ANTH 210 Final 2024

revised version

5 ‘Scapes (Appadurai)

Ethnoscape, technoscape, ideoscape, financescape, mediascape

Animatism

impersonal supernatural forces (ex: the force from Star Wars) THINK ANIMATION

Animism

the idea that souls exist in non-humans

Anthropology of mediation

the way images, speech, people, and things become socially meaningful as they are communicated

Art

the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

Biologic sex

refers to male and female identity based on internal and external sex organs and chromosomes

Cisgender

a term used to describe those whose gender identity coincides with the biological sex they were assigned at birth.

Cline

variation on a spectrum, skin tones get lighter as you get further from ecuator

Colonialism

political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended period

Communitas

a unity that encourages people to see themselves as members of the community

Consumption

the forms of behavior that connect our economic activity with the cultural symbols that give our lives meaning

Cosmology

an explanation for the origin or history of the world.

The cultural construction of gender

diverse perceptions of masculinity and femininity across cultures, shaping notions of manhood and womanhood

Culture-bound syndrome

An illness recognized only within a specific culture.

Cultural Performance

A performance such as a concert or a play.

Dimensions of ethnicity

attributional (boundary markers, languages, costuming/dress, physical appearance, religion, foods, origin myths) and relational (hierarchical, fluidity)

Dimorphism

the existence of two different forms (as of color or size) of a species especially in the same population (ex: physical attributes of men and women)

Elements of Religion

cosmology, belief in the supernatural, rules of behavior, and rituals

Essentialism

A belief that gender and certain other social categories are inherent, fixed, internal, stable, deeply embedded, and unchangeable.

Ethnomedicine

local systems of healing that are culturally specific

Ethnopharmacology

subsection of ethnomedicine

Ethnicity

the degree to which a person identifies with and feels an attachment to a particular ethnic group

Ethnocide

cultural destruction

Ethno-etiologies

cultural explanations for the causes of disease. Ex. (biomedical: the idea that disease is caused by identifiable agents, personalistic: a person caused illness; supernational element, naturalistic (disease if caused by natural elements like cold, emotionalistic: belief disease is caused by strong emotions)

Ethnoscape

movement of people across political boundaries; migration, tourism

Financescape

the flow of money across political borders

Full-time religious practitioner

priest, minister, rabbi

Gender

expectations of thought and behavior assigned by each culture to people of different sexes

Global North

the wealthier countries of the world.

Global South

the poorest countries of the world

Glocalization

the adaptation of global ideas into locally palatable forms; stimulus diffusion

Hegemony

(consent of the governed) a power so pervasive that it is rarely acknowledged or even recognized, yet informs everyday actions.

Heteronormativity

the system of rights and privileges that accompany “normative” sexual choices and family formation.

Hijra

the “Third gender” in India that often dresses in female attire

Hypodescent

a socially constructed racial classification system where a person of mixed racial heritage is automatically categorized as a member of the less privileged group

Ideoscape

the flow of ideas

Illness

the experience of sickness (Physical, social, & emotional symptoms)

Indigenous media

Media produced by and for Indigenous communities often outside of the commercial mainstream.

Individual racism

an individual's racist assumptions, beliefs, or behaviors and is “a form of racial discrimination that stems from conscious and unconscious, personal prejudice.” This is connected to/learned from broader socio-economic histories and processes and is supported and reinforced by systemic racism.

Institutional racism

Racism that occurs within an institution or system of power like unfair policies and discriminatory practices of particular institutions (schools, workplaces, etc.) that routinely produce racially inequitable outcomes for people of color and advantages for white people.

Intersex

a percentage of the human population is intersex with ambiguous or mixed biological sex characteristics.

Jim Crow laws

a term used to describe laws passed by state and local governments in the United States during the early twentieth century to enforce racial segregation of public and private places.

Mana

One of the beliefs organized around belief in an impersonal supernatural force, a type of religion known as animatism, it still refers to power, but in a more general sense.

Matriarchy

Female

Meaning

refers to the ideas or values that accompany the exchange of information.

Media practices

The habits or behaviors of the people who produce media, the audiences who interact with media, and everyone in between.

Mediascape

the flow of media across borders.

Monotheism

religious systems that recognize a single supreme God.

Multiculturalism

maintenance of multiple cultural traditions in a single society.

Neoliberalism

A free market, private business/enterprise is the best for anything that happens, with no government intervention at all.

Part-time religious practitioners

They carry out religious rituals when needed, but also participate in the normal work of the community.

Patriarchy

describes a society with a male-dominated political and authority structure and an ideology that privileges males over females in domestic and public spheres.

Personal front

Aspects of one’s clothing, physical characteristics, comportment, and facial expressions that communicate an impression to others.

Performing culture

how our everyday words and actions are reflections of our enculturation

Polytheism

religious systems that recognize several gods.

Presentation of self

The management of the impressions others have of us.

Profane

objects or ideas are ordinary and can be treated with disregard or contempt.

Race

an attempt to categorize humans based on observed physical differences.

Racial formation

The process of defining and redefining racial categories in a society.

Racial ideology

Belief that humanity could and should be divided into distinct biological groups or “races”, and that different races stand in a ranked hierarchical relation to one another

Reified

The process by which an inaccurate concept or idea is accepted as “truth.”

Religion

The extension of human society and culture to include the supernatural.

Rite of intensification

Actions designed to bring a community together, often following a period of crisis.

Rite of passage

A ceremony designed to transition individuals between life stages.

Rite of revitalization

Attempts to resolve serious problems, such as war, famine or poverty through a spiritual or supernatural intervention.

Rituals

A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order

Sacred

Objects or ideas are set apart from the ordinary and treated with great respect or care.

Secondary sex characteristics

physical characteristics on men and women (ex: beards on men, breasts on women, not genitalia)

Shaman

A part time religious practitioner who carries out religious rituals when needed, but also participates in the normal work of the community.

Social control

Any means used to maintain behavioral norms and regulate conflict

Stratification

Hierarchical relationships between different groups

Symbolic ethnicity

Limited or occasional displays of ethnic pride and identity that are primarily for public display.

Syncretism

The combination of different religious beliefs (even those that are seemingly contradictory) into a new religion

Technoscape

The global flows of technology.

Third gender

A gender identity that exists in non-binary gender systems offering one or more gender roles separate from male or female.

Transgender

A category for people who identify as a different gender than the one that was assigned to them at birth. This may entail a social transition or a physical one, using many methods.

Two-Spirit

Gender-variant individuals within a specific community