Month February 2025

Participant Observation: A research technique in which an anthropologist actively engages in the community while documenting behaviors, traditions, and social interactions.

Ethnography: A qualitative research method involving the detailed study and description of a culture through direct interaction and observation.

Fieldwork: The primary research method in anthropology, where researchers immerse themselves in a community to observe and participate in daily life.

Ecological Anthropology: A subfield that examines how human cultures adapt to and interact with their environment.

Feminist Anthropology: A theoretical approach that critiques male-dominated perspectives in anthropology and highlights the roles and experiences of women in different cultures.

Neo-Evolutionism: A revised version of evolutionism that incorporates ecological and technological factors in explaining cultural development, as seen in the works of Leslie White and Julian Steward.

Postmodernism in Anthropology: A critical perspective that challenges objective knowledge, emphasizing subjectivity, power dynamics, and the role of the researcher in constructing cultural narratives.

Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology: A perspective focusing on how people create and interpret symbols to give meaning to their world, associated with Clifford Geertz.

Cultural Materialism: Marvin Harris’ theory that material conditions, such as economic and environmental factors, shape cultural practices and societal development.