General Anthropology Vocabulary

Question 1

Intersectionality

Answer 1

the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. For example, a black woman in the US would face overlapping discrimination due to both racism and misogyny

Question 2

Cultural capital

Answer 2

The knowledge and experience individuals acquired through socialization, which enables successful interaction in their social world.

Question 3

Ethnocentric

Answer 3

An adjective describing the condition of viewing and judging (often in pejorative terms) other cultures and societies according to the (usually taken-for-granted) assumptions of one’s own society. By way of contrast, anthropology is concerned not only to highlight our assumptions but also to show that other cultures and societies are different to our own, but not any worse or better.

Question 4

Ethnography

Answer 4

The recording and analysis of a culture or society, usually based on participant-observation and resulting in a written account of a people, place or institution.

Question 5

Evolutionary

Answer 5

One meaning of this term refers to the now out-dated notion that societies are organised in terms of how far they have developed in terms of their social and cultural organisation. Some social evolutionists believed that all societies had to pass through certain stages over time as they moved from being simple to complex in their culture and organisation. In biological terms, however, it refers to the more current notion that human populations and other living creatures have genetically adapted to changing environments by descent through random mutation and processes of natural selection.

Question 6

Ideology

Answer 6

Beliefs, attitudes and opinions that come together and link to form a world-view. In Marxist writings, ideology is related to economic organisation and usually entails the justification of social relations that benefit one social and economic class at the expense of others.

Question 7

Narrative

Answer 7

Many understandings of narrative exist in anthropology. One that is relatively common is the idea that it relates to a description (fictional or supposedly fact) of people and events that help give such events particular meaning and order for the narrator and/or audience.

Question 8

Participant-observation

Answer 8

The study of a culture or society usually carried out by living for an extended period of time with its members. The participant-observer takes part in everyday life and carefully records such things as behaviour, events and conversations, in order to obtain a fully-rounded picture of beliefs, social groupings and customs.

physically and emotionally participating in the social interaction of another society on a daily basis in order to learn about its culture. In practice this usually requires living within the community as a member, learning their language, establishing close friendship ties, eating what they eat, and taking part in normal family activities. By becoming an active participant rather than simply an observer, ethnographers reduce the cultural distance between themselves and the host society.

Question 9

Pastoralism

Answer 9

A form of life where herding of animals such as sheep, goats or horses provides the major forms of subsistence, in particular food. To be contrasted with agriculture and hunting and gathering as a way of life.

Question 10

Shamanism

Answer 10

A technique of communicating with supernatural beings or forces, usually carried out by ritual specialists. The technique may involve being possessed by spirits in a way that is controlled by the shaman.

Question 11

Social change

Answer 11

Anthropologists attempt to to explain not just how societies are organised, but also how and why they change over time owing to such factors as new technology, influx of newcomers, internal revolution, etc.

Question 12

acculturation

Answer 12

the process by which a culture is transformed due to the massive adoption of cultural traits from another society–it is what happens to a culture when alien traits diffuse in on a large scale and substantially replace traditional cultural patterns

Question 13

achieved status

Answer 13

a status that is acquired by doing something. For instance, someone acquires a criminal status by committing a crime. Likewise, the status of mother is attained by having a baby. Contrast with ascribed status.

Question 14

adaptive mechanism

Answer 14

a behavior, strategy, or technique for obtaining food and surviving in a particular environment. Successful adaptive mechanisms provide a selective advantage in the competition for survival with other life forms. For humans, the most important adaptive mechanism is culture.

Question 15

Anomie

Answer 15

a feeling of alienation and isolation from all other people, including family and friends.

Question 16

Animism

Answer 16

a belief that natural objects are animated by spirits. This belief can take diverse forms. Things in nature may all have within them different spirits–each rock, tree, and cloud may have its own unique spirit. In contrast, all things in nature may be thought of as having the same spirit. In both forms of animism, the spirits are thought of as having identifiable personalities and other characteristics such as gender.

Question 17

arranged marriage

Answer 17

a marriage partner selection process in which the future bride and groom usually do not participate actively in the decision. Marriages are commonly arranged by parents or their agents when the marriages are seen as principally uniting two families rather than just husband and wife. There is also often the rationalization that teenagers and young adults are too inexperienced to make a wise mate selection. The tradition of arranged marriages has been dramatically undermined whenever romantic love becomes a popular notion in a society.

Question 18

Ascribed status

Answer 18

a status that is the result of being born into a particular family or being born male or female. Being a prince by birth or being the first of four children in a family are ascribed statuses. Contrast with achieved status.

Question 19

Assimilation

Answer 19

the absorption of an individual or minority group of people into another society or group. This is achieved by learning and adopting the cultural traditions of the society to which assimilation occurs. It is also often hastened by intermarriage and de-emphasizing cultural and or biological differences.

Question 20

caste

Answer 20

an individual’s rigidly ascribed, or inherited, status within society. The most extensive caste system is in India where it is associated strongly with the Hindu religion. There are 4 major Indian castes originally based on vocation: the Brahmans (or Hindu priests), warriors, farmers, and shop keepers. The castes are all ranked relative to each other with the Brahmans being at the top. In addition, there are people in India who are outside of the caste system. These outcasts are at the bottom of society. One’s caste is extremely important in India. People are careful to marry within their own caste and to avoid physical contact with members of lower castes because of the danger of pollution.

Question 21

clan

Answer 21

a group of people who claim unilineal descent from the same ancestor but who cannot specify all of the actual links. The ancestor is genealogically so remote that he or she is often thought of as a mythical being, animal, or plant. Clans usually consist of a number of related unilineages.

Question 22

clan

Answer 22

a group of people who claim unilineal descent from the same ancestor but who cannot specify all of the actual links. The ancestor is genealogically so remote that he or she is often thought of as a mythical being, animal, or plant. Clans usually consist of a number of related unilineages.

Question 23

cosanguinity

Answer 23

a socially recognized biological descent link, such as between a woman and her father, aunt, or daughter. Individuals who have a consanguinity relationship are “consanguines” click this icon to hear the preceding term pronounced to each other. Consanguinity literally means “with the blood”, reflecting the old incorrect assumption that biological inheritance is passed on through blood rather than DNA

Question 24

core values

Answer 24

the fundamental values that provide the basis for social behavior in society. They are what people believe is desirable or offensive, appropriate or inappropriate, and correct or incorrect.

Question 25

crime

Answer 25

a deviation from the social norm that is of such magnitude as to go beyond what would be considered bad manners or odd behavior. Societies respond to such exceptionally deviant actions by creating laws to curb and sometimes punish them. There is no universal agreement between the societies of the world about what constitutes criminal behavior or how it should be dealt with. Sufficient ethnographic data have been collected over the last century to show that societies with different kinds of economies have radically different sorts of laws and legal concerns.

Question 26

cultural relativity

Answer 26

suspending one's ethnocentric judgments in order to understand and appreciate another culture. Anthropologists try to learn about and interpret the various aspects of the culture they are studying in reference to that culture rather than to their own. This provides a better understanding of how such practices as polygamy and cannibalism can function and even support other cultural traditions.

Question 27

culture death

Answer 27

the complete disappearance of a culture as a result of the total acculturation or the death of all of the people who shared it.

Question 28

culture loss

Answer 28

the loss of cultural traits. As cultures change and acquire new traits, old no longer useful or popular ones inevitably disappear. An example of culture loss is the disappearance over time of certain words and phrases in a language. In some cases, the words continue to be used but acquire new, very different meanings. Culture loss is accelerated during periods of acculturation and transculturation.

Question 29

developed nation

Answer 29

a nation or society that is relatively wealthy and usually industrialized. Most of the people in developed nations have adequate access to food, electricity, fossil fuels, education, and medicine with the consequence that their lives are materially more comfortable and their life spans are significantly longer than those in underdeveloped nations. The United States, Canada, most of Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand are developed nations.

Question 30

egalitarian

Answer 30

referring to societies in which all people are equal in terms of economic and political rights. Foraging bands are the most egalitarian societies. However, even in these societies, there are differences based on age and sometimes gender.

Question 31

emic categories

Answer 31

referring to the categorization of things according to the way in which members of a society classify their own world. In other words, this is the way their culture and language divide up reality. Such emic categories generally differ from culture to culture and provide valuable insights into the perceptions and world view of other peoples. Discovering, recording, and analyzing emic categories is the task of ethnoscience. Contrast with etic categories

Question 32

etic categories

Answer 32

referring to the classification of things according to some external system of analysis brought in by a visitor to another society. This is the approach of biology in using the Linnaean classification system to define new species. It assumes that ultimately, there is an objective reality and that is more important than cultural perceptions of it. Contrast with emic categories

Question 33

ethnocentrism

Answer 33

the deep felt belief or feeling that your culture is superior to all others. Being fond of your own way of life and condescending or even hostile toward other cultures is normal for all people. Alien culture traits are often viewed as being not just different but less sensible and even "unnatural." This results in the interpretation of other people in terms of one's own cultural values and traditions. An example is people from monogamous societies condemning polygamy as being "unnatural" and immoral. Ethnocentrism is universal and normal but not necessarily morally defensible or desirable because it prevents understanding other cultures. It also interferes with meaningful intercultural communication

Question 34

heterogeneous society

Answer 34

a society consisting of many different ethnic and/or "racial" groups, social classes, languages and/or dialects, and cultural traditions. The U.S. and Canada are heterogeneous societies. Contast with homogenous society.

Question 35

homogeneous society

Answer 35

a society that predominantly or entirely consists of people who share the same ethnicity/race, language, and cultural traditions. Most small-scale societies are homogeneous. A few large-scale ones, like Japan, are as well. Contrast with heterogeneous society.

Question 36

internalization of the moral code

Answer 36

the situation in which people accept society’s moral code and do not need police or other external means of social control to get them to follow it. They feel guilty if they do something “wrong” and punish themselves or turn themselves in for punishment.

Question 37

kinship

Answer 37

culturally defined relationships between individuals who are commonly thought of as having family ties. Kinship is based on marriage, descent, and, occasionally, fictive relationships as well

Question 38

nationalism

Answer 38

extreme loyalty and devotion to a nation and its interests, usually at the expense of other nations or societies.

Question 39

race

Answer 39

a biological subspecies, or variety, that consists of a more or less distinct population with anatomical traits that distinguish it clearly from other races. The human "races" commonly assumed to exist are mostly socio-cultural creations rather than biological realities. They are ethnic groups that are defined on the basis of both physical and cultural characteristics

Question 40

reciprocity

Answer 40

a relationship between people that involves a mutual exchange of gifts of goods, services, or favors. Inherent in reciprocal gift giving is the obligation to return a gift in a culturally appropriate manner. Failure to do so is likely to end the reciprocal relationship. Reciprocity requires adequacy of response but not necessarily mathematical equality. Reciprocity is a common way of creating and continuing bonds between people.

Question 41

role

Answer 41

the part a society expects an individual to play in a given status (e.g., child, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother). Social group membership gives us a set of role tags to allow people to know what to expect from each other.

Question 42

socialization

Answer 42

the general process of acquiring culture as you grow up in a society. During socialization, children learn the language of the culture as well as the roles they are to play in life. In addition, they learn about the occupational roles that their society allows them. They also learn and usually adopt their culture's norms through the socialization process.

Question 43

Stereotype

Answer 43

a fixed notion or conception of people based on their group identity. For instance, assuming that a particular Chinese businessman is going to be greedy and dishonest because you believe that all Chinese businessmen are. Stereotyping is often at the base of prejudice and discrimination resulting from it.

Question 44

syncretism

Answer 44

an amalgamation or incorporation of traditional and introduced alien culture traits. In Southern Mexico and Guatemala, the Maya Indian combination of mutually exclusive indigenous religious and European Christian beliefs to create a new composite religion is an example. Syncretism is often a psychologically more satisfying alternative to rapid acculturation that totally replaces indigenous cultural beliefs and customs since one's own cultural identity is maintained.

Question 45

enculturation

Answer 45

the process of being socialized to a particular culture. This includes learning the language, customs, biases, and values of the culture. Through enculturation an individual learns the statuses, roles, rules, and values of his or her own culture. The most intensive period of enculturation is usually during early childhood, but the process continues throughout life.

Question 46

agency-centered

Answer 46

Anthropological research that emphasizes agency focuses on humans acting to promote their interests and the interests of the groups to which they belong (although what constitutes “interest” may be subject to debate).

Question 47

alterity

Answer 47

“Otherness”. Used in anthropology to describe and comment on the construction and experience of cultural difference.

Question 48

authority

Answer 48

Power is exercised with the consent of others.

Question 49

Biomedicine

Answer 49

A term used in medical anthropology for conventional western medicine.

Question 50

Biopsychosocial model

Answer 50

Interactions between biological, psychological, and social factors determine the cause, manifestation, and outcome of wellness and disease.

Question 51

Capitalism

Answer 51

An economic and political system in which a society's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Question 52

Causation

Answer 52

The capacity of one cultural feature to influence another.

Question 53

Class

Answer 53

Division of people in a society based on social and economic status.

Question 54

cohesion-centered

Answer 54

Some anthropologists see cohesion and consensus as central to the proper functioning of society and culture. Many anthropologists were influenced by Emile Durkheim who claimed that society could only function properly if its members experienced “solidarity”, that is, a moral duty to work for the maintenance of society.

Question 55

Colonization

Answer 55

The practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically, socially and politically.

Question 56

Commodification

Answer 56

The transformation of goods and services, as well as concepts that normally may not be considered goods, into a commodity, something of value.

Question 57

Consumption

Answer 57

The meaningful use that people make of the objects that are associated with them. The use can be mental or material; the objects can be things, ideas or relationships.

Question 58

Cosmology

Answer 58

Social groups perceive the universe and describe their relationship with it in different ways.

Question 59

Cosmopolitanism

Answer 59

Communities include individuals who live together with cultural difference.

Question 60

Diaspora

Answer 60

The dispersal of peoples from homelands to establish new, migrated communities in other places.

Question 61

Embodiment

Answer 61

The process by which people incorporate biologically the social and material world in which they live. A person knows, feels, and thinks about the social world through the body.

Question 62

Essentialism

Answer 62

Reducing description of a social group or culture to a limited set of characteristics, ignoring individual differences and agency.

Question 63

Ethnobiology

Answer 63

The study of how human cultures interact with and use plants and animals.

Question 64

Ethnobotany

Answer 64

The study of a people's knowledge of plants and their agricultural customs.

Question 65

Ethnopsychology

Answer 65

Refers to cultural or "folk" models of subjectivity, particularly as applied to the interpretation of social action. Cultures vary in the conceptual explanation and sociocultural importance of concepts such as anger or love.

Question 66

exchange

Answer 66

The transfer of things between social actors. The things can be human or animal, material or immaterial. Exchange is central to all people's lives, but its consequences and elaborations are more marked in some cultures.

Question 67

Exclusion

Answer 67

The failure of society to provide certain individuals and groups with those rights and benefits normally available to its members.

Question 68

Gender

Answer 68

The culturally constructed distinctions between males and females.

Question 69

Governmentality

Answer 69

Term coined by Michel Foucault referring to the way in which the state exercises control over the population.

Question 70

Habitus

Answer 70

Pierre Bourdieu holds that socialized norms guide people's behaviour and thinking. These become lasting tendencies to think, feel and act in certain ways in particular social situations.

Question 71

Hegemony

Answer 71

The cultural or political dominance of one social group over others; cultural processes through which the ruling classes maintain their power.

Question 72

hybridity

Answer 72

Multiple cultures mix, bringing together traditions as they negotiate their shared and unshared identities.

Question 73

Imagined community

Answer 73

The idea that a community is to some extent constructed in the minds of the people who consider themselves to belong to it.

Question 74

Inclusion

Answer 74

A person or group is welcomed, represented and provided for by the community or wider society.

Question 75

Liminality

Answer 75

Participants in a rite of passage or ritual are temporarily literally and symbolically marginalized from their community. Status becomes ambiguous until they re-join their community and adopt their new status. This term may be more broadly used in the context of cultural change.

Question 76

Lived body

Answer 76

In medical anthropology the body may be considered as an aesthetic object, containing the accumulated cultural experiences of each individual.

Question 77

Marginalization

Answer 77

Relegating specific groups of people to the edge of society, economically, politically, culturally and socially; limiting their access to productive resources and avenues for the realization of their productive human potential.

Question 78

Marginality

Answer 78

Human dimensions used as a basis for social exclusion (for example, class, ethnicity, gender)

Question 79

nation state

Answer 79

A politically legitimate, bounded geographical area. A state is a political and geopolitical entity, while a nation may be considered as a cultural one. The term "nation state" implies that the two coincide, but colonization created many instances where this notion may be disputed.

Question 80

Neo-colonialism

Answer 80

Relations between former colonial powers and former colonies, which perpetuate to some degree the domination and exploitation that existed under colonialism.

Question 81

Personhood

Answer 81

Culturally constructed concept of the individual human being, the “self”.

Question 82

Politicized body

Answer 82

The body becomes the topic of political debate, for example, in gender related discourse.

Question 83

Power relations

Answer 83

The positive or negative exercise of power between social groups or individuals.

Question 84

Sacred/profane

Answer 84

Emile Durkheim explained the sacred as symbols and objects set apart, bound by prohibitions, sometimes forbidden, while the profane relates to mundane, individual concerns. Some anthropologists do not regard this duality as being common to all social groups.

Question 85

Social control

Answer 85

Any means used to maintain behavioural norms and regulate conflict.