Exam 1 Flashcards
Fieldwork
long term immersion in a community, normally involving firsthand research
Etic
Outsider Perspective
Emic
Insider Perspective
Participant Observation
The standard research method used by cultural anthropologists that requires researchers to live in the community he or she is studying to observe and participate
Intersubjectivity
The realization that knowledge about other people emerges out of relationships and perception individuals have with each other
Fieldnotes
information the anthropologist transcribes or collects during field work
Headnotes
information the anthropologist makes while in the field which may note end up in journals
HRAF
a comparative anthropological database that allows easy reference to coded information about several hundred cultural traits for more than 350 societies
Genealogical Method
A systemic methodology for recording kinship relations and how kin terms are used in different societies
Life History
Any survey of an informant’s life, including such topics as residence, occupation, marriage, family and difficulties usually collected to reveal patterns.
Ethnohistory
The study of cultural change in societies and periods for which the community had written histories or historical documents, usually relying heavily on oral history for data.
Rapid Appraisal
Short term, focused ethnographic research typically lasting no more than a few weeks, about narrow research questions or problems
Participatory Action Research
a research method in which the research questions, data collection, and data analysis are defined through collaboration between the researcher and the subjects of research. A major goal is for the research subjects to develop the capacity to investigate and take action on their primary political economic or social problems
Secondary Material
sources such as censuses, regional surveys, or historical reports that are compiled from data collected by someone other than the field researcher
Primary Material
Original sources such as fieldnotes that are prepared by someone who is directly involved in the research project and has direct person al knowledge of the research subjects.
Registar
an observer who uses both quantitative and qualitative evaluations to describe their observations.
Importance of Ethics
ethical considerations of observation should be anonymized
How Many?
Quantitative data informs arguments in one way or another in decision making processes
Who?
helps understand specifically the behavior of groups of people
Where?
studies or movement and staying can help uncover barriers and pinpoint where pedestrian paths and places to stay can be laid out
What?
Provides specific knowledge of the types of activities in an area.
How Long?
Walking Speed and the amount of time spent staying can provide information about the quality of physical frameworks
Counting
Provides numbers before and after between different geographic areas over time.
Mapping
activities, people, places for staying and much more can be plotted in, that is, drawn as symbols on a plan of an area being studied to mark the number and type of activities and where they take place
Tracing
People’s movements inside or crossing a limited space can be drawn as lines of movement on a plan of the area being studied
Tracking
In order to observe people’s movement over a large area of for a longer time, observers can discreetly follow people without their knowing it or follow someone who knows and agrees to be followed and be observed. Research is void without consent.
Photographing
Document situations where and form either interact or fail to interact after initiatives have been taken.
Keeping a diary
register details and nuances about the interaction between public life and space, noting observations can later be categorized or quantified.
Test Walks
taking a walk while observing the surrounding life can be more or less systematic, but the aim is that the observer has a chance to notice problems
Ontology:
relating to being/existence/reality
Epistemology
relating to knowledge, thinking and ideas
Ideology
a system of ideas and ideals, especially on which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy
Phenomenology:
an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience
agency
action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect,
Language
a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar
Ethnography of Speaking
The study of how people actually use spoken language in a particular cultural setting
Call System
patterned sounds, utterances, and movements of the body that express meaning.
Philology
Comparative study of ancient texts and documents
Descriptive Linguistics:
The systematic analysis and description of a languages sounds
Phonology
The systematic pattern of sounds in a language, also known as the language’s sound system
Morphology
the structure of words and word formation in a language
Syntax
The pattern of word order used to form sentences and longer utterances in a language
Accent
A regional or social variation in the way a language is pronounced
Dialect
A regional or social variety of a language in which the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation differ from those of the standard version of language
Sign
words or objects that stands for something else
Metaphor
implicit comparisons of words or things that emphasize the similarities between them
Pidgin Language
a mixed language with a simplified grammar, typically borrowing its vocabulary from on e language but its grammar from another.
Pragmatics:
Rules and forms governing language use in social situations
Multifunctionality
Language doesn’t just describe things, it does things.
Referential
the utterance carries meaning about its topic
Expressive
directly expresses the addressors attitude towards the context
Conative
attempts to act on the addressee
Poetic
in which the utterance exists for its own sake. Rhyme, repetition, onomatopoeia
Phatic
checks, builds and maintains the channel of interaction . Handshake, “What’s Up”
Metalinguistic
in which the utterance refers to the code itself “Speak in English”
Language Ideologies
Implicit and explicit associations between ways of using language and moral, social , and political values
Anthropology
study of human beings, their prehistory and history, language, cultures and social institutions
industrialization
economic shift from agriculture economy to factory based economyu
evolution
the adaptive changes organisms make across generations
empirical
verifiable observations rather than through logic or theory
colonism
practice of more powerful countries or cultures claiming possession of less powerful ones
Othering
defining colonized people as different and subordinate
Salvage Paradigm
the importance to observe indigenous ways of life, interview elders, and assemble collections of objects made and used by indigenous people
Cultural Anthro
The study of social life of living communities
Archaeology
study of past cultures by excavation
Biological Anthro
Study of the biological aspects of the human species past and present
Linguistic Anthro
Study of how people communicate with another through language
Culture
the taken for granted notions rules and moralities of a community
ethnocentrism
the assumption your practice is correct
cultural relativism
one should seek to understand culture on their own terms without judgement
Diversity
the variety of ways of being human
Holism
efforts to synthesize distinct approaches and findings into a single comprehensive interpretation
Theory
a tested and repeatedly supported hypothesis
Quantitative Method
Counting or measuring and constructing models
Qualitative Method
research that produces in depth description for social behaviors nd beliefs
ethnographic method
research method that involves prolonged and intensive observation in the life of a community.
comparative method
compose aspects of societies
applied anthro
research commissioned to serve an org. need
practicing anthro
work involving research as well as involvement
ethics
moral questions of right and wrong and standards of appropriate behavior
Action Anthro
seeks to study and improve community welfare
Social evolutionism
all societies pass through stages, cultural differences are the result of this 1870-1910
historical Particularism
look up
Functionalism:
Cultural Practices, beliefs and inst. fulfill psychological and social needs 1920 - 1960
Structural Functionalism
culture is systematic. Its pieces working together to keep balance
Neo Evolutionism
cultures evolve from simple to complex by harnessing nature’s energy through technology and the influence of particular culture specific processes.
Cultural Materialism
the material world especially its economy and ecology shape its beliefs
Cognitive Anthro
Look UP
structuralism
people make sense of the world through binary oppositions.
Interpretive Anthro
culture is a shared system of meaning. People make sense of their worlds through the use of symbols and symbolic activities like myth and ritual
enculturation
the process of learning the cultural rules of a society
intrepretive thry of culture
Theory that culture is embodied and transmitted through symbols
cultural construction
concepts and practices that people build of their shared and collected experiences
interpretive theory of culture
Theory that culture is embodied and transmitted through symbols
cross-cultural perspective:
comparing phenomenon as manifested in different cultures
values
symbolic expressions of intrinsically desirable principles of qualities
norms
typical patterns of actual behavior as well as rules about how things should be done.
social sanction
a reaction or measure intended to enforce norms and punish their violation
customs
long established norms that have a codified and law like aspect
tradition
practices and customs that have become most ritualized and enduring
social institutions
organized sets of social relationships that link individuals to each other in a structured way
functionalism
perspective that assumes that cultural beliefs and practices have a place in society
holistic perspective
aims to identify the whole that is the systemic connections between individual cultural belief, practices
cultural appropriation
the unilateral decision of one group to take control over the symbols practices or objects of another’s.
