MATERIAL AFTER MIDTERM Flashcards
Neoliberalism
Modern political economic theory favouring free trade, privatization, minimal gov’t regulation, lower taxes especially for elites and corporations, reduced social services
Political Anthropology
the cross-cultural study of power and related concepts such as influence and authority
Political anthropologists define key concepts differently than political scientists do, given anthropology’s cross-cultural focus
Political Anthroplogists’ study:
- Who has power and who does not
- Degrees of power
- Bases of power
- Abuses of power
- Political organization and government
- Political leadership roles
- Relationships between political and religious power
- Change I political organization and power relationships through globalization and media
Power
The ability to bring about results, often through possession or use of forceful means
Authority
The right to take certain forms of action
Influence
The ability to achieve a desired end by exerting social or oral pressure on someone or some group
Political Organization and Leadership
Bands - Band Leader
Tribes -Headdman/Headwoman
Chiefdoms-Chief
States-King/Queen/President
Bands
Foraging groups
Between 20 and a few hundred people; everyone knows one another and are kin
Membership is flexible
Leader is “first among equals”
Leader influence, perhaps authority, but no power
Do Bands have Politics?
Not in a formal sense:
Leadership roles are not formalized
No marks of political membership exist
Tribes
Associated with horticulture and pastoralism
Comprise several bands
- with similar lifestyle, language, and territory
- Members know each other and are related
Leadership combines both achieved and ascribes status
Leader (headman) resolves conflict
Leader relies on influence and authority, sometimes power
Big-Man/Big-Woman Leadership
Category of political organization midway between tribes and chiefdoms
Personality, favour-based political groupings
Heavy responsibilities in regulating internal and external affairs
Leadership is mainly achieved
Common in Melanesia, the South Pacific
Chiefdoms
Permanently allied tribes and villages under one leader
More centralized and socially complex
Heritable systems of social rank and economic stratification
Chiefship is an “office” that must be filled at all times
Achievement is measured in terms of personal leadership skills, charism, and accumulated health
Confederacies are formed when chiefdoms are joined
States
The state is a centralized political unit encompassing many communities, a bureaucratic structure, and leaders who possess coerce power
States are secondary social organizations in the sense that no members know all other members on a face to face basis; kinship is not the primary basis of membership
State Powers and Roles
Engage in internal relations Monopolize the use of force and maintain law and order Maintain standing armies Define citizenship, right, and responsibilities Keep track of citizens (census) Taxation, in-kind or cash Control and manipulate information Provide social services
Political Organization
groups within a culture that are responsible for public decision-making and leadership, maintaining social cohesion and order, protecting group rights, and ensuring safety from external threats
First Nations Point of View - Power (treaties)
Creator as witness Permanent relationship Based on goodwill Spirit of agreement important Seated with sacred ceremony Cannot be changed
Treaties —- “we are all treaty people”
- office of the Treaty Commissioner
Euro Canadian Point of View - Power (Treaties)
Between two autonomous bodies For a specific (limited) time Negotiated Written and oral agreements Signed, dated Can be changed with consent
Social Control
processes that, through both informal and formal mechanisms, maintain orderly social life
Power
the ability tor take action in the face of resistance, through force if necessary
Authority
the ability to take action based on a person’s achieved or ascribed status or moral reputation
Communication
the process of sending and receiving meaningful messages
Language
a form of communication that is based on a systematic set of learned symbols and signs shared among a group and passed on from generation to generation
Productivity
a feature of human language whereby people are able to communicate a potentially infinite number of messages efficiently
Call System
a form of oral communication among nonhuman primates with a set repertoire of meaningful sounds generated in response to environmental factors
Displacement
a feature of human language whereby people are able to talk about events in the past and future
Big Data
sets of information including thousands or even millions of data points that are often generated from internet and communication sources, such as cellphone use, Facebooking, and Tweeting
Phoneme
a sound that makes a difference for meaning in a spoken language
Ethnosemantics
the study of the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences in particular cultural contexts
critical media anthropology
an approach within the cross cultural study of media that examines how power interests shape people’s access to media and influence the contents of its messages
sociolinguistics
a perspective in linguistic anthropology, which says that culture, society, and a person’s social position determine language
discourse
culturally patterned verbal language including varieties of speech, participation, and meaning
critical discourse analysis
an approach within linguistic anthropology that examines how power and social inequality are reflected and reproduced in communication
tag question
a question placed at the end of a sentence seeking affirmation
historical linguistics
the study of language change using formal methods that compare shifts over time and across space in aspects of language, such as phonetics, syntax, and semantics
language family
a group of languages descended from a parent language
global language
a language spoken widely throughout the world and in diverse cultural contexts, often replacing indigenous languages
logograph
a symbol that conveys meaning through a picture resembling that to which it refers
The 8 Most Spoken Languages Globally
mandarin spanish English bengali hindi Portuguese russian Japanese
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
emphasizes how language shapes culture
Defining Religion
as in all of anthropology, the challenge is to find a definition that is broad enough to fit all cultures
Current definition says that religion is:
- beliefs and behaviour related to supernatural beings and forces
- as far as we know, only humans have it
Religion Vs Magic
19th century thinkers supported a cultural evolution model that said magic came first, replaced by religion, and religion replaced by science
Magic defined as: people’s attempts to compel supernatural forces and beings to act in certain ways, often to harm enemies
Myths
Convey messages about supernatural through the story itself
Indirect messages
Usually part of the oral (verbal) tradition
Three Anthropologic Theories About Myths: All Are “Functional”
Malinowski: Myths are a charter for society, they provide a rationale for the group
Levi Strauss: Myths express the underlying beliefs of a society and help people resole deep contradictions between life and death and other binary oppositions
Cultural Materialists: Example in the text showing that myths store knowledge for cultural survival
Doctrine
Direct statement about religious beliefs Written an formal Associated with state-level religions Doctrine can and does change Example: Islamic doctrine as expressed in the Qur'an, debated among contemporary Muslims regarding issues such as polygyny, divorce, women's work roles, women's clothing
Beliefs about Supernaturals
Concepts of otherworldly beings
- Animation
- Zoomorphic supernaturals
- Anthropomorphic supernaturals
- Pantheons
- Ancestors (Eye on the Environment)
Animatism
the power is usually impersonal, unseen, and potential everywhere - found in small scale societies
Beliefs about Sacred Space
Natural sites such as mountains, streams, stone outcroppings
Culturally constructed sites that make a “natural” place sacred
Power Issues Related to Sacred Sites
Contested sacred spaces: Many in the world today, including just these two examples:
- stonehenge
- hindmarsh island, Australia
Ritual
patterned behaviour that has to do with the supernatural realm
Life-Cycle ritual
a ritual that marks a change in status from one life stage to another
Pilgrimage
round-trip travel to a sacred place or places for purposes of religious devotion or ritual
Ritual of Inversion
a ritual in which normal social roles and order are temporarily reversed
Sacrifice
a ritual in which something is offered to the supernaturals
Priest or Priestess
a male or female full-time religious specialist whose position is based mainly on abilities gained through formal training
World Religion
a term coined in the nineteenth century to refer to a religion that is based on written sources, has many followers, is regionally widespread, and is concerned with salvation
Religious Pluralism
the condition in which two or more religions coexist either as complementary to each other or as competing systems
Religious Syncretism
the blending of features of two or more religions
Revitalization Movement
a socioreligious movement, usually organized by a prophetic leader, that seeks to construct a more satisfying situation by reviving all or parts of a religion that has been threatened by outside forces or by adopting new practices and beliefs
Cargo Cult
a form of revitalization movement that emerged in Melanesia in response to Western and Japanese influences
What are the 5 Long Standing World Religions
Hinduism Buddhism Judaism Christianity Islam
Christianity has the largest number of followers with Islam second and Hinduism third
Art
the application of imagination, skill, and style to matter, movement, and sounds that goes beyond what is purely practical
ethno-esthetics
culturally specific definitions of what art is
ethnomusicology
the cross-cultural study of music
heterotopia
something formed from elements drawn from multiple and diverse contexts
Wa
a Japanese work meaning discipline and self-sacrifice for the good of the group
blood sport
a competition that explicitly seeks to bring about a flow of blood from, or even the death of, human-human contestants, human-animal contestants, or animal-animal contestants
material cultural heritage
the sites, monuments, buildings and movable objects considered to have outstanding value to humanity
Intangible Cultural Heritage
UNESCO’s view of culture as manifested in oral traditions, languages, performing arts, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices about nature and the universe, and craft making
Internal Migration
movement within country boundaries
International migration
movement across country boundaries
Transnational migration
regular movement of a person between two or more countries, resulting in a new cultural identity
push-pull theory
an explanation for rural-to-urban migration that emphasizes people’s incentives to move because of a lack of opportunity in rural areas (the “push”) compared with urban areas (the “all”)
remittance
the transfer of money or goods by a migrant to his or her family in the county of origin
bracero
an agricultural laborer in Latin America and the Caribbean who is permitted entry to a country to work for a limited time
circular migration
repeated movement between two or more places, either within or between countries
displaced person
someone who is forced to leave his or her home, community, or country
refugee
someone who is forced to leave his or her home, community, or country
internally displaced person
someone who is forced to leave his or her home or community but who remains in the same country
development-induced displacement
the forced migration of a population due to development
resilience
ability of a population to “bounce back” from conflict, a disaster, or other traumatic situation
institutional migrant
someone who moves into a social institution either voluntarily or involuntarily
new immigrant
an international migrant who has moved since the 1960a
chain migration
a form of population movement in which a first wave of migrants comes and then attracts relatives and friends to join them in the destination
lifeboat mentality
a view that seeks to limit growth of a particular group because of perceived resource constraints
right of return
the United Nations’ guaranteed right of a refugee to return to his or her home country to live
development
change directed toward improving human welfare
micro-credit loan
a small cash loan made to low-income people to support an income-generating activity
invention
the discovery of something new
diffusion
the spread of culture through contact
acculturation
a form of cultural change in which a minority culture becomes more like the dominant culture
assimilation
a form of cultural change in which a culture is thoroughly acculturated, or decultured, and is no longer distinguishable as having a separate identity
social impact assessment
a study conducted to predict the potential social costs and benefits of particular innovations before change is undertaken
Modernization
a model of change based on belief in the inevitable advance of science and Western secularism and processes, including industrial growth, consolidation of the state, bureaucratization, a market economy, technological innovation, literacy, and options for social mobility
social capital
the intangible resources existing in social ties, trust, and cooperation
development project
a set of activities designed to put development policies into action
project cycle
the steps of a development project from initial planning to completion: project identification, project design, project appraisal, project implementation, and project evaluation
cultural fit
a characteristic of informed and effective project design in which planners take local culture into account
traditional development anthropology
an approach to international development in which the anthropologist accepts the tole of helping to make development work better why providing cultural information to planners
critical development anthropology
an approach to international development in which the anthropologist takes a critical-thinking role and asks why and to whose benefit particular development policies and programs are pursued
male bias in development
the design and implementation of development projects with men as beneficiaries and without regard to the impact of the projects on women’s roles and status
development aggression
the imposition of development projects and policies without the free, prior, and informed consent the affected people
life project
local people’s definition of the direction they want to take in life, informed by their knowledge, history, and context
extractive industry
a business that explores for, removes, processes, and sells minerals, oil, and gas that are found on or beneath the earth’s surface and which are nonrenewable
