Anthropology Flashcards
Balanced reciprocity
Exchange of goods in which the value of each good is equal
Anthropocentrism aka humanocentrism
Belief that humans are the most important creatures in the world
Cultural materialism
View that social life is a reaction to the practical problems of a mortal life
Diffusion
Exchange of ideas from one culture to another
Ethnocentrism
Practice of judging another culture based on your own culture’s ideals
Generalized reciprocity
Exchange of goods in which the value of each good is not exactly calculated but a fair balance is expected over time
Humanism
Belief that humans are of great value and that science is greater than faith
Kinesics
Interpretation of body language and nonverbal communication
Levirate marriage
The brother of a deceased man marrying his widow by obligation
Linguistic relativity aka Sapir-whorf hypothesis
The idea that language affects the way its speakers think
Negative reciprocity
Exchange of goods in which each party intends to profit
Oligarchy
Power in a society resting with only a small number of people
Religious cosmology
Way of explaining the origin of the universe based on mythology
Structuralism
View that each part of a culture cannot be understood without understanding the culture in whole
Ruth Benedict
Wrote “the races of mankind” which uses scientific evidence to challenge racist ideas
