A Taste of Anthropology: How the Wisdom of Anthropology Can Improve Your Life Skills and Help You Live Well in a Divided World

By Professor E.A. Burlingame

Now A Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist in the Adult Non-Fiction category!

 

 

Are you exhausted and saddened by all of the fighting in the world?  Does change and upheaval cause you fear?  Are you looking for a way to cope with this uncertainty while also learning how to better deal with it in your life?

 

This book will help you manage the anxiety you feel about human conflict and change through the wisdom of anthropology.

 

In A Taste of Anthropology, anthropologist Professor E.A. Burlingame teaches you about the human species so you can gain deeper insight into humanity as a whole and positive ways to handle your relationships with yourself and the people around you.

 

By focusing on the anthropological universals of power structure, family, rite of passage, economic system, gender, sex & sexuality and health system, the Professor teaches key life skills that will aid you in more positively dealing with difference and strife.  These skills are reflexivity, tolerance, understanding group dynamics, understanding diversity, self-esteem & self-acceptance, problem-solving, resilience, peace of mind and handling conflict.

 

In addition to enlightening and fascinating examples from anthropology research, this book also provides you with practical, effective and fun ways to reinforce learning and life skills practice through activities such as journaling prompts, meditations, affirmations, anthropology scavenger hunts, mindfulness & empathy practice and adult play dates.

 

Professor Burlingame has included balanced and appealing scent combination suggestions in each chapter to enhance both your learning and your practice.

 

This is a personal improvement book like no other for people who want to enhance their knowledge of the world while also enhancing their knowledge of themselves.  Let the wisdom of anthropology expand the tools you have to cope with and handle the inevitable conflict and change that is a natural part of living a human life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Professor E.A. Burlingame
• Release date: Jan 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9780998040189

Book preview

Preface

I find that anthropology is a misunderstood science in America today.

To some people, it appears to have something interesting, but not especially useful, to do with bones and ancient artifacts or the lives of primitive peoples. For others, particularly those in some media outlets, or to some politicians, it is a meaningless field unworthy of career pursuit, funding or public attention.

To me, a student, researcher and educator of anthropology, it is the science that has the most insight to share about humans. I've always been attracted to the practical nature of it and I have strived as an anthropologist to help others learn how anthropology wisdom can help them improve their lives and their relationships.

This, I will admit, is a view of anthropology that had some of my graduate advisors looking at me like I had five heads. (For the record, I have just one.) I would argue, though, that this inability to value the applied nature of anthropology as much as the theoretical, both inside and outside the discipline, is part of what has caused anthropology to be so misunderstood and maligned in the general consciousness.

Therefore, this book answers two basic questions: What is anthropology?; and How can anthropology help me?

It is my answer to those on a sincere personal improvement path as well as the uninformed, and disingenuous, contrarians who wouldn't be able to recognize useful knowledge if it bit them on the posterior.

It is a book for those who want to know more about being human as well as how to more positively deal with the humans in their world.

I truly hope that it helps you, Dear Reader, find, understand and practice what you need to live confidently in a world of human difference and change.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay wise.

Professor E.A. Burlingame, M.A.

New York City, October 2022

http://tasteofanthropology.yolasite.com

CHAPTER 1

How Anthropology Can Make You A Better Person

(REFLEXIVITY)

Anthropology may not provide the answer to the question of the meaning of life, but at least it can tell us that there are many ways in which to make a life meaningful.

- Thomas Hylland Eriksen in Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology, 1995

What transformation can anthropology wisdom bring to your life? How can anthropology knowledge change your life in positive and profound ways? How can anthropology make you more human?

This book has come out of the work I've done as an anthropologist and educator over the last decade or more of my anthropology career. In that time, I have taught thousands of students how to apply anthropology content to their everyday lives in a way that is both enlightening and life affirming.

My approach to education is very practical - I teach so that my students can positively use what they learn from me. The reason for education is not to say that you learned something. It is to know how to use what you've learned.

In this book you will learn how to improve areas of your personal and professional lives. As the science that studies humanity from various angles, anthropology is rich with insight that I hope you will use to address any part of your life that challenges you be that your family, your love life, your health, your work life, etc. In addition, you will learn in this book how to handle the inevitable reality of conflict, strife, division and change that are a part of every human group.

Over the years, I have seen my students, and others, question and struggle with all of these areas of human life. While there are no easy answers, and what works for one person may or may not work for another, my goal in writing this book is to help people gain insight into humanity as whole, as well as themselves, so they can apply this knowledge to what they want to improve in their lives.

I hope you will take this journey in good faith, with an eye toward self-improvement and with a willingness to put in the effort it will take to make major shifts possible. I will endeavor to make my part in your journey as pleasant as possible. Play is a powerful learning tool for humans and I have included opportunities for you to play with what you're learning scattered throughout the lessons in this book. You may also notice my sense of humor scattered throughout this book. I will warn you, though, that it is a bit dry, so you might not always notice right away when I'm trying to make you smile.

Through the rest of this chapter, and all of the next, I will be giving you some background anthropology information that will help you better understand and navigate the rest of this book. From chapters three through eight you will find universal life topics (or, what we anthropologists call universals) that will help you delve deeper into different aspects of your life. I will provide you with logic and thought exercises, journal prompts, guided meditations, affirmations and real-life activities to help you apply the information you learn with the goal of growth and development.

In Chapter Nine, I will be connecting the various threads of learning from previous chapters into a conclusion that is meant to bring together the wisdom you've hopefully gained from this book as a whole about handling conflict. At the end of the book you will find a list of primary and secondary sources I've cited that I encourage you to explore with the deeper understanding of humans, and the field of anthropology, that you've also hopefully gained from this book.

Gaining or Honing Life Skills

Now that you have a bit of an overview of the rest of this book, let's focus in on some of the ways that anthropology can help you on your journey of self-development and growth. As I've mentioned before, anthropology is the science that studies humans from various angles. I will be going more in depth into this in Chapter Two where it will be a bit more immediately relevant, but let me say here that anthropology (from the Greek anthropo, meaning human and logy, meaning the study of) studies humans through four main subject areas - human history, human language, human culture and human biology. This is different from other sciences that also study humans - sociology, medicine or history, to name but a few.

While each of these study humans through one main perspective - sociology studies human social groups, medicine studies human disease and history studies the human past - anthropology studies all of these, plus more. It is this holistic nature of anthropology that allows it to provide insight into all areas of a human life. This insight can aid you as you look for ways to improve different parts of your life.

So, for instance, perhaps you struggle with the life skill of finding a compatible life partner. Anthropologists have studied this, not only in cultures similar to your own, but also in cultures dissimilar to your own. Knowing about the various ways that humans have sought to address this issue can, first of all, make you feel less alone in your struggle and, second, allow you to work through how best you can aid yourself in the struggle.

This same process can be used no matter the area of life and no matter your life challenge. The one-two punch of knowing you're not alone and that there are many ways to address your problem is empowering. This empowerment is the basis for why I do the work that I do and why I've written this book for you.

Dealing with Disagreements and Conflict

Another area where anthropology can bring insight is the inevitable human reality of conflict, disagreement and strife. In the U.S., there is a general misconception, held by people from various political and social perspectives, that the way to answer issues dealing with difference is for everyone to be the same or for everyone to create groups with other people who are like them. Usually this definition of like is based upon singular and superficial traits such as race, religion or political affiliation.

However, the anthropological reality is that humans, no matter how similar they may be in one or two ways, are never completely the same. These differences can lead to conflict, but, even more importantly, it is our inability to healthily navigate our differences that can make conflict so seemingly unbearable. Anthropology can help.

As I stated before, I will be going more in depth into this in Chapter Nine, but I will say here that there are two main insights into human conflict that anthropology can give you. The first is that conflict is an inevitable part of human life because, as I mentioned above, humans are never going to be exactly the same. The second insight is that, although conflict is inevitable, it does not have to be toxic or destructive. There are ways to deal with conflict that can bring about positive change and the potential for personal and collective growth and development.

Perhaps there's a member of your family you struggle to be around because they want to pull you into political and social arguments they know the two of you don't see eye-to-eye on. Now, the best course of action here may be to remove yourself from opportunities to interact with them. Sometimes the best way to handle conflict, especially if it presents you with the possibility of immediate danger, is to just remove yourself from it.

But, what if you can't control your contact with this family member? This now requires some anthropological insight into conflict resolution and tolerance. Anthropology wisdom can help in what may feel like an impossible situation.

Learning How To Thinking Critically and Problem-Solve

Yet another area where anthropology can help you on your journey to self-development and improvement is in honing your ability to problem-solve and critically think about yourself and the world around you. Whether you're aware of it or not, life presents you with daily puzzles that you have to solve. When should I leave work if I need to pick up my kid from school this afternoon? Should I rent this apartment or the one I looked at yesterday? How can I work with a co-worker who repeatedly tries to undermine me? If I wear this outfit will it make me look like a professional or an amateur? Which candidate should I vote for? How can I start up a conversation with a stranger? How can I live with people I don't respect and do not agree with?

Now, are these puzzles and their problem-solving opportunities the same as those you were presented with in school? No, but they are related and, really, this is why you studied English, math, history, science, government, etc., in school. Those subjects weren't meant to be a waste of your time or an attempt to get you to become a professional in one of these fields. They were meant to help you learn transferable skills that you can use in your life beyond the classroom.

Critical thinking and problem-solving are built into anthropology learning and I will be discussing them in more depth in Chapters Six and Nine. The process of comparison, something basic to how anthropologists learn about and describe different aspects of humanity through time, is a form of both critical thinking and problem-solving. To successfully compare disparate things, you need to know how to critically think, step back from your preconceptions about how you believe things should be, and then problem-solve your way into accurately and honestly seeing them as they are. This is a process, based in anthropology, that can lead you to a workable solution for some of life's problems.

Reflexivity and Why You Should Care About It

Anthropology is the study of human beings. It is both a science and humanity. What this means is that the field of anthropology utilizes the scientific method to conduct research, like any other science, while also, like any other humanity, focusing on the values and beliefs that the people we anthropologists study hold. When it comes to humans, anthropologists are interested in the who, what, where, when and how, as well as the why behind it all.

In order to do this, we anthropologists conduct participant observation research. This form of anthropology research, (first developed more than a century ago by anthropologists Bronislaw Malinowski and Franz Boas), involves an anthropologist going to where their subjects are and living among them for an extended period of time - off and on for decades in some cases. All anthropologists, whether they conduct archaeological, linguistic, biological or cultural research, can, and usually do, conduct research through this method. It allows for the anthropologist to gain a viewpoint of humans that is from the inside perspective of those being studied and the outside perspective of the anthropologist and the science of anthropology.

This is called reflexivity. Very simply put, reflexivity is the ability to see things related to humans from an inside and outside view - from multiple perspectives. It is useful to anthropologists because it encourages us to get beyond the one way we have been taught to live to really see and understand the other ways that people do live. This gives anthropologists insight into, and a better understanding of, humanity - the very purpose of the science.

Reflexivity is useful to you, Dear Reader, because it gives you a way to positively deal with difference. It allows you to better understand how and why people differ as well as better understand your own values and way of life. Reflexivity can be used to improve your relationships with others by encouraging you to think through and solve differences that may seem insurmountable. Being reflexive allows for, as the word implies, a flexibility of thinking, seeing and understanding. Not so you can accept everybody and argue that everything people do is okay with you, but rather so you can have the peace of mind to recognize and deal with difference in a manner that is constructive for you and others.

How You Will Learn From Me

As I've said, I take a practical view of education. While learning simply for the joy of learning is wonderful and important, ultimately, to me, education is for the purpose of teaching skills that can be used practically in a human life. Therefore, the core of my teaching method involves praxis supported by theory - the practice of knowledge that has been proven true and accurate through scientific research.

I teach, therefore, using active learning techniques. If you're unfamiliar, active learning is a form of learning-by-doing that is used in the classroom. Humans, like all social creatures, learn very well by doing. This is the way we tend to learn most of the things we know and may take for granted. It is the form of learning prevalent in early childhood education, but, really, adults also learn well through active learning. By living and experiencing something, we can learn it effectively, comprehensively and enduringly.

The active learning techniques that I use most often with adults, and that you will find at the end of every chapter in this book, are activities that involve language, hand-eye coordination, observation and immersion. There is an element of exploration and play in the active learning activities I will be asking you to do. Exploration and play, as well as the use of language, hand-eye coordination, observation and immersion, are key to you learning how to apply the lessons in each chapter. If you get into the spirit, you will probably surprise yourself at how much you will gain by doing them.

In the end, although you will learn about anthropology and different cultures, this book is not an exhaustive anthropology textbook. The format, and the learning techniques I use throughout, are meant to teach you a taste of anthropology wisdom so you can apply it now to the practical needs of your life as a human being. Hopefully it will also inspire you to want to learn more.

The Anthropology Lesson for this Chapter

In this chapter I have presented to you the various reasons why you should read this book. If you are a human looking for ways to address some of the main challenges in your life in a manner that is both novel and empowering, then I hope you will continue reading. The anthropology lesson here is that the field of anthropology, and this anthropologist, can help you gain clarity and provide you with actionable, interesting and practical ways to grow and develop as a human being.

In this chapter too, you have learned about the anthropological tool of reflexivity, how anthropologists use it to conduct research in the field, and how you can use it to improve the relationships you have with yourself and others. Reflexivity is the first of the lessons you will learn to help you understand and handle the inevitable difference you will face throughout your life as a human being. It is a tool that will also help you understand the rest of the anthropological information in this book. Reflexivity is a key term in anthropology and the life application of anthropology. It is a lesson that you will likely find very useful as an initial step on your path to self-discovery and human understanding.

Before you move on to the next chapter, though, I want you to complete the following activities over the next few hours, next few days or in one week. These activities will aid you in better understanding reflexivity and how you can use it in a positive way in your life. As I've stated in this chapter, learning by doing, or active learning, is a feature of my teaching style and methodology. It is an extremely practical and effective learning method I've successfully used my entire career long.

Although you can certainly read this book and never do any of the activities, I do not recommend this. Why? Well, to really learn a skill you need to practice it. You need to practice it more than once and in numerous ways that are directly applicable to areas in your life. By completing even just one activity at the end of every chapter, you will gain more than an engaging or pleasant read from this book. You will be gaining actual experience in using the lessons that are meant to help you cope with difference, change and conflict.

Journal Prompts

You do not need to purchase or make a special journal in which to do the journal prompts found in this book. You may use any scrap of paper or set something up digitally on your preferred device. However, having something set aside just for journaling will encourage you to see the time you spend doing it as special. It may even encourage you to view it for what it is - Special Me Time. Your growth will be enhanced by having something special set aside just for journaling.

Now, although I have stated that you can use a digital device for this activity, please note that I encourage you to manually write, by hand, your journal prompt answers. Why? Well, because the human hand and the human mind are linked in such a way that what you do with your hands makes memory form in your brain. We sometimes call this muscle memory, but it can apply to more than the practiced movements of your hand muscles when they are used to write. The things you write down can also be remembered and the process of writing can be a process of thinking due to this connection between brain and hand.

It is true that you are also using your hand to write when you type into a digital device, but I want you to connect back to one of, if not the, first ways you associated language with reading and writing, which was probably when you first learned how to spell your name. You probably did this when you were a toddler and what we humans do as toddlers tends to leave profound behavioral and educational grooves in our beings. Hearken back to these first writing lessons, as well as muscle memory, to answer the journal prompts by hand throughout this book.

In this journal activity, you will be working through your understanding of reflexivity by writing, in sentence and paragraph form, about it using the following writing prompts. Writing to learn is a way for you to think your way through new information and apply it to information you already have existing in your brain. While the process of writing sentences and paragraphs may seem simplistic to you, in particular since we tend to first learn to write them as kindergartners and first graders, writing itself is actually quite a complex process that requires you to be able to balance fine and gross motor skills with abstract thinking.

If you approach each of the journal activities at the end of every chapter in this book as an opportunity for you to think through novel information you've read in the chapter, and then apply and connect it to information you already know, you will gain a good deal of benefit.

In your own words, and using the information you learned in this chapter, define reflexivity.

Explain, as if to another person who has asked, why it is an important skill for dealing positively with people in your life.

Write about the ways that reflexivity helps you understand both yourself and others better.

Write about what aspect of reflexivity you find the most challenging and what practice you will do to help you improve your skills in this area.

Look at the titles for the other chapters in this book and hypothesize (make an educated guess) as to how practicing reflexivity with one of the lessons in another chapter will help you improve your relationship with yourself and others.

Name 2-3 ways you can use reflexivity to help you improve an area of difference or conflict in your life that brings you anxiety.

Use at least one of these today to help you better deal with this issue this week.

Take some time to look back over your sentences and paragraphs once you've finished writing. Don't censor yourself or rewrite, but, rather, take what you've written for what it is - you thinking through and ruminating on what you've learned from this chapter. Allow yourself to go through this process at the end of every journal activity even if your writing is messier and more chaotic than you would