Key terms and concepts

What is anthropology?

The study of humankind, both ancient and modern, and their ways of living.

What is culture?

Everything people collectively do, think, make, and say.

What is cultural anthropology?

The study of human cultures; asks why people behave the way they do and what causes human diversity.

What is enculturation?

The process by which an individual absorbs the details of their culture from birth.

What is acculturation?

Cultural changes that occur from contact with another culture.

What is assimilation?

Forced acculturation where an individual or group must conform to another culture; usually negative.

Define ethnocentrism.

The belief that one's own culture is superior to all others.

What is cultural relativism?

The principle that cultural beliefs and practices should be understood in their own cultural context, not judged by outside standards.

List the main features of culture.

Culture is learned, symbolic, shared, patterned, and adaptive.

What is an emic perspective?

Describing culture from an insider's point of view, meaningful to members of that society.

What is an etic perspective?

Describing culture from an outsider's perspective, using the observer's categories; can be ethnocentric.

What does the concept of 'Other' mean in anthropology?

People unlike yourself, often non-Western, historically dismissed or seen as less valid.

Define exonym. Give an example.

A name given by outsiders, often derogatory. Example: 'Esk*mo' instead of Inuit.

Define endonym. Give an example.

A self-given name. Example: Lakota instead of Sioux.

What does it mean that culture is symbolic?

People assign meaning to symbols (objects, gestures, words) that stand for something else.

Give an example of cultural relativism from the slides.

Aboriginal 'smoking the baby' ritual, which may look strange to outsiders but is similar to Christian baptism.

What is the main purpose of Horace Miner's 'Body Ritual Among the Nacirema'?

To show how everyday American practices can appear strange when described in anthropological language, highlighting ethnocentrism.

Who are the 'holy-mouth-men'?

Dentists.

What is the 'latipso'?

Hospitals.

What is the 'charm-box'?

Medicine cabinet.

Who are the 'medicine men'?

Doctors.

Who are the 'listeners'?

Psychologists or therapists.

What anthropological concept is Miner critiquing?

Ethnocentrism in anthropological writing.

Why does Miner describe familiar rituals in exotic terms?

To encourage cultural relativism and make readers question what is considered 'normal.'

What do the Nacirema believe about the human body?

That it is ugly and prone to debility, needing constant ritual and care.

When was the essay published?

1956