School of Social Sciences

Mahatma Gandhi University

M A Programme (Anthropology)

SSS 548: ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY AND METHOD II

Faculty Deepu Thomas

Course Objective
The course seeks to expose the student to concepts and theories of Anthropology.
Course Contents
Unit 1: Structural School: Elements of Social Structure- A.R. Radcliff Browns Theory of Social
Structure- Nadels Contribution to Structural-Functional School- E.R Leachs Views on StructuralFunctionalism- Claude Levi Strauss-Emile Durkheim-American Structural-Functional School-Mayer
Fortes Views on Functionalism-Talcott Parsons Views on Functionalism.
Unit 2: Cultural and Personality School: Meaning and characteristics of Personality- Determinants of
Personality- Influence of Psychodynamics on the study of Culture- Ruth Fulton Benedicts concept of
Culture-Pattern and National Character- Margaret Meads contribution to the study of National
Character.
Unit 3: Theories of Society and Culture: Concept of Culture and Society- General Meaning of CultureAnthropological Meaning of Culture- Attributes of Culture- Components of Culture- Paradoxes of
Culture- Theories of Culture Growth- Acculturation- Man as Creator of Culture.
Unit 4: Theories of Civilization and Civilizational Study: Theories of Civilization- Differences between
Culture and Civilization according to Maclver and Page- Differences between Simple society and
Complex Society- Characteristics of Folk Societies, Robert Redfields concept of Folk-Urban
Continuum- Redfields concept of Peasant Society- Great and Little Traditions
References
Malinowski. B.

1994

: A Scientific Theory of culture. Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina

1922

: Argonauts of Western Pacific NY, Dutton.

1926

: Crime & Custom in Savage Society. London,

Kegan Paul.
: Magic, Science and religion

1929
Radcliffe Brown

1952

: Structure and Function in Primitive Society,

London, Oxford University Press.
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Ruth Benedict

1934

: Patterns of culture. New York, Houghton

Mead, Margaret

1953

: National Character in Kroeber's (edited).

Anthropology Today.

Mead, Margaret

1955

: Cultural patterns and Technical change; New

York, Mentor.

Clinton, Ralph

1945

The Cultural background of personality. New

York. Appleton.

Kardiner, Abram

1936

The Individual and his society, New York,

Columbia University press.

Jha, Makhan

1983

: An Introduction to Anthropological Thought,

New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House

Kapadia K.M.

1971

Marriage and Family in India. Calcutta: Oxford

University Press.

Lowie, R.H.

1971

Social Organisation. London: Routledge and

Kegan Paul Ltd.

Murdock, G.P.

1965

Social Structure. Illinois: Fress Press, Glencoe.

Radcliffe-Brown, A.R

1973

Structure and Function in Primitive Society.

London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd.

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