How Society is Being Shaped by Technology

Abstract

Due to the advancement in technology, human society have began to rely on the need of technology. For instance, tablets and iPads have come to play a big role in education. Anthropology can help understand these instances, based on the theoretical ideas anthropologists have developeloped. Anthropologists such as: Marvin Harris, Franz Boas, and Eric Wolf.  All three of these anthropologists have a different position of what they believe anthropology should be.  Marvin Harris argues that anthropology should be a science as he explains a model that shows how cultural materialism affects the sociocultural system. This same model can be used to show how technology has shaped society. Franz Boas believed when studying anthropology, a holistic approach should be taken into consideration. He viewed anthropology to be part of the humanities, and his theoretical position is important as we view how all apects of human society is being affected by technological advancements. Thirdly, Eric Wolf relies inbetween the two as he believes that when studying anthropology, new intellectual ideas should be involved. Although they have differences and similarities in their work, these three anthropologists can view how our society has been shaped by technology.