ANTH exam 1

anthropology

study of people, humankind, culture

culture

the way of life of a people, the things they do and make, their ideas. Norms, values, symbols, material objects. It is layered, continuously reworked and created, shared, socially constructed.

characteristics of culture

1. Culture is shared

2. Culture is learned

3. Culture is taken for granted

4. Culture is symbolic

5. Culture varies across time and place

enculturation

The social process by which culture is learned and transmitted across generations. Socially constructed-taught.

holism

The anthropological commitment to consider the full scope of human life, including culture, biology, history, and language, across space and time.

subcultures

groups that share a specific identification, apart from a society's majority, even as the members exist within a larger society

universals

patterns or traits that are common to all people

culture change

a term given to the process of transforming services for elders so that they are based on the values and practices of the person receiving care; core values include choice, dignity, respect, self-determination, and purposeful living.

globalization

circulation of goods, exchange of ideas, movement of people, economic, social, cultural, political interconnections.

transnationalism

back and forth flow between two nations. Fluidity of movement (people, goods, ideas, etc) back and forth over time

five "scapes" of globalization

1. Appardurai's scapes: ethnoscape, technoscape, ideoscape, financescape, mediascape

2. McDonaldization: How does crawford define this

3. Glocalization

4. Syncretism

5. Hybridity

glocalization

The process by which people in a local place mediate and alter regional, national, and global processes. Ex: McDonalds

syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith. Chamula, Chiapas

hybridity

the fact that cultures are neither wholly isolated nor entirely distinct but instead constantly borrow from one another. Crawford's definition? Ex: First Contact

cultural assimilation

integration or incorporation into a new culture and society. Economic, social, linguistic, cultural, legal

advantages/disadvantages of globalization

structural violence (types and examples)

systematic and systemic ways a social structure or institution harms people or groups of people.

Physical, emotional, structural

consequences of "progress"

disease, dietary change, teeth, malnutrition, ecocide, poverty, discrimination

"standard of living"

one measure of progress, ethnocentric not universally applicable, and not always positive. Standards are irrelevant and unattainable for many autonomous indigenous cultures. Includes per capita income, employment rates, literacy rates, numbers of doctors per person

"quality of life"

asks: does progress/economic development increase or decrease a give culture's ability to satisfy the physical and psychological needs of its population. Includes poverty levels, working conditions, health, social disorder, environmental deterioration

pushes vs pulls (why do people move?)

Pushes: poverty, famine, natural disaster, war, ethnic conflict, genocide, disease, political/religious persecution

Pulls: job opportunities, higher wages, educational opportunities, better health care, chain migration, media

labor immigrants

persons who move in search of a low-skill and low-wage job, often filling an economic niche that native-born workers will not fill. Guest worker programs like the Bracero Program

bracero program

Plan that brought laborers from Mexico to work on American farms. 1942-1964. Guest worker program.

internally displaced people

As for a refugee, people who are forced to leave their home, but in this case they remain in the same country

refugees vs immigrants

All refugees are immigrants, but not all immigrants are refugees.

Refugee: apply for/receive refugee status from UN, have fled their home countries because of war or danger to their lives

Immigrant: choose to come to this country, get little/no support from US government, must show they are self supporting

refugee act of 1980

reformed US immigration law and admitted refugees on systematic basis for humanitarian reasons

immigration to manchester, nh (general sense of the history of immigration to the city)

E.B. Tylor

founder of cultural anthropology

Then There Were None

Uprooted: Heartache and Hope in NH

ethnocentrism

one's one culture represents the natural way, or the best way to do something. One's own culture is superior to others. There is only one way to do things our way

cultural relativism

the practice of judging a culture by its own standards

armchair anthropology

Anthropology through the study of secondhand reports from people such as travelers and missionaries. Not based on fieldwork or research. Non Europeans = part of the "primitive" society, existed in a "natural" state of being

cultural evolutionism

The early ethnological or anthropological position or theory that Culture started at some moment in the past and evolved from its "primitive" beginnings through a series of stages to achieve its "higher" or more modern form. Mid late 1800s.

"psychic unity of mankind"

states that all human beings, regardless of culture or race, share the same basic psychological and cognitive make-up; we are all of the same kind. Lewis Henry Morgan.

"living fossils"

animals and plants that disappear abruptly from the fossil record, yet are still alive today. Lewis Henry Morgan

unilineal cultural evolution

The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex. Lewis Henry Morgan

historical particularism

The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.

cultural determinism

the belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels. This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits. Franz Boas.

nacerima

our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has...shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist...under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves

cultural anthropology

the study of people's communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together.

archaeology

archaeology also studies human cultures, those of the past. Artifacts, remains of structures, burials, sites. Archaeologists assume that aspects of culture are reflected in material remains

physical/biological anthropology

the systematic study of humans as biological organisms

linguistic anthropology

the study of how people communicate and use language.

misconceptions of archaeology

Not Indiana Jones, no dinosaurs, not treasure hunting, not adventure seeking

types of archaeology(historic, classical, underwater, prehistoric, space)

artifact

a portable object made or modified by humans

ecofact

plant or animal remains found at an archaeological site but not modified by humans

feature

non-portable artifact (hearth or ash pit)

site

The physical character of a place

Charles Darwin

English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection (1809-1882)

Louis Henry Morgan

American social scientist who studied american indians and greek/roman societies. 3 stages: savage, barbaric, civilized.

Franz Boas

father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism

Horace Miner

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

Sarah Parcak

Space archaeologist who uses many non-invasive survey methods

Archaeology from Space

Homo Naledi

(~250,000 years ago). South Africa. Has traits of both Homo and Australopithecus. Had tools and buried dead

ethnography

the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.

fieldwork

intense, long term research (longitudinal studies). Total immersion in culture and language. Rite of passage to become an anthropologist. Scientific objectivity and going native.

longitudinal study

intense long term research.

participant observation

a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities. Brings first hand knowledge and experiences, which leads to deeper insights. Boas, Malinowski, Mead

"native point of view"

"imponderabilia of daily life"

Routine happenings

"real substance of social fabric"

culture shock

the experience of stress and confusion resulting from moving one from culture to another; the removal or distortion of familiar cues and the substitution of strange ones. Can occur both entering and exiting another culture

key imformant

a person who is knowledgeable about the nature of the social communications among members of a specific group, can identify individuals in the group who are opinion leaders.

gate keepers/barriers to entry

A bridge or thing to overcome to access a community/ culture

qualitative vs quantitative data/methods

interviews and surveys

-asking questions about behaviors, feelings, etc.

-can gather large amounts of data quickly and cheaply

-sampling is important; adequate representation is the goal

-inaccurate responses/subjectivity can affect results

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

life histories

Studies of the overall lives of individuals, often based on both self-reporting and documents such as letters.

field notes

the anthropologist's written observations and reflections on places, practices, events, and interviews

"thick description"

a research strategy that combines detailed description of cultural activity with an analysis of the layers of deep cultural meaning in which those activities are embedded. Give us a sense of daily life, what an anthropologist's surroundings were like but also a little bit of anthropological perspective and interpretation

emic vs etic perspectives

emic account comes from a person within the culture vs. etic, description of a behavior or belief by an observer in terms that can be applied to other cultures (culturally neutral)

real vs ideal behavior

Ideal culture encompasses the values and norms a culture demands while real culture includes the values and norms being practiced. There is a huge gap between values being practiced and those that ought to be practiced.

ethical considerations in anthropology (and ways to deal with ethical issues)

pseudonyms, give people copies of your work, give something back, don't make things up, applied projects

AAA's code of ethics

-Do No Harm

-Be Open and Honest About your Work

-Obtain Informed Consent and Permissions

-Weigh Competing Ethical Obligations

-Make Results Accessible

-Protect and Preserve Records

Claire Sterk

-Works with a stigmatized population (prostitutes)

-Did not become a prostitute to understand the lives of prostitutes (the anthropologist doesn't have to "go native" to study another society)