ANTH 203 Flashcards
Study for Midterm 1
what is the attitude that one’s own group or culture is better than any other?
Ethnocentrism
in which research methodology is the researcher immersed in the day-to-day activities of the participants
Participant observation
the principle that a culture must be understood on its own terms rather than compared to an outsider’s standard
Cultural Relativism
how insiders imagine and explain things
Emic Perspective
Explanations for behaviour by an outside observer in ways that are meaningful to the observer
Etic Perspective
attempts to understand aspects of societies across space and time by analyzing the entire system as a whole
Holism
Sense of trust and a comfortable working relationship between informant and ethnographer
Rapport
Approach where anthropologist ethnographer includes themselves in their text/analysis
Reflexivity
the process through which a false notion or concept is so widely disseminated and pushed that it starts to exist on its own
Reification
a gradual variation in traits across a geographic area
Clinal Distribution
how social, economic, political forces determine the content and importance of racial categories
Racial formation
focusing on one’s identity and validating one’s sense of belonging to a particular group with a particular history
Identity Politics
trauma can be passed
from generation to
generation (non-DNA inheritance)
Epigenetics
stands for a socially constructed
racial classification system where individuals of mixed racial heritage are automatically categorized as members of the less privileged or least privileged racial group (one drop rule)
Hypodescent
Refers to the core, stable aspects of an individual’s identity, often based on intrinsic characteristics like ethnicity, nationality, or race, shaping self-perception and how others view them
Foundational Identity
The aspect of identity that individuals adapt or shape in different contexts to achieve specific goals or navigate social situations.
Strategic Identity
Involves integrating multiple aspects of identity, blending cultural, ethnic, or social backgrounds to create a unified sense of self
Integrationalist Identity
An approach that transcends traditional identity categories, focusing on a fluid, universal understanding of self beyond fixed labels
Transcendentalist Identity
process referring to the gradual development of a new ethnic identity in response to social changes
Ethnogenesis
Members of ethnic minority groups must abandon their native traditions and adopt those of the mainstream culture
Assimilation
Encouraging respect of ethnic and cultural diversity as a quality that enriches society
Multiculturalism
Creation of new hybrid
identities as groups mix
Amalgamation
innate ability for developing children to acquire language
Universal Grammar
Children will gradually lose ability to acquire language naturally
Critical Age Range Hypothesis
allow for the creation of new words and expressions. They can expand and evolve over time
Open System
have a fixed set of elements that do not allow for the creation of new words or structures
Closed System
What are the non-verbal modes of communication?
Kinesics (body language)
Proxemics (use of space)
Paralanguage (background features of speech or sounds that convey meaning)
Encompasses gestures,
body position, movement, facial
expressions, and eye contact.
Kinesics
Study of how individuals use space in social interactions
Proxemics
Elements of speech beyond actual words
Paralanguage
branch dedicated to analyzing the structures of language
Descriptive linguistics
use of several varieties of language in a particular interaction
Code-switching
the set of practices used by members of a society to acquire food
Subsistence Systems
the cultural norms and attitudes surrounding food and eating
Foodways
describes the amount of calories that can be produced from a specific area of land to sustain a population
Carrying Capacity
labor leads directly to food
Immediate return system
reflects a longer-term investment in food production
Delayed return system
Measure of interpersonal conflicts in a community
Social Density
a ceremony in which possessions are given away, or destroyed, to display wealth, generosity and enhance prestige
Potlatch
the study of how cultures evolve with their environments
Historical Ecology
Growing a mix of different plants in
biodiverse gardens
Multi-cropping
combination of different crops (ex. The Three Sisters: beans, corn and squash)
Intercropping
farming that uses a lot of machinery, labour, chemicals, etc. to grow as many crops or keep as many animals as possible on the amount of land available
Intensive Agriculture
the practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land
Monocropping
evoke specific memories often linked to childhood experiences
Nostalgic Food
Feelings of guilt when food is used to cope with negative emotions
Indulgent Comfort
Memories linked to facts and narratives from recipes and food histories, shaping our experiences with food
Cognitive Memories
Memories developed through repeated actions (e.g., chopping, baking) that reinforce skills and knowledge
Habitual Memories
Enacted through food preparation and rituals, these memories are tied to physical actions like kneading dough, connecting us to past experiences and communal bonds
Performative Memories
A term used to describe a person who would make rational decisions in ways predicted by economic theories
Homo economicus
social relations through which human labour is used to transform energy from nature using tools, skills, organization, and knowledge
Mode of Production
A good that can be bought, sold or exchanged in a market
Commodity
The path and people an item passes through between producer and consumer
Commodity Chain
contextualizes economic relations within state structures, political processes, social structures, and cultural values
Political economy
a social structure or institution harms people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs
Structural violence
Armchair anthropologist, relied solely on other peoples biased reports, wrote The Golden Bough (1890)
Sir James Frazer
Armchair anthropologist, created first definition of culture, believed humans went through stages Savagery > Barbarism > Civilization
Sir E.B. Tylor
First ethnographer to fully immerse themselves, participant-observation
stanislaw malinowski
Cultural traditions developed as a response to basic human needs
Functionalism
emphasis on how the interaction between social structures preserves institutions and order in society
Structural-functionalism
symbols are used throughout society to maintain order and one way to do this is through rituals
Symbolic anthropology
Father of cultural anthropology in the US, redirected the field towards cultural relativism and participant-observation fieldwork
Franz Boas
the in-depth study of everyday practices and lives of a people
Ethnography
sought to preserve, document, and collect artifacts of “primitive” and “disappearing” cultures
salvage ethnography
Cultural, Biological, Linguistic and Archaeological anthropology
the four fields approach
language shapes the way we think about the world, but does not constrain it
Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis)
located in the frontal lobe, is responsible for language production
Broca’s area
located in the temporal lobe, is involved in language comprehension
Wernicke’s area
often used to describe a subordinate variety of a language (result of colonization)
dialect
Relies on wild plant and animal food resources already available in the environment, only immediate return system
foraging (hunter-gatherer)
Relies on herds of domesticated livestock
Pastoralism
Relies on small gardens that move periodically, supplement their diets by raising animals for protein
Horticulture
Cultivation of domesticated plants and animals using technologies such as irrigation, draft animals, mechanization, and chemical inputs
Agriculture
Involves money, bargaining, and supply-demand pricing. Primary focus of contemporary economics.
Market Exchange
Exchange based on mutual obligations and shared identities.
Reciprocity
Authority figures (e.g., priests, chiefs) collect and redistribute community contributions. Requires organization and structure, even on a small scale.
Redistribution
Exact value of the gift and time is not specified. Gifts are not recorded
Generalized reciprocity
Something of equal value and time period is expected (Kula ring)
Between acquaintances, not close
family; trust is essential.
Balanced reciprocity
attempt to get something for nothing (gambling, scam emails, market exchanges)
Negative reciprocity
