 639 -645. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Margolis, Maxine L. 2013.“Cultural Materialism.” In Theory in Social
and Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 1, edited by R. Jon McGee and
Richard L. Warms, 147 -149. Thousand Oak s, CA: SAGE.
Sapir, Edward 1929 The Status of Linguistics as a Science. Language
5(4):207 –214.munotes.in

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33Turner, Victor.1967 The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu
Ritual. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Turner, Victor.1969 The Ritual Process Structure and Anti structure.
Chicago:Aldine.
Turner, Victor.1974 Symbolic Action in Human Society, Ithaca
ComellU'sity Press.
Turner, Victor.1974 Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action
in Human Society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Turner, Victor.1980.Social D ramas and Stories about Them. Critical
Inquiry 7:141 -168.
https://emporiaslim.libguides.com/c.p hp?g=891108&p=6407585#:~:te
xt=To%20aid%20anthropologists%20in%20the,patterns%20of%20cul
tural%20and%20social
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/ch apter/symb
olic-and-interpretive -anthropology/

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344
THICK DESCRIPTION, LIMINALITY AND
COMMUNITAS
Unit Structure:
4.0 Objectives
4.1 Concepts
4.2 Introduction
4.3Thick Description
4.4 Liminality
4.5 Social Fields and Arenas
4.6 Communitas
4.7 Liminality, Communitas, and Pilgrimage
4.8 Conclusion
4.9 Contribution
4.10 Questions
4.11 References
4.0 OBJECTIVES
To understand the interpretative approach developed by Clifford
Geertz
To comprehend the significance of “Thick Description” in our day -to-
day life
To examine the concepts and relation between the Liminality and
Communitas
4.1 CONCEPTS
Liminality: The transitional period or phase of a rite of passage,
during which the participant lacks social status or rank, remains
anonymous, shows obedience and humility, and follows prescribed
forms of conduct, dress, etc.
Social Fields: Spaces where a lternatives are considered and
developed.
Arenas: Spaces where alternatives are applied and implemented in
society.munotes.in

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35Social Dramas: Are the conflicts created by the implementation of
alternative social patterns and values in society.
Communitas :A sense of spontaneous sociability, love for each other,
a sense of solidarity and equality and heightened emotional, cathartic
or spiritual experience.
4.2 INTRODUCTION
The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1926 –2006)
articulated the position th at all ethnography involved multiple acts of
interpretation. In Geertz’s view, “interpretation” was not an
anthropologist’s unverifiable opinion of another culture’s motives and
actions, but rather an informed exposition of how those motives and
actions we re meaningful in a specific cultural context. Geertz’s position
was formalized in a 1973 essay, “Thick Description: Toward an
Interpretive Theory of Culture,” in which he argues “that man is an animal
suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, and I take culture
to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental
science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning.”
In his first chapterin The Interpretation of Cultures , Clifford
Geertz discusses the role of the ethnographer. Broadly, the ethnographer's
aim is to observe, record, and analyze a culture. More specifically, he or
she must interpret signs to gain their meaning within the culture itself.
This interpretation m ust be based on the "thick description" of a sign in
order to see all the possible meanings. His example of a "wink of any eye"
clarifies this point. When a man winks, is he merely "rapidly contracting
his right eyelid" or is he "practicing a burlesque of a friend faking a wink
to deceive an innocent into thinking conspiracy is in motion"? Ultimately,
Geertz hopes that the ethnographer's deeper understanding of the signs
will open and/or increase the dialogue among different cultures[M.
Murphy].
4.3“THIC K DESCRIPTION”
As an anthropologist, Geertz was first and foremost interested in
ethnography. However, he was frustrated by what he saw as the many
surface -level readings of culture that some anthropologists were producing
(Geertz 1973/2013). Why was this an issue? Simply put, Geertz
recognized that culture is a knotty and often mysterious thing, made up of
layers upon layers of intertwined symbols and signs. ("[It's] turtles all the
way down," he once noted, quoting ancient Hindu belief; 1973, p. 29).
This means that culture is not an easy thing to define, and it is even harder
to describe. To aid anthropologists in the task of defining their cultural
object of study, Geertz introduced the concept of thick description into
the parlance of the discipline; t his term can be described as "the detailed
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36patterns of cultural and social relationships and puts them in context"
(Holloway apud RWJF, n.d., para. 3).
An Example: The Multivalence of aW i n k
To make better sense of what thick description entails, Geertz
explained it with a simple example:
Consider ... two boys rapidly contracting the eyelids of their right
eyes. In one, this is an involuntary twitch; in the other, a conspiratorial
signal to a friend. The two movements are, as movements, identical; from
an l-am-a-camera, “phenomenalistic” observation of them alone, one
could not tell which was twitch and which was wink, or indeed whether
both or either was twitch or wink. Yet the difference, however
unphotographable, between a twitch and a wink is vast; as anyone
unfortunate enough to have had the first taken for the second knows. The
winker is communicating, and indeed communicating in a quite precise
and special way ... Contracting your eyelids on purpose when there exists
a public code in which so doing counts as a conspiratorial signal is
winking. That’s all there is to it: a speck of behavior, a fleck of culture,
and—voila! —ag e s t u r e .
That, however, is just the beginning. Suppose, he continues, there is
a third boy, who, “to give malicious amusement to his cronies”, parodies
the first boy’s wink, as amateurish, clumsy, obvious, and so on. He, of
course, does this in the same way the sec ond boy winked and the first
twitched: by contracting his right eyelids. Only this boy is neither winking
nor twitching, he is parodying someone else’s, as he takes it, laughable,
attempt at winking. Here, too, a socially established code exists ... The
point is that between what Ryle calls the “thin description” of what the
rehearser (parodist, winker, twitcher . . .) is doing (“rapidly contracting his
right eyelids”) and the “thick description“ of what he is doing (“practicing
a burlesque of a friend faki ng a wink to deceive an innocent into thinking
a conspiracy is in motion”) lies the object of ethnography: a stratified
hierarchy of meaningful structures in terms of which twitches, winks,
fake-winks, parodies, rehearsals of parodies are produced, perceiv ed, and
interpreted, and without which they would not (not even the zero -form
twitches, which, as a cultural category, are as much non -winks as winks
are non -twitches) in fact exist, no matter what anyone did or didn’t do
with his eyelids. (1973, pp. 6 -7)
In this short but impactful passage, Geertz provides us with a
perfect example of a behavior that can only be explicated by thick
description. The three boys —the winker, the twitcher, and the parodist —
are all doing the same physical action (as Geertz's sa ys "rapidly
contracting [their] right eyelids"), but given the socio -cultural context that
each boy finds himself in, the exact same behavior can mean vastly
different things. Geertz argues that it is this detailed context —thisje ne
sais quoi —that the eth nographer must dig into and discover if one wants to
adequately explain behavior and by extension culture.munotes.in

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37In summation, Geertz is quoted as saying "culture is context"
(Geertz quoted in Shankman et al., 1984, p. 262), and this utterance helps
understand w hat exactly he was getting at when he discusses thick
description.
Victor Turner, utilized the model of thick description , as developed
by Geertz, but integrated it with Van Gennep’s model of rites of passage
and used his new theory as a means to understa nd the development of the
60’s counter culture and the experience of individuals at counter cultural
protests and festivals, such as Woodstock or the Stonewall riots of the
New York gay community. He also reconstructed structural functionalist
models of s ocial cohesion to incorporate the role of social movements,
ethnic groups and disenfranchised minorities within the context of broader
society. To a large extent, Turner brought the practice of anthropology
into contemporary industrialized society and out of the realm of remote
pre-industrial communities abroad. In doing so, he brought about a major
revaluation of the traditional theoretical models upon which anthropology
had been based.
To resolve the tensions between his love of science and the
humani ties he studied anthropology at university; a discipline that could
enable him to explore both a science of culture and human behaviour and
the role of aesthetics, symbolism and meaning in society. He also felt that
anthropology could permit him to explor e the role of social dramas and
human interaction, an area he loved in literature and theatre, in a practical
context.
To this end he criticized arguments that the practice of
anthropology necessarily implied the objectification and thus oppression
of the ir subjects of research. Though he acknowledged that it did
sometimes occur, he felt that the post -colonial critique of anthropologists
misunderstood the nature of an anthropologists engagement with a
community.
He argued that when an anthropologist, and often his or her family,
lives in the field with a community for 1 -3 years they become involved in
complex interactions with the community that he defined as social
dramas . In particular, an anthropologist becomes part of the social and
cultural life of the community rather than an objective disinterested figure
that can be kept distinct from the complex social and cultural interactions
that happen around him or her. Consequently, understanding the role of
social dramas personal characteristics and the l evels of meaning implicit
in a conversation, as experienced by the anthropologist as a participant in
that society, are extremely important areas of research.
Each culture, each person within it, uses the entire sensory
repertoire to convey messages: ma nual gesticulation, facial
expressions, bodily postures, rapid, heavy or light
breathing, tears, at the individual level; stylised gestures,
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38movement such as marching, the moves and “plays” of
games, sport andritual s, at the cultural level.
However, he did not want to abandon the principles of science but
he wanted to apply scientific method to new areas of research into the
human condition. He used the principles of structural functionalism,
kinsh ip, class and power relations but he wanted to bring individual
character, personal style, skill at speech making, personal choice, the
power of symbols in communication and the emotive or feeling content of
human interaction. In short, he wanted to groun d anthropology as a social
science in the context of personal lived experience and emotional/spiritual
significance. In contrast to Geertz who argued that social meaning could
be interpreted as a text, Turner argued that a better analogy for making
sense of culture is perceiving social interactions as a kind of theatre.
Check your Progress
1. Explain Victor Turner’s model of Thick Description ?
4.4 LIMINALITY
When Van Gennep constructed his theory of rites of passage , his
transitional or liminal phase was a place in which there could be some
liberation from social norms. He defined the liminal place as “a gap
between the ordered worlds where almost anything could happen. Van
Gennep utilizes the word liminal, derived from the Latin term f or
threshold, and Turner develops it as a crucial component of his concept of
liminality . The real or symbolic thresholds are very important components
of ritual and symbolic experience. At these points the ritual subject is
between fixed points of class ification, in an ambiguous situation,
structurally invisible in terms of society’s classification systems.
Liminality is the condition of being midpoint between a status sequence.
According to Turner, major liminal occasions are when a society
takes co gnizance of itself, takes stock of people’s place in the emotional,
spiritual and social world and reinterprets the overarching pattern of social
relations that define social structure. In liminal spaces a person can stand
outside of their normal social r oles and embrace alternative social
arrangements and values. It is a dangerous place where structure looses its
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39Liminality represents a stripping down of structural status and so our
conceptualizing of it is usually focused more on our interpretation of
nature rather than culture as the dominating feature of liminal experience.
In Turner’s model, structural customs, once broken down, reveal two
human traits, the liberated intellect and the natural; body/spirit.
4.5 SOCIAL FIELDS AND ARENAS
Turner describes the spaces where subversive alternatives to the
dominant social structure can be posed as social fields . In these
liminal mental and social spac es, alternatives to paradigms or models for
how society could be are presented in social dramas orcathartic
experiences .
Thus, he defines fields as abstract cultural domains where
paradigms for social interaction, values and symbolic representations ar e
formulated, established and come into conflict with existing social and
symbolic structures.
Turner uses the term arena to describe the setting in which new
paradigms of social and symbolic structure are put into place and
established as the new ortho doxy. There is a subsequent power battle
between the various sponsors of alternative models of socio -cultural
structure and it is this conflict that gives the underlying meaning to the
role played by social dramas in society.
4.6 COMMUNITAS
To make sens e of this, Turner developed the concept of
Communitas . It is a fact of experience central to religion, drama and
literature but it is not generally examined from an empiricist or scientific
perspective. It is visible in rites of passage ,counter cultures andreligious
movements. It brings the role of transformative, cathartic and religious
experience as a central component of understanding social structure as
opposed to the functionalist model of religion existing as a superstitious
method of maintaining the cohesion and politico -economic structure of
society.
Turner argues that in liminal situations, communitas emerges in the
form of spontaneous sociability, love for each other, a sense of solidarity
and equality and heightened emotional or spiritual ex perience. A
heightened sense of joy, wellbeing and belonging that challenges the
orthodox social and cultural order. It is a space where utopian ideals and
hopes for a better future can be voiced and alternative paradigms of socio -
cultural structure devise d. It is usually associated with a sense that people
have removed the masks of the ordinary social world; that the people
involved have become genuine authentic individuals free of the restraints
of social obligations. According to Turner, the heightened sense of joymunotes.in

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40and authenticity in relationships experienced by people in this state is one
of the major sources for utopian ideals expressed by counter cultural
movements such as the Hippy movement of the 60’s. He argues that the
tendency to drop out and form alternative communities was, at least in
part, an expression the participants desire to live in a permanent state of
communitas.
According to Turner all societies have an idea of society as a social
structure (segmented categories of unequal people) , which is contrasted
with a desire for society to be a homogenous, undifferentiated authentic
whole, embracing the idea of communitas . The latter model is more
apparent when there is a collective religious or political utopian movement
but it can also be seen in tribal rituals. Society is pictured as a communitas
of free and equal comrades –a society of total persons with shared values
and ideals and a sense of belonging. Rituals can be performed where
cooperative and egalitarian behaviour is characteri stic and everyday
definitions of status and division are ignored. People who are normally
divided and antagonistic can come together and transcend their differences
in their common experience or humanity. As Turner comments,
In passing from structure to structure many rituals pass
through communitas. Communitas is almost always
thought of or portrayed by actors as a timeless condition, an
eternal now, as a moment in an out of time or as a state to
which the normal structural view of time is no longer
applicable.
Communitas arises spontaneously and is self -generated and, in
Turner’ s view, is an indispensable need in society. To maintain a sense of
communitas you try to eliminate outward signs of rank and division, to
focus on the common experience of being human rather than a person’s
status and socially ascribed role. As Turner w rites,
People have a real need to doff the masks, cloaks and
apparel and insignia of status from time to time even if only
to don the liberating masks of a liminal masquerade.
Now while Turner sees communitas as existing outside structure,
liminal situa tions do have their own alternative forms of structure and
symbolism that is largely derived and reconstructed from the cultural
mainstream of their society. For example, structure may exacerbate
difference between the sexes in dress, decoration and accep table behaviour
people in a state of communitas may choose to deliberately diminish them
or even reverse the roles. From a functionalist perspective this represents
a dangerous and debilitating break down of social cohesion but for Turner
these spaces rep resent the positive potential for communitas that reaffirms
solidarity, values and social bonds between people as individuals sharing a
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41The association of symbols used in the construction of liminal
spaces and communitas is usually app ropriated from images of people
associated with the margins of mainstream society. For example, gypsies,
indigenous peoples, witches and other groups perceived to be on the
margins or oppositional to mainstream culture are often appropriated as a
symbol o f communitas. The key issue is that these symbols are images of
otherness or ostracization from mainstream society which are
reconstructed and recast as symbols of individualism, alternate community
and alienation from the cultural mainstream. This often leads to a situation
of conflict when indigenous peoples, attempting to assert their own socio -
political and cultural identity are forced to compete with constructed
identities of people who wish to appropriate these images for the purpose
ofcommunitas and differentiation from the cultural mainstream.
The fact that these social groupings and images have their own
alternative structures of social relationships, symbols and cultural matrixes
which are derived from and, to some extent, dependant on the cultu ral
mainstream for legitimacy and impact led Turner to describe them as anti-
structure . That is to say the symbolic representations and association of
images, often chosen for shock value, are derived from their position in
relation to the cultural mainst ream and are dependent on their perception
within the cultural mainstream in order to function. As Turner comments,
If we understand anti-structure andcommunitas to be phenomenon
that occurs on the margins of society then, in order to understand their role
on the margins, we must have an understanding of how those margins are
defined.
Check your progress
1. What is meant by Communitas ?
4.7 LIMINALITY, COMMUNITAS, AND PILGRIMAGE
As noted above, Turner borrowed Van Gennep’s concept of
liminality and expanded it into a conceptual tool for understanding special
phases in social life when transition is the dominant theme. “If our basic
model of society,” Turner wrote, “is that of a ‘structure of positions,’ we
must regard the period of mar gin or ‘liminality’ as an inter -structural
situation” (1967:93). Periods of transition during rites of passage or othermunotes.in

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42rituals or during pilgrimages are similar in that they are neither here nor
there; they are betwixt and between the positions assigned a nd arrayed by
law, custom, convention, and ceremonial. As such, their ambiguous and
indeterminate attributes are expressed by a rich variety of symbols in the
many societies that ritualize social and cultural transitions. (Turner
1969:95)
Liminal periods fascinated Turner because they frequently are
characterized by changes in and suspension of normal social relationships.
Liminal periods are not just in and out of time but are also “in and out of
social structure” (Turner 1969:96), suggesting the existenc e of two major
models of human relationships:
The first is of society as a structured, differentiated, and often
hierarchical system of politico -legal -economic positions with many types
of evaluation, separating men in terms of “more” or “less .” The second,
which emerges recognizably in the liminal period, is of society as an
unstructured or rudimentarily structured and relatively undifferentiated
communitas, community, or even communion of equal individuals who
submit together to the general a uthority of the ritual elders. (Turner
1969:96)
Turner lists a number of binary oppositions that parallel the
associated properties of communitas versus structure: transition/ state,
equality/inequality, anonymity/systems of nomenclature, silence/speech,
absence of status/status, and so on (1969:106 –107). Such properties are
part of rites of passage in traditional societies, but they also characterize
moments in the major religions, particularly during pilgrimages.
The imagery of pilgrimage underscores i ts transitional nature; it is
a recurrent metaphor in Christian literature, such as in the most famous
pilgrimage in English literature, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales:
This world nis but a thrughfareful of wo
And we ben pilgrims, passinge to and fro;
Death is an end of every worldysoore
and this nineteenth -century American hymn:
This world is not my home,
I’m just a passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue.
Christian imagery emphasizes the liminal nature of pilgrimage.
After all, Christ was born while in transition, his human existence a brief
separation from his true nature.
Outside the Christian tradition, pilgrimages are liminal phenomena
exhibiting the quality of communitas in their social relations (Turner
1974:166 –167). Such liminality may be communicated by removing the
outward symbols of social differences. Turner comments onthe bond thatmunotes.in

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43exists between communitas, liminality, and lowermost status. It is often
believed that the lowest castes and classes in stratifi ed societies exhibit the
greatest immediacy and involuntariness of behavior. This may or not be
empirically true, but it is at any rate a persistent belief….. Those who
would maximize communitas often begin by minimizing or even
eliminating the outward sig ns of rank as, for example, Tolstoy and Gandhi
tried to do in their own persons. In other words, they approximate in dress
and behavior the condition of the poor. (1974:243)
Pilgrimages are a type of social process with basic properties: they
are liminal social relations characterized by communitas, and they employ
symbols emphasizing the merger or inversion of normal social rankings.
Shrines, the objects of pilgrimages, may create a ritual topography in
which paramount shrines, related shrines, and the pa ths between them
mark a network of social process. Pilgrimages touched on Turner’s basic
theoretical interests as he listed them: “the study of ‘processual units,’
‘antistructure,’ and the semantics of ritual symbols. All these interests
converge on pilgri mage processes” (1974:166).
4.8 CONCLUSION
Abrief sketch of Turner’s key concepts does not do justice to his
vigorous intellect and energetic exploration of such different ideas as the
process approach to political anthropology (Swartz et al. 1966) and a study
of Noh drama (Turner 1984). Edith Turner recalls that during the early
1960s, “it was as if, as his thought progressed, there would come a stage
when it was time for him to take a new tac k, like a sailboat beating
upwind” (1985:8). Turner articulated how his varied interests formed part
of a basic research agenda:
My work as an anthropologist has been the study of cumulative
interactions over time in human groups of varying span and diffe rent
cultures. These interactions, I found, tend to amass toward the emergence
of sustained public action, and given my Western background, it was
difficult to characterize these as other than “dramatic.” (1984:19)
Turner thus came to the conclusion that ritual ,social dramas and
cultural artefacts could be best understood by what he defined as an
anthropology of experience . In particular, rather than looking at the
structures of society one should look at the symbolic and emotive impact
of these structur es and, more importantly, what happened between the
structures; the liminal andinterstitial places. In the areas outside of social
structures and norms behaviour, in Turner’s analysis, becomes ergotropic ,
exhibiting arousal, heightened activity and stron g emotional responses.
Social life is full of social dramas in transitional places. There is a sort of
break in the rules and structures and normative patterns of behaviour in
these places which corresponds to periods of heightened emotion and
experienc e. Underlying structural categories and divisions may bemunotes.in

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44revealed in poignant, symbolic and theatrical patterns, often this can
involve acting out the opposite or exaggerated representations of expected
norms. In this focus on interstitial places Turner b reaks significantly from
traditional anthropology in that in his analysis it is not so much what
happens within the confines of social structures but what happens between
and outside of them that is important.
4.9CONTRIBUTION
Turner’s ideas have been immensely influential and many studies
of counter cultures, carnival and festivals are based in his work. Perhaps
the most famous is Dick Hebdige’s Sub-culture the Meaning of Style
which examines the Punk, Glitter and mod movements in the 70’s.
Turner’s ideas represent a substantial contribution to the study of
anthropology. He grounded anthropological research into peoples lived
experience and reintroduced the study of spiritual and cathartic experience
into the social sciences. He also focused the stu dy of symbolic
anthropology into the multiple levels of personal significance that symbols
represent experientially to the individual and out of the realm of abstracted
argument regarding a symbols essential value with regards to the society.
Finally, he gave new tools that enabled the study of anthropology to move
into the contemporary environment and deal with phenomena like sub -
cultures and the impact of popular culture.
4.10 QUESTIONS
1.Explain the nature and significance of interpretive approach of
Clifford Geertz. How does it help in understanding any culture ?
2.Examine in detail the concept of “Thick Description” developed by
Geertz with relevant examples.
3.Elaborate on the how Turner used Liminality and Communitas as a
conce ptual tool for understanding special phases in social life when
transition is the dominant theme.
4.Evaluate the relevance between Liminality, Communitas and
Pilgrimage by Turner.
4.11 REFERENCES:
Barnard, A. (2004). History and Theory in Anthropology.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic
Books.
(1983). Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive
Anthropology. New York: Basic Books.munotes.in

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45J.C. Alexander & P. Smith (ed).(2011) Interpreting Clifford Geertz:
Cultural Investigation in the Social Sciences .Palgrave Macmillan.
Moore Jerry, 2009 . Visions of Culture an introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists (3rded)United Kingdom,
Rowen and Little Publishers.
Turner, Victor (1984)Liminality and the Performative Genres. In
Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals toward a Theory of
Cultural Performance. J. MacAloon, ed. Pp. 19 –41. Philadelphia:
Institute for the Study of Human Issues.
Turner, Edith (1985) From the Ndembu to Broadway. In On the
Edge of the Bush. E. Turner, ed. Pp. 1 –15. Tucson: University of
Arizona Press.
Turner, Victor, and Edith Turner (1978) Image and Pilgrimage in
Christian Culture: Anthropological Perspectives. New York:
Columbia University Press. White, Leslie 1949 The Science of
Culture. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

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465
THEORIZING NATION -STATE,
ETHNICITY, MULTICULTURALISM.
Unit Structure
5.0 Objectives.
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Nation -State
5.2.1 Origin
5.2.2 Theories on Nation -State
5.2.3 Minorities challenge to nation -based citizenship
5.2.4 National disintegration
5.2.5 Emerging challenges with Nation -State -Cryptocurrency.
5.3 Ethnicity
5.3. 1. Understanding Ethnicity
5.3.2 Approaches in Ethnicity
5.3.3Theories surrounding Ethnicity
5.3.4 Politics and Ethnicity
5.3.5 DNA Testing and Ethnicity
5.4.Multiculturalism
5.4.1 Meaning of Multiculturalism
5.4.2 Assumption
5.4.3 Process
5.4.4 Debates surrounding Multiculturalism
5.4.5 Changes in the Multiculturalism
5.5 Summary
5.6 Questions
5.7 References
5.0 OBJECTIVES
To learn about the concept of Nation -State and its theories.
To understand Ethnicity and its different facets.
To learn about Multiculturalism and the new changes in it.
5.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter will study three important topics, i.e., Nation -state,
Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism. All these concepts will help youmunotes.in

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47understand our society and its emergence and changes happening within it.
It would give you a perspective through which yo u could view society
better.
5.2 NATION -STATE
A nation -state is a territorially bounded sovereign government (i.e.,
a state) ruled in the name of a group of citizens who identify as a nation.
The authority of a core national group within the state dete rmines the
legality of a nation -sovereignty over a territory and the people who live
there. Members of the state have a strong bond with the land and territory
and consider it their home. As a result, they demand that other groups
acknowledge and obey its rule inside and outside the state.
5.2.1 Origin –
France was seen as the first nation -state after the French
Revolution. However, some see the English Commonwealth in 1969 as the
beginning of nation -state creation. The origin of the Nation -state is
influenced by ideologies like communism or religious beliefs too. E.g.,
Church, Buddhism, Monarchy. There is also a revolution aspect whenever
there is oppression in the state too. A nation -state is based on the principle
that a nation belongs to the peopl e, and there is consent which the rulers
have earned through some form of election or consensus. Though there
exist several nations, who act on dictatorship too. So, for the origin of a
certain state, some people are needed, and they have some common
consensus within themi.
5.2.2 Theories on Nation -State
1.Declarative theory of statehood –This theory defines a state as a
person in international law when it meets the following criteria: 1) a
defined territory ; 2) a permanent population; 3) a government 4) a
capacity to enter into relations with other states. According to it, an
entity's statehood is independent of its recognition by other states.
2.Constitutive theory of statehood -This theory defines a state as a
person in international law if, and only if, it is recognized as sovereign
by other states. This theory of recognition was developed in the 19th
century. Under it, a state was sovereign if another sovereign state
recognized it as such.
3.Westphalian s ystem -A global system based on the principle of
international law that each state has sovereignty over its territory and
domestic affairs, to the exclusion of all external powers, on the
principle of non -interference in another country’s domestic and
internal affairs, and that each state (no matter how large or small) is
equal in international law. The doctrine is named after the Peace of
Westphalia, signed in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years’ Warii.munotes.in

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485.2.3 Minorities’ challenge to nation -based citizenship
In some nation -states, ethnic minorities have challenged the
traditional model of nation -based citizenship because they claim rights
based on principles alternative to citizenshi p: that rely on international
conventions that recognize individual human rights or the collective rights
of minorities and indigenous peoples (some scholars call this phenomenon
"post -national citizenship."
5.2.4 National disintegration
Increasing econom ic inequality between regions within nation -
states and the rise of identity politics since the late 20th century have
increased the likelihood of national disintegration in some countries
through the development of secessionist aspirations among some ethni c
groups, a phenomenon sometimes called Balkanization. Balkanization can
be observed both in relatively young nation -states in the postcolonial
developing world and in established Western nation -states with long
traditions of republicanism (e.g., the Unite d Kingdom and Spain). This
type of struggle may spill over to other nation -states by spreading
information and images via international media channels and the new
social media.
5.2.5 Emerging Challenges with Nation -State –Crypto currency
What will be t he future of the nation -state? Will its social control
over the people reduce in the future? There are several challenges that the
nation -state has to face, like threats from civil society, religious extremist
groups, cultural revolution. Let us now take t he example from the field of
finance. We will discuss this with an illustration of Crypto currency, the
buzzword right now on the internet. In the traditional system, the state
printed notes; coins are called fiat currency, there is a buyer and a seller.
The government regulates it and takes responsibility for its value.
On the other hand, Bitcoin and Crypto currency is a digitally
encrypted, decentralized currency not linked to or regulated by any
government or central bank. It is based on blockchain technology, which
operates with a distributed ledger framework. Blockchain is a distributed
ledger managed by a network of computers that maintains an exact copy
of the database and updates its record by consensus based on mathematics.
Here ther e is no middle person involved. It is handled from peer -to-peer
networks in a free, open -source computer. Crypto currencies have not
been widely approved as fiat currencies; however, there would be a huge
change of power if it happens. Imagine if it gets approved, then the
government's monopoly in terms of regulating the finances would be
reduced. There could be a huge divide, unlike the digital payment system
brought whereby literate people can use these structures and take more
benefit out of it. Those w ho invested earlier into this would benefit more
than the latteriii.
Suppose the state loses its monopoly of contro lling its people's
finance, actions. How much the state will control its people in amunotes.in

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49democratic structure is also an important question as citizens also have the
right to choose and make their own decisions. Markets are open for both
foreign companies, so who controls the economy.
Check Your Progress
1.Discuss the theories connected to Nation -State?
2. Explain in few lines the challenges with the nation -state?
5.3 ETHNICITY
Understanding Ethnicity
Ethnicity, in simple words, means a social group that has a
common national or cultural tradition. Ethnicity was a salient feature of
many historical societ ies. In modern settings, ethnicity first consists of a
reference to a collective identity, involving fundamental dilemmasiv.
Insociology ,Ethnicity is a concept referring to a shared culture and a way
of life. This can be reflected in language, religion, material culture such as
clothing and cuisine, and cultural products such as music and art. Ethnicity
is often a major source of social cohesion as w ell as social conflict. In our
world, we have large ethnic groups to small ethnic groups which consists
of just a dozen people toov.
The intellectual history of the term 'Ethnicity' is relatively short:
before the 1970s, there was very little mention of it in anthropological
literature and textbooks containing no definitions. Since the mid -1970s,
the concept has partly acquired strategi c significance within
anthropological theory as a response to the changing postcolonial
geopolitics and the rise of ethnic minorities activism in many industrial
states. The shift has resulted in a proliferation of theories of Ethnicity,
explaining such di verse phenomena as social and political change, identity
formation, social conflict, race relations, nation -building, assimilation, etc.munotes.in

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50Approaches in Ethnicity
There are three competing approaches to the understanding of
Ethnicity. They could be roughl y categorized as primordial,
instrumentalist and constructivist. Roughly speaking, primordial theories
assert that ethnic identification is based on deep, 'primordial' attachments
to a group or culture; instrumentalist approaches treat Ethnicity as a
political instrument exploited by leaders and others in pragmatic pursuit of
their interests; and constructivist approaches emphasize the contingency
and fluidity of ethnic identity, treating it as something which is made in
specific social and historical conte xts, rather than (as in primordial
arguments) treating it as a 'given' .APrimordialist views the objectivist
theories of Ethnicity, which assert that ultimately there is some real,
tangible foundation to ethnic identification, can be subdivided into those
in which ethnicity is viewed as a predominantly biological phenomenon
and those in which it is construed as a product of culture and history. The
conceptual differences are ultimately rooted in different understandings of
human nature and society. In thos e theoretical frameworks strongly
influenced by evolutionism, Ethnicity is usually conceptualized as based
on biology and determined by genetic and geographical factors.
Theories surrounding Ethnicity
Some authors view that recognition of the group affi liation is
genetically encoded, being a product of early human evolution when the
ability to recognize the members of one's family group was necessary for
survival (Shaw and Wong 1989). Sociobiological interpretations of
Ethnicity have been severely critic ized (Thompson 1989: 21 –48), but the
main thesis –that human ethnic groups are extended kin groups or
collectivities based on the descent –was assimilated by relativists in talk
of 'quasi -kinship' groups (Brown 1989: 6 –8). Explicit primordialism was
entertained in Russian and Soviet anthropology. Taking its origin in
Herder's neo -romantic concept of the Volk, as a unity of blood and soil, it
was worked out into a positivist program for ethnographic research in the
work of S.M. Shirokogorov, who has define d the 'ethnos' as 'a group of
people, speaking the same language and admitting common origin,
characterized by a set of customs and a lifestyle, which are preserved and
sanctified by tradition, which distinguishes it from others of the same kind'
(1923: 12 2). This approach was later developed in the works of Y.V.
Bromley, who has given a very similar definition of ethnos (1981), and
L.N. Gumilev (1989).
The latter believed in the existence of the ethnos as a 'biosocial
organism' and developed a framework for the study of ethnogenesis as a
process that was geographically determined: the rise to the existence of an
ethnos was depicted as a combined effect of cosmic energies and
landscape. Instrumentalist approaches from the late 1960s, in theories of
moderni ty and modernization, Ethnicity was treated as a remnant of the
pre-industrial social order, gradually declining insignificance. It was a
marginal phenomenon to be overcome by the advance of the modern state
and national integration and assimilation ('melt ing pot,' or assimilationistmunotes.in

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51ideology, prevalent in American cultural anthropology from the 1960s to
the mid -1970s).
Until the mid -1970s, Ethnicity was defined structurally, i.e., in
terms of the cultural morphology of a given society (the linguistic,
religious, and racial characteristics treated as 'primordial givens' or 'bases'
of Ethnicity). It was suggested that objective and perceived differences
between the various groups in society served as a basis for producing a
distinctive group identity, which in its turn created the context for inter -
group relations and political mobilization. Cultural affinities might be
exploited as a basis for inter -group affiliation in political struggles but
were seen as temporary and minor impediments on the way to the m odern
Ethnicity 241 nation -state. So, in this cultural approach to the study of
Ethnicity, it was typically defined in terms of the objective cultural
structure of the society (Smith 1969: 104 –5). The common observation
that not every cultural group develo ps an ethnic identity or consciousness
of group affiliation could be accounted for in the concept of 'latent or
'silent' Ethnicity. Sometimes this functionalism acquired a psychological
twist, then Ethnicity was explained as an effective means of recoverin g
lost ethnic pride (Horowitz). The debates would be continuous and every
time, it would develop further. However, we can come to the common
consensus that the definition of an ethnic community as a group of people
whose members share a common name and ele ments of culture possess a
myth of common origin and common historical memory, who associate
themselves with a particular territory and possess a feeling of solidarity,
opens further avenues for integration of anthropological, political and
psychological k nowledge in the understanding of ethnic phenomena.
Politics and Ethnicity
At times, ethnicity is converted into a product of political myths,
created and manipulated by cultural elites to pursue advantages and
power. The cultural forms, values, and pract ices of ethnic groups often
become resources for elites in competition for political power and
economic advantage. At times even for generating votes. They become
symbols and referents to identify members of a group, which are called up
to ease the creatio n of political identity. Thus, ethnicity is created in the
dynamics of elite competition within the boundaries determined by
political and economic realities (Brass 1985)vi.
DNA Testing forEthnicity
With technology becoming more advanced, people who have lost
touch with their roots due to migration, forced migration, adoption, etc.,
can find their origin through DNA tests. DNA testing is available through
services such as 23andMe, My Heritage, and Living DNA, allowing
people to explore their genealogy using their genetic information.
Examining DNA can reveal information about a person's ancestry and
ethnic background. While the principles of DNA testing are sound, the
private companies that offer this serv ice through home -testing kits have
been criticized for their methodologies (vi)munotes.in

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52Check Your Progress
1.Explain how to know one’s own ethnic identity through te chnology?
2. Discuss the interaction of politics and Ethnicity?
5.4 MULTICULTURALISM
5.3.1Meaning ofMulticulturalism
Multiculturalism is a situation in which different cultural or racial
groups in a society have equal rights and opportunities and none is ignored
or regarded as unimportantvii. In Sociology, Multiculturalism means how a
given society deals with cultural diversity ,both at the national and the
commun ity level.
5.3.2 Assumption
There are several assumptions through which Multiculturalism
works like -Members of often different cultures can coexist peacefully.
Multiculturalism believes that society is enriched by preserving,
respecting, and even encouraging cultural diversity. There are two theories
associated with Mu lticulturalism, salad bowl theory, melting pot theoryviii.
5.3.3 Process
A given society becomes multicultural because of several reasons
like immigration, migration, urbanization. For example –Canada invites
people from all over the world to stay in their country. They give
permanent resident status to them. This is done for two reasons because
they have a vast amount of land and fewer people. To maintain the
required amount of population ratio. Clifford Geertz saw Multicultural
culture as a ‘system of symbols and meanings, which he contrasted with
norms, defined as oriented patterns for action (Kuper 1999: 71).
5.3.4 Debate surrounding Multiculturalism –
In the late twentieth century, much of the multicultural debate has
focused on the politics of multicultural citizenship in plural or immigrantmunotes.in

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53societies and concerns language or religious rights rather than just dealing
with 'culture.' Critics of Multicu lturalism come from everywhere -the
socialist left and the liberal center and right. They include postmodern
anthropologists, multiculturalism feminists, and human rights activists.
Current theories in anthropology are based on the idea that cultures are
creative and changing, internally contested and heterogeneous. People in
one culture constantly borrow from others. Cultures are therefore
inescapably hybrid and permeable. For this reason, too, cultures do not
have a single, unified leadership and any att empt by the state to impose
one is false and oppressive. Critically also, diasporas have multiple and
intersecting identities, including party political affiliations to the left and
right (Werbner 2002).
Feminists such as Okin (1999) argue that Multicult uralism gives
too much power to religious elders. Usually, men rule over women and
their bodies and deny them their rights as equal citizens to choose how to
dress, whom to marry or divorce, if and when to have children.
In current human rights discourse , the right of individuals and
collectivities to foster, enhance and protect their culture and traditions is
enshrined, but so too are freedom of speech and freedom from violence,
which deny the absolute right of traditional practices such as forced
marria ges. Thus, Multiculturalism has its contradictions.
Anti-multiculturalist liberals argue that liberal democracy allows
sufficient space for ethnic and religious expression in civil society and the
private sphere. Universal individual rights to equality b efore the law are at
risk if cultural rights are given preference. Talal Asad has argued (1993)
that minorities need protection from offensive symbolic and civic or
material exclusions and violations. On the left, the argument is that the
superficial celeb ration of Multiculturalism –of exotic cuisines, popular
music, or colo urful festivals and rituals –disguises ongoing economic and
political inequalities. Rather than addressing these, the state funds
multicultural festivals and turns its back on real dep rivation, prejudice, and
discrimination problems. Hence, multiculturalism and identity politics
obscure the common oppression of the underprivileged within capitalist
society and divide anti -racist movements. Critics on both right and left
tend to assume t hat Multiculturalism is a conspiracy of top -down state
engineering. Beyond the struggles for local recognition, Multiculturalism
has today become a global movement against national assimilationist
pressures. It refers to different struggles by minorities d emanding
autonomy, recognition and a share of state or local state budgets. Rather
than thinking of Multiculturalism as a discourse that highlights culture, it
needs to be thought of as a politics of equal and just citizenship that bases
itself on the righ t to be 'different' within a democratic political
community.ix.
5.3.5 Changes in the Multiculturalism
Are we heading towards monoculture is an important question that
we need to ask, driven by modern -day capitalistic groups? These groupsmunotes.in

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54are not just based in India but from different parts of the world. If yes,
then in what pattern do these things operate . Let us try to look into this
with some examples and search for answers to this question.
Consumerism -Our choice of products has immensely be enmodified
by different players in the market. Let us take the example of Amazon.
Amazon gives free home deli very with a prime membership. As a
result, the small traders with local shops and their business ha ve
impacted immensely. Many people prefer to buy from Amazon as
there is a wide choice available. There are reviews which one could
read and then make a deci sion to buy.
Food habits –Eating from Zomato, Swiggy is a growing trend.
Especially among those who work in offices. These companies are
bringing the renovation in the food and technology industry. As a
result, obesity in the country increases with the new food culture that
has emerged post -liberalization.
Transportation –There are certain parameters in a lay person's
language when someone is seen as rich. One of the parameters is that
of owning a car. If you cannot afford a car now, we have Zoom car,
Uber,Ola.
Infodemic –In the traditional setting, the knowledge was accessible
only to a limited group. They preserved it and passed it on to their
generation. However, right now, all are using the internet and mass
media. The same ideas are being presented and the market crea tes an
opinion. The information is broadcasted repeatedly, and one is made to
think about a specific topic or person.
Instagram and Youtube –Traditionally, socializationwas from family
members, friends, peers from the workplace, or even from schools.
How ever, now people follow certain habits from that of Instagram,
Youtube. Nearly most millennials living in cities know to take a selfie ,
must have tried making a reel in Instagram. It can be seen as a herd
behavio ur where one creates a path and all the othe rs follow.
Sociologically speaking, it is peer pressure, fear of missing out, and
even fad. However, this affects at a large scale the behavio uro f
individuals where one looks for instant results; there is also a higher
amount of dopamine that is released from the brain when one gets the
instant result. The individual then gets into similar behavio ura n d
searches for another dopamine -releasing product and it follows. This
affects concentration, the self -esteem of the individual at a large level.
We are no w getting into an era of visual culture. Companies are
making products that cater to this culture, like swiping culture, whether
online card payment or relationship. Companies are making this kind of
homogeneous culture to make it easier for them to sell t hings in large
quantities to a large group. In cultural studies terms, we would call this
mass culture. However, these corporates have just used our data, whichmunotes.in

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55we publish on social media, which search in google to sell the products to
us or even gain vot es like in the Cambridge Analytica case in America.
However, there are still issues of marginalization, minorities existing,
which are not resolved yet. Accepting diversity is the only solution for a
peaceful world.
Check Your Progress
1.Discuss the change s in the multicultural society?
2. Explain Multiculturalism in few lines.
5.4 SUMMARY
This chapter began with understanding the concept of a nation -
state, a territory bounded sovereign government (i.e., a state) ruled in the
name of a group of citizens who identify as a nation. In the second section
of the chapter, we learned about Ethnicity ,a social group with a common
national or cultural tradition. The size of the group could be as small as
even a dozen of members. Ethnic group s have often been marginalized
through politics, culture, migration, war, etc. In modern times, we have
several websites like MyHeritage and LivingDNA to trace one's ethnic
identity and roots. In the last part of the chapter, we learned about
Multicultural ism. Multiculturalism is a situation in which different cultural
or racial groups in a society have equal rights and opportunities, and none
is ignored or regarded as unimportant. We tried to also understanding
Multiculturalism and looked into the transiti on through capitalistic
ventures in Indian society. In current human rights discourse, the right of
individuals and collectivities to foster, enhance and protect their culture
and traditions is enshrined, but so too are freedom of speech and freedom
from violence, which deny the absolute right of traditional practices such
as forced marriages. Thus, Multiculturalism has its contradictions.munotes.in

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565.5 QUESTIONS
1.Explain Nation -State its origin, theories and emerging challenges
associated with it.
2.Explain in brief Ethnicity and the approaches and theories surrounding
it.
3.Explain Multiculturalism and the debates surrounding it.
5.6 References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/nation -state
http://uafulucknow.ac.in/wp -content/uploads/2020/04/Natio n-state-
part-1.pdf
https://www.goodreturns.in/classroom/difference -between -fiat-
currency -and-cryptocurrency -1208124.html
Ben-Rafael, E., & Sternberg, Y. (2015). Ethnicity, sociology Smelser,
N. J., &Baltes, P. B. (Eds.). (2001). International encyclopedia of the
social &behavioral sciences (Vol. 11). Amsterdam: Elsevier/
https://www.thoughtco.com/ethnicity -definition -3026311
Sergey Sokolovskii, Valery Tishkov (2009) ed. Barnard, A., &
Spencer, J., The Routled ge encyclopedia of social and cultural
anthropology . Routledge.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/multiculturalism
https://www.thoughtco.com/what -is-multiculturalism -4689285
Werbner, Pnina (2009) ed. Barnard, A., & Spencer, J., The Routledge
encyclopedia of social and cultural anthropology . Routledge.
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576
FIELDWORK AND REFLEXIVITY,
CRITIQUE OF CLASSICAL
ETHNOGRAPHIES
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Difference between fieldwork and opinion
6.3 Understanding the fieldwork process
6.4 Advantages of fieldwork
6.5 Disadvantages of fieldwork
6.6 Qualities required for fieldworker.
6.7 Reflexivity
6.8 Critique of Classical Ethnography
6.9 Summary
6.10 Questions
6.11 References
6.0 OBJECTIVES
To understand about Fieldwork in detail.
To learn about Reflexivity in research.
To understand classical ethnography with few scholars ’work.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter will discuss Fieldwork and Reflexivity from a
practical approach, i.e., how you will encounter it in the field. There are
two approaches in which anything could be studied. The first is book view
and the second is field view . Before getting into the details, let us begin
with understanding what a field is. A field is where a researcher is
studying a topic by himself or herself. University programs like M.Phil,
PhD. students go themselves to the field. However, in big projects carried
out by Non -Governmental Organi zations, Professors generally have a
team thatis involved. For example -During the Census survey, people
come to your home and ask questions. So here, the Chief Commissioner of
India does not come to our doors, but trained field workers come to our
homes. So, your home is the field for the person who visits to enquire
about the question. Here, the person who is asking a question is the
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586.2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIELDWORK AND
OPINION
Let us begin this chapter by understanding what fieldwork is. Let
us take an example. Imagine you are sitting on the bus and it suddenly
starts raining. The bus starts moving slowly, you are bored now and start
to speak with the stranger next to you. You s ay, 'isn't it heavy rains today.
Yes, the other person responds. He also adds the weather is unpredictable
these days. Now, this conversation can you call as fieldwork. Well, the
answer is no. It is just an exchange. However, if you travel by the same
busevery day for a month and talk to the person and learn about his travel
experiences in bus ,how t hetransport system was he was a child and so on .
You also add few questions like problems, difficulties. You collect
information across gender, age, religion, or any specific criteria and then
draw observations based on that then, it could be called fieldwork. Few
points you have to remember also during fieldwork are that it is an art
form like dancing and music. It takes time to learn and develop within
onesel f. Every field is different from one another. The experiences and
people you would also be encountering will both be changing. No matter
how prepared you are, there will be some element of surprise you would
witness in the field. It could lead to culture s hock, respect, appreciation,
and other emotions within you as a human being and a researcher.
6.3 UNDERSTANDING THE FIELDWORK PROCESS
Let us take an example -Imagine you have to study about
Antarctica. There are two ways to study it. You are going to a library and
studying Antarctica and writing a report on it, then it is called book view.
In other words, you are writing your research outcome through the basis of
someone else study, data, records, etc. Same Antarctica if you are going
yourself by taki ng a plane, clearing all the paper works. You may be
facing challenges on the way, like getting the documentation done. Fearful
thoughts on your own mind about whether survival etc .and then finally
you reach your destination Antarctica and then you write about it. Onthe
basis of your writing about it,this would be called as fieldwork. Here you
have a gone through a process by yourself. There aresome challenges,
obstacles which you have faced. There is a learning and personal
experience together, whi ch is special and what you have learned on your
own. This experience is unique to you; no one else has this. Hence, when
you write about it, that would be your field report. The process of
searching for a economical plane ticket, people whom to interview, and
how to go about it is all your fieldwork. Further you spent around some
months in Antarctica and you started observing them, talking to the
natives, saw their festivals, made notes of everything that is data
collection. Fieldwork, in other words, throu gh this example, is whereby
you are taking steps to study a topic (problem) in the actual setting
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596.4ADVANTAGES OF FIELDWORK
There are several benefits of doing fieldwork. You get closer to the
subject. There are personal relations built based on trust and
understanding —these things one cannot find in the quantitative or
positivist tradition. Fieldwork helps us to get into the depth of the problem
the roots than just a superficial understanding.
6.5 DISADVANTAGES OF FIELDWORK
Itis time -consuming. Resources draining too, as one has to look
out for a place to stay. Develop rapport in the field. You cannot just go
and ask random questions one has to prepare. Develop trust, which takes a
lot of time. If the culture is different from which one has been growing up
and the culture of the people being studied is different, then there is a bias
that could emerge knowingly, unknowingly. There could be negative
experiences in the field which could harm the researcher or even vice
versa. For example, several whites have studied non -white society and
negatively portrayed the group, especially tribal societies. There is a
powerful element that is involved between researcher and researched.
These things make the outcome of research at times inacc urate.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain your understanding of fieldwork ?
2. Discuss the disadvantages of fieldwork ?
Hence, ethics should be an integral part of the training of research
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606.6 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR A FIELDWORKER –
1.Contextualization -Understanding the other person from his own
background is very important. One has to look from the other person’s
location, view, education, setting.
2.Honesty -Honesty develops trust among t he researcher. However, it is
challenging, yet practicing honesty helps create a relationship not only
for you but also for other researchers who are going to come after you
to study that particular group.
3.Listening skills -If you will not listen to your subject, then they
would not share their worldview with you. Talking to them, listening
to their opinion makes the other person feel relatable with you, and it
develops a rapport and further builds a community and bond. This
would help you to understand y ourself.
4.Immersion -Immersion is an important element in the field. The more
you let go of yourself and look from the people's point of you, you
would be able to get a clear picture of the world of the field.
5.Questioning -Asking the right questions is important to develop
interest among people on the conversation. Unnecessary questions or
sensitive questions have to be asked very carefully like caste, age,
salary etc. if it is not directly related to your topic, it is better to avoid
as it could take th e interview to a very different angle. If you ask these
questions to the people, then it is advisable to explain why you are
asking them too. So, they understand its background and develop faith
that the information collected will not be misused.
6.Probing -If you have watched the news, a reporter takes an interview
with mike. He holds the mike and asks the people around what do you
think about this the person responds with his answer. When the person
stumbles with words, at that time, the reporter adds few words to get
more answers from the common person. This is what is probing.
Probing helps to get into the details of the issue and helps to get clear
answers. It is a skill set which one needs to learn.
7.Humility –Humility is an asset when you are at the f ield. If you are
approachable and ready to learn new even if the locals laugh at you,
you will learn more about the people. Humility will help the distance
between the researcher and the researched population. If you respect
the people whom you are studyin g, then they would respect you too.
8.Ethics –Being ethical is very important in research. You acknowledge
the participants in your work, not giving money and getting the data,
not forging the data by any means.
6.7 REFLEXIVITY
For those unfamiliar wit h qualitative research, learning how to do
it might be intimidating, especially given the paradigm's emphasis on
complexity and emergent design. Even though there are standards in themunotes.in

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61literature, each study is unique, and the individual researcher must fin ally
decide how to proceed . Reflexivity involves comprehension of both the
phenomena under investigation and the research process as a whole. Using
a reflective diary, the author gives a behind -the-scenes look at a first
project, bridging the gap between t heory and practice. This personal story
emphasi zes the need of reflection both during and after a study, and it may
assist newcomers to the profession understand the research processi.
Fieldwork, or conducting research, alters every researcher in a
variety of ways. As field researchers, you engage in learning experie nces
known as reflexivities. The changes in you that have occurred as a result
of the research process and how these changes have influenced the
research process are detailed here. It illustrates the process of figuring out
how we, as researchers, shaped a nd were shaped by research output. The
efforts made to learn about and comprehend different social problems such
as poverty, development, gender, migration, and population health. In our
reflexivity notes/insights, we discuss the problems we have experienc ed in
our epistemological stance/s and personal and methodological issues.
When researchers recognize these shifts, that reflexivity in research
becomes a component of the study. Through this consciousness, we, our
teammates/co -researchers, and all those e ngaged with the research project
become aware of personal and methodological issues' relational and
reflective nature. Throughout the reflexive research process, we as
researchers must be aware of our contributions to the formation of
meanings and lived ex periencesii. Let us recall the Antarctica example
discussed in the earlier part of the chap ter, the process and difficulty and
the fearful thoughts are your reflective experience. With Clifford Geertz's
example in Bali were when he visit edand people were not ready to speak
with him when he wrote about this where an outsider is not being accepte d
and later accepted, this is his reflective experience.
Activity –
Imagine you are going to study Child labor in Kalina (Field). What
are the steps you are going to take?
1.Find where the children are –Traffic signals. (Topic)
2.Plan out how you are going to contact them.
3.List out the questions you will ask them (Questionnaire)
4.Make notes about your observations in the field. (Data collection)
5.Write down your own emotions, fear, conflicts on hearing those
children story. (Reflex ivity)
6.Include everything in your project. (Findings)
There are several work which has used reflexivity like Remembered
Village by M.N. Srinivas. In the book, he writes about his journey in the
village where he had to talk to locals. His place of residenc ew h e r en e a r b y
there were cattle, and he found it difficult to be there.munotes.in

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62Check Your Progress
1. Explain your understanding on Reflexivity?
2. Discuss the qualities required for a fieldworker?
6.8 CRITIQUE OF CLASSICAL ETHNOGRAPHY.
Ethnography is where the researcher resides in the community for
a long time. Generally ,for a year or 7 -8m o n t h s .H e r eh e / s h eo b s e r v e st h e
day-to-day activity of the people. The main point here to look is to get into
the actual setting and context of the community. Several ethnographers
also pick up the language of the people on whom the stu dy is being
conducted. Some take the help of translators too. The goal is to get into the
roots of the people and be one among them. In other words, they were
looking from Insider's perspective. Several Anthropologists have
contributed like Malinowski, Rad cliffe Brown, Kroeber, Clifford Geertz,
and Evans Pritchard. In India, we have Vidyarathi ,M.N. Srinivas and
several others. Each have contributed to the discipline and creating a new
set of tradition too. Clifford Geertz, for example, with his classical work
'Cockfight study in Bali developed the Interpretative tradition.
Critical ethnography started in the late 1950s and early 1960s and was
initiated by the dominant social and cultural reality of the time. This is the
time of the demise of colonialism and the inward turn of classical
ethnography to explore marginalized groupsiiiRadcliffe Bro wn, associated
with the structural functionalism school, maintained a distance with the
subject yet observed them. He could not learn the language of the localiv.
To understand the topic of cri tical ethnography, will we take few texts and
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631.Bronislaw Malinowski -The average quality of anthropological
fieldwork and ethnographic reporting has risen appreciably due to
Malinowski's influence. The institutional method of cultural analysi s
has produced integrated descriptions instead of loosely classified
catalogs of traits and has stimulated the fuller recording of case
material from actual behavior as a supplement to the listing of ideal
patterns.vMalinowski's work had a deep impact on the functionalism
school and upon his followers too. His first book was 'The Family
among the Australian Aborigines’ (1913). There are several important
works like 'Argonauts of the Western Pacific' where he discusses the
Trobriand people's culture. However, his work was appreciated,
discussed in his time. Post his death his diary was found by his wife
and published. Th e diary revealed that he did not practice what he
preached. He tried maintaining an objective view in his writings.
However, his diary revealed how he critical views of the Trobriand
culture and their way of living. Though Malinowski's work helps us
know t he problems ethnographers undergo, there are some problems.
It is also the best example of critical ethnography.
2.Margaret Meadvi-Margaret Mead, born in 1901, was the b est-known
anthropologist of the 20th Century. She began her career doing
fieldwork in Samoa; in 1928, she published a book calle dC o m i n go f
Age in Samoa .M e a du s e d this study of adolescent girls to reflect on
socialization processes for children and adolescents in our own
society. Using anthropological methods, she hoped we could see more
clearly how we treat adolescents, what stresses we place on them, and
see the role that our culture plays in this context, and thus be better
able to prepare children and youth for their complex lives in modern
societyvii.This book is a classic work of Anthropology with a
comparative perspective. Freeman criticized this book then turns to
one of Mead's major conclusions. Mead alleged that adolescence in
Samoa was the age of maximum ease and there were none of the
stresses and storms, the conflicts and troubles that characterize coming
of age in Western civilization. Mead relegated to a special chapter her
evidence on girls whose adolescence involved conflict. Taki ng this
evidence (4 out of the 25 girls in Mead's sample were delinquent),
Freeman finds that the Samoan rate for delinquency in the age group
14-19 is 40 per 1,000 per year and is roughly ten times higher than that
which existed for females in the same ag e grouping in England and
Wales in 1965, where the rate was 4 per 1,000. Freeman then
introduces evidence from his own fieldwork to show that adolescence
in Samoa is far from being untroubled and unstressedviii.H o w e v e r ,
later some writers criticized even Freeman's interpretation was
criticized too. However, the point to note here is how a text brought
about scope for discussion, interpretation, reading and further
fieldwork.
3.M.N Srinivasix-Remembered village is a monograph of a village in
the South Indian state of Karnataka written from memory. Srinivas
spent eleven months in 1948 and continued to visit the same placemunotes.in

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64until 1964. In the late 1960s, all three copies of the author's research
notes were destroye d in an office fire and, over the next decade, he
worked to reconstruct the village from burned fragments and
recollections. In 1978, the book was celebrated as a modern classic
and derided as an academic failure. anybody looking for a
sophisticated accoun t of change, transformation, and development in
rural India will be disappointed. Between the 1940s and 1964, by that
time he became the first professor of sociology at the Delhi School of
Economics, Srinivas makes repeated visits to Rampura. During this
time the village is electrified, it gets a middle school, and new bus
services connect it to urban centres. But Srinivas tells us nothing of
how access to energy, education, or goods and services transforms or
reproduces material and symbolic relationships between castes.
Instead, as he puts it in the introduction, he set out to write a book
about Rampura 'as it was in 1948'. This commitment to reconstructing
and salvaging the past rather than applying sociology to questions of
social and material inequality saw the book demolished by some of his
most vociferous critics. By 1978 his Anglophile commitment to a
school of structural functionalism looked increasingly anachronistic as
sociologists of India drew energy from the worlds of French
structuralism and Ma rxism. Even though his commitment to an
empirical tradition of field -based research, Srinivas' remembered
village appeared then, as now, impervious to change. He missed
certain realityx.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain Ethnography?
2. Discuss M.N. Srinivas work Remembered Village with reference to
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651.9 SUMMARY -
Thus in this chapter, we started with understanding what a field is.
A field is a place where the researcher conducts his investigation or carries
out his/ her study. We also looked into the qualities that a fieldworker
needs to possess like honesty, humil ity, ethics, listening skills etc. Later
we studied about reflexivity. Reflexivity is the researcher's thoughts,
observation than the social reality. It is more of a mental process. We
further dealt with understanding ethnography. Ethnography is the study of
culture in the actual setting, real location and documentation of it.
Ethnographers generally reside in the study site for a year, learn the
language, observe daily life, and write about it. We also learned about
critical ethnography with the help of fe w scholars and their work like
Margaret Mead, Malinowski, M.N. Srinivas.
6.10 QUESTIONS -
1. Explain the fieldwork and the qualities required for a fieldworker.
2. Discuss in brief Reflexivity in research.
3. Discuss about Critical ethnography with two ethnographers work.
6.11 REFERENCES
I.Watt, D. (2007). On becoming a qualitative researcher: the value
of reflexivity. Qualitative Report ,12(1), 82 -101.
II.Palaganas, E. C., Sanchez, M. C., Molintas, V. P., & Caricativo, R.
D. (2017). Reflexivity in qualitative research: A journey of
learning. Qualitative Report ,22(2).
III.Mantzoukas, S. (2012). Exploring ethnographic genres and
developing validity appraisal tools. Journal of Research in
Nursing ,17(5), 420 -435.
IV.https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/18971/1/Unit -26.pdf
V.Murdock, G. P. (1943). Bronislaw Malinow ski.
VI.https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.19
43.45.3.02a00090
VII.Mead, M., Sieben, A., & Straub, J. (1973). Coming of age in
Samoa . New York: Penguin.munotes.in

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66VIII.Mead, M. (1995, February). Selection from coming of age in
Samoa. In Child and Youth Care Forum (Vol. 24, No. 1, p p. 67 -
76). Kluwer Academic Publishers -Human Sciences Press.
IX.Appell, G. N. (1984). Freeman's refutation of Mea d's Coming of
Age in Samoa: The implications for anthropological inquiry.
Eastern Anthropology ,37,1 8 3 -214.
X.Srinivas, M. N. (2020). The remembered village . University of
California Press.
XI.https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2013/09/05/book -review -
the-remembered -village -srinivas/.

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677
FEMINISM AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Unit Structure
7.0Objectives
7.1Introduction
7.2Understanding the context of Feminism and Anthropology
7.3Feminist Sociology and Anthropology
7.4Contribution by Feminist Anthropologists
7.5Challenges to Feminist Movements
7.6Addressing the Cultural Debate
7.7Feminist Anthropologists from the West
7.8Feminist Anthropologists in the context of India
7.9Summary
7.10 Questions
7.11 References
7.0 OBJECTIVES
To understand Feminist Anthropology, its meaning, context.
To learn about the contribution of Femi nist Anthropology.
To learn about some of the pioneers in the field of Feminist
Anthropology.
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Feminist anthropology brings different fie ldapproaches to
anthropology (archaeological, biological, cultural, linguistic). It aims to
reduce male bias in research findings, anthropological hiring practices,
and the scholarly production of knowledge.[1]The Anthropology format of
comparative studie s, holistic perspective have been used by several
disciplines too.
7.2 UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF FEMINISM
AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Feminists in the West were questioning the assumptions on which
the patriarchal nuclear family was based and looked to anthropology for
examples of alternative arrangements from contemporary non -Western
societies. Households, domestic arrangements, marriage , procreation,
childbirth, and other aspects of what had previously been defined asmunotes.in

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68kinship were centra l to the study of gender. As a result, one issue that soon
emerged was how kinship and gender could be considered
separate analytic domains. How did they articulate with each other? Did
kinship define gender relations, did gender exist before kinship, or were
these domains "mutually constituted"? The anthropological study of
gender very quickly placed in question the analytic viability of kinship as
a field of study and its centrality within the discipline . Anthropology
seemed uniquely well -placed to examine cross -cultural variation in gender
ascriptions.
Feminists also argued that institutions such as the family and the
household, relations between men and women, and the meaning of being a
man or a woman were understood quite differently in different cultures .
Rather than accept Western definitions of such concepts, anthropologists
and sociologists began to subject them to analytic alscrutiny. How did
these institutions appear to be "natural" and "given" when culturally
variable? Of part icular interest were how political hierarchies emerged
from these seemingly natural categories or distinctions. What kinds of
cultural processes were involved in producing such hierarchie s, and how
had they achieved the illusory appearance of being natural or given?
From the 1960s onward, the feminist movement and scholarship
inspired important work in kinship studies. This resulted first in several
important works that led to the documen tation of women's lives,
previously omitted from ethnographic accounts. Women's involvement in
household and domestic arrangements, trade, exchange, labor, religion,
and economic life was studied.
Feminist writings have been in several disciplines. Sever al studies
point out that the ratio of female scholars and scientists working in science
is very less than that of men even today. There are important works on
literature like women writing in India, which uses the anthropolog ical
methods of stories, narra tives, and context and questions the social
structure. Every field has its share of documenting and writing about
Feminism. However, Anthropology has its place as it documents the issue
holistically. It gets into the roots of the problem by studying the tr ibal
societies, remote areas, villages by staying over a long period.
7.3 FEMINIST SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
Sociology as an independent discipline has its roots in the
background of Industrial development. So, the dominant methods in
sociology have been Positivistic tradition like that of Survey tool, etc. On
the other hand, Anthropology developed at the background of
understanding culture. The field of study has been that of simple societies.
With time, the semethods have been adopted. Though developed in
industrial setup, Sociology has adopted the anthropologist's methodology
of Ethnography, Narrative, Folklore, Oral history. In other words, both of
these disciplines have collaborated with thei r exchange of methods and
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697.4 CONTRIBUTION BY FEMINIST AND
ANTHROPOLOGISTS
Feminist anthropologists have played in worldwide campaigns
against human rights abuses, domestic violence, and environmental
degradation. It also celebrates their work closer to home, helping to
explode the developed world's preconceptions about sex, gender, and
sexuality. They have also brought insider perspectives on the fields they
study. Feminist anthropology has also shaped the emergence of fields like
women's studies, black and Latina studies, LGBTQ studies, masculinity
studies, affected theories, and science and technology studiesi.I no ther
words, feminist anthropologists' writings have led to the emergence of
several other disciplines.
7.5 CHALLENGES TO FEMINIST MOVEMENTS
Men's Rights Activists (MRA) have emerged in India since the
1990s through political outreach via social media, legislative lobbying,
and street action. They represent various ethnic and religious groups,
including several prominent women leaders, and reflect some diversity of
class positions. Their common target is the cynical misuse of civil and
criminal laws rela ting to marriage and domestic violence, particularly the
simultaneous deployment of multiple laws. MRA discourses are a crucial
site for tracing contestations of gender and the formation of subjectivities.ii
Check Your Progress
1. Explain your understanding of the context of emergence concerning
Feminism and Anthropology?
2. Discuss the challenges with Feminist movements ahead?munotes.in

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707.6 ADDRESSING THE CULTURE DEBATE -
Walter (1995) argues that feminist anthropology as a field of study
should pose questions about how differential power constitutes gender
differences. It should also address these questions and calls for an
approach to the study of gender and power. In addition, one should also
look into the relationship between structure and agency. Such an approach
is the one that analyzes the practice of gender over time from
intersubjective, pol itical perspectives. The author also argues that feminist
anthropology is a justice claim, which demands an ethic of engagement.
Feminist anthropologists also contribute to the large debates over the
concept of culture and the epistemological problem of re presentation
within anthropology; it discusses the current debates within cultural
studies over the politics of cultureiii.
7.7 FEMINIST ANTHROPOLOGISTS FROM THE WEST
Margaret Mea d-Margaret Mead's work helped both the feminist
movement as well as Anthropology. She was also very vocal about her
stand and expressed it on several platforms. One of her important
contributions is Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935).
This book laid the foundations for the feminist movement, suggesting that
gender roles were socially constructed and not biologically based.
In a broader sense, Coming of Age in Samoa is about nature vs.
nurture and the turn away from genetic determinism . She pointed out that
it is a culture that determines individual behavior than genes or racial
superiority.
Mead bec ame the second female president of AAAS in 1975 (after
Mina Rees in 1971). Mead was " a key figure in AAAS' work to address
social issues ," parti cularly in bringing up inequalities towards gay and
lesbian scientists. Under her leadership, an AAAS Council noted that
"because of this discrimination, some scientists are denie d the opportunity
to practice their profession and others are treated inequitably in terms of
salary, promotion, or assigned duties ." As AAAS president, she oversaw
the passage of a policy deploring discrimination against queer scientistsiv.
These pioneers have laid the foundation for several other scientists,
Anthropologists to come and express their view sopenly, a space to write
about it. It is b ecause of these scholars a foundation has been laid out.
They fought. They took chances. As a result, others got encouraged and
that is why we still read them and look at them as classical writers.
Ruth Benedict -Benedict, a student of Franz Boas was an early and
influential female anthropologist, her doctorate was from Columbia
University in 1923 (Buckner 1997: 34). Her fieldwork with Native
Americans and other groups led her to develop the "configurational
approach" to culture, seeing cultural system s as favoring certain
personality types among different societies (Buckner 1997: 34). Alongmunotes.in

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71with Margaret Mead, she is one of the most prominent female
anthropologists of the first half of this century. One of herimportant
work sis the book 'Patterns of Culture'.
Zora Neale Hurston -The first African American to chronicle African
American folklore and voodoo, Hurston studied anthropology at Barnard
in the 1920s under Franz Boas. Th isencouraged her interests in African
American folklore. Data for her sc holarly work and creative writing came
from growing up in all -black Eatonville, Florida. She drew upon the keen
insights and observations gained from her anthropological research in
crafting her fictional work. The only black student at Barnard when she
attended, she received a B.A. degree in 1928. Two of her anthropological
works are Mules and Men (1935) and Tell My Horse (1938). Hurston's
contribution to anthropology resided not merely in her superior ability to
provide vivid imagery of Black culture but also in her pioneering efforts
toward theorizing the African diaspora and her methodological
innovations (McClaurin,2001).
Phyllis Kaberry is a social anthropologist who worked with Bronislaw
Malinowski while earning her PhD., Kaberry's work focused on women in
many different societies, especially in Australia and Africa. While placing
great emphasis on the study of religion, she also examin ed relationships
between men and women.
Margaret Mead was a key figure in the second wave of feminist
anthropology since her work clearly distinguished between sex and gender
as categories of anthropological thought. Her theories were influenced by
ideas borrowed from Gestalt psychology, that subfield of psychology that
analyzed personality as an interrelated psychological pattern rather than a
collection of separate elements (McGee, Warms 1996:202). Her work
separated the biological factors from the cultu ral factors that control
human behavior and personality development. Her work influenced
Rosaldo's and Lamphere's attempts to build a framework for the emerging
sub-discipline. Mead's work analyzed pervasive sexual asymmetry that fit
well with their readin g of the ethnographic literature (Levinson, Ember
1996:488).
Eleanor Leacock adopted a Marxist approach in her ethnographies, and
she argued that capitalism is the source of much female subordination. She
also challenged Julian Steward's work on hunting and trapping. (Gacs,
Khan, McIntyre, & Weinberg 1989).
Louise Lamphere worked with Michelle Rosaldo to edit Woman,
Culture, and Society . This was the first volume to address the
anthropological study of gender and women's status.
Sherry O rtner (1941 -): She is one of the early proponents of feminist
anthropology, constructing an explanatory model for gender asymmetry
which was based on the premise that the subordination of women is a
universal, that is, cross -cultural phenomenon. In an art icle published inmunotes.in

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721974, "Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture? " She takes a
structuralist approach to the question of gender inequality. She argued that
women have always been symbolically associated with nature. Since
nature is subordinate to men, w omen are subordinate to men. She suggests
that women's role as child -bearer makes them natural creators, while men
are cultural creators (Ortner 1974: 77 -78)). Ortner points out that men
without high rank are excluded from things like women are excluded fr om
them.
Margaret Conkey (1943 -) was one of the first archaeologists to
introduce feminist theory into that sub -discipline. She is a professor of
Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Michelle Rosaldo and Ortner offered an integrated set of explanations,
each at a different level, for the universal subordination of women.
Rosaldo argued that because women frequently participate in behaviors
that limit them, one must perform an analysis of the larger system in order
to understand gender inequality.
Nancy Scheper -Hughes is a feminist ethnographer whose work questions
the idea of a universal definition for "man" and "woman." Her book,
Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil ,
criticized the concept of innate maternal bonding, as women were forced
to favor infants who would survive due to harsh living conditions. This
book is now regarded by many as a classic in medical anthropology.
Gayle Rubin is an activist and influential theorist of sex and gender
politics. She i ntroduced the "sex/gender system," which distinguishes
biology from behavior in the same way Mead did with her work (Rubin,
1975). She shaped her ideas from works by Marx, Engels, Levi -Strauss
and Freud.
Lila Abu -Lughod seeks to demonstrate that culture i sb o u n d l e s s .I n
Writing Women's Worlds , she shared Bedouin women's stories and
showed that they find advantages in a society that separates gender. Her
works, like many others, dispel the misunderstandings many western
feminists have about Islam and Hindui smv.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain the connection between Sociology and Anthropology in terms
of Feminism?munotes.in

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732. Discuss the contribution of Margret Mead in few lines ?
7.8 FEMINIST ANTHROPOLOGISTS IN THE
CONTEXT OF INDIA
In our country, nearly 70 percent of the population is dependent
on Agriculture. In other words, every village would have farms where
families are working. In which women are also working, they are carrying
water, cooking food for their husband, children, sowing crops, helping in
harvesting, even working as laborers in other farms. Some even work on
farms and do some part -time work like handicrafts to supplement some
more income. If the farms are afamily property, then she doesn't earn
anything. However, if it is someone else, then her earnings are again
contributed to the family. Such immense contribution needs
documentation and discussion both from the people's perspective and the
perspective of the scholarly work. The point to draw here is that we still
have a large scope for anthropological writings on gender experiences in
our country. Every narrative will have a different story because we have
layers of caste, class, sub -caste, hierarchy within families, outside the
family (public sphere). This become sv e r ym u c hn e c e s s a r yt od o c u m e n t .
In India, we have several female Anthropologists. However, we would just
look into two scholars over here.
Irawati Karvevi
Irawati Karve used the Ind ological approach. Her study
ontheKinship Organization in India was an important contribution. She
used language patterns and geographical divisions to find out more a bout
the variations in kinship structures across the expanse of the country. She
was an orientalist and so did not shy away from using Sanskrit and Pali
material to substantiate her findings. She also worked on the culture,
rituals, and institutions of Mah arashtra.
Her writings in Marathi have established her as a competent
storyteller as well. Her book, Yuganta: The End of an Epoch, is a
historical rendering of the Mahabharata .T h ec h a r a c t e r sa r en o tt r e a t e da s
fictional –instead, their circumstances and actions are explained using
socio -political cues. Using the Mahabharata , Karve maps the political
scenarios of ancient India. Yuganta wasawarded theSahitya Akademi
Award for Marathi in 1968, making Karve the first female author from
Maharashtra to receive it. She experimented with methodology in anmunotes.in

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74atmosphere that wasn't welcoming of women researchers. Despite her
privileged background, she researched the hinterlands of India and proved
herself to be an inspiration for young anthropologists across the country.
Leela Dube
Leela Dube's writings trace her own anthropological and personal
journeys and capture one history of the gendering o f the social sciences in
India, particularly anthropology. Dube drew strength from the growing
women's movements worldwide and the burgeoning scholarly literature to
pull together her reflections on kinship, marriage, motherhood,
womanhood and gender relat ionsvii. Patel (2012) points out the immense
contribution of Dube. Dube played an important role in shaping Towards
Equality Report: Committee on Status of Women in India (19 74). It led to
a discussion that further got the Parliament of India to bring women's
studies at centre stage in Indian academia through UGC and ICSSR. Dube
had also played an important role in the World Sociological Congress in
1984 by raising concerns ov er women's studies. In a debate on sex -
selective abortion carried out EPW during 1982 -86, she noted a direct
relationship in the deficit of women and increased and intensified violence
against womenviii.H e ri m p o r t a n tw o r k sa r e Visibility and Power: Essays
on Women in Society and Development ,c o-edited by Leela Dube, Eleanor
Leacock andShirle yArdener (1986). This book gives an international
perspective for the anthropology of women in the contexts of India, Iran,
Malaysia, Brazil and Yugoslavia.
Her article titled "On the Construction of Gender: Hindu Girls in
Patrilineal India", Economic and Politica l Weekly (1988), has been used
by several women's groups for study circles and training programs. A
volume in the series on Women and the Household, Structures and
Strategies: Women, Work, and Family (1990), co -edited by Leela Dube
and Rajni Palriwala, has taught women's studies in Economics, Sociology,
Geography, Social Work and Governance courses. Women and Kinship:
Comparative Perspectives on Gender in South and South -East Asia talks
about the (1997) kinship systems provide an important context in which
gender relations are located in the personal and public arenas.
Her book Anthropological Explorations in Gender: Intersecting
Fields (2001) examines gender, kinship and culture by looking into
several unconventional materials such as folk tales, folk song s, proverbs,
legends and myths to construct an ethnographic profile of feminist
thought. She provides an understanding of the socialization of the girl
child in the patriarchal family, with the "seed and soil" theory propagated
by Hindu scriptures and epic s symbolizing a domination -subordination
power relationship between men and women. Her last publication, a
Marathi translation of her last book in English, was Manavashastratil
Lingbhavachi Shodhamohim , which appeared in 2009. Thus, the
contribution of Kar ve is very impactful even in today ’s time.munotes.in

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75Check Your Progress
1. Explain the contribution of IravatiKarve?
2. Discuss the Leela Dube important works in few lines?
7.9 SUMMARY
We began the chapter by understanding Feminist anthropology as
an important approach that brings different field approaches to
anthropology (archaeological, biological, cultural, linguistic). It aims to
reduce male bias in research findings, anthropological hiring practices,
and the scholarly production of knowledge.[1]We looked into its
contribution to different disciplines like Environment, Queer studies and
several other fields. The chapter also discussed important feminist
anthropologists from India as well as from West countries.
7.10 Q UESTIONS
1.Discuss the context of Feminism and Anthropology
2.Explain in brief the contribution of Feminist Anthropologists in
India.
3.Explain in brief the contribution of Feminist Anthropologists from
the West.
7.11 REFERENCES
Silverstein, L. M., & Lewin, E. (2016). Mapping feminist
anthropology in the twenty -first century . Rutgers University Press.munotes.in

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76“Looking through Misogyny: Indian Men's Rights Act ivists, Law and
Challenges for Feminism” Canadian Journal of Women and the Law ,
Special Issue on “Men’s Groups: Challenging Feminism,” 28.1 (2016):
28-51.https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cjwl.28.1.45
Walter, L. (1995). Feminist anthropology?. Gender & Society ,9(3),
272-288.
https://massiv esci.com/articles/anthropologist -margaret -mead -our-
science -heroes -cultural -sexual -revolution/
https://anthropology.ua.edu/theory/feminist -anthropology/
https://feminisminindia.com/2018/10/15/irawati -karve -indian -
sociology/
Palriwala, R. (2012). Remembering Leela Dube. Economic and
Political Weekly ,3 2-35.
Prof. Leela Dube (1923 –2012): Gendering Anthropology
V Patel -Social Change, 2012 -journals.sagepub.com

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778
THE SUBALTERN TURN
Unit Structure
8.0Objectives.
8.1Introduction
8.2Meaning of Subaltern.
8.3Understanding Subaltern perspective and its history.
8.4Subaltern in the classroom
8.5Subaltern Urbanism
8.6Subaltern Geopolitics
8.7Subaltern Ci tizenship.
8.8Summary
8.9Questions.
8.10 References.
8.0 OBJECTIVES
To understand themeaning of Subaltern
To learn the historical setting for the emergence of theSubaltern.
To learn about the contribution of the founders of the subaltern
persp ective.
To explore the different fields which have been influenced by
Subaltern turn
8.1INTRODUCTION
This chapter will look into the meaning of the Subaltern, its
historical development, and the foundation scholars who helped develop
it. Here we will a lso study how these scholars have used subaltern
perspective sin their work .We w illalso discuss how this perspective has
been applied in different cultural settings. Understanding the subaltern
perspective will help you understand the politics behind the construction
of literature and history and in a way that shapes one 's worldview and that
of forthcoming generations. Subaltern studies ,in a way ,areanimportant
tool through which the marginalized history has got a voice.
Understanding subaltern history will help you critically view the
textbooks, stories, and narratives you have heard since your childhood.
Learning this concept/ perspective in detail will help you grow as a
progressive human being. This simple perspective has immense
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788.2 MEANING OF SUBALTERN
The word Subaltern has Latin roots whereby sub means -
("below"), and alternus ("all others"); Subaltern is used to describe
someone of a low rank (as in the military) or class (as in a caste system).
Subalterns occupy entry -level jobs or occupy a lower rung of the
"corporate ladder." But the term is also used to describe someone who has
no political or economic power, such as a poor person living under a
dictatorship. A subaltern isalso someone who has a low ranking in the
social, political, or other hierarchy. It can also mean someone who has
been marginalized or oppressed.iThe uniqueness of the term subaltern is
that it comes across in several disciplines and merges them too, lik e
political science, history, sociology, and anthropology .
Ckeck your pregress
1. What do you mean by Subaltern ?
8.3UNDERSTANDING SUBALTERN PERSPECTIVE
AND ITS HISTORY
The Italian Marxist scholar Antonio Gramsci conceived Subaltern
as he was in prison for a long period. His work was subject to censorship.
Hence, he used Subaltern as a codeword for any class of people
(especially peasants and workers) subject to the hegemony of another
more powerful class. The term has been adopted by a gr oup of
Postcolonial Studies scholars, thus forming a sub -discipline within the
field known as Subaltern Studies. The group was founded by South East
Asian historian, Ranajit Guha and over time, it has included several other
scholars like Homi Bhabha, Gayat ri Spivak, Partha Chatterjee, and Dipesh
Chakrabarty. Following Gramsci's footsteps , it aims to examine the
formation of subaltern classes in various settings in South East Asia.
Especially in India and its near neighbors, to provide a kind of counter -
history, to address the imbalances of 'official' histories, which tend to
focus exclusively on the affairs of the state and the ruling class.
Spivak's famous essay 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' ,incorporated
into A Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999), proble matizes the key
premise of Subaltern Studies, namely that the heterogeneous group ofmunotes.in

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79peoples classified as Subaltern can have sufficient unity such that 'they can
speak. Her answer to her question is a resolute no. The term has also been
used in Latin Amer ican studies for a similar purpose. However, it is given
a slightly different slant: it also refers to the habit or mindset of servitude
and subservience that must be overcome dto bring about political changeii.
Subaltern Studies: Writings on Indian History and Society ,as mentioned
earlier ,began in 1982 as a series of interventions from some debates while
discussing modern Indian history. Ranajit Guha began it with eight
scholars from India, UK, Australia ,an editorial collective called Subaltern
Studies. This series now has a global presence in India as well as other
parts of the world. Even postcolonial theorists have explored this
dimension in their work. Subaltern studies critique history and nationalism
and point out that it has Orientalism and Eurocen trism .
Subaltern Studies hence c anbe seen as a postcolonial project of re -
writing history. While writing history ,the relationship between
Postcolonialism and historiography and the contribution of other
disciplines like political science, legal studies , anthropology, literature,
cultural studies, and economics —have been included in the subaltern
studies. Subaltern Studies cannot be viewed as just another version of
Marxist/radical history but as apostcolonial outlook .The author also
points out that th e discipline of history has not received much attentioniii.
In India , there have been several social movements that Western
scholars have not included and valued back then. The Subaltern studies
werethus developed by agroup of scholars who studied in the West and
they felt that the literature projected by the other on India was biased and
partial. So, they thought of writing their history. Many writers focused on
different areas. Ranjit Guha documented how the peasant struggle existed.
Readings of Subalt ern Studies began in India, where writing about
Subaltern Studies began in book reviews. At first, each volume in the
series was reviewed separately as acollection of essays . Still, by 1986, an
accumulation of writing inside and outside the project had es tablished a
distinctive school of research whose adherents came to be called
"subalterns" or simply "subalterns." Their seminal essays appeared in
paperback in 1988, when Selected Subaltern Studies was published by
Oxford University Press in New York and O xford, edited by Ranajit Guha
and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, with a foreword by Edward Said. By
1990, Burton Stein could cite the growing interest in Subaltern Studies as
one sign that the 1980s were "a decade of historical efflore scence" in
South Asian s tudies. In the 1990s, Subaltern Studies became an
interesting topic in academic circles on several continents; a weapon,
magnet, target, lightning rod, hitching post, icon, gold mine, and fortress
for scholars ranging across disciplines from history to po litical science,
anthropology, sociology, literary criticism, and cultural studies.
In other words, it is giving a platform for the voiceless who have
been suppressed for generations together. Here, society is viewed from the
bottom to the top rather than the top to bottom approach. We will nowmunotes.in

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80look into detail about the few scholars who are associated with this
perspective.
Ranajit Guha
Guha in his book Subaltern Studies which consists of several
volumes ,writes in the introduction chapter the complexi ty of Indian
history. Guha insisted that mostly the writings of historians had focused on
the Indian National Movement, which was also seen only from the
perspective of the movement's leaders . All else, he went on to attrib ute, in
the history of our societ y, was left either untouched or not examined
enough or examined only as an adjunct of the mainstream of the national
movement. What was needed, Guha argued, was a subaltern perspective
wherein society could be studied from the point of view of the oppresse d,
those who were the fodder in the cannon of history, as it were. According
to Guha Tribal or peasants ,insurgents have not to be seen as merely
'objects 'of inquiry but makers of their own history (Guha, 1983).
Subaltern historiography seeks to restore a balance by highlighting the role
of the p eople's politics as against elite politics played in Indian history
(Dhanagare, 1993). The subaltern studies have theimmense possibility of
projecting, constructing and analyzing the people 's lives, institutions,
problems, movements, values and the processes of their formation,
structuration and restructuration at local and regional levels. The meanings
thus need not be viewed from aMarxist perspective but Indian
historiographical and culturological perspectives. Some of the important
works of Ranjit Guha is 'ARule of Property for Bengal: An Essay on the
idea of permanent settlement(1963), Elementary aspects of Insurgency in
colonial India (1983), Subaltern studies (edited volume –1-10).
Gayatri Chakravorty Spiv ak
A critical analysis of Spivak's classic 1988 postcolonial studies
essay, in which she argues that a core problem for the poorest and most
marginalized in society (the subalterns) is that they have no platform to
express their concerns and no voice to a ffect policy debates or demand a
fairer share of society 'sg o o d s .
A key theme of Gayatri Spivak's work is agency: the ability of the
individual to make their own decisions. Spivak's main aim is to consider
ways in which "subalterns" –her term for the ind igenous dispossessed in
colonial societies –were able to achieve agency .
Spivak is herself a scholar, and she remains acutely aware of the
difficulty and dangers of presuming to "speak" for the subalterns she
writes about. As such, her work can be seen as predominantly a light
exercise in the critical thinking skill of interpretation; she looks in detail at
issues of meaning, specifically at the real meaning of the available
evidence, and her paper is an attempt not only to highlight problems of
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81What makes this one of the key works of interpretation in the
Macat library is, of course, the underlying significance of this work.
Interpretation, in this case, is a matter of the difference between allowing
subalterns to speak f or themselves and of imposing a mode of "speaking"
on them that –however well -intentioned –can be as damaging in the
postcolonial world as the agency -stifling political structures of the colonial
world itself. Spivak takes a stand against a specifically intellectual form of
oppression and marginalizationby clearing away the residue of scholarly
attempts at interpretation .
Dipesh Chakrabarty has also been an active member of the
Subaltern Studies Group or Collective. His contribution towards
postcolonial andSubaltern studies can be seen from his pioneering works
such as 'Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical
Difference '(2000) .This text explores the relation shipbetween history and
postcolonial theory. His other work in subaltern st udies is titled
'Habitations of Modernity: Essays in the Wake of Subaltern Studies '
(2002). He is a founding member of the editorial collective of Subaltern
Studies and was the editor for 'Subaltern Studies Vol. 9 '(1997) a ndShahid
Amin. He is also a foun ding editor of Postcolonial Studies. His
'Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference '
first published in 2000. It deals with the mythical state of Europe that is
frequently taken to be the original site of modernity in various h istories of
capitalist evolution in non -Western nationsiv.Dipesh Chakrabarty notes
that the relation between 'subaltern pasts' and the practice of historicis mis
not one of mutual exclusion. Subaltern pasts act as a supplement to the
historian's pasts and in fact aid our capacity to historicis m. They enable
history, the discipline, to be what it is and yet at the same time help to
show forth what its limits arev.
Several writers have applied subaltern perspectives in India as well
as in world. Though at times they may or may not call themselves as
subalterns. However, their work saddress the issues and brings out the
loopholes within the system that he has failed to acknowledge for
generations.
Though developed at a local scale, the Subaltern spread out like a
tree branch and has now been used by several scholars in different parts of
the world. Let us look athow this concept, thetheory ,has been used by
people to understand their social problem s.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain the meaning of Subalter n?munotes.in

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822.Explain in brief the contribution of Ranajit Guha ?
8.4 SUBALTERN IN THE CLASSROOM SETTING –
A classroom is one of the important secondary group swhich a
child visits nearly half of his childhood. However, within a classroom ,too,
one could observe a hierarchy. This could at times continue for nearly a
decade from the time the child is in the first grade right up to his college.
In the Indian context, the divisions could be based on caste, class.
Addressing these issues is very important. In the book, The Subaltern
speak –Curriculum, Power and Educational Struggles the author writes
about whose perspective, experience and history is privileged in
educational institutions has shaped curriculum debates for decades. In this
insigh tful collection, Michael W. Apple and Kristen L. Buras interrogate
the notion that some knowledge is worth more than others. The Subaltern
Speak combines an analysis of how various forms of power now operate,
with a specific focus on spaces in which subalt ern groups act to reassert
their own perceived identities, cultures and historiesvi.
8.5 SUBALTERN AND URBANISM
Subaltern Urbanism tries to understand and transform how the
cities of the global South are studied and represented in urban research,
and to some extent in popular discourse. Subaltern Urbanism undertakes
the theorization of the megacity and its subaltern spaces and subaltern
classes. Of these, the ubiquitous 'slum'is the most promine nt. Writing
against positive and negative narratives of the slum, subaltern urbanism
provides accounts of the slum as a terrain of habitation, livelihood, self -
organization and politics. This is a vital and even radical challenge to
dominant narratives of the megacity In a megacity t he slum has,m a s s
politics and the habitus of the dispossessed. It has to be also looked from
the—peripheries, urban informality, zones of exception and gray spaces.
In other words, it could be studied from subaltern spacesvii.
8.6SUBALTERN GEO POLITICS
The concept of Subaltern makes di rect reference to postcolonial
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83other, resistant or alternative to dominant power, but instead one that
occupies an ambiguous position of marginalityviii.Traditionally , the West
had the power to write about marginalized groups, interpret their culture,
behavior, customs, and even dictate education and technology. This
geopolitics has even continued today .However, a tiny section is like the
subaltern groups questioning these taken -for-granted rules and practices in
society. With globalization, developed countries have further entered into
the underdeveloped countries and continue to influence these lands, at
times positively and negatively.
8.7 SUBALTERN CITIZEN
The "re -presentation" o ft h e Subaltern has to be viewed from the
power dimension. S ubaltern citizen is not justabout the te chnical question of
citizenship. Instead ,t h ec l a i mi sa b o u th i s t o r i c a la g e n c ya n db e l o n g i n g -in a
society and its self -construction. It is the fight of 200 years oldand more, the
struggles waged by the oppressed and subordinated, i e, forthe subalterns, it is
thestruggles for recognition as equals. The history of these efforts appeared as
ah i s t o r yo fs a m e n e s s .H o w e v e r ,i nt h el a t e rd e c a d e so ft h e2 0 t h century, this
struggle was extended to encompass another demand -the demand for
recognition of difference -the existence of various differences that explained
the diversity, density and richness of human experience. It is this paradox that
needs to be an swered, while debating the construction of a subaltern citizen:
how is the long -standing struggle for equality supposed to be folded into this
newly asserted right to the recognition of difference?ixSubaltern Citizenship
can be best explained with the move ment of Henry Lefbreve ’sright to the city
where the marginalized groups are shifted to the periphery with the rise of the
center of the city. So, here the demand is that local citizens have to be included
while making policies, changing landscapes, and b uilding skyscrapers .T h i s
would create a sense of belongingness and cordial relationships among the
state and the people.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain Subaltern studies from the work of Gayatri ? munotes.in

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842. Discuss Subaltern turn and Urbanism ?
8.9 SUMMARY
In this chapter we began with understanding the meaning of
Subaltern. Subaltern comes from two latin words –sub meaning
Subaltern is used to describe someone of a low rank (as in the military) or
class (as in a caste system). Suba lterns occupy entry -level jobs or occupy a
lower rung of the "corporate ladder." The Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci
conceived Subaltern as he was in prison for a long period. His work was
subject to censorship. Hence, he used Subaltern as a codeword for a ny
class of people (especially peasants and workers) subject to the hegemony
of another more powerful class. The term has been adopted by a group of
Postcolonial Studies scholars, thus forming a sub -discipline within the
field known as Subaltern Studies. T he group was founded by South East
Asian historian, Ranajit Guha and over time, it has included several other
scholars like Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak, Partha Chatterjee, and Dipesh
Chakrabarty. We also looked into how Ranajit Guha developed the
perspecti vethat initially started with book reviews, articles, discussion,
anda social movement thatchallenged the body of work produced by the
elites and scholars from the West. It was kind of movement where they
believed the one 's who live in the history shoul d write it themselves than
the other. Subaltern studies used history to a large extent and questioned
the bias within it. The power dimension within it. It also was celebrated
and accepted not only in India but other parts of the world. We further
looked i nto detail work profile of three different pioneers of the subject.
We also looked into the application of the Subaltern in terms of classroom,
citizenship and even Urban setting.
8.10 QUESTIONS
1.Explain the meaning of Subaltern and its history
2.Discuss in brief the application of Subaltern in different areas like
citizenship, urbanism.
3.Discuss the contribution of Guha and Gayatri.munotes.in

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858.11 REFERENCES
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/subaltern
https://www.oxf ordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803
100539334
Chakrabarty, D. (2000). Subaltern studies and postcolonial
historiography. Nepantla: views from South ,1(1), 9 -32.
http://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/S000013EN
/P001456/M019 901/ET/1496140851Paper10%3BModule35%3BETex
t.pdf
https://www.epw.in/journal/1998/9/special -articles/minority -histories -
subaltern -pasts.html
https://www.routledge.com/The -Subaltern -Speak -Curriculum -Power -
and-Educational -Struggles/Apple -Buras/p/book/978041595 0824
Roy, A. (2011). Slumdog cities: Rethinking subaltern urbanism.
International journal of urban and regional research ,35(2), 223 -
238.
Sharp, J. (2011). Subaltern geopolitics: introduction. Geoforum ,42(3),
271-273.
Pandey, G. (2006). The subaltern as subaltern citizen. Economic and
Political Weekly ,4 7 3 5 -4741.

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869
POST -MODERN LOCATIONS
POST -STRUCTURALISM, POST -
COLONIALISM
Unit Structure
9.1 Post Structuralism
9.1.1 Introduction
9.1.2 Post Structuralism
9.1.3 Post structuralism and Anthropology: Foucault and his Impact
9.1.4 Derrida and Deconstruction
9.1.5 Claude Levi -Strauss and the Four Tenets of Structuralism
9.1.6 The key move of post structuralism
9.1.7 Conclusion
9.2 Post -colonialism
9.2.1 Introduction
9.2.2 What is colonialism and Post -colonialism?
9.2.3 Goals of Post -colonialism
9.2.4 Subject matters
9.2.5 Postcolonial literature
9.2.5.1 Subaltern (Post colonialism)
9.2.5.2 History
9.2.5.3 Meanings
9.2.6 Conclusion
9.3 Questions
7.4 References
9.1 POST -STRUCTURALISM
9.1.1 Introduction:
Structuralism was an intellectual movement in France in the 1950s
and 1960s that studied the underlying structures in cultural products (such
as texts) and used analytical concepts from linguistics, psychology,
anthropology, and other fields to interpret t hose structures. It emphasized
the logical and scientific nature of its results. It flourished in a climate
critical of dogmatic Marxism, and, in particular, Stalinism. Jean -Paul
Sartre, many believed, had failed to offer a convincing account of
Stalinism. Structuralism offered a critique of both dogmatic Marxism and
of liberal institutions in the period leading up to the student protests ofmunotes.in

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87May 1968. Structuralism offered a legitimation story that functioned much
like critical theory -like the writings of L ukacs, Gramsci, and the early
Frankfurt School.
Structuralism failed to deliver on its promise of scientific
predictability. Though politically attractive at the time, if failed to help
social scientists and critical theorists deploy the structures to ant icipate or
project future outcomes. Linguistic structures, for instance, impose some
constraints on the way that agents talk, but not necessarily on what they
say. The structures do not necessarily control or determine behavio ur. The
constraints of languag e coexist with freedom of individual expression, so
that the patterns that emerge are no more than that -patterns. They help
make sense of individual expression, but do not dictate how agents will
deploy language.
This deficiency led many to seek differen ta v e n u e sp o s t
structuralism. One of the more successful —or at least interesting —is
Pierre Bourdieu’s attempt to synthesize structuralism and existentialism.
Bourdieu’s theoretic approach —what he called “practice theory” —
stressed that, through habituation, agents may internalize the structures
that surround them. They may internalize the binary distinctions that Lévi -
Strauss identified and that then may become part of their habitus —part of
their way of understanding the world and acting within it.
“The soc ial world,” Bourdieu wrote in Outline of a Theory of
Practice in 1972, “may be the object of three modes of theoretical
knowledge, each of which implies a set of (usually tacit) anthropological
theses” (1977:3).
1.The first mode of theoretical knowledge, Bou rdieu associated with
Jean-Paul Sartre. This mode of knowledge “sets out to make explicit
the truth of primary experience of the social world” (1977:3).
2.The second mode of theoretical knowledge, Bourdieu called
“objectivist” and he associated it with Clau de Lévi -Strauss. This mode
focused on the linguistic relations that structure primary knowledge of
the social world.
3.The third mode of knowledge, Bourdieu attributed to himself: it is a
theory of practice, and it represents a break from both existential a nd
structuralist modes of knowledge.
It is a mode of knowledge that treats actors as ensconced within
structures -semiotic and material -that are internalized and taken for
granted, and who navigate these structures strategically. Actors understand
the rule s of the game, and play by, manipulate, and strategize the rules
often in a second -hand way. It incorporates both the Lévi -Straussian
moment of unconscious structures and the Sartrian moment of subjectivity
in a theory of practice that is intended to let u s better understand and
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88For Bourdieu, the tension between structuralism and existentialism
crystallized the central problem in contemporary thought —namely, the
lack of a theory of human agency.
Check your progress
1. What is Structuralis m?
2. Explain Bourdieu’s “practice theory”.
9.1.2 Post Structuralism
Post structuralism is a style of critical reasoning that focuses on the
moment of slippage in our systems of meaning as a way to identify —right
there, in that ambiguous space —the ethical choices that we make, whether
in our writings or in everyday life, when we overcome the ambiguity and
move from indeterminacy to certainty of belief in an effort to understand,
interpret, or shape our social environment.
Post structuralism concentrates on the moment when we impose
meaning in a space that is no longer characterized by shared social
agreement over the structure of meaning. It attempts to explain how it
comes about that we fill those gaps in o ur knowledge and come to hold as
true what we do believe —and at what distributive cost to society and the
contemporary subject. By so clearly identifying points of slippage, post
structuralism clears the table and makes plain the significant role of ethica l
choice —by which we can mean decision making that is guided by beliefs
about virtue and the self, not by moral or political principle. Post
structuralism is, in this sense, a penultimate stage in the emancipation
from that “self -incurred immaturity” that Kant famously identified —in his
essay “What is Enlightenment?” —as “the inability to use one’s own
understanding without the guidance of another” (Kant 1970:54). In thatmunotes.in

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89essay, Kant elaborated the central features of the Enlightenment, and his
essay played a key role in the philosophical discourse of modernity.
9.1.3 Post structuralism and Anthropology: Foucault and his Impact
Post structuralism is a term loosely applied to members of the next
generation of French thinkers after Lévi -Strauss who also concer ned
themselves with texts and discourses. Of these, Michel Foucault had the
greatest impact on anthropology. Foucault's work is specifically concerned
with the relationship between knowledge and power. Knowledge, for
Foucault, is not primarily a collection of facts or even ideas, but only takes
on significance within what he calls an episteme, an overarching
framework situated in time, within which such ideas emerge as relevant
and indeed possible. Though Foucault avoids Marxist terminology, one
might characterize his epistemes as "modes of thinking" as opposed to
"modes of production." In a similar manner, he situates "power" within a
framework of possibilities determined by an overall system rather than as
a property of individual actors. In Discipline and Punish (1975), he uses
the modern prison system as a central exampl e of how these two systems,
of knowledge and of power, are fused in contemporary society. Discipline
is, he argues, a central feature of modern institutions —prison, army,
school —inscribing power relations on the bodies of subjects who must
conform but must also be constantly monitored; this monitoring of
subjects is the intellectual task of modern "disciplines" —psychology,
sociology, anthropology, and others.
Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) argued in a similar vein that
European and American expert knowle dge of the "Orient" and particularly
theMiddle East was inextricably connected with the exercise of Western
hegemony over the region. Such critiques have made anthropologists
much more self -conscious about the implications of their own
representations of "other," non -European peoples. James Clifford and
George Marcus have been concerned with the ways in which such
representations are constructed through wri ting, and the rhetorical means
by which anthropologists lay claim to "authority." Talal Asad has
suggested that anthropologists' attempts to arrive at ahistoricized
definitions of such phenomena as religion serve to naturalize (that is, make
cultural conce pts and thought systems appear timeless, natural, and
universal) post -Enlightenment systems of European thought while
simultaneously problematizing other systems of practice, even in
European history. Paul Rabinow has been perhaps the most adamant
disciple of Foucault within the discipline, both as an exegete and as an
ethnographer of modern France.
9.1.4 Derrida and Deconstruction
At first sight, Jacques Derrida 'sOf Grammatology (1967), which
makes the provocative claim for the logical priority of writing (or at least
"archè -writing") over speech, might not seem a likely candidate for a
work that would influence anthropological thinking. Derr ida's point is,
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90speech conceals; second, that there is an apparent gap in time and space,
adifférance, between the enunciation and reception of a written text,
whereas speech gives the illusion of immediacy. Derrida's purpose is to
radically call into question the relevance of authorial intention and the
possibility of any fixed meaning. Texts, written or spoken, must be
interpreted not only in terms of what they "say" but of what t hey keep
silent, and with respect to other texts before and after. Derrida's approach
to texts, "deconstruction," lays bare the internal contradictions of any text,
precluding the attribution of definitive meaning, intentional or otherwise.
Theterm decon struction has been used so loosely by many
anthropologists that it has lost any clear referent —an ironic fate for a
concept intended to challenge the fixity of meaning. More specifically,
Derrida's skepticism about intentionality in the interpretation of t exts has
fueled "postmodern" critiques of anthropological representations of the
"other." Derrida's wordplay and elliptical style have inspired new forms of
anthropological writing, best exemplified by the work of Michael Taussig.
9.1.5 Claude Levi -Strauss and the Four Tenets of Structuralism
Post structuralism builds on, but, more importantly, rejects some of
the central tenets of structuralism —from whe reit gets its name. For this
reason , it is crucial, in order to understand post structuralism, to start with
Claude Levi -Strauss and the structuralist enterprise.
Structuralism was the rage in Parisian intellectual circles in the
1960s, but its popularity distorted important differences be tween the
theoretical approaches of the leading intellectuals labelled as
“structuralist” at the time. Of the four key thinkers associated, in the
public imagination, with structuralism —Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault,
Jacques Lacan, and Claude Lévi -Straus s, only one was, strictly speaking,
structuralist. That was Claude Lévi -Strauss, the anthropologist in the
group.
Claude Lévi -Strauss built his structural edifice on the basis of the
structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure, whose lectures on
lingui stic theory were published posthumously by his students in the now
famous Cours de linguistiquegénérale (1916). In a concise and useful
essay titled “Structural Analysis,” Lévi -Strauss summarized the central
tenets of structural linguistics:
i.First, structu ral linguistics shifts from the study of conscious
linguistic phenomena to study of their unconscious infrastructure;
ii.Second, it does not treat terms as independent entities, taking instead
as its basis of analysis the relations between terms;
iii.Third, it introduces the concept of system. . .;
iv.Finally, structural linguistics aims at discovering general laws, either
by induction “or. . . by logical deduction, which would give them an
absolute character.” (Lévi -Strauss 1967a:31; see also Lévi -Strauss &
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91In relation to the four basic tenets of structuralism,
poststructuralism builds on the first three tenets, but rejects the fourth, the
idea that we could discover general laws. It builds on the notion that
meanings are derived from relations of difference, that these are largely
subconscious, and that they form a structure. But it emphasizes the gaps
and ambiguities in the structure of meanings. Lévi -Strauss had said that
“starting from ethnographic experience, I have always aimed at drawing
upan inventory of mental patterns, to reduce apparently arbitrary data to
some kind of order, and to attain a level at which a kind of necessity
becomes apparent, underlying the illusions of liberty” (Lévi -Strauss 1970
(1964): 10). This is precisely what pos tstructuralism rejects.
Poststructuralism resists, then, the fourth tenet: structures of meanings are
not universal, and do not reflect ontological truths about humans or
society. Poststructuralists focus on those gaps and ambiguities in the
system of mean ing and find meaning there.
9.1.6 The key move of poststructuralism is: How is it that we come to
believe the meaning we impose in order to hide the gaps and ambiguities?
The central question that poststructuralists pose in their work is precisely
how kno wledge becomes possible at any particular time under specific
historical conditions. In Foucault’s words, the question is: “how is it that
the human subject turns himself into an object of possible knowledge,
through what forms of rationality, under what h istorical conditions, and
finally at what price? My question is this one: at what price can the subject
tell the truth about himself?” (Foucault 1983:442).
Foucault’s perspective, in effect, asks a different set of questions
than the structuralists, but d erived from the structuralist framework.
Foucault is interested in the history of knowledge and rationality, the
history of the subject. How is it possible that any of these discourses —
existentialism, structuralism or practice theory —could be received as
correct, useful, intelligible? How does the process of making a discourse
‘true’ shape the way we, as subjects, judge, think, categorize, desire the
other? How is it that we turn ourselves into objects of study? This is not to
suggest, of course, that disco urses do not become ‘true.’ They certainly
have. They are true to many of us. But that is not the issue, for Foucault.
The real question is, how is it that they have come to be seen as true at this
particular time?
Post-structuralism and Foucault’s proje ct thus bear a strained
relationship to structuralism —building on parts, but rejecting others.
Foucault himself was adamant that he was not structuralist. (Foucault
1970:xiv).
In contrast to other forms of critical theory, post -structuralism
focuses on th e social distribution of power associated with the
construction of knowledge, what has come to be known as the
“power/knowledge” critique: How, exactly, do we come to believe what
we hold as true? How is it, for instance, that we come to believe a progressmunotes.in

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92narrative of punishment? What institutions and practices shape us to
believe in the idea of the “delinquent” —or, for that matter, in the idea that
we could possibly “rehabilitate” or “correct” that “delinquent”? How have
our own disciplinary practices con tributed to shaping our beliefs? And at
what cost? As noted earlier, in her book Gender Trouble, Judith Butler
locates post -structuralism in the work of Jacques Derrida (Butler 1990:158
n.6). If, as we suggest, her definition is right, then why the differe nt
location? “Why not in Derrida?” one may ask. Why do we classify
Derrida as a deconstructionist and distinguish deconstruction from post -
structuralism? The primary reason, I would argue, is that deconstruction
never embraces the moment of developing an e xplanation —ac o m p l e x
social theoretic, historical, and genealogical explanation —for how we
come to believe what we do believe. Foucault does —for instance, when he
meticulously explains how we came to believe that it was right to judge
the soul of the delin quent, not just the delinquent act, in Discipline and
Punish. Deconstructive practice does not provide explanation, nor does it
analyze the price we pay when we do that —it does not flesh out the
distributive consequences of those ethical choices. It identi fies the choice,
but stops there. Deconstruction, in effect, never overcomes the radical
moment of ambiguating meaning, which distinguishes it significantly from
poststructuralist work.
One can see this well in a text like Force de loi, the first p art of
which is a keynote lecture that Jacques Derrida delivered in October 1989
at a conference titled “Deconstruction and the Possibility of Justice” in
New York City. The text is fascinating and plays on the structural
relations between law and justice, but it does not move significantly past
the slippage once it has identified the ethical choice. Relying on a
“pensée” of Pascal, Derrida excavates in Force de loi the basis of a
modern critique of liberal legalism. The “pensée” in question concerns the
relationship between justice, law, and might (la force), and is indeed
provocative: “It is important then to bring together justice and might; and
to that end, to make sure that that which is just be strong, and that which is
strong be just” (Derrida 1994:28 ).
This exposes, for Derrida, the mystical foundation of the authority
of law, and enables a modern critique of liberal legalist ideology. The
foundation of law, Derrida suggests, is precisely the force required to first
create, inaugurate, or found the law itself. This, Derrida suggests, requires
“un appel à la croyance” (a leap of faith) and thus represents “un coup de
force” (32 -33); and it exposes deconstructive possibilities. It makes
possible, according to Derrida, the very possibility of deconstruc tion (35),
which is precisely what leads him, paradoxically, to assert that “La
deconstruction est la justice” (35). What he means by that is that it is
precisely the auto -authorization of law —the moment of the appeal to
faith—in law itself that represents the moment of rupture, of
indeterminacy, and of force that makes possible the critique of liberal
legalism and that represents the moment of deconstructive practice. In
typical fashion, it represents a Derridean inversion of the very title of themunotes.in

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93conferen ce, “Deconstruction and the Possibility of Justice.” It is justice —
because it is self -authorizing —that creates the possibility of critique and
thus, the possibility of deconstruction. Notice here, though, and
importantly, that Derrida does not take the fu rther step —which is
associate with post -structuralism —of offering a social theoretic, historical,
or genealogical account of how we come to take that central leap of faith.
Derrida stops with the identification itself. In the end, then, post -
structuralism should be distinguished from deconstruction, and represents
the penultimate stage of modernity. It is the stage where we began to focus
on the ambiguity in meaning as the central location at the edge of critical
reason that helps identify ethical choice. D erridean construction, one can
argue, comes after post -structuralism and represents the last stage of
modernity: no longer willing to offer thick descriptions of how we come to
take our leaps of faith, deconstruction focuses only on the ethical choice
itself. What comes after deconstruction? Perhaps the absolute
acknowledgment of the limits of critical reason and the refusal to take any
leap of faith at all.Perhaps ,a turn, instead, to randomization.
9.1.7Conclusion:
Ultimately, both structuralism and post -structuralism have
contributed to tendencies on the part of many (but by no means all)
anthropologists to call into question the characterization of their discipline
as "science" and to reposition themselves more centrally in the
humanities —structuralism through its emphasis on the decoding of
symbols, a domain often considered antithetical to strictly "scientific"
approaches; and post -structuralism by forcing anthropologists to call into
question their own practices of representation. Critics from within the
humanist camp, however, have pointed out that both structuralism and
post-structuralism are theoretically de -humanizing (that is, ignoring or
minimizing the impact and importance of human agency), most obviously
in Derrida's critique of human intention ality but also, at least implicitly, in
the work of Lévi -Strauss and Foucault. At best, such theories make any
consideration of human agency problematic; at worst, they leave no place
for it at all.
9.2 POST -COLONIALISM
9.2.1 Introduction:
Post-coloniali sm (postcolonial theory, post -colonial studies, post -
colonial theory) is a specifically postmodern intellectual discourse that consists
of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism and
imperialism. It offers a counter -narrative to t he long tradition of European
imperial narratives considering Political, economic, Social/ Cultural and
Psychological oppression. It aims to study the after effect of colonization on the
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949.2.2 What is colonialism and post -colonialism?
Colonialism is an extension of a nation ’s rule over territory beyond
its borders. It is a population that is subjected to the political domination
of another population.
Post-colonialism is defined in anthropology as the relations between
European nations and areas they colonized and once ruled. Post -colonialism
comprises a set of theories found amongst history, anthropology, philosophy,
linguistics, film, political science, architecture, human geograph y, sociology,
Marxist theory, feminism, religious and theological studies, and literature.
Post-colonial theory deals with the reading and writing of literature written
in previously or currently colonized countries, or literature written in
colonizing cou ntries which deals with colonization or colonized peoples -
it embraces no single method or school.
9.2.3 Goals of Post -colonialism
The ultimate goal of post -colonialism is accounting for and combating
the residual effects of colonialism on cultures. It i s not simply concerned with
salvaging past worlds, but learning how the world can move beyond this period
together, towards a place of mutual respect.
Post-colonialist thinkers recognize that many of the assumptions which
underlie the "logic" of coloniali sm are still active forces today.
Ak e yg o a lo fp o s t -colonial theorists is clearing space for multiple
voices. This is especially true of those voices that have been previously
silenced by dominant ideologies -subalterns. It is widely recognized within t he
discourse that this space must first be cleared within academia. Edward Said, in
his book Orientalism, provides a clear picture of how the scholars who studied
what used to be called the Orient (mostly Asia) disregarded the views of those
they actually studied -preferring instead to rely on the intellectual superiority of
themselves and their peers. This attitude was forged by European imperialism.
To the extent that Western scholars were aware of contemporary
Orientals or Oriental movements of thought and culture, these were perceived
either as silent shadows to be animated by the Orientalist, brought into reality
by them, or as a kind of cultural and international proletariat useful for the
Orientalist's grander interpretive activity. (Said, 1978: 208 )
Some postcolonial theorists make the argument that studying both
dominant knowledge sets and marginalized ones as binary opposites
perpetuates their existence as homogenous entities. Homi K. Bhabha feels the
postcolonial world should valorize spaces of mixing; spaces where truth and
authenticity move aside for ambiguity. This space of hybridity, he argues,
offers the most profound challenge to colonialism. (Bhabha, 1994: 113)
However, Bhabha ignores Spivak's stated usefulness of essentialism have been
put forward. Reference is made to essentialisms' potential usefulness. An
organized voice provides a more powerful challenge to dominant knowledge -
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95Ultimately, h owever, post -colonialism is a hopeful discourse. The very
"post" defines the discipline as one that looks forward to a world that has truly
moved beyond all that colonialism entails, together. Mbembe finds it gives him
"hope in the advent of a universal br otherly [and I would add sisterly]
community". Asking what it means to be human together, post -colonialism
aims at decolonizing the future.
9.2.4 Subject matters
"The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of
Africa, Asia and La tin America rise to meet a new life and demand their
unrestricted right to self -determination."( —Che Guevara, speech to the United Nations,
December 11, 1964)
The critical nature of postcolonial theory entails destabilizing Western
ways of thinking, ther efore creating space for the subaltern, or marginalized
groups, to speak and produce alternatives to dominant discourse. Often, the
term post -colonialism is taken literally, to mean the period of time after
colonialism. This however is problematic because the ‘once -colonized world’
is full of “contradictions, of half -finished processes, of confusions, of hybridity,
and liminalities”. In other words, it is important to accept the plural nature of
the word post -colonialism, as it does not simply refer to the period after the
colonial era. By some definitions, post -colonialism can also be seen as a
continuation of colonialism, albeit through different or new relationships
concerning power and the control/production of knowledge. Due to these
similarities, it is debated whether to hyphenate post -colonialism as to symbolize
that we have fully moved beyond colonialism. Post -colonialism as a literary
theory (with a critical approach), deals with literature produced in countries that
once were colonies of other count ries, especially of the European colonial
powers Britain, France, and Spain; in some contexts, it includes countries still
in colonial arrangements. It also deals with literature written by citizens of
colonial countries that portrays colonized people as i ts subject matter. In Dutch
literature a specific colonial and postcolonial segment is named Indies (after
Dutch East Indies) literature. A sub -segment specifically focuses on
postcolonial identity formation and culture of the diasporic Indo -Europeans, a
(Eurasian) community originally from Indonesia. Its main author was Tjalie
Robinson. Colonized people, especially of the British Empire, attended British
universities and with their access to education, created this new criticism.
Following the breakup of t he Soviet Union during the late 20th century, its
former republics became the subject of this study as well.
Often, previously colonized places are homogenized in western
discourse under an umbrella label such as the ‘Third World’. Post -colonialism
demons trates the heterogeneity of colonized places by analyzing the uneven
impact of Western colonialism on different places, peoples, and cultures. This
is done by engaging with the variety of ways in which “relations, practices and
representations” of the past is “reproduced or transformed”, and studying the
connections between the “heart and margins” of the empire. Moreover, post -
colonialism recognizes that there was, and still is, resistance to the West. This
resistance is practiced by many, including the sub altern, a group of
marginalized, and least powerful.munotes.in

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96Postcolonial theory provides a framework that destabilizes dominant
discourses in the West, challenges “inherent assumptions”, and critiques the
“material and discursive legacies of colonialism”. In orde rt oc h a l l e n g et h e s e
assumptions and legacies of colonialism, postcolonial studies need to be
grounded, which entails working with tangible identities, connections, and
processes. Postcolonial theorist Edward Said's 1978 book Orientalism has been
described as a seminal work in the field.
Furthermore, Postcolonialism deals with cultural identity in colonized
societies: the dilemmas of developing a national identity after colonial rule; the
ways in which writers articulate and celebrate that identity (often reclaiming it
from and maintaining strong connections with the colonizer); the ways in
which the knowledge of the colonized (subordinated) people has been
generated and used to serve the colonizer's interests; and the ways in which the
colonizer's literatu re has justified colonialism via images of the coloni zed as a
perpetually inferior people, society and culture. These inward struggles of
identity, history, and future possibilities often occur in the metropolis and,
ironically, with the aid of postcolonia ls t r u c t u r e so fp o w e r ,s u c ha su n i v e r s i t i e s .
Not surprisingly, many contemporary postcolonial writers reside in London,
Paris, New York and Madrid.
The creation of binary opposition structures changed the way we view
others. In the case of colonialism, th eO r i e n t a la n dt h eW e s t e r n e rw e r e
distinguished as different from each other (ie. the emotional, static, Orient vs.
the principled, progressive Occident). This opposition justified the "white man's
burden," the colonizer’s self -perceived "destiny to rule" subordinate peoples. In
contrast, post -colonialism seeks out areas of hybridity and trans -culturalization.
This aspect is particularly relevant during processes of globalization.
Inpost-Colonial Drama: theory, practice, politics, Helen Gilbert and
Joanne Tompkins write: "the term postcolonialism –according to a too -rigid
etymology –is frequently misunderstood as a temporal concept, meaning the
time after colonialism has ceased, or the time following the politically
determined Independence Day on which a country breaks away from its
governance by another state. Not a naïve teleological sequence which
supersedes colonialism, postcolonialism is, rather, an engagement with and
contestation of colonialism's discourses, power structures, and social
hierarchies ... A theory of postcolonialism must, then, respond to more than the
merely chronological construction of post -independence, and to more than just
the discursive experience of imperialism."
Colonized peoples reply to the colonial legacy by writing back t ot h e
center, when the indigenous peoples write their own histories and legacies
using the colonizer’s language (e.g. English, French, Dutch) for their own
purposes. "Indigenous decolonization" is the intellectual impact of post -
colonialist theory upon com munities of indigenous peoples, thereby, their
generating postcolonial literature.munotes.in

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97As i n g l e ,d e f i n i t i v ed e f i n i t i o no fp o s t c o l o n i a lt h e o r yi sc o n t r o v e r s i a l ;
writers have strongly criticised it as a concept embedded in identity politics.
Postcolonial Theory -as epistemology, ethics, and politics -addresses matters
of identity, gender, race, racism and ethnicity with the challenges of developing
ap o s t -colonial national identity, of how a colonised people's knowledge was
used against them in service of the colonizer’s interests, and of how knowledge
about the world is generated under specific relations between the powerful and
the powerless, circulated repetitively and finally legitimated in service to
certain imperial interests. At the same time, postcoloni al theory encourages
thought about the colonised's creative resistance to the coloniser and how that
resistance complicates and gives texture to European imperial colonial projects,
which utilised a range of strategies, including anti -conquest narratives, to
legitimise their dominance.
Post-colonial writers object to the colonised's depiction as hollow
"mimics" of Europeans or as pas sive recipients of power. Consequent to
Foucauldian argument, postcolonial scholars, i.e. the Subaltern Studies
collective, argue that anti -colonial resistance accompanies every deployment of
power.
9.2.5 Postcolonial literature
Postcolonial literature is a body of literary writings that reacts to the
discourse of colonization.
9.2.5.1 Subaltern (Postcolonialism)
In postcolonialism and related fields, subaltern refers to persons
socially, politically, and geographically outside o ft h eh e g e m o n i cp o w e r
structure.
9.2.5.2 History
The term, derived from the work of the Marxist theorist, Antonio
Gramsci, entered postcolonial studies through the work of the Subaltern Studies
Group, a collective of South Asian historians interested in ex ploring the role of
non-elite actors in South Asian history. In the 1970s, the term began to be used
as a reference to colonized people in the South Asian subcontinent. It provided
an e wp e r s p e c t i v eo nt h eh i s t o r yo fac o l o n i z e dp l a c ef r o mt h ep e r s p e c t i v e of
the colonized rather than from the viewpoint of the colonizers. Marxist
historians had already begun to view colonial history from the perspective of
the proletariat, but this was sometimes seen as unsatisfying as it was still a
Eurocentric way of viewi ng the globe. "Subaltern Studies" began in the early
1980s as an "intervention in South Asian historiography." While "subaltern"
began as a model for the Subcontinent, it quickly developed into a "vigorous
postcolonial critique." Subaltern is now regularly used as a term in history,
anthropology, sociology, human geography, and literature.
9.2.5.3 Meanings
The term subaltern is used in postcolonial theory. The exact meaning of
the term in current philosophical and critical usage is disputed. Some thinkers
use it in a general sense to refer to marginalized groups and the lower classes —
ap e r s o nr e n d e r e dw i t h o u ta g e n c yb yh i so rh e rs o c i a ls t a t u s .O t h e r s ,s u c ha s
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak use it in a more specific sense. She argues that:munotes.in

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98Subaltern is not just ac l a s s yw o r df o ro p p r e s s e d ,f o rO t h e r ,f o r
somebody who's not getting a piece of the pie....In postcolonial terms,
everything that has limited or no access to the cultural imperialism is subaltern -
—as p a c eo fd i f f e r e n c e .N o ww h ow o u l ds a yt h a t ' sj u s tt h e oppressed? The
working class is oppressed. It's not subaltern....Many people want to claim
subalternity. They are the least interesting and the most dangerous. I mean, just
by being a discriminated -against minority on the university campus, they don't
needt h ew o r d' s u b a l t e r n ' . . . T h e ys h o u l ds e ew h a tt h em e c h a n i c so ft h e
discrimination are. They're within the hegemonic discourse wanting a piece of
the pie and not being allowed, so let them speak, use the hegemonic discourse.
They should not call themselves subaltern.
Subaltern was first used in a non -military sense by Marxist Antonio
Gramsci. Some believe that he used the term as a synonym for proletariat,
possibly as a codeword in order to get his writings past prison censors, while
others believe his usag et ob eb r o a d e ra n dl e s sc l e a rc u t .
In several essays, Homi Bhabha, a key thinker within postcolonial thought,
emphasizes the importance of social power relations in his working definition
of subaltern groups as oppressed, minority gr oups whose presence was crucial
to the self -definition of the majority group: subaltern social groups were also in
a position to subvert the authority of those who had hegemonic power.
Check your progress
1. What is the Colonial theory ?
9.2.6 Conclusion:
Postcolonial theory tries to understand the power and continued
dominance of Western ways of knowing. Edward Said's work on Orientalism is
related to the idea of the subaltern in that it explains the way in which
Orientalism produced the foundation and the justification for the domination of
the Other through colonialism. Europeans, Said argues, created an imagined
geography of the Orient before European exploration through predefined
images of savage and monstrous places that lay outside of the known world.
During initial exploration of the Orient these mythologies were reinforced as
travelers brought back reports of monsters and strange lands. The idea of
difference and strangeness of the Orient continued to be perpetuated through
media a nd discourse creating an "us" and "them" binary through which
Europeans defined themselves by defining the differences of the Orient. This
laid the foundation for colonialism by presenting the Orient as backward and
irrational and therefore in need of help to become modern in the Europeanmunotes.in

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99sense. The discourse of Orientalism is Eurocentric and does not seek to include
the voices of the Orientals themselves.
Mainstream development discourse built on knowledge of colonialism
and Orientalism focuses on moderni zation theory which follows the idea that in
order to modernize underdeveloped countries one should follow the path of
developed Western countries. It is characterized by free trade, open markets
and capitalist systems as the way to development. Mainstream development
discourse focuses on applying universal policies at a national level.
While the subaltern by definition are groups who have had their voices
silenced, they can speak through their actions as a way to protest against
mainstream development an dc r e a t et h e i ro w nv i s i o n sf o rd e v e l o p m e n t .
Subaltern groups are creating social movements which contest and disassemble
Western claims to power. These groups use local knowledge and struggles to
create new spaces of opposition and alternative futures.
9.3 QUESTIONS
1. Explain post Structualist Theory ?
2. Explain post Colonial Theory ?
9.4 REFERENCES
Asad, Talal. Genealogies of Religion: Discipline and Reasons of
Power in Christianity andIslam .Baltimore :Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1993.
Clifford, James. The P redicament of Culture: Twentieth -Century
Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1988.munotes.in

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100Clifford, James, and George E. Marcus, eds. Writing Culture: The
Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1 986.
Derrida, Jacques. Of Grammatology. Translated by Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1976.
Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of
Pollution and Taboo. New York :P r a e g e r ,1 9 6 6 .
Dreyfus, Hubert L., and Paul Rabinow. Michel Foucault ,b e y o n d
Structuralism and Hermeneutics. Chicago:University of Chicago
Press, 1982.
Dumont, Louis. Homo Hierarchicus: An Essay on the Caste
System. Translated by Mark Sainsbury. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1970.
Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge. Translated by A.
M. Sheridan Smith. London: Tavistock, 1972.
—— .Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated from
the French by Alan Sheridan. New York :P a n t h e o n ,1 9 7 7 .
—— .Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings,
1972 –1977. Translated and edited by Colin Gordon. New York :
Pantheon, 1980.
Héritier, Françoise. Two Sisters and Their Mother: The Anthropology
of Incest. Translated by Jeanine Herman. New York: Zone Books,
1999.
Heusch, Luc de. The Drunken King, or, The Origin of the
State. Translated and annotated by Roy Willis. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press ,1 9 8 2 .
Hugh -Jones, Stephen. The Palm and the Pleiades : Initiation and
Cosmology in Northwest Amazonia. Cambridge, U. K., and New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Leach, Edmund. Claude Lévi -Strauss. Revised edition. New York:
Viking, 1974.
—— .Culture and Communication: The Logic by Which Symbols Are
Connected. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1976.
—— .Rethinking Anthropology. London: Athlone Press; New York:
Humanities Press, 1961.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude. The Elementary Structures of
Kinship. Translated by James Harle Bell, John Richard von Sturmer,
and Rodney Needham. Boston: Beacon, 1969.
—— .From Hone y to Ashes. Translated by John and Doreen
Weightman. London: J. Cape, 1973.munotes.in

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101—— .The Naked Man. Translated by John and Doreen Weightman.
London: J. Cape, 1981.
—— .The Origin of Table Manners. Translated by John and Doreen
Weightman. London: J. Cape, 1978.
—— .The Raw and the Cooked. Translated by John and Doreen
Weightman. New York: Harper and Row, 1969.
—— .The Savage Mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966.
Manganaro, Marc, ed. Modernist Anthropology: From Fieldwork to
Text. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Ortner, Sherry. Sherpas through their Rituals. Cambridge, U.K., and
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.
Rabinow, Paul. French Modern: Norms and Forms of the Social
Environment. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1989.
Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Pantheon, 1978.
Taussig, Michael T. Defacement: Public Secrecy and the Labor of the
Negative. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1999.
—— .Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses. New
York: Routledge, 1993.
Robert Launay
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
BerrinChatziChousein -Turkey Architecture News -Aug 11,
2013 -13:31
https:// worldarchitecture.org/architecture -
news/pgmgz/postcolonialism.html#:~:text=Postcolonialism%20is%20
defined%20in%20anthropology,they%20colonized%20and%20once%
20ruled .
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=102
9&context=public_law_and_legal_theory
https://www.slideshare.net/britishstudiesintehran/postmodernism -
poststructuralism -and-postcolonialism -in-irencyclopedia.com
munotes.in

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10210
GLOBALIZATION: HYBRIDITY, FLOWS
AND BOUNDARIES
Unit Structure
10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 History of Globalization
10.3 Understanding Globalization
10.4 Impact of Globalization on cities
10.5 Technology and Globalization
10.6Globalization and language.
10.7 Globalization and culture industry
10.8Anthropology and Globalization connections
10.9 Globalization impact on Tribal population
10.10 Impact of Globalization in Anthropological research
10.11 Hybridity
10.12 Flow and B oundaries
10.13 Summary
10.14 Questions
10.15 References
10.0 OBJECTIVES
To understand the meaning of Globalization and its relevance to
Anthropology.
To understand the concepts connected to Globalization like
Hybridity, flow, and boundaries.
To unde rstand the impact of Globalization on Tribes, research in
Anthropology.
10.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we are looking into Globalization from the
perspective of Anthropology. We are also looking into three concepts that
are connected to Glob alization. Some major revolutions have affected the
world, like the invention of the wheel, industrialization, and Globalization.
Globalization resulted in two structural changes among countries ’
Homogenization and diversification.munotes.in

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103Human beings have bee n moving since times immemorial. People
have travel led for trades, as pilgrims, marriages, invasion as migrants,
kings used to send their sons to study in other countries to acquire new
skills. Silk, spices have been exchanged among several kingdoms. The
age of discovery and science led to the growth of economies and
movement among people too. So, technically Globalization is not
something new phenomenon which has happened in society. However,
understanding it academically is essential to understand one's evolution
and even that of society.
10.2 HISTORY OF GLOBALIZATION
With colonies in several countries ,global integration did not begin
rapidly until the Nineteenth Century. The development of steamships,
railroads, the telegraph, and other technological achievements and
increased economic cooperation across countries ushered in the first
"wave" of globalization. After the disaster of World War I, the
globalization trend weakened and crashed, followed by post -war
protectionism and the Great D epression. Following World War II in the
mid-1940s, the U.S. pioneered attempts to revive international commerce
and investment under established ground rules, starting the second wave
of globalization that is still going strong, despite periodic downturns and
increasing political scrutinyi.
At present, we are in the most advanced society in terms of
technology with 3D printing, 5G coming with high internet speed.
Reusable rockets, large p opulation using planes, digital currency, wallets
like pay ™, UPI. However, global warming is a big threat in the most
advanced world too. There are still conflicts through religion even though
we are in a technologically advanced society. Some countries l ike China
have also played a major role by increasing the manufacturing business
and higher export. In other words, the products made by China has
reached nearly all parts of the world. This has affected the home country
and the trade globally.
There is also rapid consumption by the economies like India,
especially the aspiration middle class. Luxury goods are also being
consumed to a large extent in the growing economies. These growing
economies are also seen as a market by the developed economies.
E-commerce has changed the behavio ural habits of human beings.
It has reduced the face -to-face interaction business. People are buying and
experimenting with a wide variety of products due to the large size of
products available in the market. New technologi es are changing the cost
of the operation of the business. Like work from home, opportunities
reduce the cost for infrastructure through offices, electricity, computers,
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10410.3 UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION
According to the IMF (International Monetary Fund),
"globalization" is a historical process resulting from human innovation
and technological progress. It refers to the increasing integration of
economies worldwide, particularly through the movement of goo ds,
services, and capital across borders. The term sometimes also refers to
movement of people (labo ur) and knowledge (technology) across
international borders. There are also broader cultural, political, and
environmental dimensions of Globalization. Ther e are four major parts
within the Globalization like increase in trade, Capital flow, migration and
movement of people, exchange of knowledgeii.There are several reasons
for the development of modern G lobalization, one of them being the
growth of the advanced stage of industrialization and the growth of the
service sector. It has affected nearly all sectors of society. Upadhyay
(2014) notes that Globalization has affected several areas like gender
equal ity, family structures, social security net, administration, education,
technology, health care system, festivals, language, music, literature,
cinema, television, drugs, trafficking.iii
Thus, there are different types of Globalization like –
a.Economic Globalization talks about the liberalization of markets and
economy and free trade.
b.Technol ogical Globalization where technologies like computers,
robotics, artificial intelligence is made.
c.Cultural Globalization where food habits and lifestyle are made
homogenous or exchanged. For example, if you look in the malls, few
brands are the same thro ughout every mall. Another example is that of
TIK TOK, which emerged in another country; however the
consumption market developed throughout the world.
d.Political globalization -Geo-political decisions or any decisions made
by one country could affect an other. For example, changes in the
policies of oil -producing countries would all those countries dependent
on it.
Globalization can have a positive impact on the development of
economies. For example, India in recent times has received the highest
foreign direct investment i.e., The Reserve Bank of India reports that the
FDI in India has increased from $97 million in 1990 -91 to that of $81,722
million in 2020 -21iv.
10.4 IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON CITIES
Mathur (2005) points out how the cities, workspaces, land costs in
cities rose because of Globalization. This was due to the result of huge
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105companies entered into India like that of knowledge business, service
industries, BPOs. This led to the economic development higher in the six
cities. He also adds the investment initially by FDI in India was low
compared to other Asian countries.v.
With liberalization, the education sector also changed. Several new
courses were introduced for the changing market, like Bachelor's in Mass
Media, Business Management (Bhatia, Panner, 2019) .Several business
school swere also developed to create employment -ready individuals,
especially for the new market. These schools produced optimally skilled
individuals who reduced the skill employability gap in industries.vi
There is one more problem with the emergence of globalization:
the Globalization of diseases and viruses due to the number of people
traveling from one country to another. For example -the recent pandemic
of coronavirus. With coronavirus, several changes occurred, like the
tourism industry got shut down. Lakhs of people walked barefoot to their
villages. Online education started. It mostly impacted children too.
Especially children who do not have access to mobile phones. Its
problematic as suddenly young children are expected to adopt new
technology. Lack of access to technology is also a big problem. For
example, in the documentary Kasheer, the children in the remote parts of
Kashmir are struggling to attend online classes without access to a
network. Som e have to walk 4 km to get a network over the valley. In
addition, there are some villages in the wildlife sanctuary. As a result, they
have to fear the wildlife and be in a conflict zone; they have to study and
remain alert.viiThis shows the access to technology; advancement has still
not reached the villages of our country.
10.5 TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION
There is the rapid advancement of technology and the growth of
artificial intelligence. In other words, we are in a world of data -driven.
Everything is being digitized right from banks, libraries to education,
health care facilities like telemedicine, medi cal-related to apps. This has
created new health problems like overconsumption of technology devices
like mobile, especially social media. Higher consumption leads to new sets
of problems like late -night sleeping among children. Large amount of
dopamine re lease in their brains and the tendency of having instant
gratification.
Cyber frauds are also a big issue, where people who are not aware
of crimes and the Internet are fooled and looted by scammers. This is
through phone calls, spam emails. Victims are falling from both advancing
and developed countries. Around 3.17 lakh cybercrimes and 5,771 FIRs
were registered online through a centralized portal in the last 18 months
and a large number are from Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Lok Sabha
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106Drone crimes are also rising. These devices up in the air are not
only problematic for military areas but also for layp ersons. There are
chances of drones being used by thieves by checking the number of people
residing in houses, smuggling drugs in prisons. Holograms which is not
still available in India could replace the appearance of a human and be
involved in crimes. In short, technology has both advancements and
disadvantages. Proper awareness has to be created for both senior citizens
and children.
10.6 GLOBALIZATION AND LANGUAGES -
With Globalization ,the dominance of English has become
stronger. This has affecte d the local languages and the regional languages
to a large extent. In several states of India, regional languages schools
have been shut down. This has brought competition and discrimination in
access to education. On one side, we have the international s chools,
Matriculation schools, CBSE board students, and then municipal schools
and tribal schools in the same country. This leads to the output, i.e.,
students entering into society, workforce divided right at the base level. In
Maharashtra itself, 41 BMC schools have been shut down; an NGO
reported this called Praga Foundation. There is a 58.6 decrease in the
enrolment of students from the year 2009 -10 to 2018 -19ix. Another
newspaper points out that there are nearly 37 Marathi medium schools
have been shut down by the BMCxThis leads to problems like those who
are poor and cannot afford education would further suffer.
10.7 GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURE INDUSTRY -
Several new products which were never available in India have
been introduced today. This has led to the change in the food habits of the
mass population. Let's say the example of Avocado, Dragon Fruits, Oats;
you may not be aware of these foods earlier. H owever, these foods are
imported or produced within the country and consumed by a large
population.
The cosmetic industry was not so much population before 1994 as
India was a new market where industrialization came late. So, the large
population was st ill a big market. The beauty contests and miss world,
miss universe created a foundation for the large cosmetic industry.
10.8 ANTHROPOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION
CONNECTIONS –
As Anthropologists who study culture, Globalization as a concept
is of special i mportance to us. Evolutionary Anthropologists developed
theories to explain different societies. They tried to show how society has
moved from savagery to civilization stage. Diffusionists also tried to show
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107played a key role in building theories of growth. Hence, given this
background, understanding Globalization, hybridity, flows, and
boundaries are very important in today's time for you as a student of
Sociology/anthropology.
Check Your Progress
1. According to you, what is Globalization, and how has it impacted
Indian society?
2. Discuss the interconnections between Globalization and Anthropology?
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108The above table could be observed how the Anthropological area
of interest has been evolving with time. Apart from this, it could be seen
the theorists who dominated the particular tradition. The first column also
shows the Anthropological periods.
10.9 GLOBALIZATION AND TRIBAL POPULATION
Colonizers impacted the tribal group to such an extent that they
labelled certain tribal groups as Criminals. The consequence of that is they
are still facing the stigma of it even today. Roads and railways further
made many villagers and outsiders enter into tribal lands, which led to
encroachment. Dams funded by international agencies further led to the
displacement of tribals in their lands, leading to land alienation and social
movements in India. Globalization has further impacted tourism, whereby
tribal artifacts and symbols are being modified to suit the tourists' needs
and portray them as exhibitions of exotic culture.
The local language of the tribals is impacted due to
Globalization. The introduction of t ourism further hampers the cultural
practices, forest and outsiders encroaching their areas.
10.10 IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION IN
ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Globalization haschanged the teaching and practice of anthropology
massively. There are several meth odological problems that Globalization
emerged. With the higher migration and population flows due to the
globalized world. The site of study for traditional anthropologists, i.e.,
simple society, has been moved to modern societies or those in transitionxi.
The Internet has also been used to a large extent in research to collect data
from other countries. Culture in the form of words, skills, styles, artifacts,
even entire languages or religions is transmitted between individuals and
between societies with mo dern transport, communication becomes global
too. For example –U.S. Hip Hop has spread to nearly all countries. Japan
sushi food1is very popular or Indian food Paneer Masala, Chicken Tikka,
Biryani.xiiGlobalization has impacted not a minuscule level but at a macro
level. Hence, research methods to study emerging societies also need to be
constantly modified to capture the reality of the research problem. Let us
now further look into understand ing Hybridity.
10.11 HYBRIDITY
Hybrid, in simple words, is a mixture, i.e., two elements are being
combined. Initially, this term was used for animals and plants. However,
in the later stage by post -colonialists theorists. Several scholars also locate
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109cultures. Hybridity can create and question the existing culture like race
relations, the caste system in terms of the Indian contextxiii.Hybridity must
be understood in three historical contexts: (a) the emergence of racial and
cultural mixture vocabularies from the mid -nineteenth Century onwards;
(b) the historical foundations of Hybridity (c) the point at which modern
hybrid identities collide; and like language, communicationxiv.
Some anthropologists view "hybridity" as the dissolution of rigid
cultural boundaries between groups leading to the intermixture of various
identities and the dissolution of identities. Much anthropology in this field
demonstrates how identi ties have been invented and reinvented for
political and other purposes out of disparate historical and cultural
experiences. Other studies have repeatedly shown that —contrary to a
group's self -representation and assertion of identity —identities are driven
with contradictions and are not to be understood as seamlessly unified
comprehensive cultural entitiesxv.For example, the Netflix series on Sweet
Tooth portrays the hybrid children born with animals' traits.
Kraidy (2006) points out that Hybridity as a characteristic of
culture is compatible with Globalization because it helps globalization
rule, as Stuart Hall once put it, through a variety of local capitals.
Hybridity entails that traces of other cultures ex ist in every culture, thus
offering foreign media and marketers transcultural wedges for forging
affective links between their commodities and local communities. Let us
understand this with some examples. Reality television is a good example
to understand this phenomenon. There is American Idol, Britain's Got
talent and in India, we have Indian Idol. The local culture is being brought
in the mass culture format. Let us look into another example. Maggie was
just a noodle that entered the market. After that, it merged into the Indian
market with hybridity models like Indian Masala Maggi, Atta noodles as
wheat is seen as healthy than maida. Let us take the example of milk
products for infants. Few multinational companies have monopolized the
market through adve rtisement and creating brand value. As a result, there
is no local competition as we are made to think about brand value and
brand as healthy. This can be seen with several health drinks, cold drinks
which we consume every day. So, we can draw everyday ha bits that are
being monitored, modified with Globalization entering our lives.
Check Your Progress
1. Explain Hybridity in few lines?munotes.in

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1102. Discuss the impact of Globalization on the tribal population of our
country?
10.12 FLOW AND BOUNDARIES
Contemporary globalization results from the increasing flow of
trade, finance, culture, ideas, and technology of communications trade and
neoliberal capitalism and people adapting to this flow or resisting it.xviIt
could also be seen that Globalization also makes skilled people to migrate
to other countries and impact bo th home and host countries. The
boundaries have changed due to different job opportunities in other
countries. Cohen points out that Globalization is a product of a
rearrangement of the state's purposes, boundaries, and sovereign authority.
It also influen ced state sovereignty and the patterns of immigration policy,
even in developed countries like the United States.xvii.Globalization has
not only brought economic growth and the exchange of goods and
services, but it has also led to the spread of viruses from one country to
another. For examp le, the SARS Virus, the present pandemic of covid -19,
emerged in one country and spread to other countries.
In the present times, we are in the market where the flow of
information is at its peak. For example, imagine you have your birthday
today and are trying to surf and find a new dress. Immediately,
advertisements for dresses, shoes, and sandals start appearing whenever
you browse the Internet, even the following days. As of now, we are in a
data-driven world where information exchange is easy. Compan ies store
our data and show us tailored -made products so that we could buy them.
This many times happens when you have your Gmail account login and
you are surfing. Major scams can be prevented, at least at the individual
level, if we are cautious about ou r security.
There are mainly three types of flows that can be observed among
different countries. The first one is that of trade flows. Secondly, human
capital flows and the third one is that of investments. Out of these three,
the human capital flows a re a big asset that creates a lot of problems to the
host. In India, in the early 90s and even today, the high skilled population
has been moving like doctors, nurses, engineers, scientists to other
countries. As a result, the home country loses important resources that
could create massive changes within our own economy.
With the Globalization, there is a free flow of capital. There is also
other problems like illicit financial flows. Let us look into this in detail.munotes.in

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111The term illicit financial flows (I FFs) is an umbrella term that
covers various forms ofmoney laundering and tax or market abuse. It
includes the laundering of proceeds madethrough:
organized criminal markets (such as narcotics)
corruption (such as embezzled funds)
tax abuse (such as tax mi s-invoicing)
market abuse (such as insider trading)
The term illicit financial flows emerged in the 1990s but were
popularised in the 2000s byRaymond Baker and Global Financial Integrity
(Kukutschka et al. 2019).
IFFs also reproduce inequality in several ways. First, IFFs are
associated with less efficient economic outcomes, lower rates of poverty
reduction and more rent -seeking behavio ur. Second, IFFs reduce state
capacity and, in particular, the revenues needed to finance development
and state -building.
Third, IFFs are often associated with state capture and
deteriorating institutional quality. Fourth, IFFs have disproportionately
detrimental impacts on those citizens already most “left -behind," given
their effectiveness in facilitating and exace rbating corruption and conflict
in the poorest countries.
We are presently in the advanced stage of globalization, which has
affected nearly all sectors of our lives. Let it be through eCommerce,
foreign capital, food, education, etc. However, the importa nt question that
we need to ask over here is whether Globalization has created a new
borderless world and created a new form of inequality.xviii?
10.13 SUMMARY
In the present chapter, we started with understanding globalization,
i.e., trade, culture, and pr oducts are exchanged. After that, we observed the
discipline's relevance as traditionally Anthropologists have been studying
simpler societies; however, simpler societies like tribal groups are
impacted with the large globalization process. In this chapter , there is also
a discussion of the formation of hybrid which means mixture. This could
be applied in any field of language, customs, clothing habits etc. We also
learned about the flow of technology, skilled people, that is moving across
boundaries due t o Globalization.
10.14 QUESTIONS
1.Discuss in brief history and impact of globalization on cities.
2.Explain the concept of hybridity and flow of illicit capital.
3.Discuss impact of globalization on Anthropology.
4.Explain the impact of globalization on language and technology.munotes.in

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11210.15 REFERENCES
https://www.piie.com/microsites/globalization/what -is-globalization
https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2008/053008.htm
Upadhyay, R. K. (2014). Socio -cultural impact of Globalization in
India. The Discussant ,2(3).
https://theprint.in/economy/97 -mn-in-1991 -to-82-bn-in-2021 -how-
reforms -made -india -a-go-to-destination -for-fdi/699786/
Mathur O. P. (2005) Impact of Globalization on cities and city -related
policies in India. In: Richardson H.W.,
Bae CH.C. (eds) Globalization and Urban Development. Advances in
Spatial Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https:// doi.org/
10.1007/3 -540-28351 -X_4
Bhatia, S. M., & Panneer, S. (2019). Globalization and i ts impact on
business education in emerging economies: A case of India. South
Asian Journal of Human Resources Management ,6(2), 278 -291.
https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=G -nFTGNC_Nc
https://www.thehindu.com/sci -tech/technology/317 -lakhs -
cybercrimes -in-india -in-just-18-months -says-govt/article34027225.ece
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/civic/41 -bmc-schools -
shut-down -last-year-says-ngo-study/articleshow/72861861.cms
https://www.thehindu.com/n ews/national/other -states/BMC -shuts -37-
Marathi -medium -schools -in-5-years/article16812599.ece
Eriksen, T. (Ed.). (2003). Globalization: Studies in Anthropology .
LONDON; STERLING, VIRGINIA: Pluto Press. doi:10.2307
/j.ctt18fs8zb
Eller, Jack David. Cultural anthropology 101 . Routledg e, 2015.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social -sciences -and-law/sociology -
and-social -reform/sociology -general -terms -and-concepts/hybridity
Kraidy, M. (2006). Hybridity, or the cultural logic of Globalization .
Temple Universi ty Press.
https://www.britannica.com/science/anth ropology/The -
anthropological -study -of-education#ref839808.
Lewellen, T. C. (2 002). The Anthropology of Globalization: Cultural
Anthropology Enters the 21st Century: Cultural Anthropology Enters
the 21st Century .A B C -CLIO.
Cohen, E. S. (2001). Globalization and the boundaries of the state: A
framework for analyzing the changing practice of sovereignty.
Governance ,14(1), 75 -97.
http://people.tamu.edu/~aglass/econ452 /Ceglowski_BordlessWorld.
pdf
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11311
CULTURAL STUDIES
Unit Structure
11.0 Objectives
11.1 Relevance of the subject
11.2 Understanding Culture
11.3 Characteristics of Culture
11.4Origin of Cultural studies
11.5 Understanding the meaning of Culture studies
11.6 Characteristics of Cultural studies
11.7Methods to practice Cultural studies
11.8Key concepts in Cultural studies.
11.8.1 Popular Culture
11.8.2 Culture Industry
11.8.3 Folk culture and oral history
11.8.4 Culture and signifying practice
11.8.5 Representation
11.9 Hegemony and Cultural studies.
11.10 Feminism and Cultural studies.
11.11 Cultural Studies in India.
11.12Summary
11.13Questions
11.14 References
11.0 OBJECTIVES
To get acquainted with the meaning and origin of Cultural studies.
To understand the historical context behind the emergence of the
subject.
To learn about the core concepts associated with it.
11.1 RELEVANCE OF THE SUBJECT
As an An thropology student, you are studying culture studies for
several reasons. It would help you give a new perspective towards
understanding our sub -discipline anthropology, i.e., Cultural
Anthropology. There are several topics which cultural studies touch up on,
like popular culture, high culture, low culture, culture industry which you
can apply and understand and use in your research. These topics andmunotes.in

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114concepts will help you understand, help you reflect on your own life
experiences and also help you better un derstand our society in general.
This chapter is giving an outline, introduction of this 70 + year old
discipline. Cultural studies are taught as a subject for English Literature,
Mass Media students. It is taught as an independent course/stream in
several Universities in India, to name a few like Tezpur University Assam
has M.A., Ph.D. in culture studies, TISS offers M.A. in Media and cultural
studies, English and Foreign languages University, Hyderabad and several
countries in the world. There isn't enoug h literature on Anthropological,
cultural studies. So, here we are more going to discuss cultural studies
only. The takeaway from this chapter is that you are being introduced to
interdisciplinary subjects through cultural studies.
11.2 UNDERSTANDING CUL TURE
Before understanding culture studies, we need to look into what
culture is. Culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, cultivate,
or honor), generally referring to patterns of human activity and the
symbolic structures that give such acti vity significance. Anthropologists
commonly use "culture" to refer to the universal human capacity to
classify, codify, and communicate their experiences symbolically [1].
Edward B. Tylor defined culture as "that complex whole which
includes knowledge, b elief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" [2]. In
other words, culture is associated with growth like agriculture, whereby
crops are cultivated.
11.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1.Culture is learned and acquired –Culture is acquired because
certain behaviors are carried from one generation to another.
Individuals inherit certain qualities from their parents. Socio -cultural
patterns are learned from family members, immediate circle, society in
which an individual grows. Thus, it could be drawn that the culture of
human beings is influenced by the physical and social environment
through which they operate.
2.Culture is shared by a group of people –A thought or action may be
labeled as a culture if it is shared and believed or practiced by a group
of people.
3.Culture is cumulative –Knowledge learned by one generation is
passed to another generation with time. The next generation adds some
of their observation, creativity and furthe r; it gets modified. Hence ,we
can call this cumulative. For example –If you have inherited an
ancestral property. You may further paint the home, decorate, make
certain modifications and pass it on to your siblings or family
members. Further, they would make some changes like have rainwatermunotes.in

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115harvesting system, air conditioners, something new changes and it
passes it on.
4.Culture changes –As we can see, modification and addition are an
integral part of the culture. Hence, culture is never constant; there are
some little changes. Generally, the aspects that are not useful for a
particular society don't last; however, certain rituals and customs
essential for the continuity of society continue. For example –
Marriage in earlier times used to happen for days , annual festivals in
villages used to take place for days together now it has been changed
to 3-4 hours event. The process has changed. However, it continues.
5.Culture is dynamic –Culture keeps on evolving with time, and it's
also fluid.
6.Culture mak es us human –Animals have an instinct in them. If you
have observed a chick as soon as it is born, it keeps searching worms,
insects for feed. With humans, learning is for a long period —college,
schools, learning.
7.Culture is ideational –It stands as t he benchmark through which
individuals are expected to follow.
For Stuart Hall, culture does not consist of what the educated élites
fancy, such as classical music or the fine arts. It is, simply, "experience
lived, experience interpreted, experience defi ned." And it can tell us things
about the world, he believed, that more traditional studies of politics or
economics alone could not. For Hall culture is also a site for
'negotiation [3]'.
TheCenter for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition goes a
step further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and
interactions, cognitive constructs, and understanding learned by
socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity
fostered by social patterns unique to the group. Given this background, let
us now look in detail into cultural studies.
11.4 ORIGIN OF CULTURAL STUDIES
Cultural Studies is an interdis ciplinary field that is concerned with the
role of social institutions in shaping culture. Cultural studies emerged in
Britain in the late 1950s and subsequently spread internationally,
especially to the United States and Australia. Originally cultural stu dies
were identified with the Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the
University of Birmingham (founded 1964) by scholars like Richard
Hoggart, Stuart Hall, and Raymond Williams. Cultural studies later
became a well -established field in many academ ic institutions. It has since
then influenced sociology, anthropology ,historiography ,literary criticism ,
philosophy ,a n d art criticism . The dominant areas are race,ethnicity ,class ,
gender , and the production of cultural knowledge [4]. In other words, it
talks about culture studies from the perspective of an interdisciplinary
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116The creation of this discipline was not easy for the founders. Stuart
Hall wrote letters in the University of Birmingham to other Departments
like the Department of Sociology to collaborate and work in an
interdisciplinary way. However, he did not receive any response.
Interdisciplinary what has been accepted today as normal was back then
difficult[5]. The history of cultural studies can be seen with literary
criticism. Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart developed the
Leavisite stress on literature. In other words, social evaluation, but later
on, they shifted their focus from literature to everyday life.
Check your progress
1. What is Culture ?
2. Explain any 4 feature of Culture.
11.5 UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF CULTURE
STUDIES
Culture studies, in other words, talk about the politics behind the
construction of culture. Who owns the power to create culture, how it is
created, and the consumers ask such questions? Traditionally, the culture
of the rich was seen as high and studied and discussed. Cultural studies
observe the downtrodden masses culture and its complexity and even
question the concepts o f high and classical cultures.
Culture studies founders were inspired by Italian Marxist Scholar
Gramsci, who spoke about the cultural domination of capitalist groups
over marginalized groups. The dominant ideas of capitalists being sold to
the lower and marginalized class. The process is so slow that one does not
realize it. Similarly, many harmful products, which are the products
created by capitalists, are being made habitual to the people who cannot
afford them. It is the emotion that is being sold to the people.
Baker notes that t he subject of culture studies talks about taking for
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117things are accepted and why it operates that, and how certain things are
side-lined. Those powerful groups control the media and infl uence the
decisions and affect the marginalized groups (7). There are some
perspectives in Cultural Studies, too, like phenomenology, cultural
anthropology, structuralism, and critical theory.
Cultural studies aim to comprehend how meaning is generated,
distributed, and produced within a culture through varied activities,
beliefs, institutions, and social structures. It demonstrates how certain
objects in civilization or community gain meaning and value. Cultural
studies are thus dedicated to studying a so ciety's whole variety of arts,
beliefs, institutions, and behaviors. According to Habib, much of what is
labeled as cultural studies might "easily be classified under numerous
other titles such as Marxism, Structuralism, New Historicism, Feminism,
and Post colonialism," according to Habib. Cultural studies are concerned
not only with the study of culture but also with the formation of meaning
through symbolic forms and signifying acts, as well as the impact of these
practices on subjectivity.
11.6 CHARACTER ISTICS OF CULTURAL STUDIES
1. Cultural studies try to understand cultural practices and their relation to
power. Here the goal is to expose power relationships and show how
these relationships influence and shape cultural practices.
2. Cultural studies a im to understand culture holistically and analyze the
social and political context within which it works.
3. Culture in cultural studies always performs two functions: the object of
study and the location of political criticism and action.
4. Cultural st udies try to bring about complexity in the field of knowledge.
5. It tries to evaluate modern society and its construction.
11.7 METHODS TO PRACTICE CULTURAL STUDIES –
1. Observe the codes, signs, text
2. Try to decode it.
3. Look how it is represente d.
Check Your Progress
1.Discuss the characteristics of Cultural studies?munotes.in

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1182. Write in brief about the origin of Cultural studies?
11.8SEVERAL KEY CONCEPTS ARE DISCUSSED IN
CULTURAL STUDIES LIKE -
1.8.1 Popular culture –According to Stuart Hall, "Popular culture is one
of the sites where this struggle for and against a culture of the powerful is
engaged: it is also the stake to be won or lost in that struggle," he argues.
"It is the arena of consent and resistance[7]." F or example –Wearing jeans
by the student movement in Europe was a resistance against the dominant
practice of being in Blazers and ties and neatly polished shoes.
1.8.2 Culture industry –The term "culture industry" was given by
Theodor Adorno and Max H orkheimer. They believed that mass media
had negative effects on people. According to them, through
advertisements and films, citizens forget their reality and thus become
easily manipulated. Mass media had a primary role in exercising power by
communicati ng determinate ideas, advertising products, and ignoring
themes or issues[8]. For example –Aerated drinks are not healthy for the
human body. However, it has been marketed in such a way that drinking it
makes you look cool. There are also diet products av ailable in a similar
way.
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11911.8.3 Folk Culture and Oral history –
Folk culture is generally associated with peasant society. It is the
culture connected to the roots of the population, for example –Proverbs,
riddles, poetry, oral history, folk songs. These songs are recited during
village festivals (Patras). They involve stories of heroes, epics,
mythological characters. Many atimes thes e oral songs are recited and
passed on from one generation to another. It is rarely recorded; hence
these songs are marginalized in the mainstream historical literature of
textbooks and reference books. Globalization further marginalizes these
songs throug h rapid mass media interventions and television.
Check your progress
1. Explain what is Pop Culture ?
11.8.4 Culture and signifying practice -.
As Hall puts it, 'By culture, here I mean the actual grounded terrain
of practices, representations, languages, and customs of any specific
society.
11.8.5 Representation
Cultural studies are centered on repr esentation questions, like how
the world is socially constructed and represented to and by us in
meaningful ways.
Check Your Progress
1.Explain the Culture industry?munotes.in

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1202. Explain folk culture and oral history?
11.9 FEMINISM AND CULTURAL STUDIES
In the Centre for Contemporary Cultural studies in Birmingham in
the 1970s and 1980s, feminist cultural studies developed. It aimed at
becoming a multi -disciplinary, multi -cultural field. This area drew
attention from di fferent countries scholars like Germany, France, U.S,
Canada, Australia. There were also works from different political
standpoints: women of color, Marxists -feminist, women -in exile, post -
colonialist, lesbian studies, post -structuralism, psychoanalysis, s ociology,
medical science, etc. Different methodologies were also used to study
feminism and cultural studies.
11.10 HEGEMONY AND CULTURAL STUDIES
To understand Cultural studies better, we also need to learn about
the concept of hegemony. The Cultural studies foundation school used this
concept and was influenced by the creator of this concept too. Antonio
Gramsci is the person who is involved with t he creation of the concept. He
was an Italian Marxist scholar. When he was jailed, he wrote about this
concept in the book Prisoner's Notebook. Hegemony. Hegemony is the
dominance of one group over another, often supported by legitimating
norms and ideas. Hegemony derives from the Greek term hēgemonia
("dominance over"), which describes relations between city -states .
Gramsci's discussion of hegemony followed his attempts to understand the
survival of the capitalist state in the most advanced Western countri es. A
hegemonic class can attain the consent of other social forces, and the
retention of this consent is an ongoing project. To secure this consent
requires a group to understand its interests in relation to the mode of
production, as well as the motivati ons, aspirations, and interests of other
groups .In other words, Hegemony is control over individuals by a
powerful group. This control is through such a slow, passive process that
the opponent doesn't realize that they are being controlled or manipulated
by the powerful. For example -In today's time, p eople spend on luxury.
Achieving luxury is the dream of every individual. Class is being
respected and valued by the majority, and achieving that is the goal of a
large population. The capitalists are selling this idea to marginalized
groups. This leads to the marginalized groups often being discontented.
Consumerist behavior is also a reflection of this. People buy manymunotes.in

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121products online or in malls just because they are available for cheap;
however, they may not have a utility. The smartphone is another exa mple
whereby people have been addicted to it, yet they cannot separate it as its
utility value.
Check Your Progress
1.Explain Feminism and Cultural studies?
2. Explain the concept of hegemony regarding cultural studies?
11.11 CULTURAL STUDIES AND INDIA
Cultural studies can be observed in India from different angles,
layers, dimensions, and facets due to the diversity. Class, caste,
digitization, languages, technology, Bollywood, film industry, reality
shows, electric veh icles, and industries influence culture and hierarchy. In
India, at times, we have individuals who belong to the 18th -century
practices and the modern technological thoughts driven person too within
oneself. For example, the individual could have a univers ity education yet
follow unhealthy practices like dowry, child marriage, caste superiority,
superstition, etc. So, documenting and understanding Cultural studies is a
complex task. However, independent studies have been carried out by
different Anthropolog ists, Sociologists, Literature students.
11.12 SUMMARY
In this chapter, we started with understanding culture and then
introduced the discipline named Cultural studies. The subject
predominantly tries to understand the meaning of culture, how it is
represented in a particular society, its complexities, and its power
dimension. We studied several key concepts like culture industry themunotes.in

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122popular culture, which tries to show how the culture of the dominant
groups is being sold to the masses. Originally, cultural studies were
identified with the Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the
University of Birmingham (founded 1964) by scholars like Richard
Hoggart, Stuart Hall, and Raymond Williams. Cultural studies is an
interdisciplinary subject that has impacted worldwide. We also learned
about Cultural studies concerning feminism and the Indian context.
11.13 QUESTIONS
1.Discuss the origin and meaning of cultural studies.
2.Explain the following concepts –
a.Popular cultu re b. Culture industry. c. Folk culture.
11.14 REFERENCES
[1] https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Culture
[2] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward -Burnett -Tylor
[3]https://www.newyorker.com/books/page -turner/stuart -hall-and-the-rise-
of-cultural -studies
[4] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2015, July 26). Cultural
studies .Encyclopedia Britannica .
https://www.britannica.com/topic/cultural -studies
[5]https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blog/what -is-cultural -studies/
[6] Sardar, Z. (20 15).Introducing cultural studies: A graphic guide .I c o n
Books Ltd.
[7]https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm -
binaries/66910_An_Introduction_to_Cultural_Studies.pdf
[8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer -science/cultural -
industry
[9] https://in.pinterest.com/pin/438045501239141885/
[10] https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/looking -back-on-58-mcdonald
slogan
Additional reference list for further readings
●https://tu -
dresden.de/gsw/slk/anglistik_amerikanistik/kulturstudi en_grossbritann
iens/studium/lehrveranstaltungen/list -of-major -works -in-cultural -
studies
●Louis Althusser (1918 -1990), e.g. For Marx (1959/1969), "Ideology
and Ideological State Apparatuses."
●Matthew Arnold (1822 -1888), e.g. Culture and Anarchy: An Essay in
Political and Social Criticism (1867 -9)munotes.in

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123●Roland Barthes (1915 -1980), e.g. Mythologies (1957/1973), Criticism
and Truth (1966/1987), Image, Music, Text (1977)
●Jean Baudrillard (1929 -2007), e.g. Simulacra (1981), Simulations
(1983)
●T.S. Eliot (1888 -1965), e.g. Notes Towards the Definition of Culture
(1948)
●Michel Foucault (1926 -1984), e.g. Madness and Civilization (1965),
The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences
(1966/1970), Discipline and Punish (1975/1979), The History of
Sexuality (3 vols., 19 76-84/1978 -86)
●Antonio Gramsci (1891 -1937), e.g. Prison Notebooks (1929 -1935)
●Stuart Hall (1932 -2014), e.g. Representation: Cultural Representations
and Signifying Practices (1997)
●Richard Hoggart (1918 -2014), e.g. The Uses of Literacy (1957)
●F.R. Leavis (18 95-1978), e.g. Mass Civilization and Minority Culture
(1933), Culture and Environment (with D. Thompson, 1933)
●Jean-Francois Lyotard (1925 -1998), e.g. The Post -modern Condition:
A Report on Knowledge (1979)
●Edward Said (1935 -2003), e.g.: Orientalism (1978), Culture and
Imperialism (1993)
●E.P. Thompson (1924 -1993), e.g. The Making of the English Working
Class (1963)
●Raymond Williams (1921 -1988), e.g. Culture and Society 1780 -1950
(1958), "Culture is Ordinary" (1958), The Long Revolution (1961),
Communications (1962), Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and
Society (1976/1983), The Sociology of Culture (1982).
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