Relation with Colonialism, Differences between Field Studies

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Anthropology and Colonialism

Prior to the Age of Expansion and discovery, the Old World, Europe had knowledge of cultures and Kingdoms only within its realm - Continental Europe as we know today. There is of course continued knowledge through trade with the Middle East, Africa and China and Russia but the perspective, the manner by which thought and knowledge of the world was constructed was Eurocentric - truth about the world was dictated upon by the politics and power of the monarchs and the Princes of the Church. According to Anthropologist Diane Lewis, Anthropology as a discipline really began due to colonialism. As scholars and the learned sought to understand new peoples, new tribes and new cultures, they used varied disciplines and developed methodologies to create a comprehensive understanding of 'newly discovered' people and territories that are so different from them, so foreign. This understanding of the colonized allowed colonial powers to contain and control new territories - learning their language, tradition, practices, beliefs and general social structure allowed the colonial powers to create a picture of the colonized people for the understanding of the people back in the old world as well as the create of a bridge that either assimilated or controlled the newly colonized territories despite the threat of rebellion. This was the case with India and ...