Chapter 8: Culture Flashcards
Ethnographic research
the process of studying culture
Ethnography
the visual or written product of research about a culture
Emic*
cultural insiders view
Etic*
outside observers view
3 parts of culture
cognition, behaviour, artifacts
Cognition
what we think- values we learn, symbols we understand
Behaviour
what we do- actions and interactions with others. How someone eats, works, plays
Artifacts
what we have- material products of society, pottery, clothing, buildings and roads
4 Characteristics of culture
Culture is learned, Culture is based on symbols, Culture is holistic (altering one aspect will alter another), Culture is shared
Identity markers / Cultural identity
ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, age, gender, interest
Homogenous
the same
Heterogenous
different
Cultures can be…
concentrated or diasporic
Eugenics
a pseudoscientific plan to “purify” the human race
Ethnocentrism*
the notion that our own customs are normal and other customs are strange, weird or disgusting
Cultural relativism*
all cultures are equally valid
Biological adaptations
allow an organism to better survive in its present conditions or to live successfully and reproduce in a variety of habitats
Cultural adaptations
include all the ways that humans use cultural knowledge to better adapt and succeed in their surroundings
Maladaptive
any behaviour that leads to a decrease in well being of the member of a culture or of the culture itself
2 types of enculturation in child rearing
Independence training and Dependance training
Dependance training
supports the family unit over the individual,
teaches importance of family compliance, sense of self is strongly linked to the group
Independence training
foster a child’s self-reliance, Individuals can shape their own destiny, Taught to be competitive and successful in life, Sense of self is strongly linked to the individual
Participant observation
process in which a researcher lives with people and observes their regular activities, often for a year or more
Informants
members of the community in the field study, they are chosen by: random sample, snowball sample, judgement sample
Key informants
when the fieldworker develops close ties with certain informants, crucial contributors
Applied anthropologists*
work to find solutions for problems in the real world, rather than focussing on research
Participatory action research
research that prioritizes the needs and concerns of the people who desire it
Enculturation*
the process by which a child learns his or her culture
What are Morgan’s stages of the evolution of societies and what are his flaws*
Unilinear theory of cultural evolution:
Savagery -> Barbarism -> Civilization
Flaws: ethnocentric & racist, assumes universal linear path & goals, misunderstands evolution
What did Franz Boas believe and what were his key concepts
a person wears a set of “cultural glasses” through which we interpret the world around us
key concepts: cultural relativism & historical particularism
historical particularism
every culture is a product of its own unique history
human culture is … (6)
learned, holistic, patterned, symbolic, shared, adaptive
human capacity for culture depends on what 5 things
transmission, memory, reiteration, innovation, selection
transmission
ability to copy a behaviour by observing or learning
memory
ability to remember behaviours
reiteration
ability to imitate or reproduce behaviours
innovation
ability to develop new behaviours
selection
ability to know which behaviours to keep or discard
holism*
integrating all that is known about human beings and their activities at the highest and most inclusive level
ethnology
the study of the characteristics of various people and the differences and relationships between them
