Cultural anthropology is the comprehensive, holistic and comparative study of human cultures in space and time. It began in the last quarter of the 19th century as the study of primitive cultures and, by the middle of the 20th century, had widened to cover peasant and urban cultures and societies across the world. Today it is both a pure and an applied science of humankind.
This note covers the meaning, history, scope, branches and research strategy of cultural anthropology for the UPSC Anthropology Optional (Paper I, topic 1.3: main branches of anthropology, their scope and relevance).
Key points at a glance
- Pioneer: Edward Burnett Tylor, whose definition of culture in Primitive Culture (1871) is the starting point of the discipline.
- Popularized by: Franz Boas and his students in the USA.
- Limited scope: until the Second World War, the study of primitive cultures and societies.
- Widened scope: primitive, peasant and urban cultures, nation-states and applied problems.
- Two major branches: ethnography and ethnology.
- Six research approaches: fieldwork, holistic, comparative, systems and processes, emic and etic, and case study.
What is cultural anthropology?
Cultural anthropology takes culture, the feature that makes humans unique, as its theme of study. Its scope is universal: it covers all cultures, in all places and at all times.
Definitions worth remembering for the examination:
| Scholar | Definition or view |
|---|---|
| Mischa Titiev (1959) | "The study of socio-cultural aspects of societies in all places at all times." |
| Marvin Harris (1967) | It "deals with the description and analysis of the forms and styles of social life of past and present ages". |
| David Mandelbaum (1968) | Its central task is to study the similarities and differences in behaviour among human groups, and to depict the character of cultures and their processes of stability, change and development. |
| Hoebel and Weaver (1979) | Its coverage includes "human behavior and its social and cultural products in all times and all places". |
| Hicks and Gwynne (1994) | "The study of contemporary and historic people." |
History and origin of cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology came into being in the last quarter of the 19th century. According to Leach (1982), cultural anthropologists trace their intellectual descent from Edward Burnett Tylor and the travellers'-tale ethnologists of earlier centuries.
Tylor is regarded as the pioneer in the study of culture. He held that culture is found pre-eminently in human society alone and should therefore be a legitimate field of study. His definition, given in Primitive Culture (1871), is treated as the starting point of cultural anthropology:
Culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society". (E. B. Tylor, 1871)
Franz Boas (1888) and his students in the USA cultivated and popularized cultural anthropology (Garbarino, 1977; Srivastava, 1990).
Scope of cultural anthropology
The scope of cultural anthropology has widened as the subject has developed. It is best studied in two phases: a limited scope up to the Second World War, and a universal scope after it.
Limited scope: the study of primitive cultures
Cultural anthropology began as a science of primitive cultures. Tylor (1871) said that it studies "primitive cultures and culture history". He also stressed that a study of cultural phenomena naturally covers social phenomena, because culture and society cannot be separated. The second part of his definition makes the point: culture is acquired by man "as a member of society".
Franz Boas and his students nurtured cultural anthropology in America on this basis.
- Franz Boas studied the Eskimo (Inuit) and the Native American peoples of the North-West Coast.
- His students, including Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, E. A. Hoebel, A. L. Kroeber and Melville Herskovits, studied tribal cultures and societies in America, Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Africa and Australia.
Thus, before the Second World War, the scope of cultural anthropology was limited to primitive cultures and societies.
Note on terminology: "primitive" is the word these authors used. Contemporary writing prefers terms such as tribal, indigenous or small-scale societies.
Widened scope: from tribe to peasant, city and nation
The scope widened in the second quarter of the 20th century. The reviews of Murdock (1951) and Firth (1951) showed that cultural anthropology gained a wider scope between 1930 and 1950. Joseph Greenberg (1968) later traced the stages through which it evolved.
| Stage | What cultural anthropology studied |
|---|---|
| First | Primitive cultures and societies. |
| Second | Peasant cultures and communities, and peasants in relation to towns and cities. |
| Third | Urban communities, acculturated groups and larger units such as nation-states, along with the application of research to industry, agricultural development, health, education and hospital organization. |
As Srivastava (1990) pointed out, the interest of cultural anthropology in primitive cultures continues to this day, but to say that it is concerned only with them "amounts to drawing an outdated caricature of the discipline". Marvin Harris (1999) likewise places primitive, peasant and modern cultures and societies within its scope.
Contemporary themes of study
According to Walter Goldschmidt (1968), Foster (1972), Garbarino (1977) and others, cultural anthropology today concentrates on these themes:
- Modern adaptations of primitive cultures and societies, especially the problems of their integration with the wider world.
- Peasant cultures and societies throughout the world, especially the problems of their integration with the wider world.
- Modern society, including the study of one's own society.
- Specific institutions of modern society.
- Freedom, peace, war, human rights, gender relations, ethnic relations, the development of communities, regions and nations, and international relations.
Through this expansion of scope and themes, cultural anthropology acquired an identity based on universal appeal and the applicability of its results.
Does cultural anthropology study society as well as culture?
Yes. Cultural anthropology kept its distinct identity by focusing on culture, but it never ignored social life.
- Titiev (1959) explained why: "since no human society exists without a patterned way of life or culture, and since no pattern of culture can exist without a society of man and woman", a study of culture automatically involves a study of society.
- Marvin Harris (1975) went to the extent of equating cultural anthropology with social anthropology.
- Srivastava (1990) notes that reviews of research confirm that cultural anthropology, like social anthropology, studies culture as well as society.
Cultural anthropology and social anthropology compared
| Feature | Cultural anthropology | Social anthropology |
|---|---|---|
| Main tradition | American | British |
| Key early figures | E. B. Tylor; Franz Boas and his students | James Frazer; Radcliffe-Brown; Malinowski |
| Central focus | Culture | Society and social relationships |
| Major branches | Ethnography and ethnology | Ethnography and comparative ethnography |
| Common ground | Both study culture as well as society, cover primitive, peasant and urban groups, and use the same six research approaches. | |
Branches of cultural anthropology: ethnography and ethnology
Cultural anthropology divides its subject matter between two major branches (Harris, 1999).
| Feature | Ethnography | Ethnology |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Description of one particular culture or society | Comparative ethnography; analytical |
| Form | A monograph | Comparative and theoretical studies |
| Aim | Ideographic (the particular case) | Nomothetic or theorizing (general principles) |
| Time frame | Synchronic | Synchronic or diachronic |
Ethnology develops in two directions:
- Topical specializations: every aspect of culture and society is cultivated as a branch of study.
- Area specializations: studies of the ethnographic zones of the world, each aiming at a holistic understanding of the cultures and societies within a zone.
Both revolve around theory building about human culture and society.
Research strategy: the six approaches of cultural anthropology
To cover primitive, peasant and urban cultures and societies, cultural anthropology uses a research strategy made up of six approaches.
| Approach | What it means |
|---|---|
| Fieldwork approach | Collecting information through participant observation, by "going native temporarily". |
| Holistic approach | Understanding the total social-cultural realm through its parts, and the parts in relation to the whole. |
| Comparative approach | Cross-cultural coverage to know the full range of human behaviour and the regularities that govern it. |
| Systems and processes approach | Breaking social and cultural systems into sub-systems, studying each alone and in interrelation, to reach an integrated picture. |
| Emic and etic approach | Combining the folk view (emic) with the scientist's view (etic) for a complete understanding. |
| Case study approach | In-depth study of individuals, groups and events in the communities chosen for fieldwork. |
Cultural anthropology as a pure and applied science
From its research results, cultural anthropology derives the principles, regularities or laws underlying the social and cultural life of humankind. This is its theory. When it applies those results to practical situations to solve the problems of different societies, it acquires an applied character. Cultural anthropology therefore stands as a pure as well as an applied science of humankind.
Using this topic in a UPSC answer
- Open with Tylor's definition of culture, then a definition of the discipline such as Titiev's.
- Show the shift from limited to universal scope, using Greenberg's three stages.
- Name scholars with years to support each point.
- Add ethnography and ethnology, and the six approaches, in a short table or diagram.
- Conclude on the pure and applied character of the discipline.
Frequently asked questions
What is cultural anthropology in simple words?
Cultural anthropology is the comprehensive, holistic and comparative study of human cultures in all places and at all times. It describes and analyses the ways of life of past and present peoples, along with the societies that carry those cultures.
Who is regarded as the pioneer of cultural anthropology?
Edward Burnett Tylor is regarded as the pioneer in the study of culture. His definition of culture in Primitive Culture (1871) is the starting point of the discipline. Franz Boas and his students later popularized cultural anthropology in the USA.
What is the scope of cultural anthropology?
The scope of cultural anthropology is universal. It covers primitive, peasant and urban cultures and societies in all parts of the world. Until the Second World War it was limited to primitive cultures. It later widened to include peasant communities, cities, nation-states and applied fields such as industry, health and education.
What are the branches of cultural anthropology?
The two major branches are ethnography and ethnology. Ethnography describes a particular culture or society, usually as a monograph. Ethnology compares cultures to build theory, and includes topical and area specializations.
What is the difference between ethnography and ethnology?
Ethnography is descriptive, synchronic and ideographic: it describes one culture at one point in time. Ethnology is analytical, comparative and nomothetic, and may be synchronic or diachronic: it compares cultures to arrive at general principles.
Is cultural anthropology the same as social anthropology?
They differ in emphasis and tradition. Cultural anthropology focuses on culture and grew mainly in the USA, while social anthropology focuses on society and grew in Britain. In practice both study culture as well as society, and Marvin Harris (1975) treated the two as equivalent.
Is cultural anthropology a pure or an applied science?
It is both. It builds theory by deriving the principles underlying social and cultural life, and it applies its findings to solve practical problems of societies.