ipl-logo

Anthropology And African American Studies: A Summary And Analysis

1051 Words5 Pages

In order to explore the implications of black and white standards of beauty (Eurocentric) that influence Black female hairstyles in modern day United States, I will utilize concepts and theories from Anthropology and African American studies. According to Robert H. Lavenda, Anthropology is the study of human beings that is holistic, comparative, field-based, and evolutionary. Anthropologists gather a wide range of information from multiple cultures, compare cultural practices, incorporate other disciplines, and join in cultural practices to determine “who they [the people being studied] are and why they do what they do” (Lavenda 2012). Cultural anthropology specifically assumes that the culture has the biggest impact on human life than any …show more content…

In my research I will be examining four major concepts of anthropology: culture, acculturation, social beliefs, and the traits of culture -culture is Learned; shared; patterned; and symbolic. According to Repko, culture is sets of learned behavior and ideas the individual gathered from society (Repko 2012); Acculturation is cultural groups adapting to another culture and taking on traits of that culture; and social beliefs are behaviors, beliefs, and actions common to members of a particular group. Therefore, African American female hair practices are influenced by Eurocentric cultural standards of beauty -beauty standards that equate beauty with desirable European features- and Afrocentric cultural standards of beauty – beauty standards that equate African features to beauty. Examining Human agency, culture, social beliefs, acculturation, and the traits of culture; will highlight black and white beauty standards, establish African American culture, and further emphasizes the influence of Eurocentric and Afrocentric beauty standards on black female hairstyles in the modern united …show more content…

Karanja Keita Carroll, Ph. D defines Africana studies as “…the critical analysis of the Africana experience, people, and culture, through the usage of the Afrikan worldview, with the ultimate goal of changing the life chances of Afrikan descended peoples” (Carroll 2008). Therefore, African American studies examines the past and present culture, characteristics, and issues of African Americans; establishes an “intellectual and academic space for Black people to tell their own story” (Alkalimat 1986), and seeks to better the lives of African Americans. African American studies focuses on concepts such as black consciousness and cultural self-definition, and knowledge production in addition to theories such as the race identity stages and Afrocentrism. Black consciousness is the awareness of one’s identity as a black person. According to Bantu Stephen Biko, being black is not just skin color it is also a “reflection of mental attitude” (Biko 1971. Biko argues that choosing to describe oneself as black is committing to fight against forces that “seek to use your blackness as a stamp that marks you out as a subservient being” (Biko 1971). Therefore, black consciousness is the acknowledgement of one’s blackness and dedication to fighting for political and social equality. Cultural self-definition is the definition of one's individuality and one's role in life; such placement of

Show More
Related
952 Words | 4 Pages

In particular, the traits associated with Blackness are assigned in opposition to whiteness, which is alleged to represent purity, intelligence, beauty, modernity, and other mythical ideals. On a surface level, the terminology of Blackness is assigned to people who fit a particular set of characteristics, including, but not limited to, dark skin, or any skin that does not resemble the pale, non-melanated skin of Europeans. According to Cooper, racialization is based on the “Western self, reflecting its fears and obsessions concerning the body, sexuality, and mortality” on Black people (95). Characteristics, including ugliness, hypersexuality, and criminality, are then assigned to the category of Blackness, which further distances Black people from white people, who consider themselves to be superior (Fanon 10).

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

(Pigott, 2). Likewise, Catherine altered her body size to meet their gender expectations and various cultural beauty standards. By applying the gender lens to this, we can better understand how gender expectations and cultural beauty standards intersect to shape women’s experiences of their body. It emphasizes how cultural beauty standards can have a significant impact on women's body image, self-esteem, and confidence. Women often feel the pressure to comply with the cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy, and shame if they do not fit the mold.

Read More
1335 Words | 6 Pages

On one hand, the Negro seeks personal and cultural authenticity—a sense of self and free expression within a land, a language and a way of life whose very foundations were formulated and built on the notion of African-American slavery and denigration and were also alien to the African immigrant/slave. Yet, on the other hand, the African-American must make some conforming strides within the racist confines of American society in order to sustainably co-exist within

Read More
579 Words | 3 Pages

She is under pressure to conform to American beauty standards while rejecting her Iranian ancestry. For instance, she says, "My whole life, my mom and aunts had praised me for how American I looked. It was a virtue to have paler skin than most Iranians…” (Saedi 43). This shows the transformed pressure of cultural assimilation and how it can cause people to reject their cultural identity.

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

This gives rise to the idea that only people who identify as black should participate in equal rights protests, read books on African American history, and be in relationships with African Americans. Exemplifying in this paragraph, how there is still a belief that certain behaviors are attributed to different races, the author also shows that people try to confirm their identity by participating in these behaviors. However, this is a misconception because many races, and mixtures of, all take part in similar practices to Ms. LaSonde. Her actions could very likely be influenced by her race, but it is not possible to say that it is the only determinant for her acts. What Ms. LaSonde did in her past does hold meaning, but the idea that it proves her “blackness” is untrue.

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

But her definition is simultaneously troublesome because it makes the biological category of Blackness the prerequisite for possessing such thought. Furthermore, it does not explain why these particular ideological criteria and not others are the distinguishing ones”. Similar to the Ms. Article, it discusses that such a simple definition of a social issue cannot be defined nor only treated in one way. There are different sociological aspects that construct a resolution and understanding of such

Read More
1491 Words | 6 Pages

Double consciousness and fugitivity arose within the African American culture as they addressed distinct aspects that African American people experience. Double Consciousness explores the psychological warfare code-switching may have on an African American person. Having to balance the division between being black and American, this internal struggle aligns with fugitivity as one constantly resists and challenges the oppressive systems attempting to control their life. Growing up black in America, one is frequently in a mode of survival and forced strength due to the hundred years of oppression engrained in society and one's mind. Fugitivity challenges these notions of survival and promotes a sense of liberation to live as one's true self instead of the " safe " version.

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

Third, I will examine the criticism put forward by Molefi Kete Asante, who argued that ‘double-consciousness’ should not be seen as a universal feature of black life in America since it only applies to African-Americans in certain positions in society. However, I will conclude that through looking at modern society we can see that Du Bois’ work continues to be influential and thus must be taken to be a sound investigation into ‘The Souls of Black Folk’. In the first chapter of ‘The Souls of Black Folk’, Du Bois defined ‘double consciousness’ as a ‘sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity’ (1903). Du Bois emphasised the feeling of inner conflict African-Americans feel: being Black, where you are labeled as a ‘problem’ (1903) and are ignored, pitied and stigmatised, and being American, which serves as a constant reminder of a legacy of oppression.

Read More
583 Words | 3 Pages

Outline: Views on the African-American Situation The three texts all deal with subject of the African-American situation in the present America. A lot have changed in America since the civil rights movement began in the 60’s. A black president is leading the country, but has that at all affected the general view on African-Americans? The texts all raise the same questions: what has changed?

Read More
850 Words | 4 Pages

In order to explore the impactions of black and white standards of beauty (Eurocentric) that influence Black female hair styles in modern day United states, I will utilize concepts and theories from Anthropology and African American studies. According to Robert H. Lavenda, Anthropology is the study of human beings that is holistic, comparative, field-based, and evolutionary. Anthropologists gather a wide range of information from multiple cultures, compare cultural practices, incorporate other disciplines, and join in cultural practices to determine “who they [the people being studied] are and why they do what they do” (Lavenda 2012). Cultural anthropology specifically assumes that culture the individual and communities. Culture is defined

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

This concept was called the veil, which suggested 3 main points which explained the essence of what it is to be an African American. First, it explained the physical aspect of the veil, which displayed how African Americans were of a darker complexion than whites, which thus led to delimitation. Second, it suggested the lack of clarity white people see in African Americans as “true Americans” or their equals. Finally, the veil explains the lack of clarity to see outside of what white people think and establish for them. This can be compared to double consciousness because both explain the painful feeling of being African American in a white

Read More
1162 Words | 5 Pages

They are conflicted between their cultural background and that of the oppressors leaving them feeling like they have two identities. For African Americans, double consciousness would be one part of them feeling more African and the other feeling more American. Some may choose to force away one of the two identities, some are left torn between both, and some have found a healthy balance between the two– accepting themselves as both. Examples of these can be found in “Kiswana Browne.” Readers learn there is an issue when her mother calls her Melanie rather than Kiswana.

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, Tan claims the concept that we tend to speak totally different languages to speak with one another which our intelligence is judged by the approach we tend to speak. As a fictional author, Tan is astonished by language and uses it as a district of her work. Tan observes experiences that helped her notice the various variety of “englishes” she uses. As kid born in an exceedingly chines culture, tan had to talk to sorts of languages. One language she used was educational English, that she learned from the books and used it in an exceedingly traditional spoken communication Second language, that was solely utilized by her family.

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

Similarly the South Asian community was greatly influenced by the black culture where hip hop and R&B music was popular and mixed together with Bhangra music. However it was noticeable that while other students found it easy to cross ethnic boundaries in acquisition of completely different ethnicity, the south asians would still hold on to their cultural practices while having mixed preferences in music and dressing styles. The reason behind it being that South Asians are particular in passing their traditional values and to keep the culture alive within their daily practices. These trends additionally varied when they were studied through the gender paradigm, females were more inclined to follow cultural indulgences over men by wearing ethnic clothing, applying henna and wearing bangles. They had more expectations to promote their cultural practices and beliefs through attire, language and other traditions primarily because as women they were considered to be more responsible in keeping their cultural practices alive and

Read More
1542 Words | 7 Pages

Double consciousness is a term coined by W.E.B. DuBois in his The Souls of Black Folk. He describes it as, “a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity”(2). The theory of double consciousness is the idea that the African American must navigate the voyages of life from within a form of “two-ness” (2), because he is both man, and black.

Read More

More about Anthropology And African American Studies: A Summary And Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document