American historical particularism
E84643
American historical particularism is an anthropological approach, associated with Franz Boas and his students, that emphasizes the unique historical development of each culture rather than universal evolutionary stages.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
anthropological theory
→
school of thought in anthropology → |
| aimsAt |
understanding cultures on their own terms
→
|
| associatedWith |
Alfred L. Kroeber
→
Boasian anthropology → Edward Sapir → Franz Boas → Margaret Mead → Robert Lowie → Ruth Benedict → |
| coreConcept |
cultural traits result from diffusion, invention, and historical accident
→
each culture must be understood in its own historical context → no inherent ranking of cultures from primitive to civilized → |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States
→
|
| criticizedFor |
lack of broad theoretical generalization
→
overemphasis on description and particular cases → |
| developedIn |
United States
→
|
| emphasizes |
cultural relativism
→
detailed ethnographic fieldwork → inductive research methods → particular histories of individual societies → unique historical development of each culture → |
| field |
cultural anthropology
→
|
| focusesOn |
culture as a product of unique historical processes
→
particularistic explanations rather than universal laws → |
| influenced |
culture and personality school
→
development of American cultural anthropology → later theories of cultural relativism → |
| influencedBy |
Franz Boas's critique of evolutionism
→
Franz Boas's fieldwork among Indigenous peoples of North America → |
| language |
English
→
|
| methodologicalApproach |
comparative study of cultural diffusion
→
historical reconstruction of cultural traits → |
| opposes |
broad speculative generalizations about cultures
→
unilineal cultural evolution → universal evolutionary stages of culture → |
| originatedWith |
Franz Boas and his students
→
|
| rejects |
grand evolutionary schemes of 19th-century anthropology
→
|
| relatedTo |
Boasian school
→
cultural relativism → diffusionism → |
| supports |
empirical, fieldwork-based anthropology
→
|
| theoreticalBasis |
cultural relativism
→
rejection of biological determinism → rejection of racial hierarchies → |
| timePeriod |
early 20th century
→
late 19th century → |
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Boasian school of anthropology
→
|
alsoKnownAs |