Redfield Reading Response

Unlike our previous readings, Redfield has no introduction, no narration, and no smooth way of getting the reader into his topic. Instead, he starts straight away, describing in great detail the origins of anthropology and cultures, spanning hundreds of years in 24 pages. I found this reading to be very dry, and honestly hard to grasp. I don’t feel like I have a good understanding of what Redfield is trying to convey even after a thorough reading, and upon comparing it to Weschler’s work, I think this has to do with a lack of storytelling. Weschler created a distinct interest in the reading, which grabs the reader’s attention and makes everything easier to understand.  Mostly what I got out of this reading was the development of anthropology, often previously called ethnology, and how it came from many other previous studies and fields. Redfield goes on to describe how quickly anthropology became a study of all different cultures and social classes, eventually a study encompassing all of humanity. He goes into detail about how different cultures are studied today, by anthropologists being fully immersed in the society and also what we can learn by studying from a distance. Redfield’s account, while considerably less imaginative, is just as packed with information as Mr. Wilson’s museum is, overwhelming the reader and anyone not very familiar with the origins of anthropology.