AN101 Test #2

illness narratives

the personal stories that people tell to explain their illnesses; way to bridge cultural divide in treating illness and promoting health

Ethnomedicine

local systems of health and healing rooted in culturally specific norms and values

changes to american medical system

medical students taught cross-cultural issues; importance of assessing cultural factors

anthropological approach to religion

begins with the everyday religious practices of people in their local communities - understanding the meaning and significance of these practices in the community

Death Without Weeping

-Nancy Shephard Hughes
-Worked with poor mothers in Northern Brazil → in context of high infant mortality, do mothers mourn for the loss of their children? When it's something that's predictable and expected?
*She argues that there's not such a thing as universal maternal instinct: in many ways, cultural, social , and structural setting of endemic poverty makes it so that women learn not to grieve in powerful ways
-Strategies in low resources setting of sfhiting food resources and education to children that are seen as more VIABLE → so moms favoring certain kinds whose bodies, skin, etc. are seen as indices of viability and longevity

Class

a system of power based on wealth, income, and status that creates unequal distribution of resources, stratify life chances and social mobility

life chances

an individual's opportunities to improve quality of life and achieve life goals

social mobility

the movement of one's class position, upward or downward, in stratified societies

Inequality in the US

- inequality has widened substantially in the US over the past decades

- top .1% make 196x more than the bottom 90%

- top 10% make 9x more than the bottom 90%

- we still tell the story of the American dream with open access to upwards mobility for those who are hardworking

Karl Marx

argues that all modern societies are based on class distinctions. class consciousness is the key to overcoming oppression

Bourgeoisie

people who own the means of production

proletariat

people who sell their labor in return for wages

Fordism

linking increasing wages to increased labor productivity, allowing workers to buy back a portion of the goods they produce and not recognize their exploited status

miners in kentucky and class

history of racism prevented white workers from forming solidarity with black and hispanic workers, resulting in a system where the surplus value of workers' labor goes to the elites

Intersectionality

assessing how factors such as race, class and gender interact to shape life chances and social patterns of stratification

Stratification

A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society.

Pierre Bourdieu

Studied the French education system and its effects on social mobility - does education lead to social mobility? Social reproduction, cultural capital, habitus

social reproduction

the phenomenon whereby social and class relations of prestige are passed on from one generation to the next

Habitus

the dispositions, self-perceptions, sensibilities, and tastes developed in response to external influences over a lifetime that shape one's conceptions of the world

cultural capital

Knowledge, habits and tastes learned that individuals can use to gain access to valuable resources in society

culture of poverty

popular but outdated theory which traces poverty to personal failings of the impoverished individual or community

poverty as a structural economic problem

systemic failure to invest in the infrastructure of impoverished communities keeps them poor

sex

observable physical differences between male and female, especially biological differences related to reproduction and reproductive functions of the body

gender

expectations of thought and behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes

three primary factors in determining biological sex

genitalia, gonads, chromosome patterns

Gonads

ovaries and testes

sexually dimorphic

a characteristic of a species, in which males and females have different sexual forms

Intersex

state of being born with a combination of male and female genitalia, gonads and chromosomes

percentage of intersex births

as many as 1.7% - millions of people

Five sexes (Fausto-Sterling)

the presence of middle sexes outside of male and female suggests possibilities to reconceptualise one of our most rigid mental maps

Hijras

an alternative gender role in India conceptualized as neither man nor woman

two-spirit people

in Native American societies, men or women who dressed like, performed the duties of, and behaved like a member of the opposite sex

Nàdleehi

in Navajo culture, two-spirits who combine male and female roles, act as spiritual healers, mediate conflict, etc

transgender

an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

cisgender

term used when gender identity and/or expression aligns with the sex assigned at birth - calls attention to unexamined gender norms, identities and priviliges

cultural constructions of gender

biology and culture intertwine in shaping gender identities - knowing a person's biological sex does not allow us to determine what role that person plays in a given culture

learning gender

humans learn to behave as a man or a woman and to recognize behaviors as masculine and feminine within their cultural context

gender performance

the way gender identity is expressed through actions

gender ideology

a set of cultural ideas, usually stereotypical, about the essential character of different genders that functions to justify and promote gender stratification

gender stratification

males' and females' unequal access to property, power, and prestige

the egg and the sperm

Emily Martin - explores the ways in which gender ideologies influence how biologists understand and describe human reproduction.
scientific language promotes gender stereotypes. by reading stereotypical masculine and feminine behavior into accounts of eggs and sperm, we enshrine these gender roles into "nature"

Man the Hunter, Woman the Gatherer

cultural misconception that fuels gender stereotypes. archaeological evidence suggests that foraging and gathering was a primary source of calories, and in living groups that practice hunting and gathering, gathering remains the primary source of calories. both men and women partake in gathering food, and women help add meat to family diets through hunting.

kinship

a system of meaning and power that cultures create to determine who is related to who and to define their mutual expectations, rights, and responsabilities

descent group

a form of kinship group in which primary relationship is traced through blood relatives

matrilineal descent

a system of tracing descent through the mother's side of the family

patrilineal descent

a system of tracing descent through the father's side of the family

unilineal descent

the tracing of descent through only one parent (matrilineal or patrilineal)

ambilineal descent

a form of bilateral descent in which an individual may choose to affiliate with either the father's or mother's descent group

lineage

traces genealogical connection by tracing persons to a known ancestor

clan

based on a claim to a common ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation

affinal relationship

a kinship relationship established through marriage or affiliation, not through biological descent

marriage

a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical and emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property and inheritance

bridewealth

the gift of goods or money from the groom's family to the bride's family as part of the marriage process

dowry

property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage

arranged marriage

a marriage in which the parents choose the marriage partners

companionate marriage

marriage built on love, intimacy, and personal choice rather than social obligation

monogamy

Marriage to only one person at a time

Polygamy

having more than one spouse at a time

Polygyny

a form of marriage in which men have more than one wife

Polyandry

a form of marriage in which women have more than one husband

incest taboo

a norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives

family

a social group of two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption who live or reside together for an extended period, sharing economic resources and caring for their young

natal family

the family into which a person is born and raised

nuclear family

a married couple and their unmarried children living together

extended family

a family that extends beyond the nuclear family e.g. grandparents, aunts and uncles in the household

langkawi families

kinship is constructed through co-residence and co-feeding, believe that all people who live and eat together, regardless of background, come to resemble each other physically - long-term guests can enter kinship group

Hmong

known as the hilltribe, called the miao by the chinese. southward migration from china into laos in the 18th century

Hmong refugee resettlement

more than 150,000 Hmong fled Laos in 1975 after their country fell to communist forces - fought on behalf of America in wars in Vietnam and Laos. Long and arduous journey from laos to the US - approx. 12k hmong settled in Merced, CA

hu plig

ceremony of soul-calling in Hmong culture taking place 3rd day after infant's birth - the baby is not considered human until the hu plig happens, if it dies it is not afforded funeral rites

quag dab peg

"the spirit catches you"

belief among traditional Hmong that epileptic seizures caused by spirits

txiv neeb

in Hmong culture, epileptics become shamans called this with special abilities to connect to the supernatural

Laotian Civil War

the "quiet war", a proxy war to the Vietnam war. the US government was anxious to support a non-communist government in Laos and formed the "Armee Clandestine"
Hmong were motivated to collaborate with the US because the Communist forced opposed the slashing and burning method of Hmong farming

Hmong life during war

hmong lives were considered cheap - was much cheaper to fund the Armee Clandestine than the American soldiers in Vietnam. Hmong soldiers were paid much less than American ones, were given worse food, had a higher death rate

Hmong relationship to opium

Opium was introduced to the Hmong by outside traders, grew it to exchange to the Chinese for silver in return (which was used as bridewealth). French colonial government - taxes in the form of opium. Hmong kept less than 10% of opium and few were addicts. Opium was also given to Hmong babies when fleeing Laos and crossing into Thailand to keep them quiet.

Refugee

a person who is, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, outside of their country of nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail themselves to the protection of that country, or a person who does not have a nationality and is outside of their last country of residence due to persecution and is unable or unwilling to return to it.

asylum seeker

a migrant who could be a refugee or displaced person, but is not an economic migrant. someone whose claim as a refugee has not been definitively evaluated.

internally displaced person (IDP)

person who is forced to flee their home but has not yet crossed an international border to find safety.

refugee admissions to the US

approx. 3 million refugees admitted to the US between 1975-2015. in 2019, the refugee cap was set at 30,000, a historic low. it takes 2 years on average for refugee status determination. refugees can legally work and apply for a green card to become a permanent resident. after 5 years, refugees can apply for citizenship.

UN's three durable solutions to refugee problem

voluntary repatriation, resettlement, local integration

Voluntary Repatriation

The process of returning voluntarily to one's place of origin or citizenship

Resettlement

the movement or settlement of people in a different place

Local Integration

A process by which refugees legally, economically, socially, and culturally integrate as fully included members of the host society

agonisticism

Belief that nothing can be known about whether God exists

athiest

absence of beliefs in deities

E.B. Tylor

proposed an evolutionary model of religion from animism to polytheism to monotheism

Animism

belief that inanimate objects such as trees, rocks, cliffs, hills, etc. are animated by spiritual forces or beings

polytheism

belief in the worship of multiple gods (hinduism, buddhism, etc)

monotheism

belief in only one God. (christianity, judaism, islam)

Anthony Wallace

defined religion as "belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, powers and forces." - religion not just about deities, but about the supernatural

Clifford Geertz

religion as a system of symbols

authorizing process

the complex historical and social developments through which symbols are given power and meaning - how religion obtains power

ritual

formalized activities that are repeated multiple times and have a symbolic content

rites of passage

Social rituals that mark the transition between developmental stages, especially between childhood and adulthood.

Victor Turner

3 stages of rites of passage - separation, liminality (from outsider position, gain new perspective on their past and future), reincorporation into society

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Globalization

the worldwide intensification of interactions and increased movement of money, people, goods, and ideas within and across national borders