things to know for ib anthro

Belief and knowledge

A set of convictions, values and viewpoints regarded as “the truth” and shared by members of a social group.

power

a person’s or group’s capacity to influence, manipulate or control others and resources

culture

Culture, or civilization is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society

Society

The way in which humans organize themselves in groups and networks (of cultures)

social relations

involve both an element of individual agency as well as group expectations and form the basis of social organization and social structure

symbolism

Symbolism is the study of the significance that people attach to objects, actions, and processes creating networks of symbols through which they construct a culture’s web of meaning

Materiality

Objects, resources and belongings have cultural meaning and are embedded with all kinds of social relations and practices

change

The alteration or modification of cultural or social elements in a society. Change may be due to internal dynamics within a society, or the result of contact with another culture, or a consequence of globalization.

identity

A developing, culturally-conditioned concept of  “who you are” in terms of sameness/ oneness/distinctiveness/otherness with others.

self

a relatively stable set of perceptions of who we are.

personhood

an analytical term used by anthropologists to indicate who is considered to be either a fully functioning and accepted member of adult society

agency

One’s ability to determine to chart their personhood and have their identity accepted on their own terms

age

encompasses chronological, biological, social, and cultural aspects of an individual's life course

class

Division of people in a society based on social and economic status.

community

A group of people who share a common interest, or a common ecology and locality, or a common social system or structure.

compartive

Comparison of the diverse and various ways that people make sense of their world brings anthropologists greater understanding of communities, cultures and societies.

cultural relativism

Not making value judgments about cultural differences; understanding a different culture in its context.

ethnicity

A social group is connected by a shared understanding of cultural identity.

ethnocentrism

The tendency to view the world only from the perspective of one’s own culture; the inability to understand cultures different from one’s own.

gender

The culturally constructed distinctions between males and females.

role

The dynamic aspect of status: a person’s actual behaviour within the context of that status.

sexuality

A central feature of being human that is highly individualized. It includes sexual feelings, thoughts, attractions, preferences and sometimes behaviour.

structure

An abstract concept derived from all social institutions and social relations existing in a society.

The Dobe Ju/’hoansi

Richard Lee’s longitudinal study of the Ju/’hoansi (a Hunting and Gathering society in the Kalahari desert on the border of Botswana and  Namibia) from early 1960’s thru the 1980’s- originally published in 1993

Unstrange Minds

Richard Grinker’s study of children/young adults diagnosed with autism  in S Korea, India, S. Africa and the US  (2008)

Learning Capitalist Culture

Douglas E. Foley longitudinal study of high school culture in North Town Texas (conducted between the1960’s-1980’s- originally published in 1990

1995 In Search of Respect: Crack in Spanish Harlem

etnography on Puerto Rican drug dealers in East Harlem during the 1990s. Bourgois claims that the self-destructive behavour the residents of East Harlem exhibits like drug use, crime, and physical abuse cannot be reduced to individualistic or cultural explanations. to understand and experience poverty and ethical segregation in the heart of one of the most expensive cities in the world

Death Without Weeping

Nancy Scheper-Hughes wrote ''Death Without Weeping'' to share her research about maternal views towards the death of their children in impoverished conditions in Brazil, particularly among those people living in shantytowns, exceedingly-poor neighborhoods of crudely-built shelters.

status

The position a person has within a social system