Narrative in Anthropology
GEK 1049 Introduction to Narrative Essay
Write an essay on how narrative is used in a particular profession.
As an avid watcher of US television series, I have always been a fan of the series Bones which is about forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology. In the show, the main character Dr Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who not only helps the FBI to crack murder cases, but also studies human remains of ancient times or victims of genocide. This show had deepened my understanding of the profession of anthropology and its strong connection to narrative. In Season 8 Episode 11 “The Archaeologist in the Cocoon”, other than the usual crime solving storyline, there was also a sub-storyline where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens human bones, thousands of years old were studied. It was revealed that it was probably the first mixed-race couple in history and that they could be victims of the world’s first hate crime. From the study, they were able to deduce many aspects of their life as a couple with their child, the one and only child from such mix. At the end of the episode, a convention was held where they told of the story of this family, of how they were forced to live in exile because the others could not accept them and of how the couple was killed and the mix-blood child starved to death as she was too young to feed herself. This episode was, in my opinion, an excellent illustration of how anthropology uses narrative to tell the story of life long lost in history. Just studying the bones do not tell us anything, because bones and human remains simply do not talk. Rather, it is on the anthropologists to put their findings into words and to share it with the rest of the world. However, this episode of Bones illustrates only a small aspect of narrative in anthropology and more will be discussed in the rest of this essay.
In medical anthropology, it is very common to use narrative to learn more about illnesses and diseases. Medical
Write an essay on how narrative is used in a particular profession.
As an avid watcher of US television series, I have always been a fan of the series Bones which is about forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology. In the show, the main character Dr Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who not only helps the FBI to crack murder cases, but also studies human remains of ancient times or victims of genocide. This show had deepened my understanding of the profession of anthropology and its strong connection to narrative. In Season 8 Episode 11 “The Archaeologist in the Cocoon”, other than the usual crime solving storyline, there was also a sub-storyline where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens human bones, thousands of years old were studied. It was revealed that it was probably the first mixed-race couple in history and that they could be victims of the world’s first hate crime. From the study, they were able to deduce many aspects of their life as a couple with their child, the one and only child from such mix. At the end of the episode, a convention was held where they told of the story of this family, of how they were forced to live in exile because the others could not accept them and of how the couple was killed and the mix-blood child starved to death as she was too young to feed herself. This episode was, in my opinion, an excellent illustration of how anthropology uses narrative to tell the story of life long lost in history. Just studying the bones do not tell us anything, because bones and human remains simply do not talk. Rather, it is on the anthropologists to put their findings into words and to share it with the rest of the world. However, this episode of Bones illustrates only a small aspect of narrative in anthropology and more will be discussed in the rest of this essay.
In medical anthropology, it is very common to use narrative to learn more about illnesses and diseases. Medical