Cultural Anthropology Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of flashcards defining key terms and concepts in Cultural Anthropology to aid in exam preparation.

Anthropology

The study of humanity in all its forms.

Culture

A set of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are learned and shared.

Enculturation

The process by which people learn their culture.

Ethnocentrism

Belief that one's own culture is superior to others.

Cultural Relativism

Understanding cultures on their own terms, without judgment.

Positionality

Awareness of how one’s identity affects perception and research.

Ethnography

Both a research method and the written account of that research.

Participant Observation

Long-term immersion in a community to understand daily life.

Functionalism

Cultural practices exist to meet basic human needs.

Structural Functionalism

Society is composed of interrelated structures that maintain stability over time.

Poststructuralism

Critiques structuralism & functionalism for ignoring power and change

• Focuses on:
  
  

  • Power as relational and contextual
    
    

  • Resistance and agency
    
    

  • Breaking down binaries (e.g., man/woman, state/society)
    
    

The Reflexive Turn

An influential period emphasizing subjectivity, representation, and the critique of objectivity. Greater attention to:

• Subjectivity & positionality
  
  

• Representation (polyvocality vs. monovocality)
  
  

Emic (insider) vs. Etic (outsider) perspectives

AAA Code of Ethics

Ethical guidelines for anthropologists that include 'do no harm' and 'informed consent.'

Mixed Methods

Combines qualitative and quantitative approaches in research.

Autoethnography

Using the self as a research site; documenting interactions with others.

Applied / Activist Anthropology

Participatory research aiming to create change in communities.

Studying Up

Researching elites or institutions in society.

Anthropology sub fields

cultural anthro - linguisic - biomedical Archaeology

Zhang Qian:

Early ethnographic work, observed and recorded Central Asian peoples.

Herbert Spencer & Lewis Henry Morgan:

Pushed social evolution theory: savagery → barbarism → civilization

Enlightenment & Scientific Rationalism

• 18th century shift away from religious authority
  
  

• Thinkers like Charles Darwin (evolution) and Charles Lyell (geology) influenced anthropological thought
  
  

• Gave rise to the idea of development and “progress”
  

Bronislaw Malinowski

• Developed participant observation
  
  

• Advocated for long-term immersive fieldwork
  
  

• Believed every culture is adapted to meet its own needs
  
  

Critiqued for biological reductionism (social roles= genetic)

Franz Boas – “Father of American Anthropology”

• Introduced cultural relativism
  
  

• Argued behavior is shaped more by environment and society than by biology
  
  

• Established the four-field approach to anthropology
  
  

His legacy is critiqued for encouraging excessive cultural determinism

Zora Neale Hurston

• Boas’ student
  
  

• Emphasized positionality and insider anthropology
  
  

• Quote: “Research is formalized curiosity...”
  
  

Raises questions about being an insider vs. outsider in fieldwork

Insider anthropology

a researcher who shares certain attributes, experiences, or identities with the people they are studying. This perspective, also known as the emic approach

Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology

• Participant Observation: Immersive, long-term engagement in a community
  
  

• Interviews & Focus Groups: Used alongside observation
  
  

• Ethnography:
  
  

  • Both a method (fieldwork) and product (the written result)
    
    

• Cultural anthropologists often use multiple methods and reflect on their own positionality (multuple methods = shows it is not objective)

Core Ethical Issues in Fieldwork

• Informed consent
  
  

• Avoiding exploitation
  
  

• Being honest about research goals
  
  

• Awareness of power dynamics and representation
  
  

Navigating insider/outsider tensions

Veranda Anthropology:

Research done from a distance, sometimes literally from a colonial porch

Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology

• Ethnography: both method and product
  
  

  • Involves long-term participant observation
    
    

  • Focus on everyday life and big issues (e.g., migration, nationalism, gender)
    
    

  • Field notes = primary data (descriptive + reflective)
    
    

• Contemporary methods: field sites are not bounded; attention to flows of people, ideas, goods
  
  

 Key Informants

• Interlocutors who guide research and shape findings
  
  

• May be research assistants, translators, or friends
  
  

• Present ethical complexities
  
  

Napoleon Chagnon Case

• Research with Yanomami criticized for ethical violations
  
  

• Accused of:
  
  

  • Spreading disease (measles)
    
    

  • Medical experimentation
    
    

  • Fabricating conflict
    
    

AAA conducted investigation

Salvage Anthropology

• Attempt to “preserve” disappearing Indigenous cultures
  
  

• Often done without consent
  
  

Associated with museum collection and ethnocentrism

Applied / Activist Anthropology

Participatory research; acting on findings; ethical tension with relativism

💡 Anthropology & Objectivity

• 
  

  • Culture = “webs of significance”
    
    

  • Anthropology = interpretive, not law-seeking
    
    

  • Objectivity is limited; knowledge is constructed
    
    

"Anthropology exists in books and articles, not just in field sites." recursive process

Why was the reflexive turn an important period in the development of contemporary cultural anthropology? Provide three examples.

• Talk about subjectivity, critiques of objectivity, decolonization.
  
  

Use examples like Geertz, polyvocality, feminist critique, insider anthropology (Hurston).

How do cultural anthropologists approach the issue of research objectivity? Provide three examples.

• Geertz’s interpretive anthropology
  
  

• Reflexivity and positionality
  
  

Autoethnography or insider anthropology

Describe some important ethical issues to consider when conducting ethnographic fieldwork. Use three concrete examples.

• AAA Code of Ethics
  
  

• Chagnon & the Yanomami
  
  

Working with key informants or vulnerable groups

1. What is cultural relativism, and how did it challenge ethnocentrism and biological determinism?
   
   

Cultural relativism is the concept that a person's beliefs and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture rather than be judged against the criteria of another culture. This perspective challenges ethnocentrism by promoting understanding and acceptance of cultural diversity, and it opposes biological determinism by emphasizing the role of culture in shaping human behavior.

1. How has participant observation changed the discipline of anthropology?
   
   

Participant observation is a research method that involves immersive engagement with a community, allowing anthropologists to collect nuanced data and understand social dynamics from an insider's perspective. This method has transformed anthropology by emphasizing the importance of context and lived experiences in cultural analysis.

1. Explain how structuralism and poststructuralism view culture differently.
   
   

Structuralism views culture as a system of underlying structures that shape human behavior and social relationships, while poststructuralism critiques this idea by arguing that meaning is fluid and constructed through language and power dynamics, emphasizing individual agency and the instability of cultural meanings.

1. How does anthropology "make the familiar strange and the strange familiar"? Give examples.
   
   

Anthropology challenges our perceptions of everyday life by examining cultural norms and practices that may seem ordinary to us, while also providing insight into unfamiliar cultures to foster understanding. For example, studying rituals in a foreign culture can reveal underlying values and assumptions in our own society.