Lesson 3: Anthropological Perspective Conceptualization of Self

The concepts of Anthropological Perspective

1. LESSON 3: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION OF SELF: THE SELF AS EMBEDDED

2. Understand how culture and self are complementary concepts; Discuss the cultural construction of the self and social identity Develop insights on how to achieve a sense of self, situated in multicultural and dynamic situations. LEARNING OUTCOMES:

3. WARM UP!!! Do you agree that man’s culture, values, and attitudes can be learned and changed?

4. “Studying anthropology has helped me develop a critical lens to view the world. I realize now that culture is important, progress is relative, and change over time is responsible for many current issues. – Ethan Palm     -

5. In most dictionaries, the term “Filipinos” is defined as belonging or relating to the Philippines, or to its people and culture. In the context of citizenship, “Filipino” simply means membership in a nation-state.

6. Anthropology is the systematic study of humanity, with the goal of understanding our evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our forms of social existence across the world and through time.

7. THE CULTURAL CONSTRUCTION OF SELF AND IDENTITY British anthropologist Edward Taylor defines culture as “..that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”

8. Anthropologist have emphasized that culture is not behavior itself but the shared understanding that guide behavior and are expressed in behavior (Peacock, 1986) Culture has acquired a range of different meanings that require reflection and analysis because the significance of cultures has enormous implications for everyone’s conception of self (van Meijl , 2008).

9. In social anthropology, the concept of identity was used mostly in the context of “ethnic identity,” pointing out the sameness of the self with others, that is, to a consciousness of sharing certain characteristics (e.g., language, culture, etc.) within a group.

10. TWO CONTRASTING MODELS OF PERSONAL IDENTITY OR SELFHOOD: Egocentric Self each person is seen to be a separate entity with inherent characteristics which are seen to originate and reside within an individual to act differently depending on who you are with is seen as dishonest as suggested in the expression, "be true to yourself"

11. TWO CONTRASTING MODELS OF PERSONAL IDENTITY OR SELFHOOD: Sociocentric Self personal identity not autonomous but relative/conditional depends on social context, who one is with (or referring to) personal qualities not embedded in the person but embodied (manifested) in concrete social settings assumes/realizes people are not autonomous and self-contained packages of traits but part of a social matrix

12. Identity toolbox Features of a person's identity (such as gender, age, or personal appearance) that he or she chooses to emphasize in constructing a social self. Some characteristics such as kinship, gender, and age are almost universally used to differentiate people. Other characteristics, such as ethnicity, personal appearance, and socioeconomic status are not always used in every society.

13. Rites of Passage Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957), a French anthropologist, born in Germany with a Dutch father, is famous for his study on rites of passage. In his book Les Rites de Passage (1909). Van Gennep argues in this book that rites of passage comprise of three ritual stages; the so called tripartite structure: séparation , marge, and agrégation (separation, transition, and reincorporation), or preliminal , liminal, and postliminal stages (before, at, and past the threshold).

14. Separation In these rites the initiate will be symbolically—and in many cultures physically—removed from the world to which they have belonged. Separation rites often involve symbolic actions as removing clothing or removing parts of the body. After the rite of separation the initiate is in what van Gennep calls the liminal world, a social and religious nowhere land. The word liminal is derived from the Latin  limin  (threshold).

15. Transition During the performance of these rites, the person is in the liminal world, between old and new states. During this stage, the initiate gets instructed in the responsibilities of the new role. Transition rites express the liminal condition of the candidates.

16. Reincorporation In the final step of the tripartite, the initiate is confirmed in his or her new status, the initiate crossed the threshold so to speak. These rites may include spiting on the new member, or investing the candidate with new clothes, rings, and tattoos etcetera.

17. Clifford Geertz (1973), an American anthropologist, offers a reformulation of the concept of culture which favors a symbolic interpretative model of culture. He defines culture as a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life. THE SELF AS EMBEDDED IN CULTURE

18. I have many things in common with the members of my family and community.

19. References: Corpuz , Ronald M. et. al. Understanding the Self. C&E publishing Inc. pg. 3-23 Go- Monilla , Ma. Jocelyn A. et.al. Understanding the Self. C&E publishing Inc. pg. 4-15 https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/undergraduate/what-is-anthropology https://www.sociologyguide.com/socio-short-notes/view-short-notes.php?id=86 http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~oflahert/ANT325/Overheads/selfhood.html https://psichologyanswers.com/library/lecture/read/129196-what-is-identity-toolbox http://thehealinglodge.org/understanding-rites-of-passage https://pdfcoffee.com/group-3-uts-soft-copydocx-pdf-free.html