Kinship, Class and Inequality, The Global Economy, Religion, Ritual, and Rites of Passage
kinship
system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsibilities
nuclear family
kinship unit of mother, father, and children
descent groups
kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through certain consanguineal (“blood”) relatives
lineage
a type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor
clan
a type of descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation
patrilineal descent groups
traced through the male line only
affinal relationship
a kinship relationship established through marriage and/or alliance, not through biology or common descent
marriage
a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance
arranged marriage
marriage orchestrated by the families of the involved parties
companionate marriage
marriage built on love, intimacy, and personal choice rather than social obligation
polygyny
marriage between one man and two or more women
polyandry
marriage between one woman and two or more men
monogamy
a relationship between only two partners
incest taboo
cultural rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives
exogamy
marriage to someone outside the kinship group
endogamy
marriage to someone within the kinship group
bridewealth
the gift of goods or money from the groom’s family to the bride’s family as part of the marriage process
dowry
the gift of goods or money from the bride’s family to the groom’s family as part of the marriage process
matrilineal descent group
traced through the female line only
ambilineal
kinship can be traced through either side of the family, depending upon the context or location
bilaterail
kinship is traced equally on both sides of the family
consanguineal relationships
individuals considered to be related by blood/biology within that culture (children, siblings, mother and/or father, grandparents, etc.)
fictive relationships
included in the family but not related by law or blood (godparents, blood brothers, some adoptions, family friends referred to as relatives)
importance of tracking kinship
avoiding inbreeding
establishing and maintaining rules of marriage
marital exchange of resources
determining location of residence of married couples
determining who receives inheritance
establishing social roles and behavior, such as speaking and naming taboos
essentially used to track the cultural norms and values surrounding marriage, children, and family life
class
a system of power based on wealth, income, and status that creates an unequal distribution of a society’s resources
stratification
the uneven distribution of resources and privileges among members of a group or culture
egalitarian society
a group based on the sharing of resources to ensure success with a relative absence of hierarchy and violence
reciprocity
the exchange of resources, goods, and services among people of relatively equal status; meant to create and reinforce social ties
ranked society
a group in which wealth is not stratified but prestige and status are
redistribution
a form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group and reallocated in a different pattern
potlatch
elaborate redistribution ceremony practiced among the Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest
bourgeoisie
Marxian term for the capitalist class that owns the means of production
means of production
the factories, machines, tools, raw materials, land, and financial capital needed to make things
capital
any asset employed or capable of being deployed to produce wealth
proletariat
Marxian term for the class of laborers who own only their labor
prestige
the reputation, influence, and deference bestowed on certain people because of their membership in certain groups
life chances
an individual’s opportunities to improve their quality of life and realize life goals
social mobility
the movement of one’s class position upward or downward in stratified societies
social reproduction
the phenomenon whereby social and class relations of prestige or lack of prestige are passed from one generation to the next
habitus
Bourdieu’s term to describe the self-perceptions, sensibilities, and tastes developed in response to external influences over a lifetime that shape one’s conceptions of the world and where one fits in it
cultural capital
the knowledge, habits, and tastes learned from parents and family that individuals can use to gain access to scarce and valuable resources in society
intersectionality
an analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, and class interact to shape individual life chances and societal patterns of stratification
income
what people earn from work plus dividends and interest on investments along with earnings from rents and royalties
wealth
the total value of what someone owns, minus any debt
caste
a system of stratification most prominently found in South Asia in which status is determined by birth
ascribed status
a status ASSIGNED, usually at birth
achieved status
a status ACQUIRED during one’s lifetime
Paul Farmer and “An Anthropology of Structural Violence”
Farmer explores how social, economic, and political structures perpetuate violence and inequalities in healthcare access and outcomes. He argues that these structural forces, such as poverty, racism, and unequal distribution of resources, create conditions where certain groups are disproportionately affected by illness and death
Karl Marx
a key theorist of class, capitalism, and history
wrote during Industrial Revolution, as poor rural people in Western Europe migrated to cities to seek factory jobs in response to government policies that restricted their use of common village lands
identified labor as a key source of value and profit in the marketplace
believed the proletariat would have difficulty forming class consciousness on their own because arts, religion, politics were used to distract people from recognizing economics at the root of the inequality
highly critical of the role of religion in society, likening it to a narcotic that dulled people’s pain, preventing them from realizing how serious societal problems were and taking action
argued that cultural institutions, including religion, reflected economic realities, called “the base”
Max Weber
wrote against the backdrop of the expansion of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution
added considerations of power and prestige to Marx’s ideas about economic stratification of wealth income
according to him, the state has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force
Pierre Bourdieu
studied the French educational system to understand relationships among class, culture, power, and taste
found that the education system reproduced existing systems of stratification rather than offered an equal opportunity for social mobility
habitus
how is Flint, MI an example of inequality
the water crisis, lasting over a year and causing irreversible damage to the people in the community, is an example of class and inequality because it demonstrates
racial segregation (a predominantly black community)
economic disinvestment
government neglect and mismanagement
health inequalities
how is the Kwakiutl an example of inequality
their culture was stripped from them by Canadian officials because they wanted them to advance as a society. the children were forced into English-only boarding schools, their sacred ritual potlatch was taken away because it was seen as “primitive,” they lost their land and their resources, and were frequently faced with legal inequalities from the Canadian government
2 roots of poverty
economics and politics
economy
a cultural adaptation to the environment that enables a group of humans to use the available land, resources, and labor to satisfy their needs and to thrive
food foragers
humans who subsist by hunting, fishing, and gathering plants to eat
pastoralism
a strategy for food production involving the domestication and herding of animals
horticulture
the cultivation of plants for subsistence through nonintensive use of land and labor
agriculture
an intensive farming strategy for food production involving permanently cultivated land to create a surplus
industrial agriculture
intensive farming practices involving mechanization and mass production of foodstuffs
colonialism
the practice by which states extend political, economic, and military power beyond their own borders over an extended period of time to secure access to raw materials, cheap labor, and markets in other countries or regions
triangle trade
the extensive exchange of enslaved people, sugar, cotton, and furs between Europe, Africa, and the Americas that transformed economic, political, and social life on both sides of the Atlantic
Industrial Revolution
the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century shift from agriculture and artisanal skill craft to machine-based manufacturing
neocolonialism
a continued pattern of unequal economic relations between former colonial states and former colonies despite the formal end of colonial political and military control
underdevelopment
the term used to suggest that poor countries are poor as a result of their relationship to an unbalanced global economic system
flexible accumulation
the increasingly flexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate profits in an era of globalization, enabled by innovative communication and transportation technologies
neoliberalism
an economic and political worldview that sees the free market as the main mechanism for ensuring economic growth, with a severely restricted role for government
commodities
a good that can be bought, sold, or exchanged in a market
commodity chains
the hands an item passes through between producer and consumer
the principle of gifting
while gifts seem voluntary and spontaneous, they are often a requirement and ensure a response
giving of the gift creates a tie with the person who receives it, who is then obliged to reciprocate
how the gift is given and received will also impact the relationship
Trobiand Islanders and the kula ring
objects are exchanged constantly
men form lifelong kula partners both nearby and afar, with expected social obligations and duties
more kula partners is a sign of prestige and social capital (chiefs have hundreds of kula partners, while most men have a few comprised of in-laws, friends, and local chiefs)
there were also secondary economic, ceremonial, and magical activities, and large amounts of tertiary trade and socializing
not spontaneous or disorganized
Moka exchange
Reciprocal exchange, gift economy
Pigs as social capital, trough which status/prestige is accrued
The bigger the gift given, the more prestige is gained
Big Man vs. Rubbish Man
Competition through generosity
Re-engages a reciprocal relationship through debt creation and expands social network
Based on persuasion and cultivation of social network, rather than obligation based on authority, heredity, or position
religion
a set of beliefs and rituals based on a vision of how the world ought to be and how life ought to be lived, often, though not always, focused on a supernatural power and lived out in community
martyr
a person who sacrifices their life for the sake of their religion
saint
an individual considered exceptionally close to God who is exalted after death
sacred
anhything considered holy
profane
anything considered unholy
ritual
an act or series of acts regularly repeated over years or generations that embodies the beliefs of a group of people and creates a sense of continuity and belonging
rite of passage
a category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either for an individual or for a group
liminality
one stage in a rite of passage during which a ritual participant experiences a period of outsiderhood, set apart from normal society, that is key to achieving a new perspective on the past, present, and future community
communitas
a sense of camaraderie, a common vision of what constitutes the good life, and a commitment to take social action toward achieving this vision that is shaped by the common experience of rites of passage
pilgrimage
a religious journey to a sacred place as a sign of devotion and in search of transformation and enlightenment
cultural materialism
a theory that argues material conditions, including technology and the environment, determine patterns of social organization, such as religious principles
secular
without religious or spiritual basis
shamans
local religious practitioners with abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings to provide special knowledge and power for healing, guidance, and wisdom
magic
the use of spells, incantations, words, and actions in an attempt to compel supernatural forces to act in certain ways, whether for good or for evil
symbol
anything that represents something else
authorizing process
the complex historical and social developments through which symbols are given power and meaning
anomie
a type of alienation
Emile Durkheim
focused on the social aspects of religion, not private or individual experiences
argued that religion acts as a social process that plays a crucial role in combatting anomie by creating solidarity, cohesion, and stability
Arnold van Gennep
introduced the notion of a rite of passage
noticed the 3 stages of a rite of passage in his cross-cultural analysis
best known for his “Rites of Passage”
Victor Turner
further developed the concept of liminality after Gennep
focuses on identity formation, emotional connections, and social role construction during the liminal stage
Hajj rite of passage
a significant pilgrimage in Islam that millions of Muslims undertake annually. It represents one of the Five Pillars of Islam, making it an essential religious duty for Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey
Awa (New Guinea) rite of passage
Society is highly stratified by gender with the sexes living in separate parts of the village
Ritual focuses on strengthening males and removing pollution caused by contact with females
Takes place over several years
Stage 1: boys 12-14 move away from their mother’s homes and live with the men
Stage 2: a year later (13-15) are taken to a secluded site in the forest to begin the process of purifying themselves. 19-20 they learn things only known to male adults
Stage 3: they experience one last purification and are then returned to society as bachelors
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Mescalero Apache
the women undergo a rite of passage that tests their endurance which will make them a “woman” under the society
the main part of the ritual includes the girls dancing in a teepee overnight, lasting around 10 hours
they wear traditional clothing, their faces are constantly painted with pollen or clay, and they cannot show emotions on their face for the entire ritual
religious taboos and foodways
Islamic halal and Jewish kashrut (kosher) prohibits certain types of preparations of food
Prohibitions against eating beef in sects of Hinduism
Buddhists and Jains are vegetarians due to ethics founded in ahimsa (nonviolence)
Fasting events occur in most religions at regular times, such as Lent or Advent in Catholicism, Ramadan in Islam, or Yom Kippur in Judaism
Clifford Geertz’s definition of religion
1. a system of symbols which acts to 2. establish powerful, positive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in people by 3. formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and 4. clothing these conceptions which such an aura of factuality that 5. the moods and motivations seems uniquely realistic
Talal Asad
objects to Geertz’s definition of religion, arguing that no definitions of religion are universal and warns against attempts to apply Western European ideas of religion to all spiritual practices in the world
argues that the meanings behind religious symbols are produced through a complex historical process through which meanings are created, contested, and contained