Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Introduction to Social Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to Social Anthropology - Essay Example Anthropology investigates humankind as it arises in all recognised corners of the world (Llobera 2003). Its task is basically to explain or portray. However, without surpassing boundaries of its range, it can and should shift from the specific to the general. Why is Anthropology Important? Anthropology has a number of branches and each branch presents a particular component of the study of our roots and evolution as a life form (Wallman 1992). For example, linguistic anthropology studies language. It is a widely known fact that there are many languages all over the world. To understand further the connections between these various languages and the variations that exist in terminology and word use is one of the tasks that anthropologists perform (Moore & Sanders 2006). Anthropology is also vital from the perspective of inquiry into traditions and rituals and the human nature within various tribal groups and groups of people. Several traditions that are prohibited in some societies mi ght be viewed as acceptable in others (Moore & Sanders 2006). It is this reconciliation of the disparity between people’s inherent perspective of their own culture and the cultures of others is the basis for the relevance of anthropology. ... Despite of the unclear nature of the importance of anthropology to development, arguments were presented all over the 1990s speaking up for the moral relevance of anthropology (Moran 1996, 328): [I]t is morally necessary for anthropology to become centrally engaged in today’s critical issues- poverty, powerlessness, environmental degradation, and national, class, caste, gender, ethnic, religious, and racial oppressions—and that anthropology has important contributions yet to make about the kinds of formations that will characterise human social life in the twenty-first century. As stated by Bennett (1996), in his discussion of the emergence of applied anthropology, â€Å"anything that deprives people of their needs or desires should be changed or reformed† (as cited in Gow 2002, 299). He further explains his argument by mentioning the work of the ‘great articulator of applied ideology in the 1950-60s’, Laura Thompson (Gow 2002, 299): In essence it [a pplied anthropology] symbolises both the desire and desirability of human beings to fulfil themselves individually and collectively to the maximum of their physical-emotional-intellectual powers, and to do both as single personalities and in relation to other personalities. It is exactly this focus on the political and moral that has kept on troubling anthropologists in the mid-1990s. D’Andrade (1995) worried that anthropology is shifting from a field rooted in an objective perspective of the world to one founded on a moral perspective of the world, the main objective of such is â€Å"to identify what is good and what is bad and to allocate reward and punishment† (as cited in Moore & Sanders 2006, 513). Scheper-Hughes, reacting to

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Visual Rhetoric Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visual Rhetoric Analysis - Essay Example Today Hermà ¨s fashion house is an element of the upmarket, it means that it produces luxury goods and doesn’t connect itself with a mass market. Hermà ¨s clothes and leather goods are important elements in every celebrity’s wardrobe - silk Hermà ¨s scarves were worn by princesses and duchesses and leather bags became so popular among world’s beau monde, that some of the models were named after famous personalities (like Birkin bag after actress Jane Birkin or Kelly bag after Grace Kelly) and became iconic to every fashionista. This ad was made for Fall 2008 campaign for Hermà ¨s and it shows an Indian girl between two elephants, standing on the ground, covered with flowers. Girl wears white shirt and jacket, her pants and boots are also made in white tints. Outfit is chosen smartly because a model has dark skin and her whole look with such contrast appears to be quite good. Elephants pictured here are also wearing their â€Å"outfits† – their eyes are circled with ethnic symbols and their paws are coloured in orange and pink. In fact, the whole image is very harmonic in color combination – white element in the centre with two dark parts by the sides, that finally is matched with orange and pink on the ground. â€Å"Orange Hermà ¨s et Rose Indien† – that is the name of this advertisement, but a closer look to this phrase has to be made. Basically, Hermà ¨s chose India and elements of Indian culture in their ad, and it can be explained by the genuine beauty of authentic Indian cultural dominants – beautiful women, pleasant color matches, silent grace of elephants in the context of pure nature. But what was the aim of this ad? What audience does Hermà ¨s address to? Apparently, not to the people who inhabit India in its most parts. As was pointed out earlier, Hermà ¨s is a luxury brand, worn by celebrities, so, we can make an assumption that this ad is appealing to the feelings of rich people about beauty of