Chicken Soup For The Soul Essays - Anthropology, Free Essays

Chicken Soup For The Soul Essays - Anthropology, Free Essays Chicken Soup For The Soul Anthropology may be dissected into four main perspectives, firstly physical or biological anthropology, which is an area of study concerned with human evolution and human adaptation. Its main components are human paleontology, the study of our fossil records, and human genetics, which examines the ways in which human beings differ from each other. Also adopted are aspects of human ecology, ethnology, demography, nutrition, and environmental physiology. From the physical anthropologist we learn the capabilities for bearing culture that distinguish us from other species. Secondly archaeology, which follows from physical anthropology, reassembles the evolution of culture by examining the physical remains of past societies. Its difference from physical anthropology being its concern with culture rather than the biological aspects off the human species. Archaeologists must assess and analyse their subject culture from accidental remains, which can only provide an incomplete picture. Third ly, Anthropological linguistics is a field within anthropology which focuses upon the relationship between language and cultural behaviour. Anthropological linguists ask questions about language and communication to aid the appraisement of society rather than a descriptive or linguistic assessment. For example Freil and Pfeiffer (1977) cite an assessment of the Inuit language where there are twelve unrelated words for wind and twenty-two for snow, showing the difference in significance by comparison with our own society. The deduction being that wind and snow are more significant to the Inuit so they scrutinise them more rigorously and can clearly define them accordingly. This kind of linguistic analysis facilitates a better understanding of a foreign culture to help place it into context to allow contrast. Fourthly, social anthropology is the study of human social life or society, concerned with examining social behavior and social relationships. As the focus of social anthropology is on patterns of social connection, it is commonly contrasted with the branch of anthropology that examines culture, that is, learnt and inherited beliefs and standards of behavior and in particular the meanings, values and codes of conduct. Cultural anthropology (the study of culture in its social context) is associated particularly with American anthropology (specifically, in the United States), and social anthropology with European, especially British studies, which have tended to be more sociological, that is, they are more concerned with understanding society. However, culture and society are interdependent, and today the single term sociocultural anthropology is sometimes used. The social anthropologist uses a number of cultural ethnographic studies to construct an ethnological study. A social anthropological definition of culture is given by J.P.Spenley in 'The Ethnographic Interview' (1979), culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience and gen erate social behaviour. By this interpretation culture is not the physical characteristics of any society but the reasoning behind those characteristics, it is a body of implicit and explicit knowledge shared by a group of people. It is used by people individually as a map to determine their behaviour in any given situation. Spendley's definition does not divert from the significance of behaviour, customs, objects or emotions, these are essential tools for the anthropologist which allow the interpretation of culture to facilitate the tracking down of cultural meaning. Ethnographic study is a search to uncover this meaning which is the root cause of cultural differences and can therefore be seen as the definition of any culture. There has been considerable theoretical debate by anthropologists over the most useful attributes that a technical concept of culture should stress. For example, in 1952 Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologists, published a list of 160 dif ferent definitions of culture. A brief table of this list next page, shows the diversity of the anthropological concept of culture. TABLE: Diverse Definitions of Culture: Topical: Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as social organization, religion, or economy Historical: Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations Behavioral: Culture is shared, learned human behavior, a way of life Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living Functional: Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living together Mental: Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish people from animals Structural: Culture

Famous Quotations About Dragons

Famous Quotations About Dragons Dragons are among the most fierce and monstrous of creatures in literature and legend. They appear in stories and myths from around the world. People of all ages love these literary monsters. Even when writers arent including real dragons in their stories they reference them for symbolic meaning, usually about people overcoming fantastic odds. Here Are a Few Quotes About Dragons A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man pushing a button that releases a bomb.- W. H. AudenAbove us, outlined against the brilliant sky, dragons crowded every available perching space on the Rim. And the sun made a gold of every one of them.― Anne McCaffrey, Nerilkas StoryBut it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them.― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of EarthseaCome not between the dragon, and his wrath.- William Shakespeare, King LearFairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.― Neil Gaiman, CoralineFairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragons intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.― G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous TriflesH e had only heard of dragons, and although he had never seen one, he was sure they existed.― Dee Marie, Sons of Avalon: Merlins Prophecy He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself; and if you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into you.- Friedrich NietzscheHere be dragons to be slain, here be rich rewards to gain; / If we perish in the seeking, why, how small a thing is death!― Dorothy L. Sayers, Catholic Tales and Christian SongsHow should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young PoetI believe in everything until its disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if its in your mind. Whos to say that dreams and nightmares arent as real as the here and now?― John LennonI desired dra gons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood. But the world that contained even the imagination of Ffnir was richer and more beautiful, at whatever the cost of peril.― J.R.R. Tolkien I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning.― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest ShoreIf you have ever seen a dragon in a pinch, you will realize that this was only poetical exaggeration applied to any hobbit, even to Old Tooks great-granduncle Bullroarer, who was so huge (for a hobbit) that he could ride a horse. He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfibuls head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way, the battle was won and the game of Golf was invented at the same moment.― J.R.R. Tolkien, The HobbitImagine a land where people are afraid of dragons. It is a reasonable fear: dragons possess a number of qualities that make being afraid of them a very commendable response. Things like their terrible size, their ability to spout fire, or to crack boulders into splinters with their massive talo ns. In fact, the only terrifying quality that dragons do not possess is that of existence.― David Whiteland, Book of Pages Never laugh at live dragons.― J.R.R. TolkienNoble dragons dont have friends. The nearest they can get to the idea is an enemy who is still alive.― Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!O to be a dragon, a symbol of the power of Heaven - of silkworm size or immense; at times invisible.- Marianne Moore, O To Be A DragonSleeping on a dragons hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderSpeak politely to an enraged dragon.― J.R.R. TolkienThey say dragons never truly die. No matter how many times you kill them.― S.G. Rogers, Jon Hansen and the Dragon Clan of YdenTrue Dragons are among the Universes most perfect beings. This is a useful bit of information. Squirrel it away like a nugget of Fafnirs gold; take it out and burnish it now and then as we proceed.― Shawn MacKenzieYou cant map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragon s? On the Discworld, we know that There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs.― Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic