How do you talk about "theoretical frameworks" in Anthropology?

Question

I'm an English/Anthropology major and I'm relatively new to Anthropology. This is the first semester I'm really getting into it. I'm applying to a summer teaching/research program right now and one of the things the application asks for is what theoretical frameworks I'd use in a future research project. My concentration is linguistic anthropology, and I'm interested in language, identity, and power. I know what my research areas are, I know my methodologies...but the theoretical framework part throws me off, because I know the scholar's theories that I draw from, but they don't have actual names for theories. Does it get as specific as saying that I'm drawing off of Mary Bucholtz's theories about authenticity and Agha's theory of language in social domain? I'm thinking of theoretical frameworks like an English major, with Marxism, pscyhoanalysis, etc. but I'm not sure how to talk about it like an anthropologist. I'm really sorry if this is a stupid question, and I'm not actually asking for lists of theories or anything, but just how to talk about my research in anthropology with regards to theory.

Answer 1

The theoretical framework is something that you need to find within the literature. It's more or less like finding the main idea of a passage, except focusing on connecting the researcher with existing knowledge, and identifying the limits of generalizations and variables that could affect the study.

For example, gender studies have been influenced by postmodernism, arguing that gender is a social construct, rather than a fixed category, and historians have used these theories to examine how gender constructs have worked in the past and for certain purposes. You have to focus on the questions 'why' or 'how', in order to understand it. Used any number of anthropologists' past work to examine past events and their significance in those who participated in them.

And don't worry, this isn't a stupid question, you can ask about anything.