lecture 2 ant

What is fieldwork unpredictable?

Anthropologists never know how people will react or how their presence will influence a culture.

What happened when Lorna Marshall focused on one !Kung woman?

Other members became jealous, ostracized the woman, and treated her badly after Marshall left.

What happened during Dr. Arthur’s Ethiopia research with Sakante?

She became upset when researchers interviewed other women, refused participation, and required a meeting before continuing.

What is the primary ethical obligation of anthropologists?

Do no harm while respecting dignity, privacy, and rights of people, animals, and cultural materials.

What organization established ethical guidelines in 1997?

The American Anthropological Association (AAA).

What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

A committee that reviews research involving humans or animals to ensure it is ethical.

Why is IRB approval required?

To protect participants from harm and ensure informed consent, privacy, justice, and confidentiality.

What are the four IRB principles?

Respect for people; minimize harm; justice; privacy and confidentiality.

Why is privacy and confidentiality important?

Revealing identities could lead to imprisonment, persecution, or other harm.

Why didn’t the professor give Ethiopia interview notes to the government?

To protect participants from possible government retaliation.

Why was the Nuremberg Code created?

Because Nazi doctors performed experiments on people without consent during WWII.

What did Laud Humphreys study?

Secretly observed gay men in public restrooms, recorded license plates, identified participants, and contacted them without consent.

Why was Humphreys’ study unethical?

No informed consent, deception, violated confidentiality, and could have harmed participants’ lives.

What is informed consent?

Participants are told purpose, risks, how data will be used, and their rights before agreeing to participate.

How did illiterate Ethiopian participants sign consent forms?

They used ink fingerprints.

What is culture?

Symbol-based learned behavior shared by members of society.

Is culture inherited genetically?

No. Culture is learned.

Who wrote the classic definition of culture?

Edward B. Tylor (1871).

What is enculturation?

The process of learning one’s culture.

How do people learn culture?

Family, friends, school, language, media, and society.

What is cultural relativism?

Judging another culture by its own standards instead of your own.

What is ethnocentrism?

Judging another culture by your own cultural standards.

Which is preferred in anthropology?

Cultural relativism.

Why was female circumcision discussed in lecture?

To explain cultural relativism vs universal human rights.

Why is FGM considered a human rights issue?

It can cause infection, death, removes autonomy, and is often non-consensual.

Why can’t outsiders simply stop cultural practices?

Lasting change must come from within the culture.

Who is Edward Tylor?

Father of cultural anthropology; defined culture as learned behavior.

What does culture being symbol-based mean?

Objects, images, gestures, and ideas carry shared meanings.

What does culture being shared mean?

A behavior practiced by only one person is not culture.

What does culture being integrated mean?

Changing one part of culture affects other parts.

What does culture being adaptive mean?

Humans adjust to different environments.

What does culture being dynamic mean?

Culture constantly changes over time.

Where was maize (corn) domesticated?

Mexico.

Where was tobacco domesticated?

North America.

What is acculturation?

Cultural change caused by contact between different cultures.

What is globalization?

Worldwide economic and cultural connections.

What did John Locke believe?

Humans are born as a “blank slate.”

What does anthropology suggest about nature vs nurture?

Both biology (nature) and culture (nurture) shape people.

Why is food an example of enculturation?

Food preferences are learned through culture.

How can self-awareness be tested?

The mirror (lipstick) test.

What differences exist between North America and Botswana child-rearing?

North America: scheduled feeding, less contact, self-awareness ~2 yrs. Botswana: on-demand feeding, more contact, self-awareness ~1 yr.

Where do the Aka live?

Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What is unique about Aka fathers?

They spend unusually high amounts of time with children.

What are major agents of socialization?

Parents, peers, media, and schools.

What is a rite of passage?

A ceremony marking movement from one social status to another.

What are the three stages of a rite of passage?

Separation, liminality (transition), incorporation.

What is the Gamo rite of passage sequence?

Separation → seclusion → circumcision → elder instruction → diet → first hunt → extended transition → return → marriage eligibility.

What is the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?

Language influences how people think and perceive reality.

Give an example of Sapir-Whorf from lecture.

Military terms like “fight inflation” or “battle cancer” shape perception.

Why do the Nuer have many words for cattle?

Cattle are central to their culture and survival.

Give examples of cultural symbols.

Flags, crosses, Star of David, Rastafarian colors, Ethiopian lion, Bob Marley imagery.

Why did an Ethiopian woman spit at the professor?

It was a blessing, not an insult.

Why do Ethiopian men hold hands?

As a sign of friendship, not romance.

Why are Ethiopian women described as strong?

They traditionally carry heavy daily burdens like water and wood.