Anthropology's role in understanding modern Spain and international relations

Spain

Anthropologic Study of Spain

However anthropology is perceived as a specific domain used in understanding long passed cultures and traditions, it in fact does much more than this -- it allows the individual to better comprehend the features of the modern states, their international relations and the realities of that particular country in the context of globalization and cultural diversity. A most relevant example in this sense is given by southwestern European country Spain.

The Concept of Anthropology

John Van Willigen (2002) finds applications of anthropology in nearly 40 domains, including fields such as agriculture, use of alcohol and drugs, criminality and law enforcement, economy, energy, education, healthcare, housing, military, nutrition, politics, religion or women's rights and development. Given the wide application of the concept, the reader could begin to wander about an actual definition of the anthropological concept. Offering such a definition is often a challenging task due to the complexity of the elements involved and several members of the academia have refused to narrow the concept down to a simple statement. Van Willigen has for instance stated that "applied anthropology is anthropology put to use. Given the change which is occurring in applied anthropology these days, it is tempting to leave the definitional question at that and go on to the next question."

The American Anthropological Association (2009) puts a different spin on the concept and presents its linguistic heritage. Derived from the Greek anthropos (human) and logia (study), anthropology represents the "study of humankind, from its beginnings millions of years ago to the present day." The concept covers wide areas of application, with anthropology being the sole field which strives to integrate human existence as a whole, in terms of both geographical delimitations and evolutionary time.

Unlike Van Willigen, the experts at the American Anthropological Association state that the concept is easy to define, but it becomes exponentially difficult to explain. They argue that anthropology applies to all aspects of life, including the study of the aboriginal population in Australia, the anatomy of a foot, the music of the African tribes or the corporate culture of a contemporaneous multinational. Despite the complexity of its applications, the goals of the anthropologic studies are clear and indisputable -- "to advance knowledge of who we are, how we came to be that way -- and where we may go in the future" (American Anthropological Association). The generic concept of anthropology is divided into four sub-fields: socio-cultural, biological, archeological and fourth, linguistic anthropology.

3. Spain through Anthropological Lenses

The anthropological studies of Spain are relatively numerous as the country's history is a long standing one. As part of the old continent (Europe), Spain has attracted the attention of numerous researchers throughout the past century, and even prior to this time. The information covered in the anthropological studies of the southwestern European country cover vast topics of interest and has a dual feature -- first of all, it helps the foreigner (and sometimes even the native born Spanish) to become better acquainted with the country itself; secondly, it helps the national and international reader to more accurately position Spain on the map of the international system.

Anthropology will explain how the today modern Kingdom of Spain was first inhabited 30,000 ago by Paleolithic hunters; how the first villages were formed around 4500 BC and how these were organized around a central tomb and the types of people that lived in these settlings. The reader and researcher will also be informed of the arrival of the Celts in the 6th century BC and the relationship between Spain and the Roman Empire during the 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD. The Visigoth kingdoms also made their presence felt throughout the 5th up to the 8th century AD. Anthropological studies will then reveal the succession of monarchical dynasties and the numerous wars and battles fought for various reasons (History World). All these pieces information will help the foreigner better comprehend the country, its political stand, its people and its traditions.

But aside the presentation of the past events, anthropology will also reveal the modern features of Spain, of the utmost importance being the role Spain places in the current processes of globalization. Spain is one of the most sought European countries for immigrants in less developed economies. By opening its boarders to these immigrants, Spain plays a vital part in the transition of labor force from one location to the other and the progressive elimination of territorial boundaries. Spain benefits significantly from the comparative advantage of other countries, such as cost-effective labor force and the most relevant example in this sense is the offering of millions of jobs to the Moroccan and Romanian immigrants. Also, anthropologic studies will reveal that Spain has signed various agreements with international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, which promote the forces of globalization. What has yet to be mentioned is that Spain was and remains a highly nationalist country and their approach to globalization is a promotional one as long as they get to impose their own traditions. The reverse of the situation, in which other values (such as those of the United States) would be imposed upon the southwestern country are seldom accepted. The most relevant example in this sense is the relatively limited knowledge and usage of the English language in Spain.

All in all, anthropology is much more that generally recognized and it plays more than a historic role. In the rapidly changing society of today, anthropological studies help us connect with the culture, politics and economics of other global regions.

References:

Ishwaran, K., International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology, Bill Archive

Van Willigen, J., 2002, Applied Anthropology: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, Greenwood Publishing Group

2009, What is Antropology? American Anthropological Association, http://www.aaanet.org/about/whatisanthropology.cfm last accessed on April 15, 2009

History of Spain, World History, http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=1750&HistoryID=ab50 last accessed on April 15, 2009