You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (April 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the German article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,146 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Interpretative Ethnologie]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Interpretative Ethnologie}} to the talk page.
For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.
Part of a series on
Anthropology
Outline
History
Types
Archaeological
Biological
Cultural
Linguistic
Social
Archaeological
Aerial
Aviation
Battlefield
Biblical
Bioarchaeological
Environmental
Ethnoarchaeological
Experiential
Feminist
Forensic
Maritime
Paleoethnobotanical
Zooarchaeological
Biological
Anthrozoological
Biocultural
Evolutionary
Forensic
Molecular
Neurological
Nutritional
Paleoanthropological
Primatological
Social
Cultural
Applied
Art
Cognitive
Cyborg
Development
Digital
Ecological
Environmental
Economic
Political economy
Feminist
Food
Historical
Institutional
Kinship
Legal
Media
Medical
Museums
Musical
Political
Psychological
Public
Religion
Symbolic
Transpersonal
Urban
Visual
Linguistic
Anthropological
Descriptive
Ethnological
Ethnopoetical
Historical
Semiotic
Sociological
Research framework
Anthropometry
Ethnography
cyber
Ethnology
Cross-cultural comparison
Participant observation
Holism
Reflexivity
Thick description
Cultural relativism
Ethnocentrism
Emic and etic
Key concepts
Culture
Development
Ethnicity
Evolution
sociocultural
Gender
Kinship and descent
Meme
Prehistory
Race
Society
Value
Colonialism / Postcolonialism
Key theories
Actor–network theory
Alliance theory
Cross-cultural studies
Cultural materialism
Culture theory
Diffusionism
Feminism
Historical particularism
Boasian anthropology
Functionalism
Interpretive
Performance studies
Political economy
Practice theory
Structuralism
Post-structuralism
Systems theory
Lists
Anthropologists by nationality
Anthropology by year
Bibliography
Journals
List of indigenous peoples
Organizations
v
t
e
Symbolic anthropology or, more broadly, symbolic and interpretive anthropology, is the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be used to gain a better understanding of a particular society. According to Clifford Geertz, "[b]elieving, with Max Weber, that man is an animal suspended in webs of significance he himself has spun, I take culture to be those webs, and the analysis of it to be therefore not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning".[1] In theory, symbolic anthropology assumes that culture lies within the basis of the individuals’ interpretation of their surrounding environment, and that it does not in fact exist beyond the individuals themselves. Furthermore, the meaning assigned to people's behavior is molded by their culturally established symbols. Symbolic anthropology aims to thoroughly understand the way meanings are assigned by individuals to certain things, leading then to a cultural expression.[2] There are two majorly recognized approaches to the interpretation of symbolic anthropology, the interpretive approach, and the symbolic approach. Both approaches are products of different figures, Clifford Geertz (interpretive) and Victor Turner (symbolic).[3] There is also another key figure in symbolic anthropology, David M. Schneider, who does not particularly fall into either of the schools of thought. Symbolic anthropology follows a literary basis instead of an empirical one meaning there is less of a concern with objects of science such as mathematics or logic, instead of focusing on tools like psychology and literature. That is not to say fieldwork is not done in symbolic anthropology, but the research interpretation is assessed in a more ideological basis.[2]
Prominent figures in symbolic anthropology include Clifford Geertz, David M. Schneider, Victor Turner and Mary Douglas.[citation needed]
^Geertz, Clifford (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books. pp. 5.
^ ab"Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology", Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2013, doi:10.4135/9781452276311.n275, ISBN 978-1-4129-9963-2, retrieved 2020-11-23
^Hudson, Scott; Smith, Carl; Loughlin, Michael; Hammerstedt, Scott. "Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropologies". Anthropological Theories. The University of Alabama.
and 27 Related for: Symbolic anthropology information
Symbolicanthropology or, more broadly, symbolic and interpretive anthropology, is the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be used to gain...
Symbolic interactionism is a sociological theory that develops from practical considerations and alludes to humans' particular use of shared language to...
asceticism. He also separated magic as pre-religious activity. Symbolicanthropology and some versions of phenomenology argue that all humans require...
sociology and anthropologySymbolic interaction, a system of interaction in sociology Symbolic system, a structured system of symbols in anthropology, sociology...
mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolicanthropology and who was considered "for three decades... the single most influential...
Anthropological linguistics is the subfield of linguistics and anthropology which deals with the place of language in its wider social and cultural context...
encode human experiences symbolically, and to communicate symbolically encoded experiences socially. American anthropology is organized into four fields...
Known for his symbolic and interpretive anthropological work, Geertz's methods were in response to his critique of existing anthropological methods that...
specialized in symbolicanthropology. Wagner received a B.A. in Medieval History from Harvard University (1961), and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University...
Anthropology of art is a sub-field in social anthropology dedicated to the study of art in different cultural contexts. The anthropology of art focuses...
Leland B. Yeager Boon, James A. (1982), Other Tribes, Other Scribes: SymbolicAnthropology in the Comparative Study of Cultures, Histories, Religions and Texts...
Philosophical anthropology, sometimes called anthropological philosophy, is a discipline dealing with questions of metaphysics and phenomenology of the...
Cognitive anthropology is an approach within cultural anthropology and biological anthropology in which scholars seek to explain patterns of shared knowledge...
man Symbolicanthropology, the study of cultural symbols and how those symbols can be interpreted to better understand a particular society Symbolic system...
Contextualism Susan Gal Symbolicanthropology Winfried Nöth (1995) Handbook of semiotics p.103 Singer, M. B. (1978). "For a Semiotic Anthropology," in Sight, Sound...
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present...
on how some academic disciplines should be classified (e.g., whether anthropology and linguistics are disciplines of social sciences or fields within the...
provided as an overview of and topical guide to anthropology: Anthropology – study of humankind. Anthropology has origins in the natural sciences – humanities...
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which...
Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across...
supremacy of the symbolic over the imaginary […] supremacy of the symbolic over the real." Accepting through Lévi-Strauss the anthropological premise that...
Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human...
cultural anthropology. In the United States, social anthropology is commonly subsumed within cultural anthropology or sociocultural anthropology.[citation...
TENNEKES. “SPIRIT AND MATTER IN THE COSMOLOGY OF CHASSIDIC JUDAISM.” SymbolicAnthropology in the Netherlands, edited by P.E. DE JOSSELIN DE JONG and ERIK...
of Clifford Geertz and others, is often referred to as symbolic and interpretive anthropology. Victor Turner was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of Norman...
Historical anthropology is a historiographical movement which applies methodologies and objectives from social and cultural anthropology to the study...