Anthro 2 Midterm

What is Anthropology?

The study of full scope of human development

Who was Clifford Geertz and what was his perspective?

An anthropologist known for his interpretive approach

saw culture primarily as a symbolic system of deep meaning

What’s the difference between a wink and a twitch according to Geertz?

A wink is intentional and has a specific meaning behind it.

A twitch is biological and involuntary

What is thick description?

A method that combines detailed descriptions of cultural activity with an analysis of deep cultural meaning in which those activities are embedded

What is ethnocentrism?

The belief that one’s own culture or way of life is normal and using it to judge the practices of others

What are the different types of anthropological fieldwork?

participant observation, interviews, direct observation, analysis of historical documents, write ups

What is globalization?

the worldwide intensification of interactions and increased movement of money, people, and goods

What are four factors of globalization

Time - space compression: rapid innovation of communication (ex. social media, email, facetime)

Flexible accumulation: corporate strategies to make money (ex. offshoring & outsourcing)

Uneven development: consequence of flexible accumulation (ex. everyone not having internet access)

Increasing migration: movement of people between countries (ex. migration due to economics or education)

What are the four different fields of anthropology?

cultural, biological, linguistic, archaeology

What are the 5 steps in ethnographic methods?

1. Conduct preliminary fieldwork

2. pick a question

3. figure out the best methodology

4. document the data

5. ana;yze your data

What are the different kinds of data?

Qualitative: Info that can’t be counted (ex. personal stories, participant observation)

Quantitative: data that can be measured & compared (ex. surveys, statistics)

What is social network analysis?

A method for examining relationships in a community, often conducted bv identifying whom people turn to in times of need.

What is a structured interview?

ethnographer interview with a list of questions (rigid interview style)

What is an unstructured interview?

Ethnographer and participant talk about ideas without any formal questions

What is a semi-structured interview?

Ethnographer and participant talk with open-ended questions

What is a life history interview?

a form of an interview that traces the biography of a peerson over time, examining changes in the person’s life and illuminating the interlocking network of relationships in the community

What is an emic perspective?

Understanding the local community on its own terms (insider view)

What is an etic perspective?

viewing the local community from the anthropologist’s perspective as an outsider

What is polyvocality?

The use of many voices in ethnographic writing

What is reflexivity?

self-reflection on the experience of doing fieldwork, including particularly relevant aspects of the anthropologists=’s background

What are the ethics of anthropology?

1. Do not harm (remember the history)

2. obtain informed consent ((informing about goals of the project)

3. ensure anonymity (protecting identities of those involved in the study)

Define gender

composed of the expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes ( social construct)

Define sex

refers to the culturally agreed upon physical difference between male and female beings

what three factors are typically considered for determining biological sex?

genitalia, gonads (ovaries/testes), chromosome patterns

What is sexual dimorphism?

distinct phenotypic differences between mals and females of the same species (ex. males genetically having more muscle than women)

What is gender stratification?

an unequal distribution of power in which gender shapes who has access to a groups resources, opportunities, rights, and privileges (ex. pink tax, certain jobs being associated with a specific gender)

What is gender stereotype?

widely held preconceived notions about the attribute of, difference between and proper roles for men and women in a culture (ex. men are strong, women are passive)

What is gender ideology?

a set of cultural ideas, usually stereotypical, about the essential character of different genders that promote and justify stratification

Using gender ideology, what were some stereotypes used to describe the egg and sperm in Martin’s novel?

Egg: passive, waste, shedding, “Lock”

Sperm: strong, penetrating, “fast,”

How is anthropology rooted in colonialism?

Anthropology began from a European gaze and is based in notions of “discovery”’ and trying to understand the exotic other (ex. Ota Benga)

Who was Ota Benga?

A Congolese man that was taken by European anthropologists and missionaries and brought back to the US to be placed in a human zoo exhibit