Chapter 1: Intro To Anth Flashcards
Anthropology
The study of human kind in all times and places
Interested in all aspects of humanity
Colonialism
When 1 nation dominates another
Colonies, military presence, control of resources
Creates a dependency
Cultural imperialism
Promoting 1 nation’s values, beliefs, behaviour as superior
Synonymous with colonialism
3 major influences in the development of Canadian anthropology
Museums
Academic departments
Applied research
Biological anthropology
Study of humans as biological organisms.
Paleoanthropology
Study of fossil remains
Goal: reconstruction of human biological evolution
Primatology
Study of non human primates
Biology, adaptation, social Behaviour
Forensic anthropology
Field of applied biological anthropology and archaeology
Identifies human skeletal remains for legal purposes
BONES!!!
Archaeology
Study of material remains to reconstruct the lives of people who lived in the past
Prehistoric/pre-contact archaeology
Study of ancient cultures
Didn’t have writing systems to record their history.
Historic archaeology
Study of past cultures
Had written records of their history
Linguistic anthropology
Study of how people use language to relate to one another.
How they develop and transmit culture.
Descriptive linguistics
Study of patterns and structure in language
How the sentence is formed or a verb is conjugated.
Historical linguistics
Study of language origins, language change and the relationships between languages.
Sociolinguistics
Study of language in its social setting.
Sociocultural anthropology
Study of human behaviour in contemporary cultures
Culture bound
Theories about the world and reality based on the assumptions and values of one’s own culture.
Ethnography
The collection of descriptive material on a culture
Ethnology
The comparative study of cultures to explain human behaviour.
Ethnohistory
Study of cultures from recent past
Uses oral histories, archaeological sites, and written accounts left by explorers, missionaries, and traders.
Participant observation
Method of learning a people’s culture through direct observations and participation in their every day life,
Culture shock
The difficulty anthropologists have in adapting to a new culture that differs a lot from their own.
Holistic perspective
Fundamental principle of anthropology
Various parts of culture must be viewed in the broadest context to
Understand their interconnections and interdependence.
Key informants/ respondents
Members of a culture who help the ethnographer interpret what he/she observes.
Informants = bad connotation
Respondents/subjects - preferred.
Popular culture
The culture of our everyday lives.
T.V, sports, fashion, arts, crafts, fiction, and music.
Cross-cultural comparison
Comparing one particular aspect of a culture with that same aspect in others.
Gender
Set of standards and behaviours attached to individuals.
Usually but not always based on biological sex.
Feminist anthropology
A subfield of anthropology
Investigates gender and gender relations
Critically analyzes gender roles, positions, and experiences
Androcentrism
Male-centredness
Qualitative research
Gathering of data based on interviews, documents, and participant observations to understand human social behaviour
Quantitative research
Gathering of statistical and measurable data.
