CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY : UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER

Cultural anthropology focuses on the cultural aspects (attitudes, beliefs, perceptions) of all contemporary human societies through an examination of their social, economic, and political organisations or systems. One of its main tenets is cultural relativism: the principle according to which all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to an individual within his or her own social context. Taking this neutral point of view helps combat ethnocentrism — or the belief that one’s own culture is superior to others — and allows for a deeper analysis of how cultures differ using a comparative lens. In the current-day context of globalization — with accelerated flows of commodities, people, and ideas fuelling transnational cultural exchanges — an unbiased understanding of the “other” is more important than ever. The meetings of cultures usually operate within existing relations of domination (political, economic, social) that could lead to clash or even acculturation. The holistic approach and cross-cultural comparisons used by cultural anthropologists offer us — in the business world but also beyond — a way to forge multiple perspectives on the issues surrounding cultural diversity.