Important Concepts from Unit 1 Notes Flashcards
simply put, what is anthropology?
the study of people!
Anthropology adopts a ______ perspective, approaches questions through a _____ lens, and has been historically oriented towards the study of _______
- holistic
- comparative
- culture
Western philosophy and thought has ling taken a _____ approach to question of what humans are
dualistic
______ holds the reverse from idealism
materialism
those who adopt a materialistic perspective emphasize the role played by our physical bodies in the material world in shaping what it means to be human, what factors might they emphasize?
environmental conditions, and relations involved in labour and production
____ can be understood as a commitment to contextualization, and can study a range of influences on humans and why we must take everything into account
holism
what are the four fields of anthropology?
biological/physical, archaeology, linguistic, cultural
______ looks at humans and the human condition from the perspective of biology
biological/physical anthropology
______ has a main focus on human history
archaeology
which two subfields of anthropology frequently overlap?
cultural and linguistic
_____ is the comparative study of how language both reflects and influences social life
linguistic anthropology
When did cultural anthropology develop?
the end of the 19th century
why did Micheal Cepek describe the global activist movement of the Cofan nation in the Amazon?
to attempt to stop the destruction of their home territories by oil development, road building, and waves of colonization
with very few exceptions, early cultural anthropologists were ____ from _____ who worked with _____
White men
Europe/North America
colonized social groups
when did fieldwork become the hallmark for cultural anthropological research?
the early twentieth century
who are informants?
individuals who help anthropologists gather the information they need, usually referred to as friends, teachers, or respondents instead
_____ are NOT homogenous, self-contained, timeless wholes
cultures
_______ made one of the foundational definitions of culture: “the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired… as a member of society”
Edward B. Taylor
In the early twentieth century, _____ introduced the concept of culture to describe differences between human groups, arguing that human behaviour was largely taught through social learning (cultural behaviour)
Franz Boas
In the ______, some anthropologists argued that the concept of culture led to a reduced scope of social life/beliefs of different social groups
1980’s
what are the two most important characteristics of culture?
culture is learned, culture is expressed through both symbols and material practices
- Cultures or social groups are internally diverse
- Culture both influences and is shaped by global flows
- Culture involves both tradition and the potential for change
- Culture both limits and allows for individual and group agency
are all variants of what concepts? (two points?)
culture is learned and expressed through both symbols and material practices
the characteristics of culture!
in ____ anthropologist Melville Herskovitz argued that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was being drafted largely from Westerners and didn’t account for cultural differences
1947
Renato Rosaldo spent time with the IIongot tribe in the Phillipines from 1967-70, there he observed the tradition of _____
headhunting
Lila Abu-Lughod writes an article about the perception of Muslim women from Westerners and the Western media, what argument does she make around the idea of cultural relativism?
she makes the point that the world is divided into spheres when talking about the Middle East (like we’re all completely separated) rather than examining the interconnectedness of N.A and the Middle East… media continues to reinforce stereotypes… we must respect difference (people choose to lead different lives, and don’t need “saving”!)
