Understanding Anthropology for Global Crisis Management

1 4-2 Final Project Part A Submission: Interview Preparation Heather Bulu SNHU ATH 101 Professor Plemons February 6, 2024

2 I. Defining Anthropology: A. Anthropology is the study of all aspects of humans including their primate relatives throughout the past and present (Welsch, 2019). There are four official subfields within anthropology including biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archeology which all focus on certain aspects of the human condition. A linguistic anthropologist, for example, may study how a tribal groups’ language shapes their membership, identity, cultural beliefs, and ideologies as well as how they differentiate between other communities nearby. The focused studies of human aspects are interwoven in a holistic way by all the subfields due to the complexity of humans to gain insight to the overall human species. The same tribal group may be studied by the other subfields to gather information about their biology, artifacts, and culture to gain a better understanding of the group and its complexities. II. Anthropological Perspective: Anthropology studies many aspects of humans including history, the environment, biology, and culture which makes an anthropological perspective useful during a crisis. An anthropological perspective can aid in the resolution of a crisis by meeting human needs. A. Global Cultural Crises During a global crisis, such as terrorism or war, an anthropological perspective can be useful because it provides information about human history, local communities, what the needs are, and what should be done. Gaining insight into the structure and beliefs of local communities can be beneficial in war. For example, anthropologists have aided the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, by gathering information and providing

3 an understanding of the local population, reducing the need for lethal force by meeting the needs of the community (Shay, 2009). B. Biological Crises In the case of a biological crisis, anthropology can aid greatly because anthropologists can gather an understanding of biological responses, adaptations to disease, and how human behavior influences diseases spread ( Sikakulya, et al., 2021 ). One major contributing factor to combating the Ebola crisis in the Congo was the understanding of biological responses to the diseases after death and the understanding of the importance of touch in funeral rituals to the community ( Sikakulya, et al., 2021 ). Anthropologists were able to aid in the communication of unsafe burials and the implementation of safe dignified burials ultimately preventing disease spread. C. Environmental Crises An anthropological perspective can be useful in relation to environmental crises, such as an earthquake or flood because the understanding of previous response, patterns, and needs to aid in the situation or prevent the situation. Anthropologists can make important connections between humans and the planet. For example, anthropologists have been aiding in the sustainability movement with knowledge of human action motives as well as alternative ways of living to combat global warming (Reuter, 2015). They understand the movement of global consumer culture, human relations, and cultural diversity. A comprehensive long-term view of the human story aids in pushing new narratives and decision making, such as sustainability (Reuter, 2015).

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

4 In this kind of situation, I would think of covid. Now since we have been through similar things many different times such as measles, smallpox, chicken pox, the plague, bird flu, mad cow diseases and so many more illnesses that would all be considered environmental crises, we

5 can look to the past and see how those situations were handled and use a similar tactic in the case of covid. That would be the most logical thing to do since we have had success in the past without the lengths the political leaders have gone to this time. I feel we could still have our

6 freedom while combating covid just like we did when bird flu was new to us. To have a good perspective in anthropology for this kind of situation is critical. III. Historical Perspective A. An example of an important historical contribution of anthropology that has legitimized the field is Franz Boas and his study of “race” and culture with the Kwakuitl tribe in British Columbia, Canada. Franz Boas’ findings concluded that there is no biological basis for race and that culture is rather learned social experiences in a person’s life. His findings have been confirmed by modern anthropology and humans cannot be categorized by characteristics or biology. We are all simply one race. B. An example of a cultural group or individual using a previous life experience to inform their everyday life is someone brought up at a young age going to church or worshiping regularly. Surveys show that adults who regularly attended church as children are much

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

7 more likely to attend church today. However, at the same token, those who have stopped attending also influence others not to attend as we see today that a third of American adults have fallen away from attending religious services (Wingfield, 2023). This is a significant indication that individuals are a product of their cultural past but also a product of cultural changes in the present. C. Families pass down traditions and beliefs to children such as religion, morals, and beliefs that shape social behaviors in their older life. One example of this is Italian Sunday family dinners that often include extended relatives and close family friends. However, children can also be shaped by other societal and cultural factors such as social media which can influence a person and shape their social behaviors as well. For example, the same Italian Sunday dinner used to take place in the early afternoon however, modern culture influences may have caused the dinner to take place at a more “traditional” dinner hour. D. Individuals are a product of their regional pasts to some extent as we can see with someone who moves away from their region. That person will carry some beliefs, physiology, and biological factors from where they came. An example of this is an African American moving from a lower latitude to a higher latitude where their skin still appears with more pigmentation (Welsch, 2019). They also may have different beliefs such as the importance of helping neighbors in the community, which may not be as important in the new location.

8 References: Reuter, T. (2015). Averting a Global Environmental Collapse: The Role of Anthropology and Local Knowledge . Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Averting a Global Environmental Collapse: The Role of Anthropology and Local ... - Google Books Shay, C., (December 13, 2009), Should Anthropologists Go to War?, TIME, Should Anthropologists Be Embedded with Troops in War? - TIME Sikakulya, F.K., Ilumbulumbu, M.K., Djuma, S.F., Bunduki G.K., Sivulyamwenge A.K., Jones M.K., (2021). Safe and dignified burial of a deceased from a highly contagious infectious disease ebolavirus: Socio-cultural and anthropological implications in the Eastern DR Congo. One Health . 13:100309. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100309. PMID: 34458545; PMCID: PMC8379334 Welsch, R. (2019). Anthropology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press Academic US.

9 Wingfield, M. (January 3, 2023). Children being raised in America today attend church far less frequently than their parents and grandparents did. Baptist News Global . Children being raised in America today attend church far less frequently than their parents and grandparents did – Baptist News Global

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

ATH 101 Final Project Part A

Related Documents