anthro final

fieldwork

-main research method in sociocultural anthro: participant observation
-ethnographer must live w ppl under study for long period immersing in local culture
-to do that anthropologists must rely on locals for info + integration
-eg british anthropologist e e evans-pritchard studied political + familial systems of the nuer ppl in sudan

informants

-individuals ethnographer gets to know in the field + who teach her abt their culture
-emic pov
-data collection

key informants

-key informants: native ppl who by accident/experience/talent/training can give the most complete/useful info abt certain aspects of life in given society
-eg priests, profs, artisans, lawyers

genealogical method

-tracing ancestry + relatives
-to understand current social relations + reconstruct history
-kinship: prominent building block in social org of nonindustrial societies
-relations, rules of behavior, alliances

life histories

-unusually interesting informants
-recollection of lifetime of experiences
-intimate + personal cultural portrait
-how ppl perceive, react to, contribute to changes that affect their lives

longitudinal studies

-long-term study of area/pop
-usually based on repeated visits + involves team-research
-eg gwembe study 50s-90s: data was gathered in gwembe tonga villages (zambia) on pop, econ, kinship, religious behavior

emic

-local pov
-investigates how ppl in studied group perceive + categorize world
-what has meaning for them

etic

-anthro pov
-shifts focus to interpretations of anthropologist
-members of culture often are too involved in what they do to interpret their culture impartially

how emic pov can be acquired in relation to fieldwork

deep immersion: living w community, learning language, participating in daily activities

how etic pov can be acquired in relation to fieldwork

researcher never fully loses external vantage point: always referring back to training, theories, data

how emic pov can be acquired in relation to the genealogical method

-asking ppl to describe kinship in their own terms
>who counts as fam
>how ships are labeled
-diff cultures have diff kin categories

how etic pov can be acquired in relation to the genealogical method

mapping ships onto notation system which imposes cross-culturally consistent analytical system to compare societies

how emic pov can be acquired in relation to life histories

informant narrates their life in their terms

how etic pov can be acquired in relation to life histories

framing + contextualizing them w/in historical events, social structures, theoretical arguments

how emic pov can be acquired in relation to longitudinal studies

allows researchers to track how insiders’ categories + self-understandings evolve

how etic pov can be acquired in relation to longitudinal studies

-sustained analytical gaze
-imposes continuous external framework

ethnographic work advantages

-gives unique experience of studied group
-researcher becomes part of studied group, gaining insights into certain pov
-participation allows deep understanding of local classification systems

ethnographic work disadvantages

-researchers may be biased
-ethnographers arent always welcome
-language + character can be obstacles

world-system theory context

-conceptualizes world as network of core, periphery, semi-periphery countries
-processes that shaped world political econ system include imperialism, colonialism, industrialization, capitalism, nationalism, globalization

core countries

great power, west, colonizers

periphery countries

poor + weaker, colonized

semi-periphery countries

developing, in-btwn

world-system

-societies consist of interrelated parts assembled into system
-societies are also subsystems of larger systems
-all countries belong to global system marked by diffs in wealth + power

world-system explanation

-huge increase in international trade from 1400s
-united all countries into single world system committed to production for sale/exchange
-aiming at maximization of profit
-leading eventualy to capitalist world economy

world-system key details

-from agrarian revolution to industrial revolution
-use of machinery, pop growth, urbanization, more consumption
-experimentation, innovation, further industrialization, rapid technological change
-colonialism

immanuel wallerstein’s analysis (world-system)

-core: strongest + most powerful nations
-semi-periphery: industrialized but lacking power + econ dominance of core
-periphery: poor countries making mainly agricultural + raw materials

wallerstein’s analysis details

-core monopolizes the most profitable activities (esp world finance) + can use armed force
-cores dom econ + politically
-cores control capital + advanced prod
-semi-periphery depends on core for making + exporting industrial goods
-semi combines dependency + influence
-periphery is industrialized in limited way + heavily depends on core + semi to which they export cheap human labor

greece in world-system

-global econ processes shape realities in multiple ways
-functions largely as semi-peripheral bc its connected to + influenced by cores in north europe + north america
-econ depends on sectors like tourism + shipping while relying on foreign investment + imports of industrial goods
-dependency shapes labor markets, econ policy, political decisions

examples of how specific global dynamics influence national policies, labor, inequality

-global trade affecting nat policy: usa reduced tariffs on chinese goods when china joined wto
-global finance affecting nat policy: ghana in 80s was pressured to deregulate economy while getting loans from world bank due to structural adjustment conditions

usa + world-system theory

-dom core: has hegemonic power
-doms militarily, econ, culturally
-global trade is in $ which gives usa structural power
-supports peripheral govs that are friendly to foreign investment
-intervenes militarily to protect access to resources

capitalism + inequality

-rise of capitalism contributed to global inequality by concentrating wealth + power to few while many others in non-Western world + working classes were exploited
-colonial powers used capitalism to exploit resources + labor of colonized
-this made unequal global trade system that benefitted industrialized countries

anti-colonial anthro

-anthro helped document impact of capitalism on local pops in colonized areas
-including negative effects on identity formation, access to services, subsistence
-eg john davis (british anthropologist) worked in mediterranean to examine how colonial rule by britain + france restructured local economies, hierarchies, etc way after formal ind

language

-comm system based on meaningful signs/gestures/marks
-human universal w great variation
-transmitted thru learning (associations btwn words + things they rep

call systems vs language

-animal comm aka call systems is typically limited to immediate contexts + fixed signals eg monkey alarm calls
-humans use langauge creatively + flexibly
-language: symbolic system that enables cultural transmission, collective memory, cultural innovation
-calls are auto + cant be combined

language attributes

1.cultural transmission
2.productivity
3.displacement

cultural transmission

-fundamental trait of language
-ppl talk to u + around u + u learn eg parents
-learned socially not genetically
-ppl learn to ‘see’ world thru given language

productivity

-creating new expressions that are comprehensible to others
-brunch, lol, texting
-these help describe new objects + sits that are important to group
-infinite combos of basic units whose # is limited
-rule-based creativity: infinite productivity based on limited # of principles

displacement

-describing/comming things + events that arent present in time/space but are sig to culture eg history
-sharing experiences w others

language + culture

-theyre interrelated bc culture is transmitted thru language
-language shapes culture

call systems

-comm systems of nonhuman primates
-vocal systems that consist of limited # of sounds
-produced only when particular enviro stimuli are encountered
-sounds, gestures, movements
-patterns that express meaning

sapir-whorf hypothesis

-diff languages produce diff thought patterns
-language influence how ppl perceive + categorize reality
-so speakers of diff languages may experience + interpret world diff
-eg 3rd person singular pronouns (he/she) in palaung indicate age diff --> age hierarchy

focal vocab

-specialized sets of words describing particular domains (foci) of experience
-particularly important to specific culture
-often reflect what group considers sig
-richness of it can shape how ppl notice, interpret, respond to enviro aspects
-eg cattle vocab of nuer ppl in south sudan
-bridewealth: cattle are transferred in weddings
-cattle are sacrificed in religious ceremonies

sociolinguistics

-study of language in society
-investigates ship btwn social + linguistic variation
-includes class, ethnic, gender diffs + language/power ship

linguistic diversity w/in nations

-eg india has 22
-multicultural nation-states eg english + spanish in usa
-style shifts eg speaking w local accent

language + status position

-honorifics: terms of respect used to honor ppl
-mrs., ms., dr.

“race”

-may be scientifically discredited concept
-but racial ideas prevail in social realm + guide human behavior
-so race is approached in anthro as social category
-must be examined in diverse contexts to reveal classification systems

racial conflict

-Conflict based on “racial” criteria​
-eg blm

ethnicity

-based on perceived cultural similarities + diffs
-”us” + “other” binary opposition
-members of ethnic group share beliefs, values, customs, habits, norms
-based on belief of common descent, association w a territory, collective name (solidarity)

barth (‘69) (ethnicity)

-ethnicity exists when ppl claim ethnic identity for themselves + are defined by others as having this identity​
-Ethnicity: identification w + feeling part of an ethnic group + exclusion from certain other groups bc of this affiliation

defining ethnicity

1.identification w + feeling part of an ethnic group + exclusion from certain other groups bc of this affiliation
2.can be based on common language, religion, history, ancestry, customs
3.involves self-identification + recognition by others

status

any position that determines where someone fits in society eg parent, prof

ascribed status

social status based on lil/no choice eg age, race

achieved status

social status based on choices/accomplishments eg senator, physician

identity as ascribed status

-ethnicity often described as this: smth assigned to person at birth based on fam bg/community membership
-inherit w/o choice
-eg greek/romani ethnicity in greece

ethnicity as achieved status

-ethnicity can become this in some cases
-it can be adopted/negotiated/emphasized thru social action/migration/cultural affiliation
-eg antetokoumpo’s greek/nigerian identity + integration into american society shows how ppl may renegotiate ethnic identity + belonging in new cultural settings

negotiating ethnic identity ex

-hispanic: ethnic category based mainly on language
-includes blacks, whites, mixed spanish speakers
-of diverse geographic origin
-theres social mobility + situational negotiation of identity bc of criterion of inclusion/exclusion being language

status shifting in practice

-usa hispanics constantly negotiate their identity depending on context
-mexicans can group w cubans + puerto ricans to oppose english-only laws
-can also act as separate interest groups promoting class interests like in elections

think!

-ethnicity can shift across time + space depending on broader social processes like migration/assimilation/boundary-making
-war refugees

“race” in usa

-social hierarchy is reinforced when kids are grouped w minority parent
-this is thru access to wealth, power, prestige

racism

discrimination against ethnic group assumed to have bio basis

“race” in japan

-seen by outsiders as racially homogenous
-japanese share same perception also in terms of ethnicity, language, culture
-but 10% of pop are minorities

beliefs + social impact

-trying to keep lineage pure by discouraging mixing
-based on historical grounds + specific social hierarchy
-assimilation has been discouraged
-results in stigmatization of inner other + social exclusion
-limited access to resources, edu, jobs, health facilities

ethnocide

-attempt to destroy group’s culture w/o necessarily killing members but by erasing language/religion/traditions/ways of life
-deliberate suppression/destruction of ethnic culture by dom group thru forced assimilation
-eg native americans

genocide

-deliberate + systematic attempt to phys eliminate group based on ethnicity/religion/other identity markers
-deliberate elimination of group thru mass murder
-eg holocaust

power imbalance ethno + geno

-both are forms of extreme cultural + political violence
-genocide targets ppls lives
-ethnocide targets cultural identity
-both reflect power relations in which one group asserts control over another
-both justify violence/assimilation thru superiority ideologies

violence + control (ethno + geno)

-ethnic cleaning is most brutal way of controlling/assimilating/destroying pops
-often armed conflict erupts to control weaker group thru force

superiority of ideologies

-slavery + colonialism were justified thru darwinism
-white man’s burden
-ethno-religious groups promote idea of superiority to justify their cause

ethno + geno

-both often overlap/reinforce each other
-ethno can precede/accompany geno
-both reflect power, ideology, attempts to reshape cultural identity