Cultural Anthropology and Biases

Class Discussion 1/31

This week's class discussion was not necessary focused on HIV/AIDS, but on cultural anthropology as a study and the novelty of the multidisciplinary approach, which turned out to be an intriguing dialogue. When I read this week's assigned readings in the Kalipeni book before class, I did not stop to think carefully about the biases of the authors and how much of the text reflect their biased points of views, especially in the Lwanda article. The class discussion not only made me more aware of the language of the texts, but also forced me to think about the issue of who can best study and explain the cultural anthropological trends and details of a particular group of people.

One of my current apartment mates is an Asian Studies major, and she is planning to pursue that academic interest further in graduate school. As a non-Asian person, she had asked many times in the past whether she could ever "understand" the language, the people, the culture. She has doubted her ability to eventually become a well respected scholar in the field of Asian Studies multiple times because she is not sure if the scholastic community will receive her as a credible expert when they see that she is not of Asian descent.

What we discussed in class today was essentially opposite of her worries and doubts. We debated over how Lwanda should have dealt with his biases as a Malawian writing about Malawian cultural norms and their influence and interactions with HIV/AIDS in the country. The problem was that he IS of the origin, of which he is studying. The problem with Lwanda's biases are further complicated by the fact that he is an European-trained scholar of Malawian origin. The readers have no way to tell where he fits in Malawian society and to what degree he sees himself attached to the culture and people; we can only assume--always a dangerous act. Where do these facts place him in Malawian society and the professional sphere of cultural anthropological studies? If we have to assume about his biases, do his observations, studies, and conclusions have any validity?

As I thought more and more about this debate, I began to turn the question around to ask myself about my position. I am of Japanese descent, and I was born and raised in Japan. However, I attended school in the U.S. since middle school. Am I not in a similar position as Lwanda? Throughout my fours years here at Georgetown, I have written several research papers on Japan, some involving studying sociological trends in Japan. None of my professors doubted the quality of those papers, and they all gave me good marks. Yet, with the recent class dicussion in mind, I cannot help but wonder what biases I held while writing those papers? The problem with this issue is that while laying out biases in papers is a logical solution, it is very hard to do--one cannot easily point out his or her biases. I cannot point out exactly where my biases played out in my papers because my biases are, in essence, my blind spots. That is why peer review and scholarly discussion among experts of different origins are critical. Scholars, like one my roommate is striving to become, are needed in fields like cultural anthropology because they can point out the blind spots of native experts.