Intro to Social Anthropology Unit 1 Flashcards
anthropology
the study of the full scope of human diversity, past and present, and the application of that knowledge to help people of different background better understand one another. greek anthropos (human) and logos (thought, reason, study). 18th/19th centuries, European colonialism and transportation tech
ethnocentrism
the strong human tendency to believe that one’s own culture or way of life is normal and natural; using one’s own culture to evaluate and judge the practices and ideals of others
ethnographic fieldwork
a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living and interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives
what does anthropology study?
people and their local communities, particularly marginalized communities;
people and the structures of power; believe that all humans are connected
four-field approach
the use of four interrelated disciplines to study humanity: physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology
holism
the anthropological commitment to look at the whole picture of human life – culture, biology, history, and language – across space and time
biological anthropology
aka physical anthropology; the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly how they have evolved over time and adapted to their environments
paleoanthropology
the study of human evolution through the fossil record
primatology
the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution and early human behavior
archaeology
the investigation of the human past by means of excavating and analyzing material remains (artifacts)
prehistoric archaeology
the reconstruction of human behavior in the distant past (before written records) through the examination of artifacts
historic archaeology
the exploration of the more recent past through an examination of physical remains and artifacts as well as written or oral records
linguistic anthropology
the study of human language in the past and present
descriptive linguists
those who analyze languages and their component parts (construct written language from spoken)
historical linguists
those who study how language changes over time within a culture and how languages travel across cultures
sociolinguists
those who study language in its social and cultural contexts
cultural anthropology
the study of people’s everyday lives and their communities - their communities, behaviors, beliefs, and institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work and play together
patterns of meaning embedded within each culture, and develop theories about how cultures work
ways local communities interact with global forces
participant observation
a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied
living and working with people on a daily basis, often for a year or more
ethnology
the analysis and comparison of ethnographic data across cultures
looks beyond specific local realities to see more general patterns of human behavior , explore how local experiences intersect with global dynamics
globalization
the worldwide intensification of interactions and increased movement of money, people, goods, and ideas within and across national borders
connected strongly with anthropology
several key dynamics: time-space compression, flexible accumulation, increasing migration, uneven development, all at rapid pace
time-space compression
the rapid innovation of communication and transportation technologies associated with globalization that transforms the way people think about space (distances) and time
flexible accumulation
the increasingly flexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate profits in an era of globalization, enabled by innovative communication and transportation technologies (outsourcing, offshoring)
increasing migration
the accelerated movement of people within and between countries
uneven development
the unequal distribution of the benefits of globalization
anthropocene
the current historical era in which human activity is reshaping the planet in permanent ways
climate change
changes to Earth’s climate, including global warming produced primarily by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases created by burning of fossil fuels
culture
a system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and institutions that are created, learned, shared, and contested by a group of people
a shared belief system of what is right and what is right, what is normal and appropriate
enculturation
the process of learning culture, from people and cultural institutions
norms
ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people “normal” and appropriate behavior challenged when norms enforced by a dominant group disadvantage or oppress a minority within the population
exogamy
marriage outside one’s group