Question

You have read that anthropologists work hard to avoid ethnocentrism. In two to three sentences, explain why you think this is important to the work they do and why it might be difficult to achieve.

Answer 1

Anthropologists and the problem of ethnocentrism:

• It is important for anthropologists to avoid ethnocentrism because if they become complacent about their own culture, they might miss what is good in other cultures.
• Possibilities may arise that they ignore the facts that surface from their study of foreign cultures and the world misses out on the facts due to the ethnocentric beliefs of the anthropologist.
• It is difficult for anthropologists to eliminate ethnocentrism from their work completely because like other professionals, they too have feelings and emotions associated with their own culture that tend them to believe that their culture is the best.