Anth 1 Flashcards
Anthropology
The study of the human condition or species, its evolution thru time, its variations over time and space
two things anthropology strives to do
Make the familiar strange
make the strange familiar
Kottak anthropology
organized life in groups
study of human species and its immediate ancestors
4 fields of anthropology
cultural, archaeological, biological, linguistic
Cultural anthropolgy
cultural being social can be learned through direct or indirect ways
ex: how we view things socially such as female swimmers
archaeological anthropology
looking at past cultures or artifacts that allow anthropologists to draw conclusions about social organization, diet, culture shift, etc.
biological anthropology
focuses on human biological diversity in time and space units through human evolution, genetics, growth/development, biological plasticity, primates
What do anthropologists strive to show
to explain similarities and differences among humans through comparison
Enculturation
learning our cultures from the times of birth throughout our lives; can be direct (told) or indirect (picking up through observation)
holism
the study of the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture
applied anthropology
application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify and assess contemporary social problems
anthropologu as a qualitative science
more depth driven; less focused on data
anthropology as a quantitive science
number driven science
ethnography
based on fieldwork and provides an account of a particular community, society, or culture
ethnology
based on cross cultural comparison and examines, compares, interprets, and analyzes results of ethnography (more global and theoretical)
Bronislaw Malinowski
one of founding fathers of anthropology; consolidated an ethnographic fieldwork program while in trobrian islands during WWI
Malinowski’s approach
- cut yourself off from own kind of people
- immerse yourself in social world you’re studying (patterns, everyday life, anecdotes)
Point in Malinowski’s approach
in order to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, and to realize his vision of his world
ethnographical research
long-term residence in community
- learning a new language/from of communication
- developing intimate relationships w people unlike you
participant observation
a characteristic ethnographic technique; taking part in the events one is observing
rapport
good, friendly working relationship with the people you are working with (hosts)
emic
local perspectives, experiential particular
etic
outsider perspective, more scientific looking at the ‘big picture’
genealogical method
documenting who is related to who or who married who in order to get a good idea of patterns
key cultural consultants
key informants; people who will help teach you; power is associated
life history
cultural biography looking in depth that can speak to the culture as a whole
longitudinal research
studies short research periods several frequencies to look at change over time
problem0oriented research
tries to solve larger social issues
team research
teams of scientists working together
multi-sited ethnography
having program with multiple sites
ethics
anthropologists have a duty to their field of study and must follow code of morals
informed consent
agreement to take part in the research after having been informed about its nature, procedures, and possible impacts
native realism
assuming everyone thinks with equality/on the same level on certain social issues/cultures
Definition of Culture
(E.B. Tyler) complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, moral, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member society
this was the first inclusive, anthropological definition of culture
Human culture is dependent on
- symbolic communication
- learning
- The ability to live group
all 3 rooted in human biology but don’t depend upon biology
distinctive features of culture
learned, shared, symbolic, shapes and channel nature, all encompassing, integrated, adaptive/maladaptive, changing, inclusive/excludive
ethnocentrism
tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and to apply one’s own values in judgin the behavior and belief of people in other cultures
cultural relativism
viewpoint that behavior one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture; counteract ethnocentrism
diffusion
borrowing of culture between cultures; can be direct or indirect
acculturation
ongoing exchange of cultures in which either or both cultures can change; always direct
independent invention
process by which humans innovate create; common trends emerge independently
globalization
process that connects the changes in economic, technologic, social spheres; accentuates differences as well as individualization
international culture
extends beyond and across national boundaries
ex: equality, democracy
national culture
values instilled and shared among those in the same nation
ex: movies, dress
subcultures
different symbol based patterns and traditions associated with a particular group
ex: ethnicity, job-related culture, being part of a team
symbol
signs that have no necessary or natural connection to the things they stand for
3 cultural dimensions
universality, generality, particularity
universality
certain things shared by everyone, very broad
ex: language, kinship, marriage customs
generality
things a little more specific to each culture
ex: english is a common language, monogamy is common type of marriage
particularity
less common things shared
ex: polygamy practice
primate call systems
natural communication system that consists of a limited number of sounds (calls) produced only when environmental stimuli are encountered
cultural transmission
communication system through learning is a fundamental attribute of language
non-human primate language
washoe, lucy, other primates learned american sign language
productivity
change and new symbols/words can be created
ex; jorts
displacement
language is not bound to specific times, situation, or places; abstract
conventionality
language is a constant force but is able to change over time
distinctive features of language
conventionality, displacement, productivity, culutural transmission
FOXP2 Gene
gene that can allow or restrict people from speaking
Nonverbal communication
human symbol systems are complex as well as their gestures and vocalizations
focal vocabulary
set of terms and definitions that certain groups of people come to share by way of mutual interest and participation in certain activies
semantics
language’s meaning system
phoneme
sound contrast that makes a difference
phonology
study of speech sounds; considers what sounds are present and meaningful in a given language
minimal pairs
words that resemble each other in all but one sound
morpheme
words and their meaningful parts
morphology
studies how sounds comine words, focuses on morphemes
Noam Chomsky and Universal Grammar
He argues that as humans we have a born, innate language
“colorless green ideas sleep furiously”- surface structure is meaningless is recognized as sentence; deep stricture=intelligible
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Edward Sapir/Benjamin Whorf
the language a person speaks can significantly influence their worldview, thought processes, and even how they experience and understand the world
language and reality
there is no reality we can perceive that exists independently of language
Style shifts
switching dialects
Sociolinguistics
Investigates relationships between social and linguistic variation
Diglossia
applies to “high” and “low” variants of the same language
Ethnic group
members share certain beliefs, values, habits, customs, norms, because of their common background
ethnicity
based on similarities and differences in a society or nation; it is inclusive and exclusive
race
when an ethnic group is assumed to have a biological basis
racism
discrimination against a race
Prejudice
devaluing a group based on its assumed behavior, values, capabilities, or attributes
Stereotypes
fixed ideas about what the members of a group are like
Discrimination
refers to policies and practices that harm a group and its members
race/ethnicity as social constructions
prejudices, stereotypes, discriminations, conflict violence, genocide, etc.
Thomas Theorem
W.I. Thomas: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences”
Genocide
deliberate elimination of a group
Ethnocide
force certain group of to adopt dominant culture (forced assimilation)
cultural colonialism
Internal domination by one group and its culture or ideology over others
Assimilation
process of change that a minority ethnic group may experience when it moves to a country where another culture dominates -> melting pot
acculturation
more diverstiy and maintaining distinction while joining together -> tossed salad
minority group
subordinate ethnic groups
Majority group
superior, more dominant ethnic groups
social stratification
sharp social divisions based on unequal power
hypodescent
rule that automatically places the children of a union or mating between members if different socioeconomic groups in less privileged
Burakumin in Japan
did unclean jobs and were looked down upon, as well as anyone in their lineage
Race in Brazil
has many different classifications such as hair color, eye color, facial features, etc.
benedict Anderson
accoding to anderson’s theory of imagined communites, the main causes of nationalism are the declining importance of privileged access to particular script languages
nation-states as imagined communities
- capitalism (system of produciton and productive relations)
- Print technology (newspaper)
- The fatlity of linguistic diversity
characteristics of a nation state
imagined: don’t see most members
limited; not everyone can be in it
sovereign; free
community: alike bc its a nation
plural society
group maintain
ecological/economic specializations so that competition and antagonism between them is minimized
mulitculturalism
cutural diversity is encouraged such as the US
creationism
part of biblical worldview assuming that God created the universe and all living things
Catastrophism
developed as an alternative attempt to make sense of the fossil record; sought to explain today’s species
evolutionism
assumes that existing animal species evolved gradually out of common ancestors
uniformitarianism
states that the present is the key to the past
darwin/wallace
presented going theory of natural selection stating that there was
1. variation within a population
2. competition for strategic resources
3. bc of variations some organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce than others
4. over time, less fit organisms are replaced
mendelian genetics
studies the way in which chromosomes transmit gene across the generations
population genetics
investigates natural selection and other causes of genetic variation, stability, and change in breeding populations
alleles
different forms of a given gene
independent assortment
chromosomes are inherited independently of each other
