Understanding Anthropology's Role in Global Crises

Final Project Part A ATH 101 Katherine Brady SNHU

I. Defining Anthropology Anthropology is the study of past and present humans and the global, biological, and environmental impacts of our species. It also includes other specialized areas of study including “sociocultural anthropology, biological/physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology” (American Anthropological Association, n.d.). Archeologists use their knowledge of past humans and connected species to examine artifacts like tools to actual prehistoric villages. Anthropology also allows us to understand the diversity of being human and the evolution of that through time. As we study humans and their ancestral line we use a combination of holism, cross cultural studies, and cultural relativism. II. Anthropological Perspective The anthropological perspective is used to enhance the study of particular events by including the different aspects of anthropology. The cultural aspects explain why people or groups act and think differently than one another (Welsch et al., 2019) while the cross-culture interactions investigate the connect and intersection of those different groups. Lastly holism plays a huge role in the anthropological perspective by connecting human biology, language, and prehistory together to understand our experiences throughout time (Welsch et al., 2019). Using the anthropological perspective during times of crisis is key to viewing the situation from all angles. A. Global Cultural Crises An anthropological perspective is helpful during crises like COVID-19 because we are able to view the situation through a wider lens and keep all individuals in mind. The Covid-19 was quickly recognized as a pandemic because of its global consequence that reached every corner of the world. For example, on March 11 th , 2020, the WHO assessed that Covid-19 should

be considered a pandemic (World Health Organization, 2021) by the information they were getting, and it feared this would continue to infect throughout the world. This type of crisis was deemed to affect everything including but not limited to the production of food, health supplies, and staffing for medical centers around the world. Assessing this crisis with the anthropological perspective allows us to see the different countries, their needs, and our resources to support one another. B. Biological Crises An anthropological perspective is helpful in the biological crisis when it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic as well. As we look at Covid-19 we can see evidence of its transmission rate and the anthropological perspective creates a wide net to encompass all parts of how this crisis affects us now. In the example of Covid-19 we see “long-haulers” or individuals with post Covid-19 with long term side effects from the virus. These side-effects when studied will give us a better understanding of how the virus truly effected the body, more specifically the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and nervous system (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022). Studying previous populations that suffered from disease provides insight into sickness and predictions can be made for the future. C. Environmental Crises The environmental crisis related to Covid-19 would also benefit from anthropological perspective as we watch how Covid-19 has reduced emissions from cars but has contributed to the waste in our world from disposable PPE’s being used daily. Single-use facemask disposal was estimated at 3.4 billion per day in 2021 (Benson et al., 2021) with 1.6 million tonnes per day of plastic based PPE disposed of since the virus outbreak (Benson et al., 2021). It also affects the farming industry as workers are being forced to work in unsafe conditions, shoulder to shoulder,

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

sometimes without provided PPE. If individuals who are working in those fields or packing plants are positive for Covid-19, they’re possibly infecting not only their coworkers but the products their working with. III. Historical Perspective A. Anthropology’s historical contributions and arguably one of the oldest concepts is culture (Welsch et al., 2019) and how our different beliefs, practices, and rules create the group culture. A founding father of anthropology, Franz Boas, developed a theory explaining the interconnectedness of different societies and how their diffusion of cultural characteristics move from one society to the next (Welsch et al., 2019). This diffusion of culture explains how some cultures mirror other beliefs and practices from other cultures without having constant connection to them. Much like how traditions are passed down from generation to generation without direct connection to the family who once started that tradition. B. Individuals use their past experiences and lessons they’ve learned to inform their everyday life as well as the past within their cultures. In early Christian culture women were instructed to not cut their hair, but in more current time that rule has become more relaxed in certain denominations of Christianity. There are some denominations, like Apostolic Pentecostals, that still observe not cutting their hair though and that pertains to the culture within their belief system. C. Individuals also are products of their families’ beliefs and traditions through our familial cultures. In family’s the religion, language, and socially acceptable behaviors are taught to children by their parents or other family members. An example of this is holiday traditions like Christmas decorating. In our family we decorate typically the weekend after Thanksgiving. We turn on “The Santa Clause” with Tim Allen from 1994 and decorate while watching/listening to

the movie. My parents started this tradition when I was young, and my brother and I started doing it with our own families. D. The communal or regional past can affect individuals and the values their taught growing up. Some individuals push back against those ideals and some individuals lean into them. For example, I was born and raised in the South where racism is common, and they hold very religious beliefs that dictate much of the way they run their cities and towns. As an adult now I still hold some of the culture near and dear like southern hospitality and being kind to strangers, but I’ve rejected the deep held race and religious beliefs.

References American Anthropological Association. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://www.americananthro.org/ Benson, N. U., Bassey, D. E., & Palanisami, T. (2021). COVID pollution: impact of COVID-19 pandemic on global plastic waste footprint. Heliyon , 7 (2), e06343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06343 Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2022, November 1). Long covid: Long-term effects of COVID-19 . Long COVID: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 | Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and- diseases/coronavirus/covid-long-haulers-long-term-effects-of-covid19 Welsch, R. L., Vivanco, L. A., & Fuentes, A. (2019). Anthropology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press Academic US. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780190057381 World Health Organization. (2021, January 29). Listings of who's response to covid-19 . World Health Organization. Retrieved January 26, 2023, from https://www.who.int/news/item/29- 06-2020-covidtimeline

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

2-2 Final Project Part A

Related Documents