Anthropologist's Digest

Tag: philosophy

  • Cheese!: The Implications of a Simple Smile Across Cultures

    If you’ve read my blog before, there is a very real chance that you’ve seen me use the term “across cultures” to the point of sounding a bit trite. However, this time, I feel as if I have found a use of the term that is worth its incessant repetition.

    An occurrence that has always attracted my curiosity is the smile. Given thought, it is a truly fascinating thing that we in the United States are smiling to express their happiness at ages as young as six to twelve weeks. When pondering this, I began to wonder: ‘Is smiling innate? Do Japanese babies also smile to show happiness? Do German babies also smile to show happiness? Do Brazilian babies also smile to show happiness? Would the act of curving your lips upwards still signal your contentment to others if you were 5,000 miles away?’. These are all questions that I hope to find answers while I compose this week’s brief but hopefully rewarding post.

    Image Credit: Unsplash

    What Does a Smile Mean in Different Cultures?

    For the lack of a need to introduce the act of smiling (a phenomenon with which you are hopefully acquainted with at this point), I will dive right into the interpretations of a smile around the world. While smiling in America is common and widely accepted as an expression of happiness, people identifying with the Japanese culture typically do not feel the same way. In Japan, individuals have a different relationship with self-expression that tends to be less accepting of it than in America. In fact, their interpretation of expression of happiness lies more so in the look one gets in their eyes when experiencing cheerful or pleasant emotions. In a study published by Yuki, Maddux, and Masuda, researchers found that Japanese participants felt that Kaomoji [i.e. (^_^) & (T_T)] were more representative of their emotions than emojis frequently used by Americans [i.e. 🙂 & :-(]. Japan isn’t the only country that differently interprets smiling, however; smiling at someone in Russia may arouse their suspicion, while you may be surprised to find a very fearful person flashing all 32 shiny white teeth at you on your family trip to Thailand. In conclusion, a smile carries different meaning all around the world, whether it be in Japan, Russia, or America.

    The “Why”

    It is known that the smile is something interpreted differently around the globe, but what lies at the root of this phenomenon? There are many theorized reasons as to why we perceive smiles the way we do. I will use the difference between WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) cultures and East Asian cultures as the primary example here, as the difference between these cultures tends to be fairly drastic. Variations in cultural values—specifically between the individualistic West and the collectivistic East—may shape how happiness is expressed(Saskatchewan Polytechnic). This can play into different cultural models of self, and studies have shown that, when asked to complete the sentence “I am ____” 20 times, Japanese students tended to fill in the blank with social roles (i.e. cousin, daughter, student) as opposed to American students, who preferred to describe themselves with sociopsychological attributes (i.e. friendly, outgoing) (Cousins, 1989). These studies demonstrate a different relationship with emotion and its expression in individuals on other sides of the globe. Additionally, one theory postulates that countries composed of individuals with different cultural backgrounds tend to smile more due to the fact that their diverse cultural composition (individuals with different values and language coming together) requires nonverbal communication to be used as a cue more frequently. In contrast, relatively homogenous nations such as Japan may not require the same level of nonverbal cues, as the country’s language is uniform throughout.

    Knowing that smiling is not the norm for emotional expression in every part of the world, how do people from different cultures express their contentment and cheerfulness? Body language, tone of voice, social harmony behaviors, laughter, and “eye expressions” are all different ways that people around the world show their happiness.

  • A Brief Overview of Ethnomusicology

    Welcome back to my second blog post! I love all things music, so I have been hoping something related to music might be writeable for this blog. Today I will be writing about a subtopic that interested me while I was browsing anthropology news: the practice of ethnomusicology.

    What is it?

    Coined by Dutch musicologist Jaap Kunst in 1950, “ethnomusicology” is a big word, so let’s break it down. According to Miriam-Webster, the prefix “ethno-” generally means “relating to a race, culture, or people”. Musicology is the scholarly study of music that looks into its history and cultural roots. Ethnomusicology, the product of these two words, is the study of music within its social and cultural contexts that seeks to explore its deeper meaning. This can involve studying both music created by members of a certain culture and how it is performed and interpreted. Just like music is open to interpretation by those who listen to in, the definition of ethnomusicology is interpreted differently by anthropologists around the world; some place importance on the music itself while others prefer to center their studies more so around the cultures of ethnic groups.

    Kamala Bright ~ A Street Performer In India

    The Job

    In terms of field work, ethnomusicologists study the musical traditions of artists around the world, recording and analyzing performances in a cultural context as well as studying the element of music theory in their songs. Researchers may also engage in music creation with local artists to further immerse themselves in the culture. (Indeed Careers)

    Ethnomusicologists must be well-versed in music theory, ideally understanding composition and being able to play multiple instruments. The ability to conduct research both in the field and in an office setting is also a primary skill required. Ethnomusicologists are typically employed at museums, educational institutions, and research facilities, where they teach courses and publish texts.

    The Importance of Ethnomusicology

    Ethnomusicology plays a notable role in not just anthropology but musicology too. The practice itself of uncovering musical artifacts through archaeology stimulates continuous research of music in a society, stimulating further composition development in that society. It also provides a new lens to examine the progression of music in a culture throughout time, looking at the different reasons for musical style being changed the way it is. Such can function much like archaeology in the sense that it can help provide an understanding of historical perspectives by looking at what has been done with music in the past. Looking at it this way, a song could provide as much, if not more information than an ancient rune or piece of clothing. In terms of musicology, which usually employs a very straightforward and objective approach similar to the etic of ethnography, ethnomusicology is a less objective way to study music due to the fact that it takes into consideration the cultural context with which the music is created. (Li Li)

    While ethnomusicologists would likely regard their work as underrecognized, many schools have recently began incorporating ethnomusicology classes into their course offerings. These come in the forms of music or dance classes covering cultures anywhere from the Balkans to deep southeast Asia. Professional organizations related to ethnomusicology have largely grown too, with the Society of Ethnomusicology increasing membership the most among ethnomusicology groups. All in all, ethnomusicology is an increasingly relevant field of study that can uncover volumes about the world of yesterday as well as the world of today through song.

    Vicki Schofield

    Image Credits Unsplash

    Li, Li. “The Importance of Ethnomusicology in Other Disciplines Of …” Francis Press, Francis Academic Press, UK, francis-press.com/uploads/papers/xPjwVfhrdqFI7TjQVerHTJAukbNPQrmHodz8QeuD.pdf. Accessed 19 July 2025.