Anthropology 210 Exam 1

What is unique about the broad field of anthropology?

focuses on the bigger picture of human behavior

What are the 4 subdisciplines?

Cultural, Linguistics, Archaeology, and Biological or physical

What is each subdisciplines focus of study?

Cultural- the study of human thought, behavior, and lifeways that are learned rather than genetically transmitted
Linguistics- the study of language and its relation to culture
Archaeology- focuses on the reconstruction of past cultures based on their mat

What do we mean when we say that anthropology is comparative and holistic?

compares one culture to another; holistic approach means anthropology focuses on bigger picture of human behavior

Why is anthropology especially useful in addressing 'nature vs. nurture' questions?

The comparative and holistic approach in anthropology provide a unique perspective on 'nature vs. nurture' questions. Many behaviors and aspects of human development result from a combination. Most are a mix of both. Anything that is across cultures must

What are the 7 main attributes of culture?

1. Learned behaviors
2. Use of language and symbols
3. Shared
4. Patterned and Integrated
5. All encompassing
6. Adaptive and sometimes maladaptive
7. Dynamic and subject to change

What are taboos?

norms specifying behaviors that are prohibited; eating, sex, other bodily functions; taboos may mark group identity

What are symbols and why is their usage important to understanding what it means to be human?

Symbols are words, sounds, images, or objects that represent and transmit cultural ideas or sentiments. The biological ability to use symbols is the basis of culture.

What did Leslie White say about symbols?

she argued culture, and thus being human, began when our ancestors began using symbols to transmit culture

What are the processes of enculturation and acculturation?

Enculturation- the process of learning to be a child member of a particular culture group (ACQUIRED)
Acculturation- exchange of some elements due to direct contact (forced or unforced) while maintaining differences

What are norms and values?

Norm- an ideal cultural pattern of appropriate behaviors that influences behavior in a particular society
Value- a culturally defined idea of what is true, right, and beautiful

What do we mean when anthropologists talk about ideal norms and observed behaviors?

Ideal- people can avoid, manipulate, subvert, change, and resist cultural norms (counterculture); monogamy
Observed- may or may not match formal norms

What is a subculture?

a system of perceptions, values, beliefs, and customs that are significantly different from those of larger, dominant culture within the same society. However, some values may overlap. Subcultures can have norms that conflict with dominant norms

What does it mean to say a culture is adaptive? Maladaptive?

Adaptive- populations adapt to the environment so they can survive and reproduce
Maladaptation- a trait that is (or has become) more harmful than helpful

What are cultural universals, generalities, and particularities?

Culture universals- suggest a biological basis
Generalities- common, often from diffusion and independent innovation
Particularities- unique approaches to handle human problems

What processes are involved with cultural change?

Innovation- an object or a way of thinking or behaving that is NEW
Diffusion- spread of cultural elements

What are assimilation and multiculturalism?

Assimilation- a minority group adopt the norms of its host culture
Multiculturalism- the view that the maintenance of cultural differences is beneficial

What is syncretism?

the selective borrowing and merging of cultural elements (they "make it their own"); common in religion

What is global culture?

process making nations and people increasingly interlinked and mutually dependent; driven by economical and political forces

Nacirema? Lesson?

basically Americans; don't be so quick to judge

What is the process of the scientific method and what are the main parts employed? Hypothesis vs. Theory?

Scientific method- aimed at improving our understanding of the world by testing hypothesis that show how and why the object of study is related to other objects of study
Theory- general framework based on multiple tested hypotheses that have not been fals

What are the main ethnographic field methods used today?

Participant-observation, informants, collaborative ethnography, life histories, urban anthropology, survey research

In what parts of the world do anthropologists currently carry out research?

local, regional, national, and global contexts

How long are anthropologists usually in the field?

usually a 6-24 month period

What is participant-observation?

gathering cultural data by observing and recording people's behavior and participating in their lives`

What are questionnaires, open-ended questions, and structured interviews?

Questionnaires- ask more questions and is easier to get people to answer, not as truthful
Open-ended questions- ask less people, but more specific than questionnaire, but still can lie
Structured interview- 1 person, but more truthful and in depth, can be

What is culture shock?

feelings of alienation and helplessness that results from rapid immersion in a new and different culture

What are informants? Key cultural consultants?

Informants- specific well informed members whom the anthropologist interviews
Key cultural consultants- someone the researcher has become close to

What are life histories? What is the genealogical method? What can they provide?

Life histories- intimate, personal collections of a lifetime of experiences from certain members
Genealogical- collects data that is essential to reconstructing history and understanding current social relations

What methods are used in urban anthropology?

same methods but on a smaller subculture or group

What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

Quantitative- deals with #'s (quantity)
Qualitative- deals with descriptions (quality)

What are the Human Relations Area Files and how can they be used in anthropology?

HRAF's main mission is to encourage the cross-cultural study of human culture, society, and behavior in the past and present

What is applied anthropology and how does it relate to development?

application of data, perspectives, theory, and techniques to identify social problems; assesses socio-cultural dimensions of economic development
Types: medical, environmental, forensic

Who were Edward Tylor and Louis Morgan?

They saw themselves as compilers and analysts of ethnographic accounts ("armchair anthropologists").
-Tylor was the first to assert "primitives" were equally intelligent as "civilized" people.
-Enlightenment scholars like Morgan believed human differences

What is social evolutionism?

technology correlated with evolution- the more technologically advanced, the more civilized

Who was Franz Boas?

A critic of evolutionary anthropology as
ethnocentric and racist, he insisted that
grasping the whole of a culture could be
achieved only through fieldwork.
� Believed that anthropologists must live among
the people they studied, learn their language,
obs

What are ethnocentrism and cultural relativism?

Ethnocentrism- the belief that one's culture is better than others
Cultural relativism- Boas insisted that anthropologists approach each culture on its own terms, in light of its own notions of worth and value

Historical particularism

each society has a unique historical past

Functionalism

specific cultural institutions function to support the structure of society (Radcliffe-Brown) or serve the needs of individuals in society (Malinowski)

Cultural Ecology

Julian Steward focused on the adaptive aspect of culture and behavior as it relates to their well being

Ecological Functionalism

how cultural institutions work can be understood by examining their effects on the environment

Cultural Materialism

focus on environmental adaptation, technology, and methods of acquiring food in the development of culture (Marvin Harris)

Structuralism

cultural diversity stems from differences in the forms by which people express universal meanings (Claude Levi-Strauss)

Cognitive anthropology

underlying human behavior rather than behavior itself

Symbolic anthropology

understand by discovering the symbols that are important to its members

Interpretive anthropology

treat culture as a system of meaning and the aim of cultural anthropology is to interpret the meanings that cultural acts have for their participants

Neo-Marxist anthropology

culture is about power relations within and between societies

Feminist anthropology

questions gender bias- mean performed much of the fieldwork

Postmodernnism

focuses on issues of power and voice; suggest anth. accounts are partial truths and reflect the background, training, and social position of their authors

Reflexive anthropology

attention to whose voices are chosen to represent the group

What is androcentric bias?

a man's bias

What are ethnographic realism, native anthropology, and reflexive ethnography?

Ethnographic realism- style of writing that narrates the author's experiences and observation as if the reader was experiencing events first hand
Native Anth.- study of one's own society

Emic vs. Etic?

Emic- native's point of view
Etic- outsider's point of view (ET is an outsider)

What are the primary ethical concerns in anthropology? Main parts of American Anth. Association's Code of Ethics?

must obtain consent of the people to be studied, protect them from risk, respect their privacy and dignity

What is Chromsky's theory of universal grammar?

a basic set of principles, conditions, and rules that form the foundation of all languages

Understand how language is symbolic.

Words are symbols that stand for things, actions, and ideas because speakers of a language agree that they do

Define conventionality, productivity, and displacement.

Conventionality- words are only conventionally connected to the things for which they stand
Productivity- humans can combine words and sounds into infinite new meaningful utterances
Displacement- the human capacity to describe things that are distant in t

Structural linguistics vs. sociolinguistics?

Structural- the study of the structure and content of languages
Socio- focuses on speech performance in varying social and cultural contexts

Phonology

the study of sound patterns in language

Phonemes

the smallest unit of sound that does not alter the meaning of words in which it occurs

Phonetics

study of the production, transmission, and reception of sounds in speech

Morphology

the study of meaningful units of sound in a language

Morpheme

the smallest unit in a language that carries a grammatically distinct meaning

To what does semantics refer?

relates form to meaning

On what do sociolinguistics focus their research?

Sociolinguistics deals with issues of group identity, language display, and resistance- relates to gender, class, politics, ethnicity, and religion

Language vs. Dialect?

Dialect is a particular form of language that is particular to a specific region of social group

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

perceptions and understandings of time, space, and matter are conditioned by the structure of a language... in other words, language influences but does not determine thought or behavior

Non-verbal communication?

-almost 2/3 of communication comes from nonverbal cues
-messages are sent by emblems, clothing, jewelry, tattoos, etc

Ebonics?

(African American English Vernacular) has deep roots in the African American community. William Labov demonstrated that AAEV was just a different way of speaking, neither better nor worse than any other

What is the role of culture contact in the formation of pidgins and creoles?

Pidgin (or jargon) is a simplified language of contact and trade composed of features of the original languages of 2 or more societies
Creole is a 1st language composed of elements of 2 or more different languages

Style shifting vs. Diglossia?

Style shifting- single individuals may change the way they talk depending upon the social requirements of a given setting (slang)
Diglossia- regular shifting from one dialect to another

Historical linguistics?

English is a daughter language that evolved from the mother language of West Germanic
French and Spanish are sister languages that share many cognates
Linguistic origins relate to cultural origins

How does Geertz separate out "world view" from "ethos" in a culture? What does each term mean, and what examples were used in the lecture and in class discussion?

A peoples ethos is the tone, character, and quality of their life, its moral and aesthetic style and mood; it is their underlying attitude towards themselves and their world that life reflects. Their world view is their picture of the way things in sheer

In general, what were the experiences the Ojibwa went through? Most importantly, how do "the people endure"?

The Ojibwa lost their land and way of life from the Europeans entering. When they tried and assimilate, they found this nearly impossible because of their skin color and different beliefs. The people endured by continuing the celebration of themselves in