By Paige Hoblak (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 8, 2012
Have you ever felt a curiosity burn so strongly that you can’t help but question the most basic concepts about life? I suppose this curiosity is why we attend university in the first place, why we read, why we listen to narratives both small and profound. Where did we really come from? How come our body shapes differ so much from that of another ethnicity? Why is my skin brown, white, or black, and why is my body muscular over thin? Why does society operate so inefficiently? Where did the institution of marriage come from?
Contemplating these questions is what drew me in to anthropology. It always gets me when I explain that I‘m taking anthropology courses and people look back at me, dumbfounded. Their puzzled faces explain it all. So… you’re learning about dinosaurs and stuff? Umm, not exactly. Although archaeology is a subfield of anthropology, palaeontology, however, is not.
Anthropology is the study of humans with an emphasis on culture. How is it that so many adults I know and some of my peers in university don’t even know what anthropology is? In elementary school we are taught right from wrong, how to write and read, basic multiplication, and so forth. In high school we are exposed to a more in-depth look into the basic subjects: math, history, literature, science, English. But what I absolutely cannot wrap my head around is the fact that anthropology is not even offered, which ultimately leads to ignorance unlike any other.
In anthropology I have gained a high level of respect for cultures that differ from mine. Anthropologists, (who I consider to be some of the most ingenious people to ever walk our planet), engage in the exciting and often terrifying practice, known as fieldwork or ethnography. To be granted this opportunity is a gift unlike any other. It takes much research and education for an anthropologist to even be considered for a chance to actively engage in ethnography. This process entails going abroad for about a year to become a part of a tribe or particular indigenous group. In this year the anthropologist must learn the language, customs, rituals and religion of the society and provide extensive, in-depth coverage of their experience. These indigenous groups often have no technology whatsoever and rely heavily on the local environment for their food and shelter. Some anthropologists have been so lucky to encounter cultures that haven’t even made contact with the world outside their own.
As glamorous as this job can be, it also carries a heavy burden. Anthropologists have to shed all of their preconceived knowledge about the Western world and their ways of doing things in order to fully immerse themselves into the unknown. Although this may seem liberating — a new beginning perhaps — it’s often reported as being very lonely and often above and beyond alienated. Anthropologists have to be fearless; this fearlessness is inspiring and something that we can all learn from.
You may ask how this connects to our own society – you, after all, certainly don’t live in the wilderness. Well, if an anthropologist can spend a year in the bush with people who have a completely different way of life, and get by with a language they might not even fully comprehend, then shouldn’t the average North American be able to sit next to a person on the bus in the same fashion? Accepting that we are all connected as one race, shouldn’t that be able to guide us in our daily lives without the continuous threat of racism, bullying and stereotyping?
Quite honestly, I have had enough. I am no perfect person, I assure you, but I do believe if we opened our minds and kept them open, we might be able to mend the critical issues that plague our society. There is a logical set of explanations for why some things the way they are, such as why Africans have darker skin or why the Inuit have thicker bodies than Asians. Educating our society on the cultural, physical and environmental variations that this world carries is one step in the right direction in regards to respecting and appreciating diversity rather than being scared by it. Need I say more about the importance of anthropology in the North American education system? I firmly believe that learning about cultural variations at a young age could ultimately bridge the gap forever between us and them, a gap which has been ignored for far too long.
