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What is the anthropological perspective on the human condition?
It is the study of human nature, history, and culture using a holistic, evolutionary, comparative, grounded approach that draws from both social and natural sciences.
What are the four subfields of anthropology?
The four subfields are biological, cultural, linguistic, and archaeological anthropology.
What does cultural anthropology focus on?
Cultural anthropology examines learned behaviors and ideas within societies, highlighting how culture shapes identity, behavior, and worldviews.
What is cultural relativism?
Cultural relativism is the practice of understanding cultural practices within their own context rather than judging them by external/biased standards.
What is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s culture is superior and the tendency to judge other cultures by its standards.
What is intersectionality in anthropology?
Intersectionality refers to the interconnectedness of social categories, such as race, gender, and class, and how these intersections shape individual experiences.
What does holism (interconnectedness) mean in anthropology?
Holism in anthropology emphasizes breaking down rigid divisions between mind, body, social, and biological aspects, focusing on broader contexts of human life and relationships.
What is comparativism in anthropology?
Comparativism is the detailed analysis of specific groups to create broader theories about cultural practices.
What is the evolutionary perspective in anthropology?
The evolutionary perspective examines human, cultural, and societal changes over time, recognizing that cultural evolution is not linear and ideas flow across societies without ranking.
What is fieldwork in anthropology?
Fieldwork is the method of gathering data through direct interaction with people, animals, and materials.
How has physical anthropology been misused historically?
It was misused to promote racist ideologies by falsely suggesting biological differences between races in the 19th century, but modern anthropology rejects these ideas.
What is cultural resource management (CRM)?
CRM is an applied branch of anthropology that works with communities to protect cultural and natural resources, such as those of First Nations.
What does linguistic anthropology study?
Linguistic anthropology studies the relationship between language and identity, exploring how factors like gender, class, and ethnicity influence communication.
What is the ethnographic approach in anthropology?
The ethnographic approach involves studying a particular group or culture in context through detailed observations, often using participant observation and interviews.
What is ethnography, ethnographers, and ethnology?
Ethnography: the study of a particular group or culture in a specific context
Ethnographers immerse themselves in communities to gather detailed observations.
Ethnology: a comparative study across multiple groups
What are values in anthropology?
Key values include reciprocity, reflexivity, and collaboration, emphasizing mutual exchange of knowledge, awareness of biases, and co-creating knowledge with communities.
What is reciprocity?
Two-way sharing, learning from each other.
What is reflexivity?
Self-awareness, questioning one’s own biased assumptions.
What is collaboration?
Working together, engaging with others to co-create knowledge.
What does a broad analytical perspective in anthropology consider?
It considers the impact of globalization and changing technologies, emphasizing the importance of intersectionality in understanding human experiences.
What is engaged anthropology?
Engaged anthropology recognizes the political nature of the field.
What is activist anthropology?
Activist anthropology directly advocates for the rights of marginalized groups.
What is practicing anthropology?
Practicing anthropology involves anthropologists working outside academic settings, such as in policy or corporate research.
What is culture according to E.B. Tylor?
Culture is defined as a "complex whole" that includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, capabilities, and habits acquired as a member of society.
How does culture serve as an explanatory model in anthropology?
Culture explains why humans act the way they do, shaping behaviors while biology sets the limits of what can be learned, challenging purely biological explanations of behavior.
What role does free will play in human behavior according to anthropology?
While culture influences behavior, individuals possess free will and adaptability, meaning they can learn and act beyond cultural expectations. And there are always outliers in society that go against the norm.
How do humans learn behaviors?
Much of human behavior is learned through observation and imitation of others, highlighting the importance of social context in cultural transmission.
What does the biocultural perspective imply about humans?
Humans are defined by biological and cultural factors, with a shared capability for culture being vital for anthropology.
What is material culture?
Objects created or shaped by humans that gain meaning through cultural practices, influencing how people interpret the world around them.
How do symbols function in culture?
Items that stand for something else, such as letters in the alphabet, and they differ across languages, influencing interpretation and meaning.
What is the concept of new materialism in anthropology?
Emphasizes the centrality of 'things' in social life, including the impact of technology and online interactions on culture.
What are the foundations of culture as proposed by Richard Potts?
The foundations include:
Transmission (copying behavior)
Memory (remembering behaviors)
Reiteration (reproducing learned behavior)
Innovation (modifying behaviors)
Selection (choosing significant innovations)
What elements of culture evolved later according to Potts?
Later evolved elements include symbolic coding, complex symbolic representation, and the development of institutions for social organization.
What is symbolic coding in culture?
Symbolic coding involves using symbols to represent reality, which allows for complex forms of communication and expression within a culture.
What is the significance of complex symbolic representation?
Complex symbolic representation enables humans to imagine non-present realities, such as the past or future, distinguishing human cognition from that of other species.
How do institutions contribute to cultural development?
Institutions facilitate social organization by establishing rules, regulations, and enforcement mechanisms, allowing culture to develop further.
What did Terrence Deacon argue about complex symbolic representation?
Complex symbolic representation had adaptive value, leading to genetic changes in the brain, highlighting the co-evolution of culture and cognition.
What is the difference between symbolic behavior and complex symbolic representation?
While symbolic behavior is shared with other species, complex symbolic representation is unique to humans and allows for the creation of detailed ideas.
What is co-evolution in the context of culture and biology?
Co-evolution refers to the idea that culture and the brain evolved together, with institutions allowing culture to develop further.
What does "habitus" refer to in the context of culture?
Habitus refers to the routine activities based on habitual behaviors that become second nature through learning and experience.
How do cultural and biological dynamics interact?
Cultural changes can influence biological evolution, and biological factors like brain development can shape the way culture evolves, leading to co-evolution.
How do traditions relate to continuity and change in culture?
Traditions are passed down through generations and often retain core elements while adapting to new contexts, making them a "moving target" that reflects both continuity and change.
What is the debate over using "culture" versus "cultures"?
Using "culture" refers to the general concept of patterned, symbolically mediated ideas shared by all humans, while "cultures" pertains to specific learned ways of life within distinct groups.
What is Sherry Ortner's reconfiguration of the culture concept?
Ortner proposes a reconfiguration that emphasizes:
Finding similarities, minimizing cultural divides
Culture is fluid, shaped by ongoing interactions
Integrating culture and context, interlinked with power dynamics
What is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own way of life is the only correct way, distorting other cultures and often linked to colonialism and racism.
What is the difference between cultural relativism and ethical relativism?
Cultural relativism holds that all cultures are equally valid and should be understood on their own terms, while ethical relativism suggests that morality is culturally defined and varies across cultures.
What are the critiques of extreme cultural relativism?
Extreme cultural relativism may justify oppressive practices by suggesting that all cultural norms are valid, even those that may cause harm, such as those seen in the Holocaust.
What is critical cultural relativism?
Critical cultural relativism recognizes power dynamics and cultural fluidity, balancing an understanding of culture with critiques of harmful practices.
What are the pitfalls of cultural determinism?
Cultural determinism denies individual agency, attributing all human behavior to culture and ignoring other influences, potentially justifying harmful practices.
How do culture, history, and agency interact?
Humans have the agency to accept or reject traditions, HOWEVER, this agency is influenced by historical, cultural, and material conditions, as noted by Karl Marx.
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