Anthro Chapters 1-15

participant observation

a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied

reflexivity

a critical self-examination of the role the anthropologist plays & an awareness that one’s identity affects one’s fieldwork &theoretical analysis

engaged anthropology

applying the research strategies & analytical perspectives of anthropology to address concrete challenges facing localc ommunities & the world at large

anthropologist’s toolkit

the tools needed to conduct fieldwork, including information, perspectives, strategies, & even equipment

rapport

relationships of trust & familiarity with members of the community we study; deepening of that rapport enables the anthropologist to move from being an outsider toward being an insider

key informant

a community member who advises the anthropologist on community issues, provides feedback, and warns against cultural miscues

life history

a form of interview that traces that biography of a person overtime, examining changes in the person’s life & illuminating the interlocking network of relationships in the community

kinship analysis

a fieldwork strategy examine interlocking relationships of power built on marriage & family ties

social network analysis

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

zeros

elements of a story or a picture that are not told or seen & yet offer key insights into issues that might be too sensitive to discuss or display publicly

mutual transformation

the potential for both the anthropologist & the members of the community being studied to be transformed by the interactions of fieldwork

emic

an approach to gathering data that investigates how local people think and how they understand the world

etic

description of local behavior & beliefs from the anthropologist’s perspective in ways that can be compared across cultures

ethnology

the analysis & comparison of ethnographic data across cultures

polyvocality

the practice of using many different voices in ethnographic writing & research question development, allowing the reader to hear more directly from the people in the study

language

a system of communication organized by rules that use symbols such as words, sounds, & gestures to convey information

descriptive linguistics

the study of the sounds, symbols, & gestures of a language, and their combination into forms that communicate meaning

phonemes

the smallest units of sound that can make a difference in meaning

phonology

the study of what sounds exist & which ones and important in a particular language

morphemes

the smallest units of sound that carry meaning on their own

morphology

the study of patterns & rules of how sounds combine to make morphemes

syntax

the specific patterns & rules for combining morphemes to construct phrases & sentences

grammar

the combined set of observations about the rules governing the formation of morphemes & syntax that guide language use

kinesics

the study of the relationship between body movements &communication

paralanguage

an extensive set of noises (such as laughs, cries, sighs, &yells) & tones of voice that convey significant information about the speaker

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking

lexicon

all the words for names, ideas, & events that make up a language’s dictionary

focal vocabulary

the words and terminology that develop with particular sophistication to describe the unique cultural realities experienced by a group of people

sociolinguistics

the study of the ways culture shapes language & language shapes culture, particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories & systems of power such as age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender& class

dialect

a nonstandard variation of a language

prestige language

a particular language variation or way of speaking that is associated with wealth, success, education, & power

code switching

switching back & forth between one linguistic variant& another depending on the cultural context

historical linguistics

the study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations

language continuum

the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance so that groups of people who live near one another speak in a way that is mutually intelligible

language loss

the extinction of languages that have very few speakers

mental maps of reality

cultural classifications of what kinds of people & things exist, & the assignment of meaning to those classifications

unilineal cultural evolution

the theory proposed by 19th century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequenceof stages from simple to complex

historical particularism

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

society

the focus of early British anthropological research whose structure& function could be isolated and studied scientifically

structural functionalism

a conceptual framework positing that each element of society serves a particular function to keep the entire system inequilibrium

interpretivist approach

a conceptual framework that sees culture primarilyas a symbolic system of deep meaning

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

power

the ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence

stratification

the uneven distribution of resources & privileges among participants in a group or culture

hegemony

the ability of a dominant group to create consent &agreement within a population without the use or threat of force

agency

the potential power of individuals and groups to contest cultural norms, values, mental maps of reality, symbols, institutions, &structures of power

ethnographic fieldwork

a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living & interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives

salvage ethnography

fieldwork strategy developed by Franz Boas to collect cultural, material, linguistic, and biological information about Native American populations being devoted by the westward expansion of European settlers

cultural relativism

understanding a group’s beliefs & practices within their own cultural context, without making judgments -\> rejection of ethnocentrism

anthropology

the study of the full scope of human diversity, past & present,& the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds better understand one another

ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s own culture or way of life is normal ♮ using one’s own culture to evaluate & judge the practices & ideals of others

ethnographic fieldwork

a primary research strategy in culturalanthropology typically involving living & interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives

four-field approach

the use of four interrelated disciplines to study humanity

physical anthropology

the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly how they have evolved over time & adapted to their environments

paleoanthropology

the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record

primatology

the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution & early human behavior (like monkeys, apes, etc.)

archaeology

the investigation of the human past by means of excavating & analyzing artifacts

prehistoric archaeology

the reconstruction of human behavior in the distant past (before written records) through the examination of artifacts

historic archaeology

the exploration of the move recent past through an examination of physical remains & artifacts as well as written or oral records

linguistic anthropology

the study of human language in the past &present

descriptive linguists

those who analyze languages & their component parts

historic linguists

those who study how language changes overtime within a culture & how languages travel across cultures

sociolinguists

those who study language in its social & cultural contexts

cultural anthropology

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

participant observation

a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in & observation of the daily lives of the people being studied

ethnology

the analysis & comparison of ethnographic data across cultures

holism

the anthropological commitment to look at the whole picture of human life - culture, biology, history, & language - across space & time

globalization

the worldwide intensification of interactions & increased movement of money, people, goods, & ideas within & across national borders

time-space compression

the rapid innovation of communication &transportation technologies associated with globalization thattransforms the way people think about space (distances) & time

flexible accumulation

the increasingly flexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate profits in an era of globalization, enabled by innovative communication & transportation technologies

increasing migration

the accelerated movement of people within &between countries

uneven development

the unequal distribution of the benefits of globalization

anthropocene

the cultural-historical era in which human activity is reshaping the planet in permanent ways

climate change

changes to Earth’s climate, including global warming produced primarily by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases created by the burning of fossil fuels

culture

a system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, &institutions that are created, learned, shared & contested by a group of people

enculturation

the process of learning culture

norms

ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people

values

fundamental beliefs about what is important, what makes a good life,& what is true, right, and beautiful

symbol

anything that represents something else

race

A flawed system of classification, with no biological basis, that uses certain physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups.

racism

Individuals’ thoughts and actions and institutional patterns and policies that create or reproduce unequal access to power, privilege, resources, and opportunities based on imagined differences among groups.

genotype

The inherited genetic factors that provide the framework for an organism’s physical form.

phenotype

The way genes are expressed in an organism’s physical form as a result of genotype interaction with environmental factors.

colonialism

The practice by which a nation-state extends political, economic, and military power beyond its own borders over an extended period of time to secure access to raw materials, cheap labor, and markets in other countries or regions.

miscegenation

A demeaning historical term for interracial marriage.

white supremacy

The belief that whites are biologically different from and superior to people of other races.

whiteness

A culturally constructed concept originating in 1691 Virginia, designed to establish clear boundaries of who is white and who is not—a process central to the formation of U.S. racial stratification.

Jim Crow

Laws implemented after the U.S. Civil War to enforce segregation legally, particularly in the South, after the end of slavery.

hypodescent

Sometimes called the “one drop of blood rule”; the assignment of children of racially “mixed” unions to the subordinate group.

nativism

The favoring of certain long-term inhabitants, namely whites, over new immigrants.

racialization

The process of categorizing, differentiating, and attributing a particular racial character to a person or group of people.

individual racism

Personal prejudiced beliefs and discriminatory actions based on race.

microaggressions

Common, everyday verbal or behavioral indignities and slights that communicate hostile, derogatory, and negative messages about someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

institutional racism

Patterns by which racial inequality is structured through key cultural institutions, policies, and systems.

racial ideology

A set of popular ideas about race that allows the discriminatory behaviors of individuals and institutions to seem reasonable, rational, and normal.

intersectionality

An analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, and class interact to shape individual life chances and societal patterns of stratification.

gender studies

Research into understanding how gender identities and expressions are shaped by and affect one’s life chances.

sex

The culturally agreed upon physical differences between male and female, especially biological differences related to human reproduction.

gender

The expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes.

sexual dimorphism

The phenotypic differences between males and females of the same species.