Cultural Anthropology: Key Vocabulary from the Lecture

A vocabulary-style flashcard set covering the key concepts mentioned in the lecture notes on culture, change, fieldwork, and ethics in cultural anthropology.

Culture

The learned, shared patterns of beliefs, practices, and social organization that define a group; dynamic rather than static.

Cultural universal

A trait found in every culture, though its form may vary (e.g., marriage).

Enculturation

The process of learning one's own culture from birth through family, peers, and institutions.

Cross-cultural comparison

Analyzing different cultures to identify similarities and differences, often to identify universals and variations.

Marriage

A universal social institution that binds people for parenting, economic, biological, spiritual, and sometimes political purposes; forms vary across cultures.

Particularities

Culturally specific practices unique to particular societies; not universal.

Diffusion

The spread of cultural traits between cultures through contact or mediation.

Independent invention

The development of similar cultural traits independently in different places, without direct diffusion.

Kinship

A system of social relationships derived from blood, marriage, or adoption that structures family and inheritance.

Agency

The capacity of individuals to act independently and influence cultural change.

Practice

The habitual actions and routines through which culture is lived and reproduced.

Fieldwork

Systematic, immersive study of a culture in its own setting, often involving extended residence.

Participant observation

A fieldwork method where the researcher lives in the community and participates in daily life to learn about the culture.

Ethnography

The descriptive study and written account of a culture produced from fieldwork.

Informants

People who provide information to the ethnographer; key knowledge sources within a community.

Genealogical method

Tracing and mapping kinship relations (who calls whom aunt/uncle, etc.) to understand social structure.

Matrilineal

A kinship system in which descent and inheritance are traced through the mother’s line (mother to daughter).

Patrilineal

A kinship system in which descent and inheritance are traced through the father’s line (father to son).

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

The ethics review body that ensures research with human subjects is conducted responsibly and safely.

Informed consent

Formal agreement to participate in research after being informed of goals, risks, benefits, and confidentiality.

Do no harm

Ethical principle guiding research to avoid harming the people or communities studied.

Maladaptive

Cultural traits that reduce a group's reproductive success or survival, often leading to their decline.

Cultural change

Cultures are dynamic and change through diffusion, invention, and agency.