An excerpt from my paper...
I'm just finishing up the citations (damn you ASA) for a paper I'm writing about the relationship of anthropology and colonialism, and I thought that I'd post an excerpt from it to see if any of you all out there had thoughts on what I've written. I think it's relatively clear even without the 750-1000 words that come before it, but if you want more context, I can give it to you.
Even today, though, this stratification and separation still exists. The distinction of anthropology (the study of man) from sociology (the study of society) has clear connotations - the “men” studied in anthropology aren't advanced enough to have “societies.” After all, anthropology and sociology are very similar disciplines; ultimately, they look at the behavior of groups, as well as the influence of environment on these groups. In some ways, anthropology is the sociology of people who aren't White or Western.
Ironically, there is metacriticism within anthropology from feminists who say that feminist anthropology is simply “tolerated as a specialty that can be absorbed without a challenge to the whole” (Strathern 1987:280). In a way, this is the same as the relationship between anthropology and sociology. The colonialist attitudes which permeate the continued distinction of the two disciplines enable anthropology to be “tolerated as a specialty that can be absorbed without a challenge to the whole” (Strathern 1987:280). One can look at the cultures of previously-colonized peoples without threatening the concepts of White European society. After all, sociological studies in these countries could force former colonial powers to confront more openly the results of their expansion, even many years after the fact.
Any thoughts?
Even today, though, this stratification and separation still exists. The distinction of anthropology (the study of man) from sociology (the study of society) has clear connotations - the “men” studied in anthropology aren't advanced enough to have “societies.” After all, anthropology and sociology are very similar disciplines; ultimately, they look at the behavior of groups, as well as the influence of environment on these groups. In some ways, anthropology is the sociology of people who aren't White or Western.
Ironically, there is metacriticism within anthropology from feminists who say that feminist anthropology is simply “tolerated as a specialty that can be absorbed without a challenge to the whole” (Strathern 1987:280). In a way, this is the same as the relationship between anthropology and sociology. The colonialist attitudes which permeate the continued distinction of the two disciplines enable anthropology to be “tolerated as a specialty that can be absorbed without a challenge to the whole” (Strathern 1987:280). One can look at the cultures of previously-colonized peoples without threatening the concepts of White European society. After all, sociological studies in these countries could force former colonial powers to confront more openly the results of their expansion, even many years after the fact.
Any thoughts?