Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on ETHNOLOGY
. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper compares and contrast the ethnological differences of Frank Boas and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_MBethngy.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
These questions became specialized in the field of Ethnology and Anthropology. Two noted researchers, Radcliffe-Browne, and Boas, offered several opinions as to the how and why of mankinds social interactions
that are still utilized in some circles to this day. Though prominent researchers, they both take a differing approach to their study of man. Frank Boas, an anthropologist, is easily
termed a humanist. He primarily studied the phenomenon of culture and was able to successfully debate the old concepts that culture was instinctual. He proposed that culture was the planned
end result of human manipulation and conscious thought. He believed that one could not make determinations about a culture unless one had studied the various facets of a culture, such
as the language, ethnology, and physical anthropology(Boas 1991). As his work continued it is clear to see a humanist philosophy emerging in which he views mankind as one brotherhood,
rather than a collection of dissimilar groups living in close proximity. Cultural relativism was introduced by Boas to the study of anthropology as he worked and studied the Native American
groups. He believed that there is a type of historical particularism in which the differences in cultures were the direct result of historical, social and geographic conditions. Each culture, he
argued, was complete in its own way, making one culture no more superior than another. Using one yardstick, in other words, to measure each culture by, was not logical since
not all cultures developed under the same conditions or circumstances. Radcliffe-Brown developed a different view, however. Strickly functionalist in his view, he believed that culture was a system which was
utilized like a tool by mankind. Culture, in contrast to Boas, was a direct result of biological needs which often arise from an instinctual desire or need. Radcliffe studied the
...