Anthropological Theory Research Articles

Development Logic From Regional Cuisine to Global Fast Food — A Case Study of Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Lanzhou Beef Noodles is a distinctive regional food in and around Lanzhou, China. With the development of the society, Lanzhou Beef Noodles has become a shared culinary cultural element among people across many parts of China and even expanding globally. The phenomenon of “Lanzhou Beef Noodles” evolving into “Lanzhou Ramen” and spreading throughout the streets worldwide highlights the combined significance of this food and its business. This combination has led to the dual expansion of the economic significance of cuisine and the social significance of business. Using ethnographic research methods based on anthropology and incorporating anthropological theories of business, this paper argues that adhering to traditional culinary standards constitutes a core competitiveness and value advantage of Lanzhou Beef Noodles. A rational operation of capital plays a crucial social role in the process of business inheritance and transformation. The joint efforts of the government and the private sector, along with an adaptive business model, have transformed Lanzhou Beef Noodles from a culinary cultural resource into a cultural capital. This transition is the developmental logic behind the widespread success of Lanzhou Beef Noodles, making it a culinary delight locally, nationally and globally.

Christian anthropology-based contributions to the ethics of socially assistive robots in care for older adults.

Our society, in general, and health care, in particular, faces notable challenges due to the emergence of innovative digital technologies. The use of socially assistive robots in aged care is a particular digital application that provokes ethical reflection. The answers we give to the ethical questions associated with socially assistive robots are framed by ontological and anthropological considerations of what constitutes human beings and how the meaning of being human relates to how these robots are conceived. Religious beliefs and secular worldviews, each of which may participate fully in pluralist societies, have an important responsibility in this foundational debate, as anthropological theories can be inspired by religious and secular viewpoints. This article identifies seven anthropological considerations grounded in the synthesis of biblical scriptures, Roman Catholic documents, and recent research literature. We highlight the inspirational quality of these anthropological considerations when dealing with ethical issues regarding the development and use of socially assistive robots in aged care. With this contribution, we aim to foster a global and inclusive dialogue on digitalization in aged care that deeply challenges our basic understanding of what constitutes a human being and how this notion relates to machine artefacts.

Ethical futures in biological anthropology: Research, teaching, community engagement, and curation involving deceased individuals.

Although ethical reforms in biological anthropology have gained ground in recent years, there is still a scarcity of ethical standards for work involving historical documented collections (HDCs) at US museums and universities. These collections of deceased individuals were created in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries under anatomy laws that targeted socially marginalized communities and allowed for the dissection of these individuals without their consent. Due to the extensive information associated with the individuals and made available to researchers, these collections have served as foundational resources for theory and methods development in biological anthropology into the 21st century. Recognizing the need for ethical guidelines for research, teaching and training, community engagement, and curation involving HDCs, we held a workshop called "Ethical Futures for Curation, Research, and Teaching in Biological Anthropology" on November 15-17, 2021. Here we summarize the conversations and major points of consensus among the workshop participants on these topics in order to advance these ethical considerations more broadly across the field.

A Mayor Discovery in Andean Ethnography and a Fundamental Accountof the main Theories in Anthropology of Religion

Este libro de Frank Salomon es el producto de un prolongado encuentro entre el renombrado andinista estadounidense y los pobladores de Rapaz, un «pueblo campesino libre» (p. 2) de los Andes peruanos. Más allá de la imagen de Rapaz como una «comunidad campesina» legalmente reconocida como corporación con tierras de propiedad colectiva (p. 36), Salomon intenta acercarse a «la naturaleza de la sociedad» (p. 24) en estas comarcas de la sierra de Lima. Así, acude al modelo de «sociedad dual» (p. 24), tal como lo formulara Pierre Duviols, aquella «representación peculiar de la humanidad y la naturaleza conocida como el modelo Huari-Llacuaz» (p. 16).

A Mayor Discovery in Andean Ethnography and a Fundamental Accountof the main Theories in Anthropology of Religion

Este libro de Frank Salomon es el producto de un prolongado encuentro entre el renombrado andinista estadounidense y los pobladores de Rapaz, un «pueblo campesino libre» (p. 2) de los Andes peruanos. Más allá de la imagen de Rapaz como una «comunidad campesina» legalmente reconocida como corporación con tierras de propiedad colectiva (p. 36), Salomon intenta acercarse a «la naturaleza de la sociedad» (p. 24) en estas comarcas de la sierra de Lima. Así, acude al modelo de «sociedad dual» (p. 24), tal como lo formulara Pierre Duviols, aquella «representación peculiar de la humanidad y la naturaleza conocida como el modelo Huari-Llacuaz» (p. 16).

A decolonial anthropology: You can dismantle the master’s house with the master’s tools

The 2022 meeting of the Group for Debates in Anthropological Theory (GDAT) Social Anthropology, University of Manchester. The motion is, of course, a riff on Audre Lorde’s well-known 1984 claim that ‘the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.’ Lorde is asking about the tools of a racist and constitutionally exclusionary world, but we can ask similar questions about the tools of an academic discipline, anthropology, which arose during the height of empire, and the house that anthropology has built and its location in the university. Are anthropology's tools able to dismantle a house built on oppression, exploitation and discrimination and then build a different better house? If not, then what kinds of other tools might we use, and what is it that we might want to build? The motion is proposed by David Mills and Mwenda Ntarangwi and opposed by Kelly Gillespie and Naisargi Davé with Soumhya Venkatesan convening and editing the debate for publication.

A critical look at the anthropological theory of the didactic

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to discuss and challenge some basic premises of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic, as introduced by its founder, Yves Chevallard. Using the theory of limits as a historical study as well as a number of research articles, I investigate the relation between the types of mathematical knowledge, as given in the theory of didactic transposition. I also argue that the concept of praxeology does not capture the intrinsic difficulty of the concept of limit, which many students encounter. This paper is also a call for researchers within the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic to enter into a critical discussion of its basic tenets, and to engage in dialogue and networking with other educational platforms to help improve and develop the theory.

On resolving the tension between visiting mathematical works and questioning the quantum world

For the past 40 years, researchers in didactics of mathematics have developed and utilised didactic engineering as a methodology for design-based research. In this article we discuss its second step, the so-called a priori analysis. In the framework of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic, engineering is in the form of the implementation of a study and research path (SRP), an inquiry-based course. SRPs may be either finalised, that is aimed at the teaching of a particular piece of knowledge, or rather open, that is solely aimed at answering a given question. This tension between sometimes competing goals especially shows in the a priori analysis of SRPs, a phenomenon we address in this paper. Our study is based on pieces of evidence collected by setting up an SRP two years in a row at the interface between mathematics and quantum mechanics, in third year of bachelor's degree. We take a particular care in explicating the rationale behind the a priori analysis and its connection with the preliminary analysis. We bring out the significance of spelling out one's epistemological stance, as didactic engineer, emphasising the value of the notion of reference epistemological models to do so.

Navigating Ritual Resilience: The Interplay of Change and Continuity in the Shaolin Monastery During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The global upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic introduced considerable perturbations to the religious life and ritual observances within most religious communities around the world. This article delves into the resilience and adaptability of ritual practices within the Shaolin Monastery of China during the five-month COVID-19 quarantine spanning from 23 January to 22 June, 2020. Employing ethnographic methods and grounded in anthropological theory, the study examines the interplay between ritual as a static social fact and as a dynamic, adaptable process, within the context of the Shaolin monastic life. It underlines the intricate interplay between static and dynamic elements in ritual practice, casting light on the Shaolin community’s response to the pandemic. The study discerns dichotomies responsible for the critical forces underlying complex dynamics intrinsic to the Shaolin community’s religious life, namely: religious–secular, isolation–social engagement, discipline–freedom, tradition–innovation, and individual–collective. Tracking the evolutions and consistencies within these dual relationships enabled casting light on the transformative processes that were set in motion and identifying the elements of the religious life that have undergone change and those that have remained constant. This exploration offers a unique glimpse into the mechanisms through which resilience was enacted with the strategies that enabled the community to maintain, adjust and innovate its ritual practices amidst the tribulations presented by the crisis.

Minang Kabau Wedding Traditions: An Anthropolinguistic Study

The traditions of the Minang Kabau traditional wedding ceremony have cultural meanings and sociological functions that are followed from generation to generation by the Minang Kabau community. However, these traditions are not fully held by the community due to the shift of non-matrilineal culture. This study aims to explain the wedding ceremony traditions of the Minang Kabau tribe in matrilineal cultural practices. This research uses anthropological theory, where data is taken through the method of interviews (open-ended interviews), observation (observation) both participatory observation and observation-periodic to the field, and literature review (written document) This research uses qualitative methods. The data obtained were 10 people who helped implement the wedding ceremony traditions of the Minang Kabau tribe. From this research, descriptive data and explanations can be presented from the traditional wedding traditions of the Minang Kabau.The local wisdom contained in the traditional wedding traditions of the Minang Kabau is consensus in achieving goals, mutual cooperation, mutual honor between the two families and the bride and groom.

Healthcare Disparities among Socioeconomic Groups

Purpose: This study sought to explore the socioeconomic factors contributing to disparities in healthcare access and outcomes. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to healthcare disparities among socioeconomic groups. Preliminary empirical review revealed that individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds faced multiple barriers to healthcare access, leading to inequalities in health outcomes. The study highlighted the complex interplay between social factors such as income, education, and wealth, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to address healthcare disparities. Despite progress, gaps in research, policy, and practice remained, underscoring the importance of continued efforts to achieve health equity through collaborative initiatives and evidence-based interventions. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Social Determinants of Health theory, Health Benefit model and Critical Medical Anthropology theory may be used to anchor future studies on healthcare disparities among socioeconomic groups. The study provided comprehensive recommendations to advance theory, practice, and policy. It contributed to theoretical frameworks by highlighting the complex interplay between socioeconomic factors and healthcare disparities. In practice, it emphasized the importance of patient-centered care and collaborative models to address social determinants of health. Policy recommendations focused on structural interventions to improve social and economic conditions and expand healthcare coverage. Capacity building efforts aimed to enhance skills and competencies, while improved data collection and monitoring systems were advocated for tracking progress. Finally, a research agenda prioritized understanding the mechanisms underlying disparities and evaluating intervention effectiveness. These recommendations aimed to promote health equity and ensure equitable access to healthcare services.

Settlement Selection and Inequality in Video Games through an Anthropological Lens

For thousands of years, humans have been entertained by board games. The earliest documented game boards date to at least 6000 BC in the Near East (Sebbane 2001), and we know the name, Senet, and rules of a board game from Egypt dating to 3500–3100 BC. Aspects of inequality are omnipresent in the dynamics of the competition and cooperation inherent in games. In this review, I assess the digital version of the board game Catan, which is also called Catan Universe, discussing how anthropological theories such as human behavioral ecology are recognizable in the digital game. Playing this game provides a unique way to test models of inequality.

Cross-Cultural Differences in Food Preferences and Consumption Patterns

Purpose: This study sought to explore cross- cultural differences in food preferences and consumption patterns. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to cross- cultural differences in food preferences and consumption patterns. Preliminary empirical review revealed that cultural heritage profoundly influenced individuals' food preferences and consumption habits, with distinct culinary traditions and family influences shaping dietary behaviors within specific cultural contexts. Globalization and urbanization were found to impact food preferences, yet traditional dietary practices remained resilient. Additionally, socio-economic factors significantly influenced dietary behaviors, particularly in low-income communities. These findings emphasized the importance of recognizing cultural diversity and socio-economic disparities in promoting healthy eating behaviors and improving public health outcomes. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Cultural Anthropology theory, Social Identity theory and Ecological Systems theory may be used to anchor future studies on cross- cultural differences in food preferences and consumption patterns. The study offered valuable recommendations that contributed to theory, practice, and policy in the field of nutrition and public health. By identifying cultural influences on food preferences and consumption patterns, the study enriched theoretical frameworks such as cultural anthropology, social identity theory, and ecological systems theory. Its findings informed the development of culturally sensitive interventions and educational programs, empowering individuals to make healthier food choices while respecting cultural heritage. Additionally, the study's insights guided the formulation of evidence-based policies aimed at addressing diet-related health disparities and promoting food security and nutrition equity on a global scale.

Teaching mathematics to non-specialists at university: a praxeological approach

In this paper, we focus on the practices of teachers who teach mathematics to non-specialist students. Referring to the anthropological theory of the didactic, we investigate university teachers’ personal didactical praxeologies. Drawing on the literature on the specific issues met by non-specialist students, we identified five didactical types of tasks situated at the level of the discipline belonging to ‘the praxeological problem of the teacher’. We conducted interviews with three experienced teachers teaching mathematics to first year non-specialist students about their practices and collected their resources. The data analyses indicated that the three teachers developed their didactical praxeologies for ‘Teach basic mathematics’ and ‘Link mathematics and other disciplines’. The analysis at the lower levels (domain/sector/theme/question) and the consideration of the mathematical praxeologies they proposed to their students allowed us to question the relevance of the actual implementation of the techniques they use.

Temporalization and the Digital Vigilante: Past Presencing, Un/Doing Futures and “Jewish Revenge” as Affective Justice in Talia Lavin’s Culture Warlords

This paper examines the figure of the hate-fighting digital vigilante as embodied through Aryan Queen, an online persona developed and depicted by self-proclaimed antifa member Talia Lavin in her book Culture Warlords. One chapter in the 2020 memoir relays Lavin’s pursuits to elicit and make known identifying information of Der Stürmer, an anonymous white supremacist online hater. I first locate Lavin’s undertaking in the porous policy landscape regulating online hate transnationally to make a case for its value as an entry into the navigation of hate on Telegram, a platform that has become a popular enclave for hate, and one that remains otherwise impenetrable to state efforts at formal governance. I then introduce the digital vigilante as a cultural figure that has become increasingly distinguished from, but developed in relation to, the classical or analogue vigilante in academic literature, albeit with only limited attention paid to the seemingly boundless temporality that constitutes the virtual sphere. Attending to processes of temporalization, I argue, can well serve an analysis of the moral universe within which the digital vigilante operates, thereby enabling a critical engagement with the motivations, methods, and intentions of her justice pursuits online. With the support of anthropological theories of temporalization – namely, past presencing, un/doing futures, and affective justice – I show that justice pursuits by way of digital vigilantism for Lavin are entangled with an affective longing for revenge, and manifest a complex intermingling of open wounds from injustices that emerge from and produce entanglements of the past, present, and future.

Contributions of the anthropological theory of the didactic to the epistemological programme of research in mathematics education

In the early 1980s, the theory of didactic situations put the analysis of mathematical activity at the core of the didactic analysis, thus initiating a new research programme in mathematics education: the epistemological programme. This paper describes and interprets some of the contributions of the anthropological theory of the didactic (ATD) to the development of this programme. These contributions come from the new institutional and ecological perspective provided by the ATD to approach the didactic problem and from the significance it assigns to macrodidactic phenomena characterised by didactic transposition. They are illustrated with research works involving different fields of school mathematics in which the ATD team led by Spanish researchers played a central role: research in school algebra and its relations with functional modelling, differential calculus, and real numbers. The paper concludes by briefly describing the contributions of the ATD to the dialogue between didactic theories, another domain that has notable Spanish contributions.

The study of Cassirer's Humanistic Thought in An Essay on Man

For the study of Humanistic theory, there are many outstanding philosophers have elaborated, have their own unique insights, but the most prestigious from the German philosopher Cassirer, who answered the question of "what is man" in his book An essay on man, he creatively put forward the "man is a symbolic animal". He creatively proposed that "man is a symbolic animal". This is a great breakthrough in the theory of Western anthropology, which has also led to the further development of anthropological theory. This paper focuses on the development of Cassirer's theory of humanology and the far-reaching impact of humanology and theory on society. The essence of man lies in the fact that man is the journey of using symbols as a bridge of communication between man and culture and gradually emancipating man's mind. This paper specifies Cassirer's humanistic theory of man, symbol, and culture as one and evaluates his thought.

UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP THROUGH THE LENS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

This research investigates the relationship between educational leadership and anthropological theories to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics involved in educational leadership practices. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this study aims to bridge the gap between traditional leadership studies and anthropological perspectives on culture, social structure, and meaning in the context of education. The research method involves analysing literature related to educational leadership theories and functionalism theory in anthropology. The results of this research indicate that an anthropological approach can help enrich understanding of educational leadership practices, particularly in terms of managing cultural diversity, analysing conflict in educational systems, and understanding the symbols of power in social interactions within educational environments. This research contributes to the literature on educational leadership by highlighting the importance of considering anthropological dimensions in the development of educational leadership theories and practices. The implications of this research also open up avenues for further research on the relationship between anthropology and educational leadership to enrich our understanding of dynamics within educational systems.

Blasted, Bound, and Bald: the Abject Properties of Witch Hair

The witch’s blasted hair in Early Modern visual culture is moving and evolving. Her hair is untamable, animated by a wind and a force unknowable to the viewer. The artists who captured this “blasted” hair in the 16th century, including Hans Baldung Grien, Hans Sebald Beham, and Albrecht Dürer, found themselves working in opposition to what appears, at first glance, a formidable “other:” women’s agency and sexuality, frozen in bodily form as strands of hair. Little research has been dedicated to an earnest analysis of the witch’s amorphous hair so this paper consists primarily of original research and the application of philosophical and anthropological theory. Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection is a key tenet of this paper’s central argument. The witch is not an “other” directly opposed to a mainstream, she is a third intermediary thing: Kristeva’s “abject.” She is a personification of the skin on the surface of sour milk, instilling disgust in the potential consumer. She is the abject precisely because she is embedded in the object; her hair is the most explicit vehicle for this argument. Friedrich Speevon Langenfield’s accounts of forced hair removal and contemporary literature from Raymond Firth, Barbara Baert, and E.R. Leach inform this reading of witch hair as the abject. This paper concludes that the visual translation of blasted hair is an attempt to remove it and its female sexual connotation from the imagination to a more accessible visual medium. The artist’s renderings are meant to turn the abject into an easily digestible object, a complete “other.”

Experiences of GDPR in Norway: Politics of autonomy and control

This article explores the challenges Norwegian anthropologists face owing to the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The authors’ analysis reveals a tension between the need to comply with data protection regulations and preserve research autonomy and methodological integrity. The authors document how GDPR's bureaucratic control mechanisms have influenced researchers’ conceptualization of ethics, leading to a split between legalistic adherence and critical responses within the anthropological community. This situation has necessitated negotiations with various stakeholders and re‐evaluating participatory observational methods, particularly in health research, where access has become increasingly difficult. The article highlights the anthropological community's efforts to navigate these regulations through national debates, establishing forums for ethics in ethnographic research and developing strategies to maintain methodological standards while ensuring GDPR compliance. The authors advocate vigilance against the colonization of bureaucratic logic and seek to secure anthropological representation in regulatory bodies to safeguard the discipline's interests.