Cultural Anthropology: Unit 1

Anthropology

The study of the full scope of human diversity, past and present, and the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds better understand one another.

Biological Anthropology

The study of people from the standpoint of human biology, the form and function of the human body, the environment, social behavior, and how we've evolved in respect to these aspects.

Linguistic Anthropology

The study of language in its social and cultural context, across space and over time.

Cultural Anthropology

The study of human societies and their cultures, focusing on contemporary and recent human groups to understand social and cultural similarities and differences worldwide.

Archeology

The field of study that tells us about wow humans lived in the Paleolithic Era.

Holism

the anthropological commitment to look at the whole picture of human life - culture, biology, history, and language - across space and time.

Culture

A system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and institutions that are created, learned, shared, and contested by a group of people.

Enculturation

The process of learning culture.

Norms

Ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people.

Values

Fundamental beliefs about what is important, what makes a good life, and what is true, right, and beautiful.

Symbols

Anything that represents something else.

Mental Maps of Reality

Cultural classifications of what kinds of people and things exist, and the assignment of meaning to those classifications.

Cultural Relativism

Understanding a group's beliefs and practices within their own cultural context, without making judgments.

Ethnocentrism

The belief that one's own culture or way of life is normal and natural; using one's own culture to evaluate and judge the practices and ideals of others.

Unilineal Cultural Evolution

The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex.

Power

The ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence.

Stratification

The uneven distribution of resources and privileges among members of a group or culture.

Hegemony

The ability of a dominant group to create consent and agreement within a population without the use or threat of force.

Agency

The potential power of individuals and groups to contest cultural norms, values, mental maps of reality, symbols, institutions, and structures of power.

Ethnographic Fieldwork

A primary research strategy in cultural anthropology that typically involves living and interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives.

Participant Observation

A key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied.

Rapport

Relationships of trust and familiarity that an anthropologist develops with members of the community under study.

Reflexivity

A critical self-examination of the role the anthropologist plays and an awareness that one's identity affects one's fieldwork and theoretical analyses.

Key Informant

A community member who advises the anthropologist on community issues, provides feedback, and warns against cultural miscues. Also called cultural consultant.

Field Notes

The anthropologist's written observations and reflections on places, practices, events, and interviews.

Mutual Transformation

The potential for both the anthropologist and the members of the community being studied to be transformed by the interactions of fieldwork.

Emic

An approach to gathering data that investigates how local people think and how they understand the world.

Etic

Description of local behavior and beliefs from the anthropologist's perspective in ways that can be compared across cultures.

Informed Consent

A key strategy for protecting those being studied by ensuring that they are fully informed of the goals of the project and have clearly indicated their consent to participate.

Anonymity

Protecting the identities of the people involved in a study by changing or omitting their names or other identifying characteristics.