Why has Malinowski had such a great impact on Social Anthropology
Why has Malinowski had such a great impact on Social Anthropology? To answer such a question, a brief introduction on Bronislaw Malinowski is needed. ... From 1915 to 1918 Malinowski spent two years in the Trobriand Islands, a small archipelago off the east coast of Papua New Guinea. ... His time spent here had a major impact on social anthropology, not just because of the research he undertook but the methods that he developed as well. At the time of the First World War Malinowski, as an Austrian, would have been eligible for compulsory military service, however he was given the choice to stay in the Triobriand Islands. ... However it was more how Malinowski carried out his research that was important, rather than what he found out from his research, and is the reason why Malinowski had such an impact on anthropology. ... Anthropology had been more of a hobby until then, carried out by people using second or even third hand evidence and sources from missionaries. Malinowski used participant observation methodology; the of long periods of fieldwork and the learning of native languages. ... Malinowski’s description of this was praised for it’s originality and the principles behind it are widely used by Anthropologists today. This ‘Kula’ is an institutionalised exchange ritual which acts to further the social relations of the dispersed groups of islanders. ... Malinowski also studied other issues on the Trobriand Islands and developed hugely influential theories about them. ... However on the islands, Malinowski noticed that adult brothers and sisters are on extremely formal terms. ... A new idea that Malinowski introduced through his work on the Trobriand Islands was the ‘reciprocity as a sanction for social behaviour. ... Malinowski claims that it is fear of non co-operation rather than punishment that prevents laws from being broken in these simple societies.