Anthropology 1101: Peoples and Cultures - Exam Review

Class 2-4: Anthropology - A Historical Landscape

Reflect on characteristics of culture:

• Definition and significance of culture in anthropology: Culture encompasses the shared beliefs, practices, and material manifestations of people.

• Related Definitions:

  • The Other: Understanding different cultures as distinct from one’s own helps in recognizing diversity.

  • Evolutionary Theory: Explains biological and cultural evolution of societies, suggesting societies adapt over time.

  • Origin of Species and Survival of the Fittest: Natural selection applies not only to biology but to cultural practices, leading some societies to dominate others.

  • Cultural Evolution: Describes how cultures develop, adapt, and transform over generations.

  • Savage-Barbarism to Progress: Historical viewpoints that ranked cultures along a linear trajectory from 'savage' to 'civilized'.

  • Off the Veranda Approach: Advocates immersing oneself in cultures to gain authentic insights rather than just observing from a distance.

  • Historical Particularism: Concept of understanding cultural context specific to each society.

  • Going Native: Refers to researchers adopting the cultures of those they study.

  • Cultural Variation: Recognizes the differences within and among cultures that influence social structures.

  • Enculturation: The lifelong socialization process into one’s own culture, impacting beliefs and behaviors.

  • Hunters-Gatherers: Societies characterized by foraging for food and moving as needed for resources.

  • Subculture: Groups within a larger culture that have distinct values or behaviors.

Class 5: Europe & United States

• Related Definitions:

  • Society: A structured community of people sharing a culture.

  • Social Institutions: Established systems (family, education) forming the framework of society.

  • Decolonizing Anthropology: Efforts to critique and revise anthropological methodologies and subjects to include marginalized voices.

Class 10-11: Human Ecology

• Reflect on the Transition from Hunters-Gatherers to Agriculturalists:

  • Adaptation Strategies: How communities adjust their ways of life in response to environmental changes.

  • Debunking Ethnocentrism: Challenging the notion of a single unilineal path of cultural progress using archaeological evidence.

  • Health Comparisons: Examining studies by Eaton and Konner on whether agriculturalists experienced better or worse health than hunters-gatherers.

Class 15: Anthropology of Gender

• Theories About Gender and Sexual Differences:

  • Understanding gender as a culturally shaped perception of biological characteristics leads to debates over roles versus biological determinism.

  • Margaret Mead's Findings: Studies in Papua New Guinea (Arapesh, Mundugumor, Tchambuli) reveal that gender roles differ dramatically and are socially constructed.

  • Gender Inequality: Analysis of how societies express expectations regarding gender roles and behaviors.

Class 17: Gender & Power

• Marked vs. Unmarked Categories: Examines how power dynamics are reflected in gender representations and how these create societal privileges.

• Compulsory Heterosexuality: Discusses social norms around heterosexuality and their impact on society.

Class 19: Anthropology of Race

• Understanding race as a social rather than biological construct, emphasizing that racial categories are historically variable and socially enforced.

• Racism: Explores systemic racism's roots and its persistence in shaping present-day inequalities.

Class 20: Anthropology of Class

• Marx and Weber's Class Theories: Discusses class and stratification from a sociological perspective.

• Cultural Capital: Examines the intersections between culture and economics in defining class status.

• Social Mobility: Investigates the ability to move up or down social classes, critiquing the idea of the 'American Dream' in relation to structural barriers.

Class 21: Intersectionality

• Analyzes how the combination of various identity markers (race, gender, class) shapes unique experiences of privilege or oppression.

• Stresses the importance of applying intersectional approaches in social justice initiatives and feminist movements.

Globalization and Colonialism

• Investigates how globalization interrelates with local cultures, challenging existing power dynamics, while discussing the legacy of colonial histories in contemporary racial and class struggles.

Reflect on characteristics of culture:
Definition and significance of culture in anthropology: Culture encompasses the shared beliefs, practices, and material manifestations of people.
Related Definitions:

• The Other: Understanding different cultures as distinct from one’s own helps in recognizing diversity.

• Society: A structured community of people sharing a culture.

• Social Institutions: Established systems (family, education) forming the framework of society.

• Decolonizing Anthropology: Efforts to critique and revise anthropological methodologies and subjects to include marginalized voices.
  Evolutionary Theory: Explains biological and cultural evolution of societies, suggesting societies adapt over time.
  Origin of Species and Survival of the Fittest: Natural selection applies not only to biology but to cultural practices, leading some societies to dominate others.
  Cultural Evolution: Describes how cultures develop, adapt, and transform over generations.
  Savage-Barbarism to Progress: Historical viewpoints that ranked cultures along a linear trajectory from 'savage' to 'civilized'.
  Off the Veranda Approach: Advocates immersing oneself in cultures to gain authentic insights rather than just observing from a distance.
  Historical Particularism: Concept of understanding cultural context specific to each society.
  Going Native: Refers to researchers adopting the cultures of those they study.
  Cultural Variation: Recognizes the differences within and among cultures that influence social structures.
  Enculturation: The lifelong socialization process into one’s own culture, impacting beliefs and behaviors.
  Hunters-Gatherers: Societies characterized by foraging for food and moving as needed for resources.
  Subculture: Groups within a larger culture that have distinct values or behaviors.
  Adaptation Strategies: How communities adjust their ways of life in response to environmental changes.
  Debunking Ethnocentrism: Challenging the notion of a single unilineal path of cultural progress using archaeological evidence.
  Health Comparisons: Examining studies by Eaton and Konner on whether agriculturalists experienced better or worse health than hunters-gatherers.
  Theories About Gender and Sexual Differences: Understanding gender as a culturally shaped perception of biological characteristics leads to debates over roles versus biological determinism.
  Margaret Mead's Findings: Studies in Papua New Guinea (Arapesh, Mundugumor, Tchambuli) reveal that gender roles differ dramatically and are socially constructed.
  Gender Inequality: Analysis of how societies express expectations regarding gender roles and behaviors.
  Marked vs. Unmarked Categories: Examines how power dynamics are reflected in gender representations and how these create societal privileges.
  Compulsory Heterosexuality: Discusses social norms around heterosexuality and their impact on society.
  Understanding race as a social rather than biological construct, emphasizing that racial categories are historically variable and socially enforced.
  Racism: Explores systemic racism's roots and its persistence in shaping present-day inequalities.
  Marx and Weber's Class Theories: Discusses class and stratification from a sociological perspective.
  Cultural Capital: Examines the intersections between culture and economics in defining class status.
  Social Mobility: Investigates the ability to move up or down social classes, critiquing the idea of the 'American Dream' in relation to structural barriers.
  Analyzes how the combination of various identity markers (race, gender, class) shapes unique experiences of privilege or oppression.
  Stresses the importance of applying intersectional approaches in social justice initiatives and feminist movements.
  Investigates how globalization interrelates with local cultures, challenging existing power dynamics, while discussing the legacy of colonial histories in contemporary racial and class struggles.