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55 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Definition of Anthropology
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study of human beings in all of their biological and cultural complexities both past and present
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Subfields of Anthropology
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biological, linguistic, archaeology, cultural
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Biological Anthropology
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the study of humans form a biological perspective
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linguistic anthropology
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includes historical linguistics, descriptive linguistics, ethnolinguistics, and sociolinguistics
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Archaeology
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the study of people form the past by excavating and studying the material culture they leave behind. For example, artifacts, features, and ecofacts)
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Cultural Anthropology
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scientific approach: similarities and differences in thought/idea and behavior/practice
humanistic approach: the interpretation and appreciation for others' way of life |
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Biopsychological equality
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humans' equivalent capacity for culture
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Universal
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humans have the same basic needs and universal problems (eg. food production and economic need, shelter and protection, system of marriage and family, educational, social control, supernatural beliefs, communication
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Particular
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The way in which these universal needs and problems manifest themselves in each culture
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Emic
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From the term phonemics, taking the participant's perspective, the insider's or cultural participant's view; highlighting that which is significant to the participants in their own terms
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Etic
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taking the comparativist's perspective in observing or describing a culture; highlighting that which is interesting form a cross-cultural perspective and discussing it in a developed cross-cultural vocabulary
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Holism
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Cultural Anthro. Perspective on ideas and behaviors as interrelated elements best understood when seen in a broader context, within the culture and in relationship to other cultures in its environment (emphasis on whole, not just parts; context-based; influenced by other disciplines
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Comparativism
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similarities and differences
understanding general trends makes holism possible |
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Ethnocentrism
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Judging another culture consciously or unconsciously solely by the values and standards of one's own culture; the idea that our beliefs and behaviors are right, while those of other peoples are wrong or misguided
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Cultural Relativism
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To acknowledge differences in cultural values and standards and treat them as a subject to study rather than as an obstacle to interaction; idea that no behavior or belief can be judged to be odd or wrong simply because it is different from our own; cultures sanction certain behaviors and not others
THREE LEVELS: moderate doctrine, comparison taboo, strong doctrine |
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Definition of Culture
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a shared and negotiated system of meaning informed by knowledge that people learn and put into practice by interpreting experience and generating behavior
Interdependent with society |
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Enculturation
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process of learning the culture surrounding you (passing on knowledge to posterity)
example: Inuit documentary |
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Definition of Society
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a group of interacting individuals, which, among humans, is interdependent with culture
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Characteristics of Culture
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SHARED: common experience; shared symbols; understanding of future events ("predicted" behavior; what to expect)
INTEGRATED AND SYSTEMIC: inter-related; weaves customs, beliefs, and materials influence each other; integrated by core values SYMBOLIC: Based on human ability to use symbols as a mean of representation across individuals; language provides such foundation; icons that unite people PRODUCTS OF HISTORY: shaped by Past Practices; highly dependent on particular events STRENGTHENED BY VALUES: shared understanding of good and right; follow culture even when we don't have to do so POWERFUL DETERMINANT OF BEHAVIOR: strong but people not automatons (matter of comfortable habit); all break rules and not all rules are known "SEIZES" NATURE: shapes biological needs; mediates our understanding of nature ADAPTIVE AND CAN BE MALADAPTIVE: mediates relationship with the environment; respond by feedback processes (negative and positive) ACTIVE AND DYNAMIC: cause change and be changed; contested boundaries: different priorities of different groups; interplay between "Ideal" and "Real" |
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Culture Shock
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The meeting of two or more systems of meaning in the body and the psyche, expressed as anxiety, inappropriate behavior, or physical illness (a defensive psychological response to prolonged interaction with another culture)
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Myth of the Noble Savage
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the idea of the primitive "Other" who is inferior; people from cultures who live in a "primitive" state of being are interior to "civilized" beings; another form of exoticising of indigenous peoples
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Unilineal Evolution
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A theory of cultural change popular in 19th century anthropology that posited that all human societies passed through a progressive sequence of development from savages, barbarians, and finally, to civilization. Also called EVOLUTIONISM or UNILINEAR EVOLUTION
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Historical Particularism
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an approach to understanding cultural diversity that postulates that each society or culture is the outgrowth of its past. Associated with Franz Boas.
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Functionalism
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the idea that cultures provided various means for satisfying both societal and individual needs (no matter how bizarre, cultural items have meaning and perform useful function for individual or society)
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Individualism
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Exalting of the individual at the expense of collective ties, especially those of family or kinship
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Structure
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provides institutional constraints and opportunities, societal norms and values, and cultural practices within individuals' lives and has been enculturated (may be conscious or unconscious)
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Agency
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Individuals' abilities to reflect systematically on taken-for-granted cultural practices, to imagine alternatives, and to take independent action to pursue goals of their own choosing
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Ethnography
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the study and description of culture, which specifically refers to both (1) a field method of studying culture in its social context and (2) the approach to writing about culture
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Ethnology
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the expression of comparativism in the study of culture that concentrates on comparing varied cultural descriptions form around the world to make generalizations about human beings and the role of culture in human life. Often synonymous with cultural anthropology
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Ethnographic Fieldwork Stages
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Entrée, Develop Identity, Rapport, Culture Shock, Finding Evidence, Exit, Return
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Entrée
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Gain entry to fieldwork site with proper permissions
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Develop Identity
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Initial work like census, mapping the community, observing and participating in events, developing relationships with key informants, finding a role that leads to acceptance
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Rapport
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A degree of mutual understanding between the researcher and the locals that accelerates the cultural learning of the more profound matters
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Culture Shock
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The psycho-social symptoms of stress from constant interaction with another culture
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Finding Evidence
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Gathering supportive evidence for growing intuitions about people's shared understandings
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Exit
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exit the culture; tears, etc.
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Return
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Laden with notes, photos and presents, a changed person, return to the old life ad the work of ethnography
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Informants/Consultants
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In Ethnography, someone who informs and regularly consults on the ethnographer's understanding of a particular community's culture
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Participant Observation
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An approach to doing fieldwork involving long-term participation and systematic documentation (such as taking field notes and conducting interviews) within a particular society, community, or group. Often it engages four states: making entrée, culture shock, establishing rapport, and "understanding the culture"
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Ethics
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the principles of conduct governing an individual or group; concerns for what is right or wrong, good or bad
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Cultural Adaption
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changes in learned behavior and thought processes by a population in response to environmental stimuli
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Biological Adaption
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Changes in anatomy or physiology in a population as a response to environmental stimuli
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Race
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a powerful social and cultural category that, while having no actual counterpart in human biology, differentiates groups of people based on observable physical characteristics and their presumed relationships to behavioral differences
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Racism
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the belief that actual or alleged differences between racial groups indicate the superiority of one of them
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White Privilege
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benefits historically given to members of the dominant group; if you are a person who has that privilege, you don't necessarily notice it. TAKEN FOR GRANTED/ UNCONSCIOUS
Examples: Beverly Tatum's article; if you are driving in a car and are not stopped by police for your ID (racial profiling) |
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Typological model of human variation
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(physical) observable human variation demarcated into distinct groups
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Clinal model of human variation
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(geographical) human variation as a continuum
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Hypodescent
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Rule that automatically places children of a union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups in the less privileged group
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Types of Subsistence and its characteristics
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(foragers, pastoralists, horticulturalists, agriculturalists) See adaptive strategies worksheet for details.
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Technology
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Means of manufacture and production; includes tools and artifacts as well as knowledge in goods production; both cultural ideas and actual tools or material objects
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Primitive
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A simple society supported by hunting/gathering subsistence strategy and organized without formalized differences in the access to power, influence, and wealth (egalitarian)
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Civilization
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a complex society supported by intensive food production and organized around large urban centers providing administrative, commercial, artistic, and religious leadership (hierarchical)
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Domestication
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the modification and adaption of wild plants and animals for use of food, which may take the form of horticulture, pastoralism, or agriculture.
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Definition of Economics
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provision of goods and services to meet biological and social wants (survival needs and culturally defined wants)
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Dimensions of Economics
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1) Allocation/regulation of resources: Distribution ; an amount or portion of a resource assigned to a particular recipient
2) Production 3) Distribution/exchange: distribution of goods and services, social network that binds members of a group together and ally one group with another (reciprocity, redistribution, market exchange) 4) Consumption: the using up of a resource |
