How to Study Trends Through Cultural Anthropology

Cultural anthropology is a sub-field of anthropology, the study human life on Earth from the early beginnings of Homo sapiens; though the emphasis of cultural anthropology is on present day societies. Cultural anthropologists focus on human interactions in cultures, the formation of cultures and societies, as well as social customs, religion, economies and other aspects of human culture. They also study changes occurring today that alter traditions, beliefs, societies and cultures. Researching trends involves determining changes in a culture and what brought about those changes.

Instructions

    • 1

      Research the culture you wish to study, and consider relevant trends that may make good study topics. Trends may be political or economical in nature, such as elections and protesting or work availability and unemployment. They may also be more personal, such as interpersonal communication, including personal space or proxemics, changes in language use or religious association. Gender, sex, relationships and marriages may also present societal trends worth studying.

    • 2

      Study communication trends, such as the changes in language over time or from one generation to the next. Emotional expression, physical cues, such as body language, personal space and proxemics, as well as non-verbal communication methods may also fall under communication trends. The differences between native and non-native speakers may also shed interesting light on communication trends.

    • 3

      Study religious trends by researching the history or the religion or belief system, influence from outside cultures, changes within the religious system, as well as how those changes reflect the changes occurring in the society around it. Reasons why people follow a specific belief system may also be helpful in studying the trends of the religion through history, within a culture and as it spread beyond that culture.

    • 4

      Study relationship and sexual identity trends. Importance and relevance of marriage within the culture may fluctuate or change completely over time. Sexual identities and sexual orientation may change the view of marriage and relationships, families and cultural views. The trends in marriage, relationships, gender and sex can be extremely important to a culture, since this is part of how the culture continues to exist.

    • 5

      Study social trends, such as political involvement, including protesting, or even trends that are a bit more mainstream, like social networking. Group formation or association may also present interesting trends in the culture, as can behavioral shifts, such as during times of economic hardship.

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