Cultural Anthropology Overview

A comprehensive set of flashcards designed to review key terms and theories from cultural anthropology, covering concepts, methods, major figures, and critiques.

Cultural Anthropology

Study of living cultures, symbols, social life, and meaning.

Biological/Physical Anthropology

Focuses on human evolution, biology, and variation.

Archaeology

The study of material remains and past societies.

Linguistic Anthropology

Examines language, communication, and its relation to culture and power.

Culture

Patterned, learned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling, which are shared but contested.

Cultural glasses (Kulturbrille)

Concept that shapes perception and defines what counts as 'common sense'.

Embodied culture

Habits, gestures, and routines that become part of people's behavior.

Key features of culture

Shared, symbolic, learned, adaptive, integrated with social institutions, and historically variable.

Boasian turn

Franz Boas's emphasis on cultural relativism, historical particularism, and fieldwork.

Interpretive approaches

20th/21st century methods focusing on understanding culture through interpretation.

James Clifford quote

Culture is a deeply compromised idea I cannot yet do without.

Unilineal Social Evolution

Theory positing a progression from savagery to civilization, seen as ethnocentric.

Doctrine of Psychic Unity

E.B. Tylor's concept that all humans share basic mental capacities.

Franz Boas's main argument

Rejection of unilineal models; cultures are historically particular and contextually understood.

Colonialism's effect on anthropology

Anthropology emerged alongside European colonial expansion, justifying domination through terms like 'primitive'.

Denial of coevalness

Treating other societies as not contemporary, as noted by Frantz Fanon.

Ethnography

Long-term descriptive accounts of culture, combining method and text.

Fieldwork

Living among people studied, using methods such as participant-observation and interviews.

Participant-observation

Research method where the researcher engages in daily life while observing.

Fieldnotes

Immediate descriptive notes used for later ethnographic writing.

Ethics in fieldwork

Guidelines to ensure no harm, informed consent, confidentiality, and honesty in research.

George Gmelch's Baseball Magic

Illustrates how ritual acts aim to influence unforeseen outcomes.

Displacement in language

The ability to refer to absent entities or times.

Linguistic productivity

Generating novel expressions from a finite number of elements.

Duality of patterning

The structure of language from phonemes to morphemes to syntax.

Phoneme

The smallest sound contrast that can change meaning.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful unit in a language.

Syntax

Rules that govern how words combine into sentences.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (strong form)

Linguistic determinism: language limits thought.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis (weak form)

Linguistic relativity: language influences thought/perception.

William Labov

Studied sociolinguistic variation related to social class.

Deborah Tannen

Examined gendered conversational styles and their effects on communication.

Pierre Bourdieu on language

Language as 'symbolic capital' that conveys prestige and social advantage.

Religion

Beliefs and rituals concerning supernatural beings and forces.

Magic

Ritual acts intended to influence unpredictable outcomes.

Myth

Stories conveying moral or cosmological truths.

Ritual/Symbolic action

Public enactment of values and social relations.

Rites of Passage

Ceremonial transitions marking changes in status (Separation, Liminality, Reincorporation).

Franz Boas

Known for fieldwork, cultural relativism, and critique of armchair theories.

Bronislaw Malinowski

Pioneer of participant-observation and detailed fieldnotes.

James Clifford

Contributed to reflexivity in anthropology.

Marshall Sahlins

Argued that hunter-gatherers demonstrate affluence in 'The Original Affluent Society'.

Laura Bohannan

Authored 'Shakespeare in the Bush,' highlighting cultural interpretation of texts.

Frantz Fanon

Explored colonialism's psychological effects.

Tanya Luhrmann

Studied modern evangelical experiences.

Hortense Powdermaker

Anthropologist known for her contributions to social anthropology.

Essay prompt suggestion

Discuss the impact of colonialism on the development of anthropology.