Social and cultural anthropology- weeks 8-11 (final exam!!! wahooo!!!)

Political organization:

is the way a society maintains order internally and manages externally

How is power distributed and used within a society? 

How do societies regulate the power relations between their own and other groups ? 

Basic concepts in political anthropology 

• How do societies exercise political control? 

• Power = the ability to induce behavior of others in specified ways by means of coercion or physical force; the ability of individuals or groups to impose their will upon others and make them do things even against their own wants and wishes 

• The use (and misuse) of power is oe of equal means by which people become unequal in terms of resources and social status. Social,e economic, and political inequality stems from uneven access to or distribution of resources 

Coercive power 

• Use of physical force or negative sanctions/ punishment or the threat of physical force/punishment to gain compliance from others 

Persuasive Power 

Relies not on force, but on changing someone's behavior through argumentation, typically using cultural beliefs. Reward for compliance rather than threat. ‘

Basic concepts in political anthropology- authority and legitimacy

• Authority- the use of legitimate power; the ability to induce behavior of others by persuasion 

• Legitimacy- the perception that an individual has a valid right to leadership

The divine right of kings 

• A monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of god 

Prestige 

• Prestige- a social reward given to a person by others in society. The positive reputation or high regard of a person or other entity merited by actions, wealth, authority, or status.

Social control- two types + sanctions

• Internalized controls- those values that guide our behavior based on cultural or religious norms; control through beliefs and values that are deeply ingrained in the minds of each member of the culture 

  • Self imposed by individuals 

  • Due to fear of shame, divine punishment etc.  

• Externalized controls- threats that shape our behavior from external sources 

• Imposed from outside the social group 

• Sanctions- punishments imposed on people (e.g. community gossip; getting arrested for breaking the law) 

Discipline, Power, and Control 

• Foucault argued that power isn't a thing that is possessed or held by individuals or groups but rather a product of social interactions 

• Sovereign power is viewed as exercising authority over subjects within a territory or state (taxing, laws) i.e. the traditional form of power exercised by governments and rulers 

• Sovereign power -> Disciplinary power 

• Its not limited to the actions of the government but various institutions, practices, and discourses that shape and control people's lives 

• More subtle and indirect forms of control that are not necessarily tied to traditional institutions of power 

Disciplinary power 

• A more subtle, pervasive form of power that operates within institutions like schools, prisons, and factories 

• About regulating and controlling individuals behaviors, actions, and thoughts by creating strict rules, norms and surveillance mechanisms in the interest of optimizing the population 

• Discipline = often involves techniques like constant supervision, examinations, and the establishment of normalized behaviors.

Panopticon- design + Foucaults thoughts

• A hypothetical prison design by the philosopher/ social theorist Jeremy Bentham 

• A central watchtower from which a single guard can observe all the prisoners in their cells without the prisoners knowing when they are being watched or not 

• Mere possibility of being watched at any time creates a sense of constant surveillance and control among the prisoners 

• Induces self regulation because inmates never know when they are being observed. Can’t predict when they might be punished so they conform to expected behavior

• Foucault saw the panopticon as a metaphor for how modern institutions and societies operate 

• The panopticon = constant permanent visibility; power is automatic and no force is necessary to maintain control; simply being watched is enough to enforce conformity 

• The principles of the panopticon, with their emphasis on surveillance, normalization, and self regulation, extend to schools, hospitals, factories, and other institutions where individuals are subject to similar forms of control and discipline

Soft power 

• “The ability to attract or repel other actors to want what you want” (Joseph Nye, 1990) and “it rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others”. 

• Concept coined by american political theorist Joseph Nye to conceptualize the gentle and diplomatic ways by which nations can achieve their geopolitical goals 

• the ability of a country, organization, or even a person to influence or attract others through cultural, ideological, or diplomatic appeal rather than military force or coercion. 

• Reflects the perception other nations have of your own 

• “Attractiveness” that enables nations to export their cultural values and softly exert influence on others 

• Examples include the use of cultural exchange, global media presence, education exchange, entertainment and music exports, artistic influence, and effective global branding of a nations or culture 

• The korean wave (Hallyu) and Soft power

Hallyu, S. Korea and Soft power

• K-pop serves as a powerful tool for south korea's cultural diplomacy. It allows the country to convey its culture, values, and identity to the world in a positive and engaging manner 

• K-pop acts as a cultural ambassador, opening doors for international dialogue and exchange 

• South Korean government agencies and institutions actively use K-pop as a soft power instrument. They support and promote K-pop  internationally through cultural recognition, centers, festivals, and exchange programs 

Types of political organization- Uncentralized and Centralized

• Uncentralized systems have no central governing body; they rely on informal leaders or the group to solve problems 

• Centralized systems have a ruling body that has obtained the authority to govern 

• The more homogenous types of societies- band and tribe- have uncentralized political organization, while the more heterogeneous types- chiefdom and state- have centralized political organization 

• Uncentralized 

  • Bands 

  • Tribes 

• Centralized 

  • Chiefdoms 

  • States 

• Note: societies usually operate on multiple levels at the same time along a continuum 

Classification of societies based on the Equality-Inequality continuum- Egalitarian, Ranked, and Stratified

Egalitarian societies: Foragers with few possessions, no land ownership, and little specialization, other than a division of labor based on gender and age 

Ranked societies: people are divided into hierarchically ordered groups (clans) that differ in terms of prestige and status but not significantly in terms of access to resources (wealth) or power 

Stratified societies: societies divided into horizontal layers/ levels (strata) of equality and inequality. Marked inequalities in access to wealth, power, and prestige 

Egalitarian societies: Bands

• Few differences between members in wealth, status, ad power 

• Bands 

  • Foragers 

  • Nomadic 

  • Lack formal leadership or adjudication 

  • May have temporary charismatic leaders based on respect/ good decision making/ communication 

  • Interpersonal arguments create conflict 

  • Informal sanctions 

Egalitarian societies: Tribes

• Defined groups linked together 

• Horticulturalists, pastoralists 

• 100- 5,000 people 

• No centralized government; villages linked by clans 

• Leadership roles typically open; may inherit leadership due to birth inti noble or high status clan 

• Social integration through clan membership, men's houses, formal gift exchanges, and marriage 

• Use negotiation, mediation, or divine events to resolve conflict 

• Warfare consists of raids or feuds both internally and externally 

Ranked societies: chiefdoms

• Greater differentiation between individuals and their kin groups 

• Hierarchical- one's family lion dictates whether one will have prestige and status 

• Centralized government 

• Chiefdoms 

  • Permanent political office of chief, may be hereditary 

  • Economic redistribution 

  • Social integration through marriage and secret societies 

Stratified societies: state 

• Political power is centralized in a government that has a monopoly over a legitimate use of force 

• Large, diverse populations 

• Complex economies (often market economy) 

• Social stratification- divisions in stratified societies called strata 

• Intensive agriculture or industrial subsistence 

• Defined geographical territory 

• Heads of state, often with councilors 

• Administrative bureaucracy handles public functions 

• Taxation or tribute 

• Ideologies maintain the elites’ power 

• Nation is not  synonymous with state 

  • Nation is a group connected by language, territorial base, history,  political organization

Stratified societies: How do states form? 

• Elite minority controls resources of majority 

• Increased agricultural productivity 

• Peasant farmers were the original subjects of state society formation, i.e. state controls peasant resources 

• Lass of land and self sufficiency 

• Specialized roles 

Social inequality- Class and Caste

• Social stratification is the ranking of members of society into a hierarchy 

• Elites ( a numerical minority) control strategic resources that sustain life 

• Class stratification is based upon differences in wealth and status- defined primarily in terms of roles and economic relationships

• Class systems

  • Determined by wealth and status (achieved status)

  • Allows social mobility

  • Influences occupation and marriage

• Caste systems ascribe status at birth 

  • Determined by birth (ascribed status)

  • no movement from one another (such as in class systems); endogamous marriage 

  • Determined occupation (to an extent) and marriage

Sumptuary laws

• King Henry VIII, (1509 to 1547), introduced an elaborate set of regulations governing how everyone was to dress down to the smallest detail 

• The color, style and fabric content of a person's clothing signaled that persons rank in society 

• main purpose was to mark class distinctions clearly and to prevent a person from assuming the appearance of a superior class 

• People who lived in England during the 16th century knew at a glance where everyone stood in the social pecking order 

• The Greeks used footwear as a symbol of wealth and status. Slaves were not allowed to wear shoes 

• Romans used footwear as an indication of social class. In 200 AD Roman Emperor, aurelius declared only he and his successors would have the right to wear red sandals 

• In Japan sumptuary laws were applied to the peasant and commercial classes until the mid-19th cent. 

• Are school uniforms sumptuary “laws”. Is their intent to remind them and other students of their status? 

Because there are no physical markers or signs of class, we need cultural ones. So, how are Social Classes distinguished in our culture?

• Through verbal evaluation- i.e what people say about their own society- by speaking favorably or unfavorably about a group of people and their political, economic, or other qualities.  

• Through patterns of association- In Western society, informal friendly relations take place mainly within one's own class. E.g. a cashier is unlikely to associate with a CEO 

• Through language (e.g. Cockney English vs. Standard English) 

• Through symbolic indicators i.e. activities and possessions indicative of class

How are social classes distinguished in our culture? 

• Dress: white collar vs blue collar 

• Form of recreation: upper class people are expected to play golf 

• Residential location: upper class people do not ordinarily live in low income neighborhoods 

• Material possessions: Kind of car, watch, number of bathrooms in a house 

• Occupation: a blue collar worker is typically seen as a different class status than a physician 

What is Caste

• Stratification system where cultural and/or “racial” differences are the basis for ascribing status 

• Castes are named and membership is determined by birth and unchanging 

• Caste is a rigid system of occupationally specialized, interdependent groups 

• Caste is the fundamental social institution in India 

• Common among Hindus although it is also found with Muslims, Christians and Sikhs 

• Castes are ranked by purity and pollution customs

Caste- The four Varnas

The 4 varnas (colors) are ranked in descending order of importance, prestige and purity 

• Each varna is also broken down into many local sub castes or Jati 

• Brahmin (priests) scholars, philosophers 

• Kshatriya (warriors), rulers, administrators 

• Vaishya (The People) merchants, farmers, traders, artisans, engineers 

• Shudra (servants) servants, hired hands, unskilled laborers factory workers, manual laborers (i.e. serve all the castes above them) 

• Dalits (meaning broken/ scattered), fall outside the caste system all together. Used to be called Untouchables 

Caste- 4 Varnas, expected behaviour

• To be assured a good life in ones next reincarnation, a person must do everything they can to live u to the expectations of their varna and jati 

  • A shudra should work hard 

  • A brahmin should study religious tests and pray hard 

• Dalits were called “untouchables”- they were seen as polluting and forbidden to touch anyone from other varnas 

• Each caste must observe rules and rituals involving notions of purity and impurity such as cooking and food habits 

• Substances like hair, sweat, saliva, and other secretions that can be transferred to people through food/ water are polluting 

• Some caste rules: 

  • If a brahmin priest touches a Dalit, he or she must go through a ritual to wash the pollution away 

  • Dalits do most of the unpleasant work 

  • Traditionally, forced to live on the outskirts of towns and villages; they had to take water downstream from and not share wells with varna Hindus 

  • In northern india, Dalits were forced to use drums to announce their arrival; Even their shadows were thought to be polluting

Caste and Marriage

• A person’s varna is inherited - i.e., ascribed at birth; individual mobility is limited or non-existent

• Castes are strongly endogamous. Caste is still extremely important in marriage. Most Hindus marry within their caste.

• About 10 percent of the total marriages in India take place between different caste while only 2.1 percent marriages are inter-religious 

Caste- Today

• Caste system is still present in India, especially in rural areas

• People do not question the system so much as their position in it.

• Dalit children often have limited opportunities

• Dalits often live in urban slums with little access to health care, clean water, and other basic resources.

• The Indian government has worked to improve their status, but they continue to be discriminated against and exploited by higher castes

• Government programs, NGOs, and political protests have helped make some changes, but social stigma still persists

Conflict, Violence, Warfare

• Violence is typically defined as the use of force to harm someone or something.

• It is a highly visible and concrete assertion of power, and a very efficient way to transform a social environment and communicate an ideological message (Riches 1986).

• Violence is also a powerful means of suppressing political dissent and change, and it plays an important role in creating and sustaining social hierarchies and political inequalities

Is violence in society inevitable? Are some societies fierce and warlike and others peaceful? - Chagnon, Robarchek

• Chagnon (1968) (incorrectly) described Yanomami as a “fierce people” who had an aggressive style about everything they do. Argued that biology/natural selection make Yanomami more violent and that more violent warriors have more offspring. Claims debunked by Ferguson (1995) etc.

• Robarchek (1979), who lived with the Semai in the 1970s, argued that almost all aspects of Semai social life emphasize nonviolence, and that Semai children are emotionally conditioned to be nonviolent and peaceful. Countered by Leary (1995).

• Neither violence nor nonviolence is universal, absolute or a static condition among societies

Disputes 

• Material goods and resources, such as who has the right to land and other forms of property 

• Decision making, such as who gets to decade important matters 

• Social relations, or who gets to do what to whom 

• The rules, Because disputes tend to arise whenever rules are broken, or when arguments happen people take sides 

• Not all disputes are about winning or losing- e.g. Kayasa and Trobriand cricket

  • Goal in cricket is to tie- way of solving dispute 

Dispute resolution/ management 

• Adjudication- the legal process by which and individual or council with socially recognized authority intervenes in a dispute and unilaterally makes a decision 

• Negotiation- A form of dispute management in which parties themselves reach a decision jointly 

• Mediation- entails a third party who  intervenes in a dispute to aid the parties in reaching an agreement. E.g. ho’oponopono (Hawaii) 

• Broader social relationships and circumstances influence the outcome with all strategies of settling disputes 

• Song contests in inuit  communities- one party will sing insults against the other, audience decides who wins (like a rap battle) 

Social group and conflict resolution- Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms and states

Bands

• Informal dispute resolution; control by gossip, ridicule, avoidance.

• Do not engage in warfare, usually retreat

• Not free of conflict or violence- to resolve interpersonal conflict before it spreads to the group individuals may leave group, or have song contest

Tribes

• Informal

• High degree of warfare, both internally and externally (more than bands and chiefdoms)

• Regulate balance between population and resources

Chiefdom

• Informal; chief functions as an arbitrator and judge when disputes not settled informally

• Lower internal violence than tribes because chief can judge, punish, and resolve disputes

• Maintained through fear and respect of chief

State

• A hierarchical, centralized government has legal monopoly over the use of force

• Law is formal and codified, adjudication

• Warfare is widespread- led to acquisition of resources by taking control of adjacent populations

• Tendency toward instability- Extreme disparities in wealth, use of force, stripping of peoples’ resources, harshness of laws

Feuds 

• Feud- ongoing violent relations between two groups in the same society 

• “An eye for an eye”- Dani of New Guinea- belief that the spirit of a person killed in a feud won't rest until their living relatives retaliate by killing someone from the enemy group 

• E.g. There are feuds between families in the Balkans, Corsica, and Sicily that have been going on for hundreds of years. “Vendetta”= now a common english word for a lasting blood feud of this sort

Raids

• Raid- when members of a group steal to recover items, animals, or people from another group in the same society; not sustained like feuds, more organized 

• E.g. cattle raiding has been common among some east african pastoralist communities. Recently = high intensity conflicts- in Kenya west pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties, 30 people were killed during the first five months of 2019

War

• Warfare- large scale violent conflict; 

• May be ethnic sectarian violence, civil war, or nations going to war with one another 

• War occurs in societies with large populations and a surplus of wealth, is often fought over access to resources;; 

• Most widespread in and among states; integral to formation of agricultural states 

• Organized combat between clearly recognizable armies 

• Modern warfare is highly mechanized 

• Image: The egyptian siege of Dapur in the 13th century BC, from Ramesseum, Thebes

History of Medical Anthropology

• Before 1950’s, study of illness and healing was done within cultural/ social studies, and in ethnologies of far away societies and cultures ‘

• How other people dealt with sickness 

• Primarily focused on religion and medicine 

• Medical anthropology developed in 1960’s and 1970’s 

• Early medical anthropologists had training in medicine- e.g. WHR Rivers 

• Post WW2 hospitals became more common- due to WW2 and rising medical practices and such 

Biocultural/ medical ecological approach

• Medical ecology examines the relationships of health to physical, biological, and social environments such as climatic conditions, plants and animals, and population dynamics 

• Example: Cholera, John Snow and the Broad Street Pump (c. 1849) 

  • People's waste all just flowed into the river, which was then brought down and used in bars and pubs and stuff- people got very sick, but thought it was due to bad air. 

  • John Snow- Observed link to disease with water they were drinking. Particular epidemic where he lived in, and very specific pumps people used for their water. 

  • Tried to convince people but no one believed him, then he began to map where cholera cases were happening- most around the most popular pumps. 

  • Eventually convinced some people to shut off water to these pumps, cholera cases stopped basically right away. 

Interpretive/ Meaning centered approach

• How are societies' understanding of responses to disease shaped by cultural assumptions? In other words, how are sicknesses culturally constructed? 

• Example: Church leaders (c. 1850) believed that cholera is a result of retribution by God for sinful behavior 

• How do people make sense of disease states and illness 

• E.g. What does it mean to live with anorexia on a daily basis? 

• How lay people and healers account for the disease and how they treat it 

• Documents the thoughts and experiences of sufferers, their families, and others in their communities 

Critical Medical Anthropology 

• How do distributions of wealth and power and divisions of patterns and health care access? 

• Political- economy lens -> emphasizes the importance of political and economic forces- the exercise of power- in shaping health, disease, illness experience, and health care 

• Another example: subjecting epidemiological data in cholera epidemic to a class analysis to fid out how and why cholera differentially affects rich and poor. 

• Views the disease as the product of social not (just) “natural”circumstances 

  • Ex; of in john snows time- cholera analyzed in sense of wealth, wealthy people not pumping own water, might be getting it from somewhere else, thus not getting sick as much 

“Medical” Anthropology

• Medical refers not to any one “official” class or medical system 

• Medicine = the various curing and health upholding practices found around the world 

• Medical anthropologists are interested in health, disease and illness, but also sickness and suffering 

• Sickness and suffering are subjective, and are of interest to anthropologists whether or not a medical expert finds a physical source for the experience 

• Ex; Chronic fatigue syndrome, more people talking about it but resistance to adding something to the pantheon of illnesses, 

Biomedicine

• Medicine of hospitals and mainstream doct9rs is referred to as biomedicine 

• Biomedicine is a specific medical tradition; like other medical traditions such as Indigenous ways of healing, Chinese medicine, Indian/ Hindu Ayurvedic medicine, Islamic Unani medicine.. Or any other distinctive schools of healing and bodies of knowledge 

Ethnomedicine vs. Biomedicine 

• The health related beliefs, knowledge and practices of a cultural group 

• All medical systems constitute ethnomedicines = embedded in particular sociocultural systems 

• Biomedicine often assumes that illness and medical theory, science and practice, are acultural and have universal validity 

• The terms ethnomedicine was applied to other,  non western medical systems, and referred to biomedicine as scientific, modern, cosmopolitan, or simply medicine (ethnocentrism) 

• Medicine not apolitical, not neutral, cause we are not- ex; Israel-Palestine conflict, doctors refusing to treat certain patients 

Medicalization

• giving a bodily condition or behavior a medical label, defining the problem in medical terms, and using a medical intervention to treat it 

• This process entails absorbing states, behaviors, conditions into the jurisdiction of biomedicine through a constant extension of pathological terminology to cover new conditions and behaviors

• Transition “from badness to sickness” (*Conrad and Schneider 1980) 

• Erving Goffman- mental illness is another way society labels and controls non conformists 

• Increased commoditization and medical marketing/ profiteering by pharmaceutical companies, profit based medicine etc. 

• Increased medical social control 

What are some examples of medicalization?

• Stress 

• Overeating/obesity 

• Sexual impotence/ erectile dysfunction 

• Alcoholism 

• Drug dependence/ addiction 

• Promoting smoking cessation 

• Menopause 

• Sleep deprivation 

• Personality and mood disorder diagnosis parameters 

Medicalization controversies

• Shyness 

• Depression 

• ADD/ ADHD 

• Addictions (gaming, internet etc) 

• Asperger's syndrome 

• “Unusual” Bodies 

• Sexual behavior 

Example: When does benign shyness become anxiety, a treatable disorder? (Dalrymple and Zimmerman, 2013) 

• “The medicalization of shyness might be a reflection of Western social values of assertiveness and gregariousness; other societies that value modesty and reticence do not over pathologize shyness” 

• “Unnecessary diagnosis might lead to unnecessary treatment, such as prescribing an antidepressant or benzodiazepine” 

• “Taking care not to over pathologize normal shyness and common social anxiety concerns or underdiagnosed severe, impairing social anxiety disorder has important implications for treatment- and for whether a patient needs treatment at all.”

Advantages of medicalization? 

Pros 

• Decrease in stigmatization of disorder because individual moral failings alone are not to blame 

• Can be arguably better than alternatives such as criminalization of drug dependence and use (see image) 

• Can provide access to gender affirming treatments i.e. gender dysphoria diagnoses 

• Debates continue on the cost/ benefit of medicalization 

Demedicalization

Examples;

• Womens health movement and reproductive practices

• Growth of consumerism and patient advocacy

• More egalitarian doctor- patient relationships

• Disability movements

• Holistic health movements

• Demedicalization of homosexuality

Medicalization of Childbirth

• Until the 17th century: Births in most parts of the world were exclusively in the home and prenatal care was little to non- existent

• 19th and 20th century: Stronger medical influence set in (c-sections, anesthesia etc.)

• 20th century: Hospital births became more common (ultrasounds, forceps etc.) 

• Now, medicalization of childbirth is commonplace for what once developed as a last resort; prenatal care and diagnosis more common (fetal surgery etc.

• (1) the use of high-tech machinery for monitoring the birthing process that begins early in the pregnancy and continues through delivery,

  • (2) frequent use of surgery to manage birth and delivery, and

  • (3) widespread use of medications to deaden pain or speed up the birthing process

Medical Pluralism

• = the availability of different approaches, treatments, and institutions that people use to maintain health, treat illness

• E.g. cancer patients complementing chemotherapy with acupuncture and religious healing

Theories of Disease Causation

• Foster and Anderson (1978)- Disease theory system: ideas about the nature of health and ideas about the causes of disease or illness 

  • Personalistic theory 

  • Naturalistic theory 

  • Emotionalistic theory 

Personalistic theory 

Views disease as resulting from the action of a “sensate who may be  a supernatural being (a deity or god), a nonhuman being (such as a ghost, ancestor, or evil spirit), or a human being (a witch or sorcerer)” 

The Black Plague (1347-1352) 

• Cause unknown then; attributed to supernatural forces and primarily the will or wrath of god 

The spirit catches you and you fall down by Anne Fadiman

• Himons: large communities in Merced, California, from Laos 

• A person possesses many souls (up to 30) 

• Health: balance btw the physical body and its souls 

• Illness: one or more of the souls are lost or stolen by a spirit- “quag dab peg” *”the spirit catches you…”) 

• Lia’s story- has epileptic seizure at age 4 months 

• Or was it quag dab peg? 

 

• Condition seen as an honor/ destiny to be shaman 

• Family vs.  Medicine 

• For Hmong people: “Medicine was religion. Religion was society. Society was medicine” (fadiman 1997) 

• Limitations of Western medicine in multicultural societies; cross cultural communication in healthcare; cultural awareness and empathy 

Naturalistic theory 

• Views disease as emanating from the imbalance of certain inanimate elements in the body, such as the male and female principles of yin and yang in Chinese medicine, or imbalance of humors 

Emotionalistic Theory

• Views disease as emanating from emotional experiences

• Image - A young girl being treated for susto by a curandera.

• Susto is an illness found in Latin American cultures defined as "chronic somatic suffering stemming from emotional trauma or from witnessing traumatic experiences lived by others“ sometimes described as a “spirit attack”. Prayer and other healing rituals are a big part of treatment.

Types of Healing Techniques

• Humoral Healing: healing thru achieving a balance between the forces or elements of the body.

  • e.g. Ancient Greece, Medieval Europe etc. - food and drink, various forms of purging — blood-letting etc. humours; also balancing chi/qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine

• Communal healing: directs the combined efforts of the community toward treating illness.

  • e.g.!Kung (Ju/’hoansi) medicine dance

Culture-bound syndromes / Cultural syndromes

• Culture-bound syndrome - Combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within specific societies or culture areas

• Are there Western “culture-bound syndromes”?

Amok 

Earliest detailed account of culture-bound syndrome as described by European observers (Cpt. Cook) in Malaysia, Indonesia in 16th c.

• A pengamuk (lit. "one who runs amok") in Batavia, Java, ca. 1858–1861. A group of people pursue to catch or kill him

Amok: Malaysia

• Sudden mass assault, then self-harm/brooding

• Triggers: Arguments, family tensions, social humiliation, jealousy, debts, job loss

• 20th-century legal/moral exemptions via "insanity defense"

• Hospitalization and antipsychotic treatment for diagnosed schizophrenia

AMOK (Malaysia)

• Sudden mass assault, then self-harm/brooding

• Triggers: Arguments, family tensions, social humiliation, jealousy, debts, job loss

• 20th-century legal/moral exemptions via "insanity defense"

• Hospitalization and antipsychotic treatment for diagnosed schizophrenia

DHAT Syndrome (South Asia)

• Symptoms: Fatigue, weakness, anxiety, appetite loss, guilt, sexual dysfunction

• Cause: Anxiety over semen loss (nocturnal emissions, urine, masturbation)

• Common in: Recently married, lower socio-economic status (students, laborers, farmers), rural background, conservative families 

Culture-bound syndromes (CBS) - Koro (China, Malaysia, Singapore etc.)

• Koro - overwhelming fear that one's sex organs are shrinking into their body.

• Moderate-severe anxiety attacks along with a fear of imminent death

• Cultural value on reproductive ability

Koro

• Epidemics: Triggered by genital loss rumors

• Cause in China related to female fox spirit mythology.

• Fox spirits seduce learned men and steal "life essence through their semen.“

• Are there similar “nighttime” creatures in Western folklore/mythology?

Hikiomori (Japan)

• Severe social withdrawal in young adults who become recluses in their parents’ homes, unable to work or go to school for months or years

• Estimated ~600,000+ in Japan

• Different from clinical depression (whc=ich may have similar behaviors), thought of a culture bound syndrome because of social factors in japanese society which contribute to the high levels of this

• People have no social lives, all about work- sometimes even expevte to come into work on weekends, what social stuff you do is related to work . 

• Possible factors: Demanding education system, modern technology, middle-class affluence (need ressources to stay in room all day), overprotective parenting ( if someone is caring for you while in this state), job market etc.

• Longer in their room, less likely to recover 

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)

• Social determinants of health refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual’s place in society, such as income, education or employment. 

• Of interest to anthropologists because we can see that there are a number of social factors which contribute to health status 

• core determinants of health; health services, employment/ working conditions, education and literacy, physical environments, social support networks, personal health practices and coping skills, social environments, healthy child development, biology and genetic endowment, culture, financial and social status, gender

Chemical Valley, Sarnia, ON

• Right next to native reservation 

• Land primarily been taken  over by industries 

• One of the most polluted areas in the world 

• No effort by government to do anything about it 

• 40% of petrochemical industry in canada 

• Know little about the health impacts, but that the people on tis reserve have been complaining about the for years 

• Ex; ratio of 2:1 of females to males born, only tends to happen in very polluted areas (should be 1:1) 

• 40% of women have experienced at least one miscarriage 

• Number of everyday complaints- ex; smell. Also close to detroit border, close to where lots of dumping  of coal remnants by factories 

Race/Ethnicity and Health Inequality

• In the US there is a very clear disparity in mortality rate between caucasian and black populations. 

• Age of death based on the past in india- second graph. Age of death is lower amongst ‘untouchables’ pre changes in caste system

In the Canadian context:

• Aboriginal status- social determinant of health. Rates of TB, mental health issues (particularly in canadian north)- higher suicide rates connected to loss of culture, etc. 

• disability

• early life/childhood

• education

• employment and working conditions

• food security

• health services

• gender

• housing

• income and social status

• race/ethnicity

• social exclusion

• social safety net

• physical environment

Defining religion 

• “Religion is an integrated system of belief, lifestyle, ritual activities, and institutions by which individuals give meaning to (or find meaning in) their lives by orienting themselves to what they take to be holy, sacred, or of the highest value” (corbett) 

• The problem of defining religion 

• Supernaturalism = ‘ the means by which human society and culture is extended to include the nonhuman” 

Religion has five characteristics:

• Guided by myths; 

  • Cosmology- an explanation for the origin or history of the word 

  • Belief in supernatural beings, forces, states and/ or places 

  • Ritual- a symbolic practice that is ordered and regularly repeated 

  • Rules governing behavior. Define proper conduct for individuals and society 

  • Symbolic 

Early signs for religious thought

• Burials are early evidence of religious belief systems- Burials with stone tools, shells, animal bones ~ 50,000 years ago 

• Cave painting with animals and abstract images ~ 30,000 years ago 

• Venus figurine sculptures ~ 30-25000 years ago 

Reasons for supernatural belief systems

• Provides explanations for natural phenomena 

• Emotional relief 

• Creating community 

• Instilling values 

• Renewing faith 

• Provides reasons for life events and behaviors e.g. origin stories, Hinduism and caste, kismet; 

• Solving problems 

Theories of Religion 

• Functional Approach (Malinowski)- meets psychological needs e.g. rituals before Kula ring journeys; “Baseball magic”- rituals among athletes 

  • Magic rituals with things like yam farming, Kula ring journeys- idea that it helps to satisfy psychological needs, deal with anxieties and uncertainties

• Social approach (Durkheim)- brings people together; creates unity through shared definitions of: 

  • Sacred and profane 

• Power (Marx)- religion is the “opium of the people”- religion helps justify inequalities in power and status e.g. divine right of kings 

• Psychological (Freud)- keeps us from acting on our worst instincts e.g. oedipal complex 

• Symbolic (Geertz)- symbols represent cultural ideals and reinforce values 

• Economic explanations- Marvin Harris- beliefs develop to aid in peoples’ survival in their environment 

• E.g. prohibition against eating cows in India based in economic realities as cows are more valuable for milk, work, fuel etc. 

• IN india, cant kill cows for consumption of beef- rare to find beef in mcdonalds in India, instead vegetarian or chicken. 

Dietary rules/ laws

• Kosher dietary rules (Judaism)- Any animal who has cloven hooves and chews its cud may be eaten = camel, badger, hare and pig may not be eaten. Sheep, cattle, goats and deer are all kosher and may  be eaten 

• Halal (Islam)- Produced, processed and stored using machinery, equipment, and/ or utensils that have been cleaned according to Islamic law (shariah)

Why do some religions prohibit eating certain animals?

Mary douglas- Purity and Danger (1966)- proposed that certain animals considered pure or impure, clean and unclean. These distinctions help define identity and social order of a community (what is and isn't permissible). 

Harris on kosher and halal laws- Environment not suited to raise pigs 

Cosmology 

• Ways of explaining the origin of the universe and the principles or “order: that governs reality 

• Origin/ creation story; explanation for the history; present state; possible futures of the world; origins of the people, spirits, divinities, and forces that populate it 

Belief in the supernatural

• Supernatural beings- are personified or embodied gods, demons, spirits, or ghosts 

• Supernatural forces- are disembodied powers that exist in the world. Varies across cultures; for e.g. may exist in the air,water or other natural feature of the environment 

Supernatural beings and forces

• Gods and deities 

• Ancestral spirits 

• Spirits in Nature:

  • Animism 

  • Animatism 

Supernatural beings- gods and deities, ancestral spirits

• Deities (gods/goddesses)- distant, powerful beings; found most often in societies with a hierarchical social organization 

• Monotheism- Worship of one god or goddesses 

• Polytheism- worship of two or more gods and goddesses in a antheon (set of gods or goddesses in a religion) ‘

• Ancestral spirits- the essence of one's family ancestors who have remained in contact with the mortal world e.g. Dia dos de la muertos 

• Ancestor worship or veneration- reinforced the social values regarding family and kinship 

• In china, as well as in many other countries, filial piety requires that the living continue to care for the ancestors 

Animatism 

• A belief that spirit beings inhabit natural objects 

• Have identifiable personalities e.g. powerful, mature, or protective, personality; may be benevolent, malevolent, or neutral 

• Other characteristics such as gender 

• Are there examples of this in popular culture? 

• Ex; Grandmother Willow (Pocahontas), Qi (chi) in Kung Fu Panda

Animism vs. Animatism 

• Animatism does not have a personality- iot is an impersonal “it” rather than a “he” or “she” 

• Animism can have gender and/ or personality characteristics similar to people 

• Both types of beliefs can be found in the same culture 

• Both types can also be found in one object- e.g. religious belief may hold that a tree as both an individual spirit and also hold an impersonal force  

Ritual

• Ritual- A symbolic practice that is ordered and regularly repeated 

• Have a concrete purpose or goal- e.g. a wedding ritual that results in s religiously sanctioned union between people 

• Rituals are symbolic 

Rituals: Rites of Passage

• A ritual/ ceremony designed to transition individuals between life stages 

• Three stages- Separation, liminality, reincorporation 

• E.g. menses, marriage, childbirth; coming of age ; Bar/Bat Mitzvah- top right; Mursi rites of passage- stick fighting song men (top left), lip plates 

Separation or pre liminal phase

• Individuals are removed from their current social identity and begin preparations to enter the next stage of life 

  • Symbolic death of the old state 

  • Removal from society 

  • Rituals symbolize cutting or separation e.g. removal of hair 

  • Seclusion 

• Case study: Xhosa communities, south africa- boys traditionally transitioned to manhood through each ritual stage. In separation stage, the boys leave their homes and are circumcised; they cannot express distress or signs of pain during the procedure 

Transition or liminal phase 

• A time in which individuals often undergo tests, trials, or activities designed to prepare them for their new social roles 

• Person is in between states 

• Symbolically places “outside” society 

• Observes certain taboos or restriction

Incorporation- Postliminal phase

• Final stage- individuals return to the community with a new socially recognized status 

• Symbolically reborn 

• Completes transition to a new status 

• Lifting of restrictions 

• Wear new clothes and insignia 

Rites of revitalization

• Attempts to resolve serious problems, such as war, famine, or poverty through  spiritual/ supernatural intervention e.g. Cargo cults 

• “John Frum” “Cargo cult” in Tanna- in response to colonialism and promise of material abundance 

• Based on belief of mythical “John Frum” who is expected to bring material wealth and prosperity 

Rites of intensification

• Actions designed to bring a community together often following a period of crisis 

• Create a sense of unity that encourages people to see themselves as members of community 

• E.g. Nagol land diving- Vanuatu- ensure good harvest by impressing spirits with display of bravery 

• Every member of the community participates 

Religious Practitioners- Priest/ Priestesses, Shamans, Prophets

• Priest/priestess – full-time religious practitioners

• have authority to set rules and control access to religious rites

• Qualifications vary (e.g. gender) – Christian priests typically complete higher education; Hindu pujaris must spend years learning Sanskrit, being proficient in ceremonies

• Shaman – part-time religious practitioner

• Ability to engage/communicate with spirits/gods/supernatural

• Transcend normal reality to communicate or manipulate supernatural forces in an alternate world

• Altered states achieved through dreams, hallucinogenic drugs, rhythmic music, exhaustion through dance etc.

• Often a calling for those who have personality traits that seem “abnormal” in the context of the community

• Prophet – person who claims to have direct communication with the supernatural realm

  • E.g. Moses, Prophet Muhammed, Joseph Smith etc.

• Different than priest due to source of authority – priest = authority from scripture; prophet = authority from direct connection to divine + ability to convince others of their legitimacy through charisma

• Ex: David Koresh, Branch Davidians (below) 

Rules Governing Behaviour

• Proper conduct, what is right and wrong

• Social control/order, define acceptable behaviors, misbehaviors and (supernatural) punishments

• E.g. Ten commandments (Christianity); karma (Buddhism, Hinduism)

• Image - Wheel of Life; Tibet; early 20th c. depicts the cyclical process of life, death and rebirth, and how the actions you take in this lifetime affect your next life (Karma)

Syncretism

• Blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition

• Often result of conquest and colonialism; resisting, blending, or creating new traditions from dominant religions

• E.g. Aztecs and Catholicism - Tonantzin, the Aztec idea of mother goddess, was reimagined as the Catholic Virgin Mother

Syncretism: Haitian Voudou

• Grew out of several religions indigenous to West Africa (Fon, Kongo and Yoruba)

• French Colony – wealth from sugar plantations

• Forced conversion to Catholicism

• Slave revolt

Haitian Voudou

• Haitian Vodou – enslaved Haitians under French colonists, disguised their loa as acceptable Catholic saints

• Syncretism - the association of particular loa (pantheon of deities in HV) with Catholic saints, Virgin Mary.

Defining Globalization 

• A set of social processes that create, multiply, stretch, and intensify worldwide social interdependencies and exchanges while at the same time fostering in people a growing awareness of deepening connections between the local and the distant (Chapter 1- Steger, 2017)

• Globalization is not a single process but a set of processes that operate simultaneously and unevenly on several levels and in various dimensions 

Prehistoric Period (10,000 BCE - 3,500 BCE) - Human Migration

• Settlement of all five continents by humans over 12,000 years ago 

• Global dispersion by South american nomads 

• Siberian ancestors cross the bering Strait 

• Early contact among hunter gatherer bands 

The Silk Road- Beginning of international trade 

• 1st century BC- 5th century AD, and 13th-14th centuries AD 

• The silk road was a network of Eurasian trade routes from the second century BCE until the mid 15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers, it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the east and west

Spread of religions (5th- 10th C. CE)- (spread of ideas, ideologies)

• Spread of christianity throughout europe, facilitated by roman empires missionary efforts. Islam rapidly spread through the Arabian peninsula, North Africa, the Iberian peninsula, parts of asia. 

The Black Death (14th century CE)

• Spread rapidly through trade routes like Silk Road, via flea- carrying rats and affected Europe, Asia, and Africa

Early modern period and shifting global dynamics (1500- late 1700s)

• Westward Expansion- search for sea routes to India 

• Technological advancements 

  • Mechanized printing 

  • Wind and water mills 

  • Postal systems, maritime technology and navigation 

• Foundation of capitalist world-system 

• Dominance of colonial powers 

  • Transatlantic slave trade

Expansion of global interconnections in the modern period (18th-20th C.) 

• Multinational banks; free flow of capital and goods 

• Expansion of merchandise trade 

• International pricing systems; brand name products 

• Railways, mechanized shipping, and intercontinental air transport

Communication and population growth (19th and 20th century)

• Development of communication technologies 

  • Telegraph, telephone, wireless radio, mass circulation media 

• Population explosion in the modern period 

  • Waves of transcontinental migration 

  • Cultural exchange 

• World wars 

Communication and population growth (20th century) 

• Creation of International Monetary fund and world bank 

• United nations 

• The cold war and the space race 

• Rise of global consciousness with space travel and earth imagery 

• Global climate change and Transnational environmental movements 

Contemporary period (from the 1980s-)

• Quantum leap in globalization since the 1980s = rapid merging of diverse people and social connections 

• Increased trade and rise of multinational companies (Apple, Walmart, Coca cola etc) 

• Development of digital communication networks and the internet 

• Commercialization of space, with numerous satellite launches 

• Questions about the nature and impact of contemporary globalization

What does the history of globalization tell us about humanity and the world? 

• Innate drive or human connectivity and mobility 

• Technological innovations have played a pivotal role in advancing globalization 

• Along with the increasing economic interdependence among nations 

• Globalization has been a catalyst for cultural exchange 

• Globalization has often driven social and political change leading to asymmetrical power dynamics/ inequality