CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY EXAM #1

Anthropology

The study of humans

What are the four fields of Anthropology?

Biological, Cultural, Archaeology, Linguistic

Biological Anthropology

the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly focused on human evolution

Cultural Anthropology

the study of people's communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together

Archaeology

examines the past history of cultures through their material remains

Linguistic Anthropology

the study of language and the relationship between language and culture

Fieldwork

the term anthropologists use for on-location research

participant observation

Heart of Fieldwork a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied

Signified

The mental concept associated with the word

Comparative Approach

compares society with society; tradition with tradition &identifies similarities and differences

cultural relativism

idea that each culture is unique and distinctive but no one culture is superior

Ethnocentrism

belief that one's culture represents the best way to do things

Culture

refers to the human behavior, symbols, beliefs, ideas, and the material objects humans. "way of life" of a people object of knowledge; condition of human identity and social relations.

E.B. Tylor

talked about culture as a complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society

What are aspects of American Culture?

Friendly, nice, working

Evolutionary Psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Cultural Evolution

conceptualized universal stages of development through which all societies have progressed... simple societies become more complex, CHANGE THROUGH LEARNED BEHAVIORS

Cultural Ecology

Geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

Leslie White and Julian Steward (Cultural Ecology)

Neoevolutionism, anthropologists who analyzed how environment, technology, and energy requirements led to the evolution of societies

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Armchair Anthropology

Anthropology through the study of secondhand reports from people such as travelers and missionaries.

Anthropocene

refers to the period in which human cultural behavior had significant impact on the ecology and geology of the earth

Ethnography

translation of fieldwork observations into a written narrative form

Franz Boas

father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism

cultural relativism

idea that each culture is unique and distinctive but no one culture is superior

Historical Particularism

The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.

Bronislaw Malinowski

British anthropologist (born in Poland) who introduced the technique of the participant observer (1884-1942), "Father of fieldwork... functionalism in anthropology"

Margaret Mead

United States anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and sexual behavior in Polynesian cultures (1901-1978)

What are the 5 Ethnographic methods?

1. Participant observation 2. Individual/Expert/Group interviews 3. Physical Traces/Behavioral mapping 4. Transect walks 5. Historical and archival documents

Individual/Expert/Group Interviews

Questions you'd ask for this ethnographic method: Who to talk to? What to listen for? When to interview? Where?

Physical trace maps

Ethnographic method, what items in a local mark the lingering presence of people who move through that space? (images& sounds, too)

Behavioral mapping

Ethnographic method, recording people and their activities in time & space. Who's there and why; who's not? What are they doing?

Transect walks

Ethnographic method, a local "expert" (community members, etc.) guides you through a location; possible collaborative dimension. Answers the question, "what am I seeing here?"

Types of ritual (4)

Rites of Passage, Rites of Intensification, Rites of Inversion, Hortatory Rituals

Rites of passage

occurs in relation to life-cycle events and organize the passage of individuals from one state/identity into another

Rites of Intensification

(Cyclic events) Perform/display community values and key symbols

Rites of Inversion

reversals of everyday moral and political orders; specially marked moments when people break, or 'humorously play with,' their own cultural rules

hortatory rituals

Rituals that consist of exhortations to the supernatural to perform some act

Examples of Rites of Passage

Childhood into adulthood, Driving, Sweet 16, Graduation, Marriage, Death

Examples of Rites of Intensification

Thanksgiving, Church, Christmas, Fourth of July, Birthdays

Examples of Rites of Inversion

Halloween, April Fools, Powderpuff

Animistic

The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, such as thoughts, wishes, feelings, and intentions

Shamanism

enactment of a convincing, theatrical-style performance, before an audience that needs to be convinced; focus on efficacy—how well the rite works

imagistic

episodes of intense physical experience (pain, fear)

Lithurgy

doing things in the correct sequence, in a setting where everyone participates.

Doctrinal

sacred/secular instruction; requires "semantic memory"

Totemism

the belief that people are related to particular animals, plants, or natural objects by virtue of descent from common ancestral spirits

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

Phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Grammar

the complete description of a language

Ethnosemantics

the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in particular cultural contexts

linguistic relativity

all languages are equally complex and share the same functions and basic structures

Linguistic imperialism

the transfer of a dominant language to other people

Gender

Culture-specific sets of behavioral, ideological, and socially constructed meanings for understand biology

Sexuality

erotic desires & practices, along a spectrum

Gender roles

tasks and activities that a culture assigns to sexes. Must be viewed in relation to each other, because they are mutually informing

Sex

physical differentiation based on anatomy (genitalia) and secondary sex characteristics

Age grade

age-related status; phases of life/cycles, categories: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle and old age. Recognized in all societies, but the names, lengths, perceived attributes, and expected behavior of those stages varies among societies

Age sets

generations or cohorts (social group, consisting of people of similar age), posits a common identity maintain over a prolonged period, and together pass through a series of age-related statuses. Ex. Baby boomers. Millennials, Gen Z

Gender stratification

the unequal distribution of rewards (socially valued resources, power, prestige, and personal freedom) between men and women reflecting their different positions in the social hierarchy

Self

living organisms maintaining homeostasis in relation to englobing environment

Social self

(face) asserted, maintained, and challenged in relation to others; requires aligning bodily functions with social expectations ("I'm not myself today")

Person

bearer of rights and obligations, belonging to a social collective

Clifford Geertz

"Culural analysis is intrinsically incomplete."; thick description- all behavior has more than one meaning;

Symbol

Something that stands for something else.Culture is based on this. We react to the meanings rather than the "things".

(examples: middle finger, thumbs up)

Relationship between language and culture.

• Both language and culture are part of symbolic thought. Language influences culture (talking about someone before meeting them). Culture influences language (70 words to decribe beer in Germany).

Markedness vs. unmarkedness

Rituals

discourse

verbal expression or exchange; conversation

discussions that help people understand and reason out social reality. Includes relationships with other people, structure, notions of power A: Take out the trash, B: Nah I'm in the shower, A: Ok I'll do it

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

Metonym

a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated

Metaphor

a kind of symbol, an important analytical concept used by anthropologists in the study of symbolic systems. An idea that stands for another set of ideas

symbolic anthropology

the study of symbols in their social and cultural context

langue vs. parole

abstract language system vs. concrete act of speaking

Myth VS Legend VS Folktale

Myth: deal with remote past, often with the time of the origin of things both natural and cultural- how the world and its people were created... how fired was discovered and cooking began... associated with sacred, ancient, small-scale societies. Legend: though to have some basis in historical fact. Folktale: Involves a trickster, standard opening "Once upon a time", indeterminate time

Signifiers

the culturally constructed arbitrary words or symbols that people use to refer to something else. the physical existence

Signifier + Signified =

Sign

Band vs. Tribe

Band: Sharing is important, Loose (people go in and out), Always on the move, Hunter gatherers, Egalitarian, Concentrated around wise elders

Tribe:

Violent, More permanent , Less egalitarian, Chiefs, leaders, Network of network

Theoretical Approaches of Myth

Freudian approach, Malinowskian Approach, Levi Strauss Approach

Freudian approach

Malinowskian approach

Theoretical Approach, Key words:

BEHAVIORAL, CULTURAL, SOCIAL. In this approach, it saw the necessity of analyzing a myth in relation to its social and cultural context. Myths were charters for how and what people should believe, act, and feel. A body of myths lays out ideals that guide the behavior of members of a culture

Levi Strauss Approach

Theoretical Approach. Myths provide explanations for contradictions present in a culture that cannot be resolved. Wogeo myth attempts to resolve the contradiction between the ideal of keeping males and females apart and the need for them to come together to reproduce society through sexual intercourse. Fail to provide a permanent solution to this contradiction

Theories of Religion

Max Weber, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim. Science vs. Magic vs. Religion

Max Weber's Theory of Religion

KEY WORDS: Suffering, Explanation: Argued that since life is made up of pain and suffering, human beings developed religion to explain why they were put on Earth to suffer.

Sigmund Freud's Theory of Religion

KEY WORDS: Childhood. proposed that religious institutions represented society's way of dealing with childish needs of dependency on the part of individuals.

Emilie Durkheim Theory of Religion

KEY WORDS: Survival. Religion helps with ideas. Saw religion as means by which society inculcates values and sentiments necessary for the promotion of social solidarity and the society's ultimate survival

Religion and Cognitive Development

Approach examines religious phenomena as related to the evolution of human brain and its capacity to process and categorize information.

Nacirema

("American" spelled backwards) is a term used in anthropology and sociology in relation to aspects of the behavior and society of citizens of the United States of America

American football

a term used by non-Americans to distinguish the popular U.S. sport of football. Known as an American ritual. Widely celebrated across the world. Rites of Intensification: SUPER BOWL!!!. Cheerleaders, mascots

Tipping

Cultural ritual in America. It's where you pay the waiter, barman, or hotel extra because it's nice and it's what you do.

The Linguistic sign and Ferdinand de Saussure

the combination of a linguistic form and meaning. binary, one cannot exist without the other, always a sound image in our head. arbitrariness: no reason why tree should mean tree. conventionality: sign and meaning is based on social and cultural meaning (= history). linearity: the individual signs must not be pronounced simultaneously

Taboo

A restriction on behavior imposed by social custom

Commodity Fetishism

the perception of the social relationships involved in production, not as relationships among people, but as economic relationships among the money and commodities exchanged in market trade

Freud - Fetishism

"Fetishism," he argues that a fetish is a special form of penis substitute.

Sychronic

Describes the language rules at a specific point of time without taking its history into account