1. Anthropologists typically conduct fieldwork as participants, living in and coexisting with those they study. Religion, as a set of beliefs about how the world ought to be, can be successfully studied because it is also
a. easily understood as a practic
b. lived out in a community of people.
2. Anthropologists typically examine which of the following in order to understand religion's meaning and significance in the life of a community of people?
a. theology and history
b. language and theology
c. theology and political systems
d. economy and
a. theology and history
3. People make sense of the world, reach decisions, and organize their lives on the basis of their
a. religious beliefs.
b. social organization.
c. ability to falsify the religions of others.
d. theoretical understanding of religious practices.
a. religious beliefs.
4. One of the primary reasons that the study of religion in anthropology is difficult is because
a. there is no single, universal definition of religion that anthropologists can agree upon.
b. the variation in local expression complicates the verification
c. there is a wide range of local religious expression.
5. Anthropologists are primarily interested in
a. analyzing religion's ultimate truth or falsity.
b. capturing religious expression and making it come alive for others.
c. validating others' religious beliefs.
d. documenting all extant shamanic traditions
b. capturing religious expression and making it come alive for others.
6. One of the central tasks of anthropologists studying religion is to understand the religious sense of
a. truthfulness.
b. the strength of individual belief.
c. connection to all the major world religions.
d. moral order.
d. moral order.
7. Attention to local religious expressions complicates anthropologists' efforts to create
a. a universal definition of spirituality.
b. a universal definition of religious ideology.
c. a universal definition of religious practices.
d. a universal definit
d. a universal definition of religion.
8. Anthropological research illustrates that people make a religious tradition come alive in their own context through local expressions and which of the following?
a. creative adaptations
b. strict adherence to scripture
c. universal beliefs
d. standardi
a. creative adaptations
9. Which of the following is a person who sacrifices his or her life for the sake of his or her religion?
a. saint
b. martyr
c. pilgrim
d. dargah
b. martyr
10. Which of the following is an individual considered exceptionally close to God, who is then exalted after death?
a. priest
b. nun
c. saint
d. pope
c. saint
11. The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and the rituals that pilgrims to this shrine participate in to venerate this long-deceased Muslim martyr. One of the characteristics of this particular example that demonstrates the local adap
a. pilgrims come from a variety of different faiths, not just Muslim.
12. Which of the following is among the nineteenth- and twentieth-century philosophers who deeply influenced anthropological theories of religion?
a. Arnold van Gennep
b. Karl Marx
c. Emile Durkheim
d. Max Weber
d. Max Weber
13. French sociologist Emile Durkheim developed the notion of a fundamental dichotomy between which of the following sets of ideas that has been used by anthropologists in examining religion?
a. forbidden and allowed
b. sacred and holy
c. unclean and prof
d. sacred and profane
14. Catholic religious services often have the priest intoning the liturgy in Latin, and this helps to preserve the continuity of both the religion and the service. In Durkheim's view, this would be a form of
a. ritual.
b. preservation of the sacred.
c. r
a. ritual.
15. The upheaval brought about by the industrial revolution led to profound changes in the nature of production and labor, as well as the displacement of people as they sought out ways to make a living in the face of these changes. French sociologist Emil
c. anomie.
16. French sociologist Emile Durkheim argued that which of the following was key to allowing a society to regenerate its sense of social solidarity?
a. ritual
b. sacrifice
c. worship
d. anomie
a. ritual
17. What term might an anthropologist use to describe a game of football as it is played in the United States?
a. religion
b. anomie
c. profane
d. ritual
d. ritual
18. In 1931, anthropologist Audrey Richards documented the chisungu ritual, performed in Zambia. This women-only ritual centers on menstruation and marriage and is an example of
a. rites of passage.
b. liminal engagement.
c. sacredness.
d. religious fervo
a. rites of passage.
19. In many cultures, the first menstruation in women is seen as a powerful marker of womanhood and is frequently marked by ritual. In some cases, the young woman is separated from the larger social cohort, left in a state of isolation that may provide a
a. liminal.
20. Which of the following is the first stage of rites of passage that involves the physical, psychological, or symbolic removal from the daily activities of the group, according to Victor Turner?
a. individuation
b. separation
c. reaggregation
d. liminal
b. separation
21. Victor Turner's final stage of rites of passage that involves the return of the individual to the everyday life of the community is termed
a. retrospective.
b. reaction.
c. reincorporation.
d. relegitimization.
c. reincorporation.
22. Your college experience leads eventually to your graduation, a ritual process that ushers you into the "real world" where you are expected to find a job and be a productive member of the larger society. In the model of ritual that Victor Turner descri
d. communitas.
23. The text describes the Muslim saint shrine of Husain Tekri and how people of many different faiths come to the shrine for healing rituals. The people who travel to the shrine are said to be
a. seeking conversion.
b. making a pilgrimage.
c. seeking com
b. making a pilgrimage.
24. German political philosopher Karl Marx called which of the following "the opiate of the masses"?
a. rituals
b. pilgrimage
c. religion
d. rites of passage
c. religion
25. Karl Marx argued that which of the following played a key role in keeping the working poor from engaging in revolutionary social change that he believed was necessary to improve their situation?
a. religion
b. rites
c. rituals
d. pilgrimages
a. religion
26. Anthropologist Marvin Harris built upon Karl Marx's ideas, suggesting that what shapes the other components of a society are
a. material conditions.
b. ritual processes.
c. the relationships between religion and power.
d. religious beliefs.
a. material conditions.
27. Which of the following theories contends that religious practices have likely developed in response to very practical problems as people sought to adapt to the natural environment?
a. the opiate of the masses
b. cultural materialism
c. ritual processe
b. cultural materialism
28. Which of the following individuals believed that ideas rather than economics can be equally powerful in shaping society?
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Max Weber
c. Karl Marx
d. Victor Turner
b. Max Weber
29. According to Max Weber, the values of self-denial and self-discipline provided the ethic necessary for
a. capitalist exploitation of the masses.
b. modernity to move forward.
c. capitalism to flourish.
d. the defeat of capitalistic enterprises.
c. capitalism to flourish.
30. Max Weber envisioned an inevitability of religion, one that culminated in
a. rational religion based on legal codes of conduct.
b. rational religion based on persuasive prophets.
c. a purely secular society free of religion.
d. rational religion based
a. rational religion based on legal codes of conduct.
31. A part-time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings is referred to as a
a. medicine man.
b. rabbi.
c. magician.
d. shaman.
d. shaman.
32. Victor Turner proposed that all humans experience a rite of passage and that such rites might appear in a variety of different contexts, not just in coming-of-age changes. In a similar fashion, we can understand the emergence of a particular type of r
a. shaman
33. The role of the shaman is generally associated with early seminomadic societies but is also found in which type of the following societies?
a. industrialized
b. seminomadic
c. technological
d. hunter-gatherer
a. industrialized
34. You likely have heard of the voodoo doll, a figurine in which the holder pokes pins into the body in an effort to induce pain or discomfort into the unfortunate "target." While this is a belief and practice that is specific to a particular culture, an
c. magic.
35. Which of the following is considered a type of magic that involves performances that imitate the desired result, such as manipulating a doll?
a. imitative magic
b. ritual magic
c. contagious magic
d. continuous magic
a. imitative magic
36. Most of us routinely trim our fingernails. The cuttings are tossed into the wastebasket and we don't usually give it much thought. If he were alive today, James Frazier might suggest that this is ignoring the possibility of
a. contagious magic.
b. poo
a. contagious magic.
37. E. E. Evans-Pritchard conducted fieldwork among the Azande and rebuffed Weber's earlier assertion that science and modernization would lead to the decline of magic. A key part of Evans-Pritchard's work held that magic was in fact very
a. irrational.
b
d. rational.
38. Anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard's work among the Azande people considered ________ to be an integral part of their religious system.
a. ritual
b. magic
c. rites
d. ceremony
b. magic
39. In his work with Azande people, E. E. Evans-Pritchard found which of the following individuals are formally taught the knowledge of rituals and medicines and use that knowledge to thwart the work of a witch?
a. shamans
b. witches
c. witch doctors
d. p
c. witch doctors
40. Paul Stoller's participation in sorcery and magic in Niger afforded him a window into
a. the dangers of participation in systems we do not understand.
b. how difficult it is to gain trust of those we study.
c. how easy it is to become irrational durin
d. the deeply transformative nature of fieldwork.
41. In order to examine the role of religion in community life in Niger, West Africa, anthropologist Paul Stoller apprenticed with which of the following religious specialists?
a. women
b. a witch doctor
c. a sorcerer
d. a witch
d. a witch
42. A common belief in the United States is that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck. Many people dismiss this possibility, but as a belief, it is very like the results found by anthropologist George Gmelch's examination of the national pastime of
c. magic.
43. Anthropologist George Gmelch found that players who use a particular ritual, such as touching the bill of their cap every time they are up to bat, generally tend to believe that good magic is
a. contagious.
b. consistent.
c. ritualized.
d. highly effe
a. contagious.
44. Anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests that religion is essentially a system of ideas surrounding a set of powerful
a. symbols.
b. rituals.
c. rites.
d. beliefs.
a. symbols
45. Hindus venerate the cow (even when they create serious traffic hazards) in order to fully embrace the idea of ahimsa, the practice of nonviolence toward all living things. For a Hindu, then, the cow is much more than an animal with four legs, it is a
b. symbol that makes their religious world real.
46. Talal Asad makes the case that rather than religion being a system of symbols, it is better understood as a
a. collection of ideas.
b. simple collection of material objects not imbued with meaning.
c. creation of western scholars.
d. result of authori
d. result of authorizing processes.
47. Anthropologist Talal Asad argues that
a. universal definitions of religion can actually obscure local realities and, subsequently, local expressions of religion should be examined rather than universal ones.
b. symbols used in religion acquire signifi
a. universal definitions of religion can actually obscure local realities and, subsequently, local expressions of religion should be examined rather than universal ones
48. In the view of Talal Asad, religion has been defined by western anthropology and is thus partially
a. an attempt at a universal definition.
b. a fieldwork problem.
c. an ethnocentric problem.
d. a Christian definition.
c. an ethnocentric problem.
49. The Zapatista movement in Mexico helped lend credence to the idea of Liberation Theology, something that was initially supported by the Vatican. More recently, however, that support was withdrawn under Pope Benedict, who argued that the "church of the
b. religion, meaning, and power.
50. The role of the Catholic Church in the Zapatista Movement in the Chiapas region of southern Mexico illustrates a relationship in Mexico between religion and
a. language.
b. family.
c. revolution.
d. poverty.
c. revolution.
51. Which of the following locations is particularly experiencing increasing encounters between people of various religious faiths and new strategies for cultivating and educating participants?
a. rural villages
b. remote villages
c. farming communities
d
d. cities
52. Which of the following social processes is currently affecting the ways in which religion and religious practices are being stretched and shaped today?
a. immigration
b. technological innovation
c. neoliberalization
d. secularization
a. immigration
53. Catholicism is being rejuvenated in the United States as a result of
a. increased immigration from heavily Catholic countries bringing new membership, worship styles, social needs, and political engagements.
b. immigration of wealthy individuals from
a. increased immigration from heavily Catholic countries bringing new membership, worship styles, social needs, and political engagements.
54. The recent appearance of the megachurch�large, often evangelical or Protestant churches that employ business practices, showmanship, rock music, and spectacle to attract congregations�reveals the influence not just of technology and marketing but of t
b. globalization.
1. According to the text, Texas colonias are of interest to medical anthropologists because
a. the majority of the residents return to their native Mexico for medical treatment.
b. their rates for many diseases are considerably above state and national av
b. their rates for many diseases are considerably above state and national averages.
2. ________ is the anthropological perspective most likely to be used to study and improve health conditions in Texas colonias.
a. Medical ecology
b. Ethnomedicine
c. Interpretive anthropology
d. Medical anthropology
d. Medical anthropology
3. While conventional wisdom attributes good health and longevity to good nutrition, exercise, sleep, proper sanitation, and avoiding smoking, medical anthropologists consider many other factors when looking at health. One critical aspect of health that i
c. inequality.
4. The core values of good health in the United States�personal responsibility, hard work, and clean living�shape how Americans approach functional health. When considered in the light of the World Health Organization's definition of health, these values
d. are not part of the definition.
5. One important reason that medical anthropology has grown significantly since the 1980s is that
a. the medical profession has increasingly relied upon anthropology for data.
b. intensive fieldwork has increased the level of intimacy between the anthropo
b. intensive fieldwork has increased the level of intimacy between the anthropologist and the subjects under study.
6. Medical anthropology takes a holistic approach to health, which includes meaning, power, and
a. ethnopharmacology.
b. ethnomedicine.
c. epidemiology.
d. local knowledge.
c. epidemiology.
7. Ethnopharmacology emerged as a study because anthropologists wanted to understand
a. practices that were part of large, international pharmacology companies.
b. the role of herbal supplements in the dietary intake of Americans.
c. local use of natural
c. local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
8. Ethnomedicine is focused on
a. the role of hospitals and doctors in the health care system.
b. the study of religious ritual in health care.
c. the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
d. the comparative study of local sys
d. the comparative study of local systems of health and healing.
9. Biomedicine is defined as
a. the intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing.
b. a practice that seeks to apply the principles of the natural sciences.
c. the documentation and description of the local use of natural substances in healing r
b. a practice that seeks to apply the principles of the natural sciences.
10. Medical pluralism is defined as
a. the intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing.
b. the inclusion of medical experts in the use of local healing methodologies.
c. the local use of natural substances in healing remedies and practices.
d.
a. the intersection of multiple cultural approaches to healing.
11. The World Health Organization calls for a definition of health that includes the absence of infirmity, complete physical and mental health, as well as consideration for
a. cultural well being.
b. economic stability.
c. religious affiliation.
d. social
d. social well being.
12. Medical anthropologists have recognized the utility of recognizing the difference between disease and illness as that of
a. a pathological condition versus an imagined reality.
b. a natural entity versus personal experience.
c. a natural entity versus
b. a natural entity versus personal experience.
13. The individual patient's experience of sickness is
a. universally defined.
b. defined by a doctor.
c. a matter of personal interpretation.
d. culturally defined.
d. culturally defined.
14. In the view of "technocratic birth":
a. women are viewed as strong and capable actors in the birth process.
b. expectant mothers are attended by midwives and family members.
c. fathers are expected to hold the mothers while encouraging them.
d. mother
d. mothers can receive epidural injections to manage their pain.
15. According to the text, Mayan women of Mexico's Yucat�n Peninsula typically gave birth in a hammock, during which time
a. doctors and nurses carefully monitored the progress.
b. midwives monitored the progress.
c. family life continued as it usually di
c. family life continued as it usually did.
16. The dominant idea of health care in the United States�doctors in white coats, hospitals, and advanced technology�has been found by medical anthropologists to be
a. the most common point of access for people worldwide.
b. the least common point of acce
b. the least common point of access for most people worldwide.
17. In Tibet, there are about 200 traditional healers known as amchi who provide health care, all of which is based on
a. the elimination of body and spirit as part of individual wellness.
b. the complete separation of body and spirit in the individual.
c
c. achieving balance between body and spirit in the individual.
18. Significant changes in the Ladakh region of the Himalayas include
a. an increase in bartering because the cash economy has been undermined.
b. less stress once militarization in neighboring Kashmir decreased.
c. urbanization that has fragmented commun
c. urbanization that has fragmented community life.
19. Increased migration has increased popularity of Tibetan medicine in recent decades because it is seen as
a. holistic and embracing Tibetan ecological worldviews.
b. a way to challenge traditional views of Western medicine.
c. a rejection of ethnomedic
a. holistic and embracing Tibetan ecological worldviews.
20. Once scorned as a cop out, Psilocybin mushrooms remain classified as a controlled substance in the United States. Recent research has started to look seriously at their use in the treatment of certain forms of mental illness. This is an expansion of t
d. biomedicine.
21. Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margaret Lock reported a case where, after hearing the story of a woman under tremendous personal stress, medical students
a. advised her to adhere to the prescription regimen.
b. questioned the veracity of the doctor's diagno
d. asked what the real causes of her pain were.
22. The biomedical model tends to overlook the importance of
a. using scientific means to diagnose a disease.
b. social experiences as a component of disease.
c. ethnopharmacology as a means of understanding diseases.
d. recognizing that biology plays a c
b. social experiences as a component of disease.
23. The human ecosystem, composed of trillions of organisms in the human body, is understood as a
a. system of discrete, biological entities.
b. useful way to collect microbes used for the treatment of other diseases.
c. potentially lethal collection of b
d. complex microbiome.
24. Anthropologists have recognized that Western biomedicine draws heavily on
a. extensive medical education.
b. the experience of the doctor in a foreign country.
c. enlightenment values.
d. the willingness of the doctor to practice alternative medicine.
c. enlightenment values.
25. Surgical procedures are a component of ________ but are NOT a component of all health care traditions.
a. the biomedical model
b. cultural competency
c. illness narratives
d. ethnomedical practices
a. the biomedical model
26. Chinese medicine conceptualizes qi as a type of energy found in all living things, something that must be in balance to maintain good health. This reflects the larger concept of health as a
a. harmonious relationship between husband and wife.
b. harmo
b. harmonious relationship between heaven and Earth.
27. According to the text, the People's Republic of China moved to institutionalize traditional Chinese medicine through a number of different strategies, including the export of the practice to other countries. This was done in part to
a. improve the bal
d. develop ties of solidarity with other developing nations.
28. Paul Farmer found rural Haitian residents experiencing vey high rates of malnutrition, dysentery, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Many of these residents were water refugees due to the construction of a hydroelectric dam and the resultant flooding. This p
b. socioeconomic inequality.
29. Among the steps taken by anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer to improve health conditions in the rural community of Cange, one of the most important first steps was to
a. provide a means of food production and distribution.
b. provide physicians
c. provide clean drinking water to the community.
30. Fieldwork allows the anthropologist to accurately record the life and conditions of a people. These results are almost always shared with others�anthropologists, nongovernmental organizations, and more. Such efforts frequently lead to better awareness
b. direct or indirect intervention to help solve problems.
31. Paul Farmer's work in Haiti using anthropological tools�local language, understanding social norms and values, and how people organized their own reality�led him to recognize that these same tools could
a. be an impediment for doctors working in the r
c. help doctors think about health in the broadest possible sense.
32. One of the immediate results of the Zanmi Lasante water project was a
a. noticeable drop in infant mortality.
b. noticeable increase in agricultural output.
c. noticeable improvement in the physical health of those who had to carry water up an eight-h
a. noticeable drop in infant mortality.
33. One of the most significant changes that Zanmi Lasante initiated in rural Haiti was the training of local community members as health care workers. Their success in identifying local health care problems and providing basic health services was due to
b. their ability to understand the local language, social structures, and values.
34. According to the text, one consequence of the health transition is that
a. chronic diseases such as cancer have declined as a primary cause of death worldwide.
b. infectious diseases have increased as the primary cause of death in the United States.
c
c. overall human life expectancy has doubled in the past century.
35. Critical medical anthropology considers the intersection of health care and systems of power: economic and political systems, race, class, gender, and sexuality. This necessitates that a critical medical anthropologist
a. understand how best to combat
d. look beyond the Western system of biomedicine and the focus on individual care.
36. The study of health care provided at Alpha House in New York City suggested that black women and other women of color were better able to withstand pain than white women, and were often referred to as more "primitive" by the health care workers. These
a. stories and folklore about black women's bodies.
37. Khiara Bridges suggests that the statistical data for racial disparities in health, which indicate that black babies die at twice the rate as white babies, is due to more than just poverty and may be a
result of
a. the failure to fully certify the phy
b. the failure to interrogate doctors on their internalized racism.
38. During the European conquest of North America, entire populations suffered due to the diseases brought to the continents by the conquering armies. In a very real sense, this early form of "globalization" held a type of medical migration. Medical migra
d. also includes the movement of treatments for disease across national borders.
39. As discussed in the text, biomedical physicians diagnosed Lia Lee of Merced, California, as suffering from
a. quag dab peg.
b. soul loss.
c. a serious infection.
d. epilepsy.
d. epilepsy.
40. The case of Lia Lee is significant for medical anthropologists because
a. her parents were never able to bridge the gap between their own medical prognosis and that of Lia's doctors.
b. The dramatically different approaches to the resolution of Lia's
c. the clash between the family's beliefs and that of the physicians' was a clear instance of medical pluralism.
41. Anthropologist Arthur Kleinman's work involves the collecting of different illness narratives, which can be vital in the
a. treatment of illness and promotion of good health within Western cultures.
b. treatment of illness and promotion of good health
d. treatment of illness and promotion of good health across cultural divides.
42. Illness narratives
a. are based on a physician's assessment of an illness.
b. are based on the personal stories that people tell of their illness.
c. are ethnographic studies of disease and illness.
d. are based on narratives provided by anthropologis
b. are based on the personal stories that people tell of their illness.
43. The first step healers might use when collecting illness narratives would be to
a. request that the patient document all steps taken in the current treatment plan in use.
b. form a careful assessment of the illness and develop a treatment plan.
c. ask
c. ask the patient to describe his or her perspective of the health problem.
44. Paul Farmer conducted his fieldwork in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. This afforded a powerful opportunity to understand
a. the nature of inequality as it impacts health care.
b. the intersection of foreign aid programs and medical
a. the nature of inequality as it impacts health care.
45. Bridget Jordan and Robbie Davis-Floyd studied expectant mothers in Mexico, Sweden, Holland, and the United States. Among their findings was the realization that different cultures see birth in different ways, and this directly impacts
a. the probabili
c. the experience of the birthing process itself.
46. The example of Lia Lee and the tragic ending to her story demonstrates that health is a matter of
a. careful application of the western approach to medical care to ensure success.
b. both the physical and social body.
c. ensuring that both patient and
b. both the physical and social body.
47. Anne Fadiman studied the Hmong immigrant population in the United States. Her work suggests that one of the biggest challenges faced by this population is a lack of
a. English language knowledge.
b. Hmong physicians available to them in U.S. hospitals
a. English language knowledge.
48. Khiara Bridges studied mothers in New York City. Her work revealed the deep schism between
a. doctors and health care workers in a poverty-stricken area.
b. racist attitudes held by black patients and white doctors.
c. government-provided health care
d. the quality and type of treatment given to white and black mothers.
49. According to the text, medical anthropology's holistic approach sees health as something that happens in part due to a product of
a. environment and the absence of poverty and violence.
b. environment and the presence of moderate climate.
c. behavior
a. environment and the absence of poverty and violence.
50. Since 1996, the rate of births by cesarean section (C-section) in the United States has
a. decreased dramatically as more mothers turn to alternative medical options.
b. increased dramatically, probably more as a result of cultural conceptions of chil
b. increased dramatically, probably more as a result of cultural conceptions of childbirth and institutional pressure than medical necessity.
51. From the perspective of a medical anthropologist, all medical systems constitute a form of ________ because they are based in a particular local cultural reality.
a. ethnomedicine
b. ethnopharamacology
c. biomedicine
d. medical pluralism
a. ethnomedicine
52. We are taught that cleanliness is a vital part of daily life, that antibacterial soaps, cleaning products that completely eliminate the possibility of germs on surfaces, cooking and food handling that absolutely precludes the chance of ingesting a "bu
d. human microbiomes.
53. Which of the following statements accurately describes Chinese medicine?
a. Researchers have identified a uniform set of Chinese medical practices used by practitioners within and outside China that complement biomedical treatments.
b. It was suppress
d. Chinese medical practices vary widely within China, from patient to patient, and also over time.
54. One of the ways that anthropologist Paul Farmer put the results of his anthropological fieldwork to actual practice was through the
a. widespread translation of his fieldwork records into different languages.
b. founding of Partners in Health, which w
b. founding of Partners in Health, which works with local communities in Haiti to improve the health conditions of poor Haitians.