Key Concepts Flashcards
What are the four sub-disciplines of anthropology?
Biological or Physical Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistic Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
What are the 3 Sub-disciplines of Biological or Physical Anthropology?
- Primates
·The study of primates in the wild and in captivity. Record and analyze how animals spend time, share food, form social groups, rear offspring, develop leadership patters, exploit and resolve conflicts - Paleoanthropology
·Study of human evolution based on fossil records - Contemporary Human Biological Variations
·Explains differences in biological makeup and behaviour of contemporary humans. For example: DNA, nutrition, human growth and development, body shape, body size, nutrition, diseases.
Name the two main areas of Archaeology and the two subfields
- Prehistoric – Humans past before written records. Old world (Africa, Europe, Asia) and New World (North, Central and South America).
- Historical – Humans past in societies that have written documents
Subfields:
1. Underwater Archaeology – Submerged sites. May be prehistoric or historic
2. Industrial Archaeology – Focused on social changes during and since the Industrial Revolution. They seek to conserve industrial sites.
List the theee subtypes of Linguistic Anthropology
- Historical Linguistic – The study of language change overtime and how languages relate
- Descriptive Linguistics/Structural Linguistics – The study of how contemporary languages differ in terms of formal structure
- Sociolinguistics – The study of the relationship among social variation, social context, linguistic variation, including nonverbal communication.
List the six main subfields of Cultural Anthropology
- Economic Anthropology
- Physical Anthropology
- Medical Anthropology
- Political Anthropology
- International Anthropology
- International Development Anthropology
Who was Bronislaw Malinowsk and what was his theoretical approach?
First major figure and establish a theoretical approach called Functionalism.
Functionalism is the theory that a culture is similar to a biological organism in which parts work to support the operation and maintenance of the whole. Eg. Family organization, religion.
Who was Frank Boas and what was his theoretical approach?
Considered the founder of North American Cultural Anthropology. Known for cultural relativism, historical particularism and advocacy.
Cultural Relativism – The perspective that each culture must be understood in terms of the values and ideas of that culture and not judged by the standards of another culture.
Who was Margaret Mead and what was her theoretical approach?
She was the most well known student of Boas and contributed to the understanding of culture primarily through child rearing, gender roles and how personality is shaped. Personality and cultural constructivism – developed Public Anthropology.
Who was Clause Levi-Strauss and what was his theoretical approach?
Developed a different theoretical perspective known as French Structuralism and Symbolic Analysis. He felt the best way to understand a culture is to collect its myths and stories and analyze the underlying theme. He inspired the development of symbolic anthropology or the study of culture as a system of meaning.
Name the characteristics of the concept of culture.
Culture is learned, shared and integrated behaviors and ideas. Others equate culture with ideas alone and exclude behavior as a part of culture.
Culture is related to nature but is not the same as nature (eg. Universal human functions: eating drinking, sleeping, eliminating);
It is based on symbols and it is learned;
Cultures are integrated within themselves;
Cultures interact with other cultures and change (eg trade networks, international development projects, telecommunications, education, migration and tourism CALLED Globalization).
4 models of cultural interaction involves: varying degrees of conflict, blending and resistance. People participate in cultures of difference levels including microcultures shaped by factors such as class, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, gender, age and institutions.
Name the distinctive features of cultural anthropology
Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism.
Cultural Anthropology’s finding comes largely from first-hand experience in the field. This emphasises the commitment to the importance of valuing and sustaining cultural diversity and shows how people in diverse climates can adapt to changing situations.
Focuses on the study of contemporary humans and their cultures. The concept of cultural relativism (Franz Boas) is a guiding principle that other disciplines have widely adopted.
Cultural Anthropology values and works to sustain cultural diversity.
Cultural Anthro has a rich history of theoretical approaches and changing topical focuses.
Three important theoretical debates (see Each is attempting to understanding and explain why people behave and think the way they do and to account for differences and similarities across cultures.
Define the thee major debates within contemporary anthropology.
Biological Determinism vs. Cultural Constructionism
Interpretive Anthropology vs. Cultural Materialism
Individual Agency vs. Structurism
