CHAPTER 3: Fieldwork and Anthropology Flashcards
ethnographic fieldwork
a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living and interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives.
salvage ethnography
fieldwork strategy developed by Franz Boas to collect cultural, material, linguistic, and biological info about Native American populations being devastated by the westward expansion of European settlers.
cultural relativism
understanding a group’s beliefs and practices within their own cultural context, without making judgments.
participant observation
a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied.
reflexivity
a critical self-examination of the role the anthropologist plays and an awareness that one’s identity affects one’s fieldwork and theoretical analyses.
engaged anthropology
applying the research strategies and analytical perspectives of anthropology to address concrete challenges facing local communities and the world at large.
anthropologist’s toolkit
the tools needed to conduct fieldwork, including information, perspectives, strategies, and even equipment.
quantitative data
statistical info about a community that can be measured and compared.
qualitative data
descriptive data drawn from non-statistical sources, including personal stories, interviews, life histories, and participant observation.
key informants
a community member who advises the anthropologist on community issues, provides feedback, and warns against cultural miscues. Also called “cultural consultant”.
rapport
relationships of trust and familiarity with members of the community we study.
deeper rapport = going from and “outsider” to and “insider”.
life history
a form of interview that traces the biography of a person over time, examining changes in the person’s life and illuminating the interlocking network of relationships in the community.
surveys
an information gathering tool for quantitative data analysis.
social network analysis
a method for examinging relationships in a community, often conducted by identifying whom people turn to in times of need.
field notes
the anthropologist’s written observations and reflections on places, practices, events and interviews.
mapping
the analysis of the physical and/or geographic space where fieldwork is being conducted.
built environment
the intentionally designed features of human settlement, including buildings, transportation - public service infrastructure and public spaces.
What are the 5 characteristics of language?
1- symbolic
2- arbitrary
3- discreetness (multiple moving parts)
4- abstraction / displacement (can communicate about things that don’t exist or aren’t present.
5- creative / productive (ability to create infinitely new meanings.
zeros
elements of a story or a picture that are not told or seen and yet offer kay insights into issues that might be too sensitive to discuss or display publicly.
mutual transformation
the potential for both the anthropologist and the members of the community being studied to be transformed by the interactions of fieldwork.
emic
an approach to gathering data that investigates how local people think and how they understand the world.
etic
description of local behavior and beliefs from the anthropologist’s perspective in ways that can be compared across cultures.
ethnology
the analysis and comparison of ethnographic data across cultures.
polyvocality
the practice of using many different voices in ethnographic writing and research question development, allowing the reader to hear more directly from the people in the study.
informed consent
a key strategy for protecting those being studied by ensuring that they are fully informed of the goals of the project and have clearly indicated their consent to participate.
anonymity
protecting the identities of the people involved in a study by changing or omitting their names or other identifying characteristics.
What are the 5 Stages of the History of Anthropology?
1- colonialism (unilineal cultural evolution)
2- historical particularism (Franz Boas emphasized fieldwork)
3- configurationalism (culture has personality and that effects our culture)
4- functionalism (culture is a living machine)
5- interpretation anthropology (“insider’s view”)
ethnicity
a sense of historical, cultural, and sometimes ancestral connection to a group of people who are imagined to be distinct from those outside the group. (expansive version of kinship) “social organization of cultural difference.”
origin myth
a story told about the founding and history of a particular group to reinforce a sense of common identity.
ethic boundary markers
a practice or belief used to signify who is in a group and who is not, but yet may change over time.
situational negotiation of identity
an individual’s self-identification with a particular group that can shift according to social location.
identity entrepreneurs
political, military, or religious leaders who promote a world view through the lens of ethnicity and use war, propaganda, and state power to mobilize people against those whom they perceive as a danger.
genocide
the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic or religious group.
ethnic cleansing
efforts by representatives of one ethnic or religious group to remove or destroy another group in a particular geographic area.
melting pot
a metaphor used to describe the process of immigrant assimilation into U.S. dominant culture.
assimilation
the process through which minorities accept the patterns and norms of the dominant culture and cease to exist as separate groups.
multiculturalism
a pattern of ethnic relations in which new immigrants and their children enculturate into the dominant culture and cease to exist as separate groups.
multiculturalism
a pattern of ethnic relations in which new immigrants and their children enculturate into the dominant national culture and yet retain an ethnic culture.
state
an autonomous regional structure of political, economic, and military rule with a central government authorized to make laws and use force to maintain order and defend its territory.
nation-state
a political entity, located within a geographic territory with enforced borders, where the population shares a sense of culture, ancestry, and destiny as a people.
citizenship
legal membership in a nation-state.
nation
a term once used to describe a group of people who shared a place of origin; now used interchangeably with nation-state.
nationality
the identification with a group of people thought to share a place of origin.
nationalism
the desire of an ethnic community to create and / or maintain a nation-state.
imagined community
the invented sense of connection and shared traditions that underlies identification with a particular ethnic group or nation whose members likely will never all meet.
diaspora
a group of people living outside their ancestral homeland yet maintaining emotional and material ties to home.
