ANTH 195 JMU Exam 2

why do anthropologists do fieldwork

to have a deeper understanding of the culture they are studying (context)

what are some of the early stages of field work

making contact, guarding against preconceptions

how do anthropologists test their ideas in the field

by asking people

participant observation

you are actively involved and mindfully analyzing the situation

what can you learn from participating that you can't learn from observing

better sense of what it is like (feelings, thoughts), data that can be shown but not explained verbally, immerse yourself in their world

what skills do you need to be an anthropologist/ to conduct fieldwork

patience, openmindedness, humility, language, adaptability, memory

is hierarchy innate/natural?

no

what is a cultural construction (and an example)

the characteristics we ascribe to certain things/categories is culturally determined (race and gender)

under what basis do we naturalize hierarchy nowadays

intelligence

is hierarchy as we know it ancient or fairly recent

recent

why do we believe intelligence is a fair way to judge

we believe you can change it, that it is not necessarily inherent, and that there is a criteria for it

gini index

measures income disparity, the higher the number, the higher the gap

5 pillars of integrative theory of social stratification

1. hierarchy is a good/necessary thing 2. society requires specialized labor 3. this labor needs hierarchical order 4. an army/police are required to protect resources and individuals 5. hierarchy is necessary because it protects individuals and is needed to organize

2 pillars of exploitive theory of social stratification

hierarchy is BAD/unnecessary 1. it benefits an elite class 2. this elite class keeps control through political or social repression (legal system/police)

which view is correct- integrative theory or exploitive theory?

both are correct- there is data to support both

what is meant by the term feminization of poverty?

poverty has a womans' face; women and children are more likely to live in poverty

what is so powerful/hurtful about saying that something is naturally inferior

it implies that there is nothing you can do about it- it is unchangeable

what is so powerful about starting an argument with "speaking as an individual"

you can't dispute the position of an individual- it is soveriegn

what kind of evidence does "naturally" suggest?

objective, biological, belief in how it has always been

why is biology a good way to legitimate hierarchy

we have a real belief that biology is stricty factual and unchanging

acculturation

the way cultures interact, selective appropriation of aspects of another culture

how did acculturation play into the video about trobriand cricket

they took the game of cricket and acculturated it into their own rituals

why did the british introduce cricket to the trobriand people in the first place

to entertain and pacify them

what happened to cricket when it landed in the trobians

they brand the game in their own way, they introduce elements that were not previously present, they draw on their own war rituals, ULTIMATELY the trobrian culture of war survives through cricket

why is the typical biological approach to infectious disease different that the anthropological approach?

anthropology is interested in the context of infectious disease; the role of culture in the transition of disease

how did humans create malaria

invention of iron tools means that people could clear land, and grow crops and stop moving. cutting down trees leads to decline of certain plantlife in water sources, this allows for larvae increase that wasn't possible before

paleopathology

the study of disease in prehistoric populations

why did hunter gatherers have such little infectious disease

they are able to move to avoid disease and they are not in close quarters

ecological approach to infectious disease

people adjust to infectious disease threats (i/e/ building stilted houses to avoid malaria)

disease ecology

there are political-economical reasons for disease (i.e. disease is a product of development)

developo-genic disease

disease that originates in human development

how did HIV move so rapidly across africa

men are very mobile and they are looking for work, they are going from rural places to urban places and back and taking the disease with them

violence is meaningful depending on its _____ ______

cultural context

in terms of violence, what is anthropology most concerned with

how a culture makes collective violence justifiable and meaningful or unjustifiable

is violence biologically innate/natural?

no, or else we would all practice it in the same way/have the same view about it

kiowa, yanomami, kohistan

warrior societies, reward violence

dushmani

blood fued, started after insult of honor

ghrairat

man with honor (all men wish to be)

baghrairatman

man without honor

_____ becomes attached to violence in warrior societies

romance

ju/wasi, xingu, and kung!

does not tolerate or venerate violence

kiowa

native american indians, reward violence as a justifiable way for a man to proove worth, status, rank, masculinity (raid horses)

yanomami

border of venezuela and brazil, warrior society, violence as a justifiable way to protect resources and women

kohistan

northern pakistan, violence as a means of protecting honor

ju/wasi

hunter gatherer, holistic society, de-emphasizes individual so much that it couldn't possibly produce warriors

xingu

pities the figure of a warrior, sees them as sick, tainted, polluted

kung!

series of peace making rituals (involving spirits and healing) rather than violence, believe that humans can't solve conflict- you need to appeal to the divine

what is the relationship between the state and violence

the state as an entity has a legitimate monopoly on violence

how is violence (war) seen in our culture

as an honorable way of resolving conflict

who is boas

a founding father of anthropology

what was most important about boas' work

his emphasis on fieldwork

what is evolutionary theory

the idea that there is a single type of evolution that all societies go through

what was boas' main criticism of evolutionary theory

there is no evidence that one type of evolution occurs in all societies (cultural change is dynamic)

flux

doesn't imply a forward progress of end goal- a dynamic process, boas uses it to describe cultural development/change