Anth 101 - Art & Play

Question 1

Who is Michelle Bigenho?

Answer 1

Anthropologist and ViolinistDid multisited field work and ethnography.study of bolivian music and identity.worked w a local band, two indigenous communities, and performed at an international folk festival

Question 2

Dialectic of Fieldwork

Answer 2

Both fieldworker and informant begin w little or nothing in terms of shared experience.engage in dialogue with each other about the activites going on around them�.reflexivity is key! (introspective flexibility)

Question 3

reflexivity

Answer 3

thinking critically about the way one thinks, reflecting on one’s own experience

Question 4

Fieldwork and sense of _____ x2

Answer 4

Fieldwork can disrupt our own sense of self and sense of identity of our informants.many anths experience culture shock!.however provides remarkable opportunities to talk across cultural boundaries

Question 5

Language

Answer 5

A system of arbitrary vocal sounds�Used to encode one’s experience of the world and of othersA key component of human symbolic creativity

Question 6

how is language biocultural?

Answer 6

Human brain and anatomy of the mouth and throat provide the capacity for language.languages are cultural products embedded in meanings and behavioral patterns�

Question 7

study of language?

Answer 7

linguistics

Question 8

Language vs Languages

Answer 8

Language is an abstract property that belong to humans as a whole.Languages are the specific was groups of people communicate

Question 9

Missing slide 14, 15, and 6

Answer 9

get ittt

Question 10

Worldviews

Answer 10

.encompassing pictures of reality created by members of societies.people use shared cultural assumptions about how the world works

Question 11

How are metaphors used to construct worldviews?

Answer 11

By asserting a significant link between two expressions from different domains of meaning…wtf

Question 12

sense of self

Answer 12

mediated by symbolic meanings and worldviews embedded in power relations

Question 13

what do some anths refer to instead of saying the ‘self?’ Why?

Answer 13

Individual Subjectivities.focuses on individuals’ experience as shaped by their position in a field of power (hierarchy? like roles they have and how use them).idea that enculturation and socialization are positioned in terms of subject positions (gender, class, ethnicity, age).i assume what that means is that the kind or type of socialization/enculturation one receives depends on things like gender, socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity…

Question 14

What three domains contain the spectrum of human creativity?

Answer 14

Play, Myth, and Art

Question 15

Play

Answer 15

A generalized form of behavioral openness..a way of organizing activities

Question 16

Openness

Answer 16

Abilitiy to think, speak, and do different things in the same way or the same thing in different ways.

Question 17

How does Play affect adolescent development?

Answer 17

May be critical to the development of cognitive and social skills

Question 18

Framing

Answer 18

.Placing a cognitive boundary between play and ordinary life.play and non-play must be signaled clearly to participants.think… can’t beat people up in public, but can do it in rules of hockey!

Question 19

Play Frame

Answer 19

.period when individuals are consciously engaged in play.arbitrarily marked.eg. saying “let’s pretend”.or a particular tone of voice.or a referees whistle

Question 20

Art

Answer 20

Form of creative play subject to cultural restrictions on form and content (what is aesthetically pleasing vs what is not depends on viewpoint of culture usually).artistic rules direct attention to the form of activities or objects

Question 21

Artists seek to evoke what in observers?

Answer 21

.aesthetic response.aesthetic evaluations are culturally shaped value judgments.seeks to create successfully either a positive or negative response

Question 22

How does Ethnocentrism limit western art experts’ perspective?

Answer 22

.Limits them to view only objects that fit their definition of art.but… not all societies separate art from non-art

Question 23

Why are myths powerful?

Answer 23

.b/c make life meaningful for those who accept them.high verbal art when presented as stories between teller and audience.socially important b/c they tell people their origins and can guide their present and future actions.think of how disney hercules greek myth was westernized to apply to our culture

Question 24

Orthodoxy

Answer 24

myths that are codified and can lead to punishment of those who question them

Question 25

Origin of Halloween

Answer 25

Began 2kya in Ireland, England, Northern France with festival of Samhain of the celts (origins in pagan religion)

Question 26

How did Festival of Samhain change?

Answer 26

Rise of christianity changed it to All Saints Day, to honor saints.they then made a day called all souls day for the next day, for honoring the dead

Question 27

How is halloween like play?

Answer 27

Pretend to be someone/something elseSuspension of disbelief (like playing dress up)

Question 28

What happened on All Souls Day?

Answer 28

.Ghosts of the dead returned to earth.People would where disguises to hide from ghosts.carving of turnips as lanterns (later pumpkins).collection of soul cakes, now practice by children who collect candy.would originally get cakes for praying for the dead to people

Question 29

Why is dressing as a member of another culture critiqued?

Answer 29

.costumes are often insensitive stereotypes.cultures have complex identities that cannot be distilled down into an offensive stereotype

Question 30

style (art)

Answer 30

schema (patterning of elements) that is recognized and characterized

Question 31

if art makes you feel indifferent it is….

Answer 31

unsuccessful as art, must elicit either positive or negative reaction

Question 32

art by intention vs art by appropriation

Answer 32

.intended to be art.someone at sometime decided it would be art.to appropriate, it must have exhibition value, someone must be willing to explain it

Question 33

rite of passage stages

Answer 33

separation from old position (e.g. civilian)transition phase (into soldier)reaggregation, ritual passenger reintroduced into society as something new (visit family on leave)

Question 34

liminality

Answer 34

ambiguous state in the transition phase of a rite of passage, likened to death, darkness, being in womb, bisexuality

Question 35

communitas

Answer 35

people who are in the transition phase of a rite of passage together develop strong bonds and creates some structure for ritual passengers during this characteristically unstructured time

Question 36

play and ritual are complementary forms of

Answer 36

metacommunication

Question 37

compare play vs ritual frames

Answer 37

ritual: “let us believe” and “all messages within this frame are true”play: “let’s make believe”ritual’s what should be vs play’s what can be

Question 38

ritual vs play liminality

Answer 38

ritual most stable liminal domainplay most flexible liminal domain (players move in and out with ease, not so with ritual)

Question 39

play vs ritual effect on social order of ordinary life

Answer 39

play has little effect, allows for wide range of commentary on social order.ritual is different, its role is to maintain status quo

Question 40

Orthopraxy

Answer 40

When every act of everyday life is ritualized and other forms of behavior strongly discouraged.traditionally practice by jews and muslims

Question 41

Religion

Answer 41

Ideas and practices that postulate reality beyond that which is immediately available to the senses

Question 42

AFC Wallaces Minimal Categories of Religious Behavior

Answer 42

Prayer: way of addressing cosmic forcesPhysiological Exercise: inducing ecstatic spiritual stateExhortation: certain people have closer relationships with cosmic forces than othersMana: impersonal superhuman power believed to be transferableTaboo: objects/people can’t be touchedFeasts: eating and drinking in religious contextSacrifice: giving something of value to invisible forces or their agents

Question 43

Physiological Exercise (min categories o religion), what are four ways of inducing it?

Answer 43

inducing ecstatic spiritual state thru drugs, sensory deprivation, mortification of flesh by pain, sleeplessness or fatigue, and deprivation of food, air and water

Question 44

Examples of mana

Answer 44

.laying on of hands, healing power enters body of sick to remove illness.cameroon, ppl believe ink used to copy passages from Qur’an have power, drink it.

Question 45

Examples of taboos

Answer 45

.Catholics not to touch Host during communion.Jews may not touch handwritten text of biblical scrolls.ancient polynesia, commoners couldn’t touch chief.foods may or may not eat

Question 46

Examples of Feast

Answer 46

.Holy Communion of Catholics and Protestants.Passover Seder for Jews.Huichol of Mexico and consumption of peyote.everyday meals sometimes begin with prayer

Question 47

Shaman

Answer 47

part-time religious practicioner, believed to have power to contact supernatural forces directly on behalf of individuals or groups.decade of training, chosen by the spirits to be shaman, must remain for life, usually

Question 48

Prist

Answer 48

A religious practitioner skilled in practice of religious rituals, carries out for benefit of group.don’t necessarily have contact with cosmic forces

Question 49

witchcraft

Answer 49

performance of evil by humans believed to possess an innate unhuman power to do evil, either intentional or not self-aware

Question 50

magic

Answer 50

set of beliefs and practices designed to control the visible or invisible world for specific purposes

Question 51

oracles

Answer 51

invisible forces to which people ask questions and whose responses they believe are truthful

Question 52

Azande and Witchcraft

Answer 52

.blame witchcraft for most misfortune, unless cause is obvious.older the witch the more dangerous.people react with anger to witchcraft.consulted oracles to expose witches by poisoning chickens.people usually unaware of themselves being witches

Question 53

What two categories do witches seem to fall into?

Answer 53

evil outsider or internal enemy

Question 54

how can accusations of witchcraft help or harm societies?

Answer 54

accused outsider witches strengthens in group tiesif witch internal enemy, accusations can weaken in group ties.if witch is a deviant (not an enemy from a rival faction), accusation can defend wider views of the community

Question 55

theology of channeling’s four key assupmtions

Answer 55

1. human beings are in essence gods, or fragments thereof2. humans undergo reincarnations to acquire important learning experiences3. each of us is responsible for creating our own reality (groups of people can magnify a thought and make it happen…)4. transcendant value of holism, we are all interconnected

Question 56

how do channels explain misfortune? implications?

Answer 56

.victims cannot or will not envision the world in ways that protect them from it.victims have chosen their fate at a deep soul level, beyond their conscious awareness (so if cancer, you actually chose it to have a learning experience).implies that evil doesn’t exist

Question 57

syncretism

Answer 57

synthesis of old and new religious practices, new ones usually from outside often by force

Question 58

revitalization

Answer 58

conscious attempt by some members of society to create a more satisfying culture in times of crisis (either through syncretism or nativism)

Question 59

nativism

Answer 59

a return to the old ways; often accompanied by expectations of a messiah or prophet who will bring back a lost golden age of peace or whatever ok

Question 60

How can worldviews be mobilized as instruments of power and control?

Answer 60

.A religious symbol can be invoked as a guarantee of self-evident truth (Qur’an implies god punishes liars, so can make liars fess up by holding it or swearing on it.a symbol may be under direct control of a person wishing to control others (priests can justify things based on their sacred knowledge)