ANTH 1120 Midterm Review Questions and Answers
Terms:
Nature: Inspired by Charles Darwin (theory of evolution): – the belief that behaviors
... [Show More] including intelligence are biologically based.
Nurture:
• Margaret Mead’s research debunked that theory.
• Identities are NOT biologically based but are learned and cultivated through socialization
• Identity is always produced in the course of social interaction
Anthropological Skills (toolkit) ; Our ability to conduct qualitative research -- including interviewing -- is an important part of the anthropologist's toolkit. So, it only makes sense that students use these skills in gathering information about potential future pursuits/careers.
Culture; the system of meanings about the nature of experience that are shared by a people and passed on from one generation to another, including the meanings that people give to things, events, activities, and people.
Ethnocentrism; the tendency to judge the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures from the perspective of one’s own culture.
ethnocentric fallacy; the mistaken notion that the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures can be judged from the perspective of one’s own culture.
cultural relativism; the effort to understand the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures in terms of the culture in which they are found
relativistic fallacy; the idea that is impossible to make moral judgements about the beliefs and behaviours of members of other cultures
armchair anthropology; refers to an approach to the study of various societies that dominated anthropology in the late 1800s. It involved the collection, study, and analysis of the writings of missionaries, explorers, and colonists who had sustained contact with non-Western peoples, comparisons, and generalizations about the ways of life of various groups
participant observation; an element of fieldwork that can involve participating in daily tasks, and observing daily interactions among a particular group.
ethnographic fieldwork; A research method in which sociocultural anthropologists have intensive, long-term engagements with a group of people. It may involve the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, participant observation, and survey- based research
ethnography; a written description and analysis of a particular group of people, usually based upon anthropological fieldwork
socio-cultural anthropology; a comparative approach to the study of societies and cultures that focuses on differences and similarities in the ways that societies are structured and cultural meanings are created
applied anthropology; anthropology refers to the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems.
◆ Applied Anthropology refers to the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve social problems.
◆ Applied anthropologists work for groups that promote, manage, and assess programs aimed at influencing human social conditions.
social identity; the view that people have of their own and others’ positions in society. These learned personal and social affiliations may include gender, race, sexuality, nationalism, class, and ethnicity. Individuals seek confirmation from others that they occupy the positions on the social landscape that they claim to occupy.
enculturation; the process through which individuals learn an identity. It can encompass parental socialization, the influence of peers, the mass media, government, and other forces.
The process by which human beings living with one another learn to come to terms with the ways of thinking and feeing that are considered appropriate in their respective cultural contexts
egocentric society
egocentric; a view of the self that defines each person as a replica of all humanity, as the location of motivations and drives, and as capable of acting independently from others. Each person is seen to be a separate entity with characteristics that originate in the individual
“Be true to yourself”, self reliance
sociocentric society;
sociocentric; a context-dependent view of self. The self exists as an entity only within the concrete situations or roles occupied by the person.
identity is relational and depends on who one is with; This assumes that people are not autonomous but are part of a social context;
Gender; culturally constructed ideals of behaviour, dress, occupations, roles, and comportment for particular sexes
third gender; a gender role given to someone who does not fit within strictly masculine or feminine gender roles in a given society
gender stratification; Gender stratification occurs when gender differences give men greater privilege and power over women, transgender, and gender-non-conforming people.
- the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women
hegemonic masculinity; refers to ideals and norms of masculinity in a society, which are often privileged over others
rites of passage; the term coined in 1908 by Arnold van Gennep to refer to the category of rituals that accompany changes in status, such as the transition from boyhood to manhood, living to dead, or student to graduate.
Three Stages:
1) Separation
2) Liminality
3) Reintegration
Result => Communitas
worldview; an encompassing picture of reality based on shared cultural assumptions about how the world works
symbols; Symbolsarethebasisofculture.Asymbolisanobject,word,oractionthat standsforsomethingelsewithnonaturalrelationshipthatisculturalydefined.
Everythingonedoesthroughoutheirlifeisbasedandorganizedthroughcultural symbolism.Symbolism iswhensomethingrepresentsabstractideasorconcepts.Some go dexamplesofsymbols/symbolism wouldbeobjects,figures,sounds,andcolors.For exampleintheHawaianculture,theperformanceofaLuaisasymboloftheirlandand heritagewhichisperformedthroughsonganddance
metaphor; figures of speech in which linguistic expressions are taken from one area of experience and applied to another
• Religious metaphor: “The Lord is my shepherd”
• Spatial metaphors– feel up to it or feeling down/low, computer is down, crashed.
• “You are my knight in shining armour”, “put your cards on the table”, “keeps the cards close to his chest”
idiom; An idiom is a common word or phrase with a culturally understood meaning that differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket.
ritual; a dramatic rendering or social portrayal of meanings shared by a specific body of people in a way that makes them seem correct and proper (symbolic actions)
myth; a story or narrative that portrays the meanings people give to their experience
• A story that embodies a society’s assumptions and meanings as to the way society or the world in general must operate.
• Origin myths – stories that tell about the beginnings of a people = Adam and Eve,
Genesis, Aboriginal creation stories/myths
revitalization movements; the term suggested by Anthony F.C. Wallace for attempts by a people to construct a more satisfying culture
shaman; One who can interact and mediate with the spirit world on behalf of their community, usualy by exctatic trance techniques ( That is their spirit/soul leaves their physical body in order to travel to a world of pure spirit rather than physical matter) for the purposes of divination, information gathering, healing and to recieve wisdom.
shamanism; refers to a spiritual belief system whereby spiritual practitioners, called “shamans,” enter into an altered state of consciousness to seek guidance from spiritual forces
• Practitioners who claim to mediate between living human beings and the spirit world by drawing “on the powers in the natural world, including the powers of animals.” It’s important to understand the source of the powers of “shamans” which are this worldy. It could include altered states (“trance”)
• There is no equivalent health professional in Western biomedicine, and the scope of the shaman as a healer extends beyond the capacities and expertise of physicians.
syncretization; the term given to the combination of old beliefs or religions and new ones that are often introduced during colonization
• The synthesis (blending) of old religious practices or an old way of life with new religious practices or a new way of life
- Often instigated from outside, often by force
Creole; a term used commonly to refer to the formation of slave societies in the Caribbean in which elements of African and European cultured were merged, blended, or combined into something uniquely Caribbean
• Refers to the formation of slave societies in the Caribbean during which which elements of African and European cultures were merged, blended or combined into something uniquely Caribbean. (SA p. 120)
• Heavily influenced by Yoruba West African traditions in Nigeria and Benin and can be found in Cuba, Haiti, Brazil and southern US – Louisiana.
nation-state; a political community that has clearly defined territorial borders a centralized authority
• Nation – comprised of cultural and political beliefs and values, norms, history and myths, language
• State – a definable territory with infrastructural supports such as government (e.g. parliament), bureaucracy, military, police, judicial system
nationalism ; the ‘world view’ of members of a nation-state
1) the process of forming and maintaining nations
2) a consciousness of belonging
3) language and symbolism of the nation
4) Ideology – a system of ideas and principles accepted by it’s followers (e.g. the nation)
5) A social and political movement to achieve the goals of the nation
multiculturalism; a term that Eva Mackey defines as a Canadian policy in which all hyphenated cultures, such as African-Canadian and French-Canadian, are described and celebrated as part of a ‘cultural mosaic.’ Contrast with the ‘cultural melting pot’ image that is used in the U.S.
• A system of beliefs and behaviours that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society.
• “Melting Pot”; Metaphor for a society (e.g. The United States) where diversity of ethnic and other backgrounds, are supposed to blend together through assimilation to Anglo-European norm
• Canadian –Canadian national identity needs Indigenous peoples to help provide the heritage and historical links to the land
• Indigenous contributions to Canadian culture, identity and nation-building and Canadian “heritage”
Sex = biological Gender = social/cultural
Gender stratification (social/cultural)
Heteronormativity = The ways in which the norms of masculinity in a society privilege one interpretation of gender identity over others.
Reciprocity as a form of exchange
• Generalized reciprocity – value of what is exchanged isn’t carefully calculated (friends, family)
• Balanced reciprocity – norms about giving, accepting and reciprocating (receiving something in return) expectation - gift of equal value
Invented Traditions; “a set of practices normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behavior by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past”
Three innovations;
• Public primary education – school, colleges, universities
• Public ceremonies (Bastille day, Independence Day, Canada Day)
• Mass production of public monuments
Ethnic cleansing ;is the forced removal or expulsion by all means possible of an ethnically or religiously different group from a territory, with the ultimate aim to expel or eliminate altogether.
Ethnocide – the attempt to destroy the culture of another people
Genocide - The “intent to destroy” – not “intent to remove”
• Negative reciprocity – receive more than they exchange (hard bargaining, cleverness or cheating)
Colonialism;
Ecstatic religion ; States of spirit possession, in which believers feel themselves to be ‘possessed’ by the deity and raised to a new plane of existence
Political authority became rooted in the concept of nations
• Groups of people believed they shared the same history, culture and language and even physical substances like blood
• Sovereignty/independence movements - the authority of a people to govern themselves [Show Less]