The World Of Anthropology An Anthropological Perspective

In the world of anthropology, the study of human societies and their cultures or development, the people that study those topics often turn to scientific field notes rather than photography. Anthropologists are supposed to maintain objective and impartial conclusions when studying cultures or societies and for years the only consistent way of doing so was to only consider unbiased field notes, or simply scientific notes or observations. However, over time anthropologists came to realize that the only way to be able to see everything was through photographs that encapsulate the entirety of what is being seen in a way that the use of merely field notes cannot. When looking at the science of anthropology, the addition of photography into the previously field note dominated margins of observations has had a beneficial and significant impact on the field, proving that the use of photography in anthropology is immensely effective. As an anthropologist, one must immerse one’s self in a culture and make observations without disturbing the culture, must find a way to understand the culture in a way that doesn’t leave a mark on it. Throughout time, cultures and societies have been altered and changed almost entirely and field notes used to be the only way to preserve or understand what was seen by someone studying it. N. Scott Momaday in his article, â€Å"Shadow Catcher† speaks of his mentor’s time observing the culture of Native Americans preserved through captured images in a time longShow MoreRelatedCritical Analysis Of The Mead-Freeman Debate1283 Words   |  6 Pagescontroversy in anthropology regarding the concept of nature versus nurture. Freeman claimed that Boasians’ insisted on separating cultural determinism (nurture) from biological determinism (nature). Thus, various academic writings emerged in support of one concept over the latter. 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Through participant-observation, Malinowski (1922) offered a valuable tool with which to uncover these insights and understandings, the ethnographer. The ethnographer as research tool has become the basis of much modern anthropological research. As a method, it was a radical