Cultural Anthropology Flashcards
What are the two types of cultural anthropology?
Material and non material
Define non material and give an example
The thoughts and behaviors we learn and share with others. E.g. Opening doors for people
Define material and give an example
All physical objects that humans crate and give meaning to e.g. Clothes, photos, cars, bibles.
List the five characteristics of culture
Learned, shared, perception, subcultures, and influences our biological needs and inherited tendencies
Define learned and give an example
How we learn most of our thoughts, behaviors and values. It’s a lifelong process. E.g. What’s considered disrespectful
Define shared and give an example
From one generation to another. E.g. Link crew at CHCI
Define perception and give and example
Shapes how we perceive and understand the world.
Major- positions on world conflicts or appropriate attire
Minor- names of different foods or objects
Define subcultures and give an example
Groups that share some characteristics of the overall culture but also have distinctive ideas and behaviors. E.g. Amish, emo, rappers.
Give examples for influences our biological needs and inherited tendencies
- what we eat
- where and when we sleep
- what we drink
Define cultural change and give an example
Cultures are adaptive and this occurs when environmental concerns, social issues, political idea, or technology influence aspects of the culture, causing it to adapt
E.g. Civil rights movement, iPods, reduce reuse recycle
Define cultural lag and give an example
Occurs when cultural change happens too rapidly and one generation adapts more quickly than another.
E.g. Interracial marriages, texting.
Define ethnocentrism and give an example
Judging other cultures from the perspective of one’s own culture. The notion that one’s culture is better an nearer to perfection than another in terms of its own values and beliefs, not by another culture’s.
E.g. Not hiring someone because of their name.
Define cultural relativism
The idea that each culture must be understood in terms of its own values and beliefs, not by another culture’s standard.
Define the cultural materialism theory
It states that the materials or conditions within the environment (climate, food supply, and geography) influence how a culture develops, creating the ideas and ideology of a culture.
What does the three level approach consist of?
Infrastructure, structure, and superstructure.