Anthropology Essay Sample: The Machine Zone

The machine zone refers to an era in modern anthropology when people turn to machines and other modern gadgets to satisfy the desires of their life. The machine zone is important in human life because it shows how people turn to use gadgets around them to accomplish their desires in life. The main need satisfied is the need for money. It also refers to how people use such tools as a means of recreation and to escape boredom in their daily lives (Schull, 2016, p17). The machine zone is important to modern anthropology because it describes how people have changed with alteration in their lives. It helps anthropologists to study human dynamism and understand how people relate with gadgets as they aim to make meaning in their lives. One example of such an area in human life refers to the gaming industry and sectors such as casinos where people go to play games. In these areas, people just don't play for fun, but they also play to win in cash. They learn to connect and interact with the machines to fulfill their financial needs.

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Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism is the study of the movement of people from their homes of origin to other nations. The people moving re usually referred to as refugees and they move because of conflicts found in their home countries based on factors such as war, political instability, and fear of being persecuted because of their religion, race, political affiliations and opinions, or being a member of social organizations (Flaherty, 2014). Humanitarianism is important to anthropology because it enables anthropologists to study the reasons why people move from one area to the next. The anthropologists are also able to study how others in the society think of and treat refugees and their issues as well as looks at how the society and its leaders function to end humanitarian issues that affect different parts of the world. An example of humanitarianism refers to the humanitarian crisis that affects people in Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo. Some nations denied asylum to refugees moving from these countries into their nations because the thought that the issues affecting the refugee were not their business (Kurtonik, 2016).

Self as an enterprise

Self as an enterprise refers to the way people consider themselves as agents of change in the business industry. In this context, people either use the self as the good to be sold or as the person initiating the sale of another human good. This idea also refers to how other entrepreneurs use fellow human beings as agents of monetary generation for their satisfaction. Studying self as an enterprise is an important factor to anthropology because it enables anthropologists to understand how humans relate with one another (Schull, 2016). For example, anthropologists will gather the knowledge of why some industries use people to generate more money while paying them less, whereas other organizations value their employees, and consider the human self plus its needs in calculating compensations. Similarly, anthropologists will be able to understand why some people engage in prostitution instead of looking for other means of generating income. An example of self as an enterprise refers to the way people use themselves to make money through prostitution or how organizations seek to hire people with particular types of knowledge to generate income while paying them for their services (Schull, 2016).

Control

Control refers t the inherent power that a person has over another person or thing. Control enables a person to concur bad habits and it also enables managers within an organization to exert power and influence the people working in their firms to achieve success (Schull, 2016). Self-control is also important in helping people control self-desires that might end up destroying their lies. Control is an important topic in anthropology because it enables anthropologists to understand how people take charge of various aspects of their lives. The anthropologists will understand why people are consumed in taking activities such as playing games without ceasing. They will equally be able to relate control to human aspects such as overeating or general self-control in taking part in different aspects of life. A typical example of control can be given from the gaming perspectives of casinos. Some people state that it is impossible for them to stop once they start betting and playing. However, others do go to such gamming scenes with particular goals, once they achieve their goals they will always leave without wasting any time.

Kinetic Generation/ Agency

Kinetic generation/ agency refer to the way in which people move from one place to the other. Research shows that the movements of people from one area to the next occur due to different reasons (Schull, 2016). As seen above, people might move due to hostile situations found in their original habitats, while others may move due to the search of better living standards. The former are usually referred to as refugees while the later are called economic migrants because they move to a different country to work and earn a decent living. The study of kinetic generation/agency is important to anthropology because it enables anthropologists to study the relationship between people and their environment. The anthropologists can understand how the environment influences how people live and view the world. From this, they can form an understanding of how people vie the world and its ability to support adequate human living standards. One typical example is the reason why people move to other regions to look for work but ignores some geographical regions.

Part 2

Technology and Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human relationships with their environment. The study also looks at how people relate and perceive factors such as technological advancement, their uses and how they affect human lives (Heyden, 1995). Anthropologists believe that technology has played significant roles in human lives. For example, they believe that technology has influenced human lives in both positive and negative ways. According to anthropologist, man has used technology as a means of making a living through playing games that pay in cash. Human beings have learned to associate with technology by using it as means of gaining and forming knowledge and skills required in performing duties in different organizations. Various institutions and individuals use technology to gain knowledge of the factors taking place in their environment. For example, one current issue that is facing the world is the issues of refugee and immigration. People have used technological advancement such as computers and the internet to know and understand the impacts of migrating from one region to the next. They also know where there are humanitarian crisis and aims to alleviate such conditions (Heyden, 1995).

On the contrary, technology has affected human thinking about factors such as marriage, kinship, and general family lives negatively. There are several TV series and films that seek to negate factors such as marriage. They portray having and even being a sperm donor as fashionable and acceptable. Such films also aim to show people that it s not important to stick to the traditional notion of a family comprising of a father and a mother. In these films, marriage becomes less important as they indicate that women can easily to go the hospitals to find a sperm donor, get pregnant, have the children and raise them on their own (Kurtovic, 2016). On the same note, men can decide to donate perms and relieve themselves of the demanding duties of a father in a traditional family setting. Some programs also indicate that kinship can be related to having an intimate relationship with inanimate objects such as robots. For example, through surrogacy, women can manufacture their prototypes that will assume virtually all duties both at work and at home. The roles of surrogates do not only apply to women but men also. Such technological advancements aim to make human being feel that they can have their look a likes that do everything while they sit at home and relax. It somehow aims to create a lazy generation regarding the workforce (Kurtovic, 2016).

Public anthropology

Public anthropology is a study that aims to look at factors that affect human lives in various settings. For example, public anthropology helps people to understand refugee crisis that has affected various parts of the world. Many anthropologists have looked at the issue of refugees in various parts of the world by examining how people view these unfortunate individuals. They have explained that people move from their home countries to other areas of the world either to search for work; an activity called economic migration and is very different from refuge issues (Gaber, 2015). However, refugees move from their home countries because of hostile situations due to race, political instability and affiliation to a given political party. Some are forced to leave their countries due to persecutions based on their religious believes and cultural inclinations among other things. Anthropologists have stated that people across the globe view refugees in different ways. For example, some nations think that war in other counties is no their problems and hence deny arriving refugees asylums. An example is given of the UK where a person is considered a refugee once they obtain an asylum clearance. Anyone who lacks such clearance is considered being in the country illegally and can easily be deported back to their countries irrespective of the hostile conditions back at home. Similarly, citizens of similar nations also look at refugees as people who have gone to deplete their economic resources and whose presence will make their live miserable instead of improving their standards of living. Anthropologists have actively engaged in public issues that affect human lives by studying and examining them from different points of views (Minn, 2007). They have been able to deal with other issues such as migration, marriages, and conflicts in various parts of the world. They have also made such reports available publicly with hopes that the topics of study will help change the way people relate to each other.

References

Flaherty, R. (2014). Nanook of the North.

Gaber, D. (2015). Anthropology . Anthropology works.

Heyden, C. (1995). Gender, Genetics, and Generation: Reformulating Biology in Lesbian Kinship. Cultural anthropology.

Kurtovic, L. (2016). Anthropology and current news: refugees and migration crisis.

Kurtovic, L. (2016). Unsettling Kinship.

Minn, P. (2007). Toward an anthropology of humanitarianism. The Journal of humanitarian assistance.

Schull, N. (2016). New anthropological horizons.