Please use the Module 4 Note-Taking Sheet (it has the same information as included below) to take notes as you view my recorded lecture. (You can alter the document as you like, add spaces, etc. You can also print it and hand write your notes, or save it and type your notes.)

Click below to here the first portion of the lecture (Module 4, Presentation 1):

http://youtu.be/foubJs3J2wE

Note: Every time I refer to society, it also means "social structure." So a focus on "society" in anthropology, and in our class, is a focus on social structure.

Approaches to Anthropology

Interpretivist
Structural

Two Lenses

society – the arrangement and distribution of people and resources in a particular context and as they change through time [Note: this is a structural approach]
(culture – a set of meanings and practices for understanding and acting in the world)

Ritual

ritual: a patterned and often repeatable actions and meanings shared by a group of people, and in some way distinguishable from everyday actions
rites of passage - a ritual that marks a person’s or group’s passage from one identity or status to another

Rites of Passage - Stages

Arnold Van Gennep identified Rites of Passage as a unique form of ritual
separation stage – withdrawing from one’s current status and preparing to move into another
liminal stage – being between statuses; this is usually where all of the interesting stuff happens and when the bulk of the official ritual usually takes place
reintegration stage – re-entering society with a new status