Exam 3 Flashcards
“War and Violence as Cultural Expression”
-Meaningful violence
-Violence as cultural performance
-Violent symbolism
-Violence and the cultural imaginary
- Meaningful violence:
some argue that this activity and concept can be senseless, but it can also be analyzed as a human cultural activity like other cultural performances, such as dance and religious ceremonies
Contemporary issues in the anthropology of violence
The cultural aspects of particular forms of violent practice, the nature of state terror, the resurgence of “tradition” in violent practices, and violence as exchange are all aspects of these
Violent imaginaries
Far from being fanciful or unreal, this concept, represented in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ah2I166f_U describes how representations of violence are not just about violence but are actually integral to it
“Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zone”
This New York Times article describes how Human Terrain Teams assign anthropologists to American combat units in Afghanistan and Iraq
Human Terrain Teams
They undertake research among the local population, and represent that population (referred to as the “human terrain”) in the various stages of military operations: planning, preparation, execution, and assessment.
Ju/’hoan counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency Recruitment
Counterinsurgency is “the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces”. The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any “military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionaries” and can be considered war by a state against a non-state adversary.
Drone aircraft technologies an the poetics of violence
This increasingly prevalent mode of Western warfare extends remote combat capacities through cultural projections of violent symbolism including the “Reaper,” “Hermes” and “Sentinil”
Medical anthropology
The biological and cultural study of disease, health problems, health care systems, and theories about illness in different cultures and ethnic group
Medical encounters
As part of our discussion in lecture, our own experiences with health care systems, Western medicine, and alternative medicine could be described as these healthy or unhealthy meetings.
Disease and illness
Cross-cultural approaches to disease
Health care systems
These include beliefs, customs, and specialists concerned with ensuring health and preventing and curing illness
Scientific medicine
A health care system based on scientific knowledge and procedures (including pathology, microbiology, biochemistry, surgery, diagnostic technology, etc.)
Western medicine
A broader category- also includes overprescription of drugs, unnecessary surgery, impersonality & inequality of physician patient relationship
