5 midterm (structuralism)

Question 1

what did Structuralism emerged out of

Answer 1

School of thought that emerged out of the field of linguistics

Question 2

what is structuralism

Answer 2

Analyzes large-scale systems by examining the function of smaller elements, e.g., how a cultural system can be deduced by decoding its interactive system of signs: elucidate the underlying rules and conventions of language to determine and decode the structure of a culture

Question 3

what was Claude Lévi-Strauss

Answer 3

Structuralist

Question 4

what did Claude Lévi-Strauss do

Answer 4

focused on “deep structures” embedded in myths and rituals

Question 5

what are deep structures

Answer 5

deep structures = the unconscious infrastructure of a cultural phenomenon revealed through its stories

Question 6

what was Claude Lévi-Strauss’ motto

Answer 6

Motto: get at deep structures through a culture’s surface expressions

Question 7

how did Claude Lévi-Strauss get at deep structures through a culture’s surface expressions

Answer 7

Lévi-Strauss did this by contrasting categories in myths described in your text in terms of “bipolar structures in tension with each other”, e.g., male-female, left- right, sky-earth, nature-culture (Rodrigues & Harding, p. 62). Myths function to resolve these tensions

Question 8

what was Victor Turner

Answer 8

Structuralist

Question 9

what did Victor Turner do

Answer 9

American anthropologist famous for his analysis of “rites of passage,” transitional states in religious practice that speak to issues of apprenticeship, maturation, and integration

Question 10

what did Victor Turner say that rituals indicate

Answer 10

a “liminal” state of transition, from a conventional structure of society to a community structure that embodies the ethos that underpins the liminal state, “communitas”

Question 11

what are communitas

Answer 11

(shared values of a specific worldview):

Question 12

what is the liminal state of transition

Answer 12

1. conventional society –

2. liminality & communitas – 3. religious institution

Question 13

The study of religion includes the study what

Answer 13

literate and non-literate societies

Question 14

why do anthropologists examine rituals and orally transmitted myths

Answer 14

The study of religion includes the study of literate and non-literate societies. That’s why anthropologists examine rituals and orally transmitted myths. They reveal things about religious beliefs and practices excluded from sacred texts.

Question 15

Example of Contemporary Sociology of Religion

Answer 15

secularization

Question 16

Sociology built on the preoccupation with the process

of what

Answer 16

“modernization” and “secularization”

Question 17

what is the Theory of Secularization

Answer 17

Society has, since the 19th century, become increasingly secular, which means religion is consistently losing its grip as alternative explanations take precedence in terms of explaining the meaning and function of human society

Question 18

The traditional view of secularization was held up until when

Answer 18

held up until the 1960s

Question 19

what was secularization su[ported by

Answer 19

Supported by the “criticism of religion” of classical sociology and its various restatements

Question 20

what approach did Peter Berger’s have

Answer 20

Contemporary Sociological approach

Question 21

what was Peter Berger’s view

Answer 21

view of the “sacred canopy” somewhat embodies the presupposition of the traditional secularization thesis

Question 22

what did Peter Berger think Religion (a religious worldview) serves as

Answer 22

sacred canopy protecting a religious

Question 23

As the religious group faces the challenges of secular life and assimilates, the canopy begins to what (Peter Berger)

Answer 23

erode

Question 24

does Berger still accept this thesis

Answer 24

Berger now rejects this thesis and argues that religion isn’t going away with the increase of secular consciousness. On a global scale, religions, especially religious fundamentalisms, are actually on the rise.

Question 25

Rodney Stark and William S. Bainbridge

Answer 25

build critically on Berger’s ideas of secularism and the interaction with religions

Question 26

Rodney Stark and William S. Bainbridge say what about religious life

Answer 26

Religious life more than a matter of nonrational decision making (“faith”). Religious action involves choice, rational choice concerning a religious path

Question 27

Rodney Stark and William S. Bainbridge say what about The impact of secularization on religions

Answer 27

The impact of secularization on religions also speaks to issues of the reconstitution of the religions in question. A bilateral influence of faith and reason, the sacred and the profane (the secular), seems to exist, which is responsible for new forms of religiosity that, in turn, critique the mainstream.