Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Anthropologists face many problems in the field of studying a culture or society, and many have to do with the fact that much can be misunderstood or misinterpreted because cultures and civilizations may differ greatly. “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” and “Shakespeare in the Bush” are two perfect examples of real life accounts of the problems that they face in the field, and it is found that in order for anthropologists to be able to truly study a certain culture, they must understand the meanings of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Ethnocentrism must be understood so that it can be avoided, because it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group, which could ultimately make it very difficult to truly study and learn about a culture if you are constantly allowing yourself to believe that you are better than them; of course by “better” it is not necessarily referring to a bold arrogance or pride, but more so a hidden arrogance or pride that a lot of the time we don’t realize we even have. Naturally, people’s beliefs and ideas are shaped by their own personal experiences, what they know, and what they are told, and due to the fact that all human beings are bias (it’s something that is inevitable and cannot be denied) it makes it hard for someone to fully accept another’s beliefs, which can be completely different because they have different experiences. Now, this is fine because whether or not everyone would like to admit it, they all have at least a tiny bit of arrogance or pride for their culture, which they believe to be right because it is all that they have known (this is not referring to extreme cases of ethnocentrism such as during the Holocaust), but anthropologists need to understand this concept so that they can not only avoid it themselves, but understand why a certain culture may have the beliefs and ideas that they do.

This is where cultural relativism comes into play, because it is the view that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems of morality, law, politics, etc. It is the notion that all cultural beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the cultural environment. When speaking in terms of cultural relativism, there are no absolute truths. This is why it is essential that anthropologists understand this because it allows them to see past their own beliefs and truly study and learn about a different culture. Cultural relativism works because there is no true universal standard of morality, and if you think about it all societies and cultures are bases upon their moral beliefs.

Now, obviously anthropology is a branch of scientific study that is very important to learn about, which is why it is essential that all anthropologists remain neutral in their studies. But, remaining neutral can be difficult because ethnocentrism is honestly programmed into all of us. “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” is a perfect example of this “hidden” ethnocentrism because as a young anthropologist studies a native tribe in the Kalahari, he must totally separate himself from the tribe so he may study them in their “natural” state. Even while they are sick and starving, he must just sit there and watch and study them. Towards Christmas time, as he is preparing to leave, he would like to try to make one last kind gesture to the tribe as a “sorry and thank you” by buying them a massive ox that he believes will be able to feed all of the villagers. He soon comes to much grief as many of the villagers tell him that it was a poor choice, and that this will be one of the worst Christmases ever. The young anthropologist feels terrible, but in the end he learns that they were kidding, and he learned one of the most valuable lessons of all from one of his friends from the tribe who explains to him their motif. He teaches the anthropologist that although it’s his job to study them, he shouldn’t treat them like they are animals or they are lower life forms to him that can easily be persuaded into forgiving. Although he had good intent in his heart, he didn’t realize how he was truly treating them, which is what happens to many people now.

While “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” shows how ethnocentrism affects people, “Shakespeare in the Bush” is quite the opposite. “Shakespeare in the Bush” shows how big of a role cultural relativism must play in the studies of an anthropologist as one anthropologist tries to explain “Hamlet” to a completely different culture. At the beginning he believes that everything is understood the same all around, but as he faces many conflicts while trying to explain a totally foreign concept to some elders in a village, he realizes that just because something is understood in one place doesn’t mean that it cannot be misunderstood or misinterpreted in another place.

“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” and “Shakespeare in the Bush” are two perfect examples of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, which play crucial roles in the branch of anthropology because they must be understood in order to fully comprehend, study, and record a different society/culture.