anth 411 Exam 1 Flashcards
Master
What was the Bracero Program?
A plan that brought laborers from Mexico to work on American farms from 1942 to 1964.
Guest worker program.
What did the Refugee Act of 1980 accomplish?
Reformed US immigration law and admitted refugees on a systematic basis for humanitarian reasons.
What are ‘living fossils’?
Animals and plants that disappear abruptly from the fossil record, yet are still alive today.
Lewis Henry Morgan.
What is unilineal cultural evolution?
The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex.
Lewis Henry Morgan.
What is historical particularism?
The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories.
What is cultural determinism?
The belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels.
This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits. Franz Boas.
What is Nacerima?
A review of the ritual life of the Nacirema shows them to be a magic-ridden people.
It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves.
What is cultural anthropology?
The study of people’s communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, and play together.
What does archaeology study?
Human cultures of the past through artifacts, remains of structures, burials, and sites.
Archaeologists assume that aspects of culture are reflected in material remains.
What is physical/biological anthropology?
The systematic study of humans as biological organisms.
What is an artifact?
A portable object made or modified by humans.
What is an ecofact?
Plant or animal remains found at an archaeological site but not modified by humans.
What is a feature in archaeology?
A non-portable artifact, such as a hearth or ash pit.
Who was Louis Henry Morgan?
An American social scientist who studied American Indians and Greek/Roman societies, proposing three stages: savage, barbaric, civilized.
Who is Franz Boas?
The father of modern American anthropology; argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism.
What is ethnography?
The scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.
What is participant observation?
A research method where investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities.
This brings first-hand knowledge and experiences, leading to deeper insights. Boas, Malinowski, Mead.
What are ‘imponderabilia of daily life’?
Routine happenings that represent the real substance of social fabric.
What is a key informant?
A person knowledgeable about the social communications among members of a specific group, who can identify opinion leaders.
What are gatekeepers/barriers to entry?
A bridge or obstacle to overcome to access a community or culture.
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data/methods?
Qualitative data focuses on descriptive information, while quantitative data involves numerical measurements.
What are life histories in anthropology?
Studies of the overall lives of individuals, often based on both self-reporting and documents such as letters.
What is culture?
The way of life of a people, including their actions, ideas, norms, values, symbols, and material objects.
It is layered, continuously reworked, created, shared, and socially constructed.
What is glocalization?
The process by which people in a local place mediate and alter regional, national, and global processes.
Example: McDonald’s.
What is syncretism?
A blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith.
Example: Chamula, Chiapas.
What is hybridity in culture?
The fact that cultures are neither wholly isolated nor entirely distinct but constantly borrow from one another.
Example: First Contact.
What is cultural assimilation?
Integration or incorporation into a new culture and society, including economic, social, linguistic, cultural, and legal aspects.
What is structural violence?
Systematic and systemic ways a social structure or institution harms people or groups of people.
Types include physical, emotional, and structural.
What is the ‘standard of living’?
One measure of progress that is ethnocentric and not universally applicable, often including per capita income, employment rates, and literacy rates.
What is ‘quality of life’?
A measure that asks whether progress or economic development increases or decreases a culture’s ability to satisfy the physical and psychological needs of its population.
What are internally displaced people?
People who are forced to leave their home but remain in the same country.
What is the difference between refugees and immigrants?
All refugees are immigrants, but not all immigrants are refugees.
Refugees apply for/receive status from the UN due to war or danger, while immigrants choose to come and get little/no support from the government.
Who is E.B. Tylor?
The founder of cultural anthropology.
What is ethnocentrism?
The belief that one’s own culture represents the natural or best way to do something, viewing one’s own culture as superior.
What is cultural relativism?
The practice of judging a culture by its own standards.
What is armchair anthropology?
Anthropology through the study of secondhand reports, not based on fieldwork or research.
What is cultural evolutionism?
The theory that culture started at some moment in the past and evolved from its ‘primitive’ beginnings through stages to achieve a ‘higher’ form.
What does ‘psychic unity of mankind’ mean?
The idea that all human beings share the same basic psychological and cognitive make-up, regardless of culture or race.
Lewis Henry Morgan.
What is linguistic anthropology?
The study of how people communicate and use language.
What are misconceptions of archaeology?
Common misunderstandings include that archaeology is like Indiana Jones, involves dinosaurs, is treasure hunting, or is adventure seeking.
What is a site in archaeology?
The physical character of a place.
Who was Charles Darwin?
An English natural scientist who formulated a theory of evolution by natural selection.
What is Homo Naledi?
A species from South Africa (~250,000 years ago) that has traits of both Homo and Australopithecus, known for using tools and burying their dead.
What is fieldwork in anthropology?
Intense, long-term research involving total immersion in culture and language, considered a rite of passage to become an anthropologist.
What is culture shock?
The experience of stress and confusion resulting from moving from one culture to another.
What are interviews and surveys in anthropology?
Methods for asking questions about behaviors and feelings to gather large amounts of data quickly and cheaply.
What are field notes?
The anthropologist’s written observations and reflections on places, practices, events, and interviews.
What is the AAA’s code of ethics?
Guidelines for anthropologists that include Do No Harm, Be Open and Honest, Obtain Informed Consent, Weigh Competing Ethical Obligations, Make Results Accessible, and Protect Records.
Who is Richard Lee?
An anthropologist who did fieldwork in Southern Africa with the Ju/’Hoansi and learned about cultural roles.
What is applied anthropology?
The use of anthropological skills, knowledge, resources, and experience to help solve human problems.
What is corporate anthropology?
Using anthropological theory and methods on behalf of a for-profit organization.
What is development anthropology?
The branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues and the cultural dimension of economic development.
What are harmful traditional practices?
Behaviors viewed as ordinary by a local community but appear destructive or criminal to outsiders.
What is contract archaeology?
The application of archaeology to assess the potential impact of construction on archaeological sites.
What is applied linguistic anthropology?
The preservation and documentation of indigenous languages and the role of IT in communication among cultures.
What is forensic anthropology?
The branch of physical anthropology that uses data and techniques to determine characteristics of skeletal or biological materials in legal contexts.
Who is Genevieve Bell?
An Australian anthropologist known for her work at the intersection of cultural practice and technological development.
What is the law of gumzanjela?
A tradition in Afghanistan where women and children wouldn’t eat eggs due to cultural rules.
What is the significance of Claire Sterk’s work?
She studied a stigmatized population (prostitutes) without becoming one, adopting cultural relativism and forming trusting relationships.
Who is Bronislaw Malinowski?
A British anthropologist who introduced the technique of participant observation.
Who is Margaret Mead?
An anthropologist noted for her claims about adolescence and sexual behavior in Polynesian cultures.
What are the skills and knowledge needed in anthropology?
Language, interview techniques, interpersonal skills, and understanding specific cultural systems.
What are the five ‘scapes’ of globalization?
Ethnoscape, technoscape, ideoscape, financescape, and mediascape.
What are the consequences of ‘progress’?
Disease, dietary change, malnutrition, ecocide, poverty, and discrimination.
What is longitudinal study?
Intense long-term research.
What is informed consent?
An ethical principle that research participants must be informed enough to choose whether to participate.
pushes vs pulls (why do people move?)
Pushes: poverty, famine, natural disaster, war, ethnic conflict, genocide, disease, political/religious persecution
Pulls: job opportunities, higher wages, educational opportunities, better health care, chain migration, media
