Culture and Meaning

Question 1

Ethnocentrism

Answer 1

The tendency to judge the beliefs and behaviors of other cultures from the perspective of one’s own culture

There is only one right away to do things

Your way is the right way

Other cultures are wrong

Cultural practices that you don’t understand are automatically wrong and misguided

Question 2

Ethnocentric Fallacy

Answer 2

If everyone believes they are right and everyone else is wrong, than who is actually right?

Just because something doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it is wrong

Question 3

What is cultural Relativism

Answer 3

The effort to understand the beliefs and behaviors of other cultures in terms of the culture in which they are found

Question 4

Relativistic Fallacy

Answer 4

No belief or behavior is wrong

What about practices that actively harm some members of that culture?

Amorality

Question 5

Critical Cultural Relativism

Answer 5

Looking at cultural practices in terms of who accepts them and why, who they might be disproportionately harming and benefiting, and the cultural power dynamics that enable them

Who is in power?

Who produces and reinforces the cultural practices?

How do these practices benefit people in power?

How are those not in power harmed by these practices?

Question 6

Four Subfields

Answer 6

Biological Anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology

Archaeology

Sociocultural Anthropology

Question 7

Biological Anthropology

Answer 7

Evolution, function, and health of the human body

Paleoanthropology

Primatology

Forensic anthropology

Question 8

Linguistic Anthropology

Answer 8

Relationship between language and culture

How people use language and how language is spread

Linguistic variation

Question 9

Archaeology

Answer 9

Human history and artifacts

Material remains

Understanding human interactions

Question 10

Sociocultural Anthropology

Answer 10

How societies are structured

How cultural meaning is created

Provides a unique perspective on various social problems

What is culture?

Question 11

What is culture?

Answer 11

“that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” – E.B. Taylor (1871)

Culture is about meaning

Everything we do, say, or believe is learned

Acquired through symbols, specifically language

Shared among members of a group

Passed down across generations

Question 12

Symbols

Answer 12

What is a symbol?

Something that stands for somethings else

Can verbal or non-verbal

Question 13

Language is a symbol

Answer 13

Cat [k æ t] has 3 sounds

[k], [æ], and [t] mean nothing by themselves

[k æt] – in this order it means a feline

[æ k t] – in this order it means something entirely different

Sounds do not have meaning by themselves, but combined they make up the symbol of language

Question 14

Culture is Shared

Answer 14

Culture is an attribute of a group, not of an individual

A group with common language and custom shares a culture

Can be shared among a small or large group

Question 15

International

Answer 15

cultural traditions that extend beyond national boundaries.

Question 16

National

Answer 16

cultural features shared by citizens of the same nation

Question 17

Subcultural

Answer 17

share some features with dominant culture but have distinctive attributes of their own

Question 18

Culture is Passed

Answer 18

We are born with an ability to learn culture

Culture is learned as children

Example: School is a way culture is taught to us. You are taught knowledge society deems important as well as cultural norms surrounding behavior and power in the classroom.

Question 19

Culture is Adaptive

Answer 19

Culture adapts to new situations

Not unchanging

Technology generally reflects features of environment

Question 20

Understanding your culture

Answer 20

All behaviors and beliefs are socially patterned and constructed, even when they feel “natural”

Culture is something everyone has

How does your culture affect how you see the world?