ANTHROPOLOGY THROUGH CARTOONS

ANTHROPOLOGYTHROUGH CARTOONS,

OR, ANTHROPOLOGYCAN BE FUNNY!

Dr. Charles F. Urbanowicz /Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

California State University,Chico / Chico, California 95929-0400

email: curbanowicz@csuchico.edu

13 December 2012

This page printed from

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/ANTHROFORUMDECEMBER2012.html

SUMMARY STATEMENT:

This presentation deals with the idea that a greatamount of anthropological information is available in cartoons (and othervisuals). Anthropology can be a"fun" discipline (as well as "funny") and I like the wordsof Malinowski (born in 1884), who diedin 1942 (the year I was born):"Anthropology is the science of the sense of humour." In Julius E. Lips, The SavageStrikes Back, 1937, page vii. I have presented numerous forums since my first one in 1973 (this is now my 38th), and for more information please see "Pacific Travelers" presented with "Sadie" Urbanowicz:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curbanowicz/ANTHROFORUMSPRING2012.html

Also look at "Final Words And Cruising Into Retirement" from 2009:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curbanowicz/ANTHFORUMFALL2009.html

I also ask you to please consider the following words:

"You are what you know. Fifteenth-century Europeans 'knew' that the sky wasmade of closed concentric crystal spheres, rotating around a central earth andcarrying the stars and planets. That 'knowledge' structured everything they didand thought, because it told them the truth. Then Galileo's telescope changedthe truth....Today we live according to the latest version of how theuniverse functions. This view affects our behaviour and thought, just asprevious versions affected those who lived with them [stress added]."James Burke, 1985, The Day The Universe Changed (Boston/Toronto: Little, Brown and Company), page9.

"Youth cannot knowhow age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was tobe young." The character AlbusDumbledore, in J. K. Rowling, 2003, Harry Potter And the Order of The Phoenix(NY: Scholastic Press), page 826.

"[Old] Age is foolish and forgetful when itunderestimates youth." The characterAlbus Dumbledore in J. K. Rowling, 2005, Harry Potter and the Half-BloodPrince (NY: Scholastic Books), page 564.

"There are many things about life that do notchange with age. Older people have some advantage over the young because,having been young and having been old, they know both ages. Young people, onthe other hand, can only guess what it must like to be old. I know exactly what it is like to be young andwhat it is like to be old. I am aware of myself now and remember what I waslike then [stress added]."Andy Rooney, 2002, Common Nonsense Addressed to the Reading Public(NY: Public Affairs), page 161.

"Age is no guarantee of efficiency." The character Q, as portrayed by Ben Whishaw in Skyfall(2012). AND "Youth is noguarantee of innovation." The character James Bond, as portrayedby Daniel Craig in Skyfall (2012).

The quote from Malinowski reminded me of thefollowing 1897 statement of Mark Twain(1835-1910): "There are many humorous things in the world; amongthem, the white man's notion that he is less savage than the other savages [stressadded].” (Following theEquator: A Journey Around theGlobe, 1897) I have used the following words before,but is worth repeating for this web page (for those of you who ventured thisfar on the web page):

"A play [or a classroom lecture or a publicpresentation] should make you understand something new. If it tells you whatyou already know, you leave it as ignorant as you went in [stressadded]." (The character John Wisehammer. In Timberlake Wertenbaker's OurCountry's Good [based upon the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally], 1989, Act II, sc. 7, page 89.]

Perhaps the term "ignorant" is too harshbut hopefully you have some new ideas and information from the presentation on13 December 2012. The abovequotation from Keneally was originally used in 2004 and is available at:

http://www.csuchico.edu/~curbanowicz/CELTOctober2004Darwin.html

That presentation was entitled "The Darwin Project: 1996 to 2004!" and was for the Tenth Annual Conference on Learning and Teaching sponsored by CELT (Centerfor Excellence in Learning and Teaching), October 21-22, 2004, at CSU, Chico. The four Darwin videos created on this campus are available at:

http://rceweb.csuchico.edu/darwin/darwinvideo.htm

In the 2004web paper you will see that I used the following words from the 1940 Pulitzer Prize winner and 1962 Nobel Prize winner, John Steinbeck (1902-1968), andthose words are still appropriate today; although Steinbeck was writing aboutDarwin-as-naturalist, they are also appropriate for Urbanowicz-as-cartoon-user:

"In a way, ours is the older method, somewhatlike that of Darwin on the Beagle. Hewas called a 'naturalist'. He wanted to see everything, rocks andflora and fauna; marine and terrestrial. We came to envy this Darwin on hissailing ship. He had so much room and so much time. ... This is the properpace for a naturalist. Faced with all things he [or she] cannot hurry. We musthave time to think and to look and to consider [stress added]." John Steinbeck, 1951, The Log FromThe Sea of Cortez [1967 printing: Pan Books: London], page 123.

Retirement, or even partial-retirement, provides onewith the "time to think and to look and to consider." I hope you enjoyed this page and thepresentation this date (if you were there).

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WHY MAN CREATES / The Edifice: A series of explorations, episodes, & commentson creativity (1970) [CSU, Chico: BF 408 W592 1970]

Mumble, mumble, roar!.

The lever.

Harry, do you realize you just invented the wheel?

I know, I know.

Bronze, Iron.

Halt.

All was in chaos 'til Euclid arose and made order.

What is the good life?

And how do you lead it?

Who shall rule the state?

The philosopher king

The aristocrat.

The people.

You mean all the people?

What is the nature of the good?

What is the nature of justice?

What is happiness?

Hail Caesar!

Roman law is now in session.

Allah be praised, I've invented the zero.

What?

Nothing, nothing.

What is the shape of the earth?

Flat.

What happens when you get to the edge? 

You fall off.

Does the earth move?

Never!

The earth moves.

The earth is round.

The blood circulates.

There are worlds smaller than ours.

There are worlds larger than ours.

Hey, whatya doing?

I'ma paintin' the ceiling.

Whatya doing?

I'ma paintin' the floor.

Darwin says man is an animal.

Rot.

Man is not an animal.

Animal.

Man.

Is.

Isn't.

Hmmm.

Shall we start from the beginning?

I'm a bug, I'm a germ.

Louie Pasteur!

I'm not a bug, I'm not a germ.

Think it will work Alfred?

Let's give it a try.

Whatya think

It worked.

All men are created equal....

Life, Liberty, and the pursuit....

Workers of the world....

Government of the people by the people....

The world must be made safe....

The war to end all wars....

A league of nations....

I see one third of a nation ill-housed....

One world....

Help!

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SOME ADDITIONAL URBANOWICZ WEB PAPERS THAT MIGHTBE OF SOME INTEREST:

2005 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/ANTH600Fall2005.html[Reflections: For Professor William Loker's CSU, Chico ANTH 600 (Core Seminar in Anthropology), October 19.]

1991 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/UrbanowiczOnSputnikI-1957.pdf [Sputnik 1, The First Artificial Satellite isLaunched. Great Events From History II: Science And Technology Series,Volume 4 - 1952-1969, edited by Frank N.Magill (Pasadena/Englewood Cliffs: Salem Press), pages 1545-1550.]

1990f http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Forum/March1990.html[Perspectives on Science Fiction and Science Fact, For the CSU, ChicoAnthropology Forum, March 8.)

1984a http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/GoodScienceFiction.pdf[The Role of "Good" Science Fiction and Space Applications and TheFuture. Space and Society: Challenges and Choices, edited by Anaejionu et al.(American Astronautical Society, San Diego, CA), Vol. 59: 309-329.]

1978 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/CulturalImplications-1978.pdf[Cultural Implications of Extraterrestrial Contact and the Colonization ofSpace. The Industrialization of Space: Advances in the AstronauticalSciences, edited byRichard A. Van patten,Paul Siegler, and E.V.B. Stearns (American Astronautical Society, San Diego,CA), Vol. 36, Part 2, Advances In The Astronautical Sciences, pages 785-797;originally presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the American AstronauticalSociety, San Francisco, CA, October 18-20, 1977.)

1977a http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/ScienceFictionTeaching1977.pdf[The Philosophical Implications of Science Fiction For TheTeaching of Anthropology. The University Journal [CSU, Chico], Number 9, Fall, pages 16-20.]

1977b http://www.csuchico.edu/~curbanowicz/Unpub_Papers/1977SETIPaper.html Evolution of Technological Civilizations: What is Evolution, Technology, and Civilization? (For the Symposium on "The Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence at NASA/Ames Research Center Moffett Field, California, February 24-25.)] Some specific words appeared in the program brochure and they have stayed with me ever since 1977. Stated by Dr. Lee DuBridge, President of CalTech, the provocative words were: "Either mankind is alone in the galaxy-or he is not; either alternative is mind-boggling."

1976 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Forum/Cultures1976.html[Cultures: Fact or Fiction? For the California State University, ChicoAnthropology House Forum known as "El Mundo" on November 11.)

1973 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/1973Forum.html[Science Fiction. For the CSU, ChicoAnthropology Forum, November 7, 1973.)

1968 http://www.csuchico.edu/~curban/Malinowski1968.html[Comments on Bronislaw Malinowski. For a University of Oregon ANTH 507 Graduate Seminar, October 29, 1968.] Utilized for ANTH 296 (History &Theory) at California State University, Chico, 1998.]

ADDITIONAL WEB SITES THAT MIGHT BE OF INTERESTINCLUDE THE FOLLOWING (but first, considerthese words from Gary Larson (born 1950):

"[If you don't understand a cartoon's joke], turn the page. Go on with your life. It could be that the cartoonist tried to be creative and blew it. Sometimes, when I hear the analysis people come up with [about Far Side comics], I think,'They're shooting way too high. I wasn't trying to be that deep.'"[http://www.reocities.com/sgb343/farside.html]

On this page Larson also wrote:

"…please, please refrain from putting The FarSide out on the Internet. These cartoonsare my "children," of sorts, and like a parent, I'm concerned aboutwhere they go at night without telling me. And, seeing them at someone's website is like getting the call at 2:00 a.m. that goes, "Uh, Dad, you're notgoing to like this much, but guess where I am." I hope my explanationhelps you to understand the importance this has for me, personally, and why I'mmaking this request."

http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Comic_strip[Wikipedia]

http://www.comicstripnation.com/ [ComicStripNation.com]

http://www.gocomics.com/explore/comics [GoComics]

http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/comics/[azcentral]

http://www.stus.com/3majors.htm [STU's Comic Strip Connection]

http://www.funpic.hu/en/categories/gary-larson[Funpic]

http://www.cagle.com/ [Daryl Cagle's The Cagle Post: Cartoons & Commentary]

http://dilbert.com/[Dilbert by Scott Adams]

http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/[Absolutely a MUST read for anyone who is currently teaching; or just interested in information "about the past!" DO TAKE A LOOK at the 2016 list} "This year’s entering college class of 2016 was born into cyberspace and they have therefore measured their output in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America’s future, and are entering college bombarded by questions about jobs and the value of a college degree….."]

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To go to the home page of Urbanowicz, please click here;

Department of Anthropology;

to California State University, Chico.

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