Symbolic anthropology
Encyclopedia
Symbolic anthropology is the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be interpreted to better understand a particular society. It is often viewed in contrast to cultural materialism
. According to symbolic anthropologists, the scientific method
does not concern human behavior nor anthropology. Clifford Geertz writes, "Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, 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."
Prominent symbolic anthropologists include Clifford Geertz
, David Schneider
, Victor Turner
, and Mary Douglas
.
Geertz, Clifford. (Ed.) (1974) Myth, symbol, and culture, W. W. Norton and Co. New York
Sahlins, Marshall (1976) Culture and practical reason, University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Schneider, David (1968) American kinship: A cultural account. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
Turner, Victor (1967) The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
Turner, Victor (1974) Dramas, fields and metaphors: Symbolic action in human society, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
Cultural materialism (anthropology)
Cultural materialism is an anthropological research orientation first introduced by Marvin Harris in his 1968 book The Rise of Anthropological Theory, as a theoretical paradigm and research strategy. Indeed it is said to be the most enduring achievement of that work. Harris subsequently developed a...
. According to symbolic anthropologists, the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
does not concern human behavior nor anthropology. Clifford Geertz writes, "Believing, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, 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."
Prominent symbolic anthropologists include Clifford Geertz
Clifford Geertz
Clifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until...
, David Schneider
David M. Schneider
David Murray Schneider was an American cultural anthropologist, best known for his studies of kinship and as a major proponent of the symbolic anthropology approach to cultural anthropology. He received his B.S. in 1940 and his M.S. from Cornell University in 1941...
, Victor Turner
Victor Turner
Victor Witter Turner was a British cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals and rites of passage...
, and Mary Douglas
Mary Douglas
Dame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
.
Key publications
Geertz, Clifford (1973) The interpretation of cultures, Basic, New YorkGeertz, Clifford. (Ed.) (1974) Myth, symbol, and culture, W. W. Norton and Co. New York
Sahlins, Marshall (1976) Culture and practical reason, University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Schneider, David (1968) American kinship: A cultural account. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
Turner, Victor (1967) The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual, Cornell University Press, Ithaca
Turner, Victor (1974) Dramas, fields and metaphors: Symbolic action in human society, Cornell University Press, Ithaca