Anthropology-Study of culture Flashcards

1
Q

What is anthropology?

A

Anthropology is the study of humanity like out prehistoric origins and contemporary human diversity. It is broader and covers a much greater span of time and broader range of topics than other disciplines that study humanity.

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2
Q

Anthropology as a science

A

Hypothesis, hunch, observing and testing

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3
Q

Anthropology as a humanistic approach

A

Understanding humanity through study. Culturally informed understanding

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4
Q

Biological anthropology

A

Study of humans as biological organisms, evolution and contemporary variation

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5
Q

Archaeology

A

Study of past human cultures through their material remains

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6
Q

Linguistic anthropology

A

Human communication, origins, history, contemporary variation and change

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7
Q

Cultural anthropology

A

Study of living people and their cultures(variation and change)

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8
Q

Applied anthropology

A

Using anthropological knowledge to prevent and solve problems or shape and achieve policy goals

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9
Q

Culture

A

People’s learned and shared behaviours and beliefs

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10
Q

Functionalism

A

The view that a culture is similar to a biological organism, in which parts work to support the operation and maintenance of the whole

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11
Q

Holism

A

The view that one must study all aspects of a culture in order to understand the whole culture

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12
Q

Cultural relativism

A

Each culture must be understood in terms of values and ideas of that culture and not be judged by standards of others

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13
Q

Historical particularism

A

Individual cultures must be described and studied on their own terms

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14
Q

Increased theoretical diversity

A

Theories of culture based on environmental factors, similar environments lead to emergence of similar cultures

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15
Q

French structuralism

A

Best way to understand a culture is to collect myths and stories and analyze the themes

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16
Q

Symbolic anthropology

A

Study of a culture as a system of meanings

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17
Q

Cultural materialism

A

Studying culture by emphasizing the material aspects of life

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18
Q

Interpretive anthropology/Intepretivism

A

Understand culture should be what people think about, their ideas and the symbols and meanings that are important to them

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19
Q

Postmodernism

A

Intellectual pursuit that asks whether modernity is truly progress and it questions such aspects of modernism as the scientific method, urbanization, mass communication and technological change.

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20
Q

Structural

A

The view that powerful structures such as economics, politics and media shapes culture and creates entrenched systems of inequality and oppression

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21
Q

Agency

A

Power of individuals to create and change culture and make choices and exercise free will

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22
Q

Feminist anthropology

A

The need to study female roles and gender-based inequality

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23
Q

Gay/lesbian/queer anthropology

A

The need to study gay people’s cultures/discrimination based on sexual identity and preferences

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24
Q

Local culture

A

A distinct pattern of learned and shared behaviour and thinking found within larger cultures

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25
Q

Culture and nature

A

The relationship is of great interest to help understand people’s behaviour and thinking

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26
Q

Eating

A

Culture shapes how, what, when, meaning of food and eating, foods that are acceptable and unacceptable

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27
Q

Drinking

A

Appropriate substances, when, with whom to drink. Particular drinks, style of drinks, serving them are heavily influenced by culture

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28
Q

Sleeping

A

Who sleeps with whom, where children sleep. Excessive daytime sleepiness

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29
Q

Elimination

A

Where to eliminate? Private or public. Positive or negative effect

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30
Q

Culture and symbols

A

A symbol is a object that has a range of culturally significant meanings. It is through symbols that culture is shared, stored and transmitted over time

31
Q

Culture is learned

A

Cannot be predicted but must be learned, begins at birth

32
Q

Enculturation

A

Hearing stories and seeing performances of rituals and dances

33
Q

Cultures are integrated

A

Studying only 1-2 aspects of a culture provides limited understanding that leads to misunderstanding or wrong

34
Q

Cultural interaction and change

A

Factors that affect cultural change through contact

35
Q

Class

A

Category based on people’s economic position in society. Income, wealth, lifestyle. Upper, middle, lower class

36
Q

Globalization

A

The process of intensified global interconnectedness and movement of goods, information, and people is a major force of contemporary cultural change.

37
Q

Localization

A

Transformation of global cultures by local cultures into something new.

38
Q

Culture

A

Culture is always changing and adapting, it is not the same as nature, it is based on symbols, it is learned, it is integrated, culture interact and change. Culture is a learned and shared behaviour of ideas of a particular group. All human beings belong to a culture and a numerous number of subcultures.

39
Q

Working class

A

Trade labour for wages

40
Q

Landowning class

A

Own land, they or others labour the land

41
Q

Race

A

Homogenous biological traits

42
Q

Ethnicity

A

Sense of group affiliation based on a distinct heritage or worldview as a people

43
Q

Indigenous people

A

Group that has a long standing connection with their home territory, numeral minority who have lost their right to their original territory

44
Q

Gender

A

Males, females or blended as a third gender

45
Q

Age

A

Cultural stages for appropriate behaviour and thinking must be re-learnt

46
Q

Institutions

A

Have their own cultural characteristics (hospitals, schools, universities, prisons)

47
Q

Ethnography

A

First-hand, detailed description of a living culture, based on personal observation. Provides rich, culturally specific insights

48
Q

Ethnology

A

Comparative study of a particular topic in more than one culture using ethnographical material. Cross-cultural analysis

49
Q

Ethnocentrism

A

Judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture rather than by the standards of that particular culture

50
Q

Cultural relativism

A

Each culture must be understood in terms of values and beliefs of that culture and should not be judged by standards of other cultures.

51
Q

Absolute cultural relativism

A

Whatever happens in a particular culture must not be questioned or changed by outsiders because there is no right to question any behaviour or idea anywhere

52
Q

Critical cultural relativism

A

Poses questions about cultural practices, ideas, who accepts them and why. Critique, recognizes oppressors, winners, victims

53
Q

Cultural imperialism

A

One dominant group claims supremacy over minority culture and changes the situation to its own interests

54
Q

Critique

A

Probe underlying power interests

55
Q

Criticism

A

Offer negative comments

56
Q

Valuing diversity

A

Contribute to the preservation of cultural diversity and knowledge by describing cultures as they existed, exist and change

57
Q

Cultural survival

A

Hels indigenous people and ethnic minorities to interact as equals in society.

58
Q

Contemporary theoretical approaches

A

Interpretive, symbolic, political ecology and economy, post-modernism

59
Q

Biological determinism

A

Why people do and think what they do by considering biological factors like genes and hormones. They also search for genes/hormones that can lead to certain for of behaviour

60
Q

Cultural constructionism

A

Human behaviours and ideas are best explained as products or culturally shaped learning. Skills are passed culturally through learning not genes. Important roles of childhood experiences and family role more important than genes and hormones

61
Q

Interpretive anthropology

A

How people use symbols to make sense of the world around them and what those symbols mean. Privilege what people are saying

62
Q

Cultural materialism

A

Emphasize studying of material conditions. Importance of material conditions in studying and explaining human behaviours and ideas.

63
Q

Structure

A

Social organization, kinship, political organization

64
Q

Superstructure

A

Ideas, values, beliefs

65
Q

Infrastructure

A

Crucial material factors that largely shape culture, seek explanations for behaviour and ideas by looking primarily at infrastructural factors

66
Q

Individual agency

A

Choose how to behave and think

67
Q

Structural

A

Free choice is an illusion since choices are structured by larger forces

68
Q

Individual agency vs Structural

A

How much individual will, agency has to do with why people behave the way they do vs the power of forces and structures by larger forces

69
Q

Materialist anthropology

A

Patterned repetitive ways of thinking, feeling and acting of a certain society

70
Q

absolute cultural relativism

A

perspective that says a person from culture should not question rightfulness and wrongfulness of behaviour or ideas in other cultures because that would be ethnocentric

71
Q

adaptation

A

process in which plants, animals, humans make adjustments to their environments enhancing their survival and reproduction; human cultural adaptations include technology, language and social organizations

72
Q

critical cultural relativism

A

perspective that promotes people in all countries to raise questions about their own and others cultural practices and ideas, especially regarding who accepts them and why, who’s harming or helping

73
Q

structural theory

A

theoretical positions which argues free choice is an illusion, all human behaviour is constrained by economy, social and political structures and ideologies