Cultural Anthropology Exam 1 Flashcards
What is Anthropology?
The study of humans through a biological and cultural lens.
Biological Anthropology
Focuses on the biological aspect and history of humans
Ethnology
The study of living societies
Linguistics
Study of languages, both written and spoken
Archaeology
The study of past societies
Applied Anthropology
Takes everything from the other four fields to solve problems in the modern day
Characteristic 1
Holistic: Understand humans in a broad context
Characteristic 2
Focuses on human populations and not individuals
Characteristic 3
Anthropology is comparative and cross-cultural
Characteristic 4
Personal fieldwork is a huge part of Anthropology
Characteristic 5
Anthropology seeks to understand biological and cultural evolution through time.
Ethnocentrism
To think your culture is superior to another
Cultural Relativism
To try to understand another culture
Culture
Can be defined in many ways. It can be defined as a learned behavior, a way of surviving, beliefs, etc.
Characteristics of Culture
Culture inhibits biological and psychological impulses (food, habits, what is acceptable, etc.)
It can be beneficial and harmful
Symbols
Communicating with each other with clothing, hairstyles, jewelry, body decorations and modifications
more examples: Flags for nations or factions
National Culture
Symbols, values, behavior shared by nearly everyone within a large society
Subculture
Symbols, values, behavior shared by a smaller group within a nation, such as an ethnic group
Enculturation
The process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values
Taboos
Things that are not accepted by a society
Kuru
A disease in Papua New Guinea caused by canniblism
Assimilation
Forced cultural change
Acculturation
The process of sharing and learning the cultural traits or social patterns of another group
Invention
Any innovation developed by a culture
Diffusion
Societies borrowing from one another
Amish
A subculture in the Midwest and parts of New England that uses no electricity and has a high value for family and religion (specifically Christianity)
The Nacirema
A North American Group that has a more market focused culture
They have a bizarre hatred for the human body, which involves doing rituals that modifies the body
It even gets to the point that talking about sexual intercourse in public is considered taboo
Globalization
The rapid transformation of local cultures around the world in response to the economic and other influences of a dominant culture
How is climate change impacting traditional societies?
- It is making sea levels rise, causing societies to abandon their homes
- it is changing the temperature, affecting the landscape and outcome of crops (like in Peru and Siberia)
- It is causing storms to get more frequent
Greenhouse Effect
Carbon dioxide or other gases put into the atmosphere increase the global temperature
Deforestation
Mass cutting of forest without replanting
Basic characteristics of Ethnographic Fieldwork
- They work alone or in a small group
- They try to learn the language to communicate with them better
- They live among them for several months or even a year
Structured interviews
Asking questions prepared before a meeting (genealogy, kinship studies, censuses)
Freeform interview
An interview with no specific direction in mind
Potential questions can pop up from answers to other questions
Participant Observation
Not only observing, but also participating in cultural events, if allowed
Indigenous
Native to the area
Culture Shock
Being overwhelmed in a culture you are unfamiliar with
Contested identity
A dispute within a group about the collective identity or identities of the group
Life history
Personal narrative of one’s life
Emic
Descriptions of behaviors and beliefs in terms that are meaningful to people who belong to a specific culture
Etic
Research that studies cross-cultural differences
Informed consent
Telling them before you do something
Rapport
Gaining trust
Hockett’s language design features
Symbolism, productivity, Displacement, Multimedia, duality of patterning
Phone
A sound in language
phonemes
distinctions of one or more sounds in a language
morphemes
structural units in a language
Ex.) prefix, suffix, root words
dialects
Alternate versions of one spoken language
How do dialects differ language?
pronunciation of words and different vocabulary
what can dialects reflect?
geography, ethnicity, social class, gender
