Midterm Terms Flashcards
durkheim
sociologist that believed you needed to belong to a group to function - emphasized the significance of spiritual beliefs for relationships
animatism
a religion organized around a belief in an impersonal supernatural force
animism
a religion organized around a belief that plants, animals, or inanimate objects have spiritual element
anthropomorphic
an object that has human characteristics
cargo cult
a now uncommon term to describe rituals that wanted to attracted material prosperity - rites of revitalization
collective effervescence
the passion or energy that comes from groups of people sharing thoughts and emotions - common for religion
cosmology
an explanation for the origin or history of the world
cultural appropriation
copying an idea from another culture and distorting the meaning
filial piety
traditional that requires the young to provide care for elderly or ancestral spirits
magic
practices that intended to bring supernatural forces under one’s personal control - magic for their own purposes
imitative magic
like manifestation - imitating or copying desired effects to produce that outcome
contagious magic
magic that acts up one one another after contact, an owner’s positive qualities are transferred like a lucky penny
millenarians
people who believe that major transformations of the world will happen
monotheistic
religion that recognizes a single god
polytheistic
religion that recognizes multiple gods
prophets
a person who claims to be in direct contact with the supernatural realm - to communicate divine messages
reincarnation
beginning a new life after death - believed to be determined by one’s actions in past life
religion
human society’s extension of culture to include the supernatural
revitalization rituals
an attempt to solve serious problems through spiritual intervention
rite of intensification
actions designed to bring communities closer - usually after a period of crisis
ritual of inversion
normal social roles are switched/ inverted ex. carnival in bosa italy
rites of passage
a ceremony designed to transition people through their life stages - separation, liminality, and incorporation (creates bonds)
shaman
a part time religious practitioner that can carry out rituals if needed but also function in normal work in society
sorcerer
an individual who seeks magic for their own purposes
priests
full time religious practitioners
supernatural
describes the entities or forces that aren’t governed by natural laws
zoomorphic
an object or being that has animal characteristics
sir edward tylor
first described animism, thought human experiences were the basis of religion - he was misguided as no belief system is more sophisticated than another
voodoo doll
operates on both imitative and contagious magic - doll copies desired actions, can be given to others
taboo
actions avoided due to the belief that it is too dangerous for an ordinary person to do
myth
stories made up of supernatural beings or forces
abstract forces
supernatural forces/ beliefs like animation, zoomorphism, or anthropomorphism
sacrifice
offering something to transfer to the supernatural
john frum ritual
islanders from tanna imitate the us army to attract ‘john drum’ back to their island, believing he will showering them in riches
azande of africa
reproduce their belief system to maintain power, witchcraft was the most common believed reason for misfortune - anyone but people in power could be tried for witchcraft, strengthening liberty or power
sports
can influence our worldview/ tells us about cultural ideas (ex. america has one star, japan is team focused) - can bring people together but also apart
preforming culture
how people preform their culture can change how people view things - ex. using wrong phrase can result in failure (losing respect)
front space
carefully constructed arenas that are designed to control an audience’s perception - can change interpretation and understanding
social drama
the units of aharmomic or disharmonic social process in conflict situations- consist of 4 phases: breach, crisis, redress or remedial procedures, and then reintegration or recognition
metatheatre
when a social interaction goes bad and causes tension and the social actors involved find it necessary to make sure others understand where the social roles were breached
bounded preformance
a good way to teach people how to behave - it frames context where some things are only acceptable in some scenarios ex. playing house
homeland
a tv show discussed, important for showing satire or parody - reproduces stereotypes about islam, but a scene painted by artists mocked the americans
politics of art world
some art is designed to make the audience think or convey a particular meaning
art by intention
ex. objects made to be art, impressionist paintings
concept of wa
in japan, baseball teams have a concept that emphasizes the importance of sacrificing for the team - team matters, not the individual
bronislaw manilowski
conducted the research in trobriand island - observed that religion is not born out of speculation or reflection, but out of the real tragedies of human life
trobiand island
built policital alliances through sport (cricket), also did rituals that malinowski compared to baseball magic
papua new guinea
imitated europeans, preformed rituals as well
world view/ ideology
the encompassing picture of reality created by members of society - the beliefs and ideas of how the world works
representation of ideology
through symbols, texts, images - learned an reproduced through play, sports and arts
arts
important for consolidating or contesting social values and norms, conveys meaning through different media’s
agency
an individuals ability to make independent choices and act upon their will
hegemony
power so persuasive that it’s rarely recognized, but preforms everyday actions
presentation of self
the management of the impressions others have of us
back space
private zones where actors can do whatever they want - sets stage for social activity
rehearsals/training
can use creativity and innovation in bound performances
regional and national identities
ex. in sports: ties are created between people during games like football, europe and south america bond together in the US vs. then
fine art
is rare and expensive, artists are trained by western tradition- it’s made for the market (to be sold) value depends on who made it
folk art
is not made with formal training, not for sale, used for everyday action and not tied to a particular artist
art by appropriation
when people in power decide that an object is art so it is removed from its social context - then the social significance is not accounted for
baseball magic
where baseball players preform rituals that contribute good luck
rituals
things/ ceremonies done to induce a goal/ belief
claude levi strauss
believed religion serves as an important function
doctrine
a direct statement about religious beliefs
period rituals
rituals that are preformed annually like buddha’s day
cultural preformance
presented to an audience, expected to accept interpretation, reflects what we have been taught (our enculturation)
performance of gender
a learned behaviour from gender performativity, ex. “throwing like a girl” doesn’t make sense unless girls are taught different, it’s a learned evaluation
satire or parody
an effective means that criticizes the structure or dominant ideology- threatens the social norms to offer alternatives
haisla nation’s totem pole
a totem pole that served a social significance (represented what it means to be human), but it was sold to sweden to be put in a museum which changed the significance
bilateral descent
descent recognized from both mother and father’s sides of the famiky
avunculocal
married couples living with an uncle, typically the wife’s mother’s brother - keeps wealth
bride wealth/ price
payments made through gifts by the groom’s family to the bride’s family before marriage
clan
a group of people who have a general common descent but not attached to a specific biological ancestor
descent groups
relationships that provide members with a sense of identity and social support based on ties of shared ancestry
domestic group
a term used that describes a group of people living together that aren’t considered to be family
patrilineal descent
descendants from the father’s side of family
matrilineal descent
descendants from the mother’s side of the family
dowry
payments (usually gifts) to the groom’s family from the bride’s family before marriage
endogamy
a term that describes the expectation that an individual must marry within a specific group
exogamy
a term that describes the expectations that an individual must marry outside a specific group
extended family/ household
a family of at least 3 generations under the same roof
family
smallest group of individuals that view themselves as connected to one another
family of orientation
the family where an individual is raised
family of procreation
a new household formed for the purpose of conceiving and raising children
household
family members who reside together
joint family
a large extended family that includes multiple generations
kinship
a term used to describe culturally recognized ties between members in a family - including their social status in the family and their expected behaviours
kinship diagrams
charts used by anthropologists to visually represent the relationship between members of a kinship group
kinship system
the pattern of culturally recognized ties between family members
kinship terminology
the terms used in a language to describe relatives
levirate
the practice of a woman marrying her deceased husband’s brothers
lineage
a term to describe any form of of descent from a common ancestor
matriarchal
a society where women have the authority to make decisions
matrilocal residence
a married couple living with or near the wife’s mother’s family
neolocal residence
newlywed couples who establish a household separate from other family members
nuclear family
parents in a culturally recognized relationship (marriage) with minor or dependent children
patrilineal cousin marriage
the practice of marrying a male or female cousin on the father’s side of the family (incest)
patrilocal residence
a married couple living with or near the husband’s father’s family
polygamous
families with plural marriages with multiple wives or multiple husbands
polyandry
marriages with one wife, many husbands
polygyny
marriages with one husband, many wives
serial monogamy
marriage to succession of spouses one after the other
sororate marriage
practice of a husband marrying his deceased wife’s sister
stem family
a version of extended family that includes an older couple with one of their adult children who have a spouse and children
cross-cousin marriage
marrying a cousin outside one’s lineage typically for economic function
unilineal
descent is recognized through only one line or side of the family
monogamy
having just one partner
tibet
with marriage, the common way to have a good life in tibet involves brothers sharing one wife for economic benefit
marriage
a kinship between two people who choose to be together
the Na
a matrilineal (no dads) society in southern china, no nuclear family, no jealousy, and sexual relationships are spontaneous
descent theory
focuses on how society organizes themselves through descent lines (lineage and inheritance)
alliance theory
focuses on how society organizes themselves through alliances through marriage between groups
bride service
part of bride price, where the groom provides the wife’s family with a period of work or labour (he works for them)
incest taboo
a rule of exclusion, a social prohibition of engaging in sexual relationships or marriage with a close family member
parallel cousin
a cousin from the same sex sibling of your parents’ (ex. father’s brother’s child or mother’s sister’s child)
polygamy
marriage between multiple partners
fraternal polyandry
common in tibet, where brother’s share one wife
mode of subsistence
the techniques used by the members of a society to obtain food (foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture)
delayed return system
techniques for obtaining food that require an investment of work over a period of time before consumption ex. farming
immediate return system
techniques for obtaining food that can be immediately consumed ex. foraging, fishing
horticulture
a subsistence system based on a small-scale of farming crops intended for direct consumption of a household or immediate community
pastoralism
a subsistence system is here people raise herds of livestock
division of labour
distributing roles of labour, typically influenced by gender
foraging
a reliance on wild plants and animals as food sources, ex. fishing and hunting (broad spectrum diet, low density populations)
property relations
sharing land with other groups when owning land is not practical when you only stay for a limited amount of time
egalitarianism
belief that people are equal - deserving of equal rights/opportunities
pre-contact iroquois
women controlled food crop and distribution
trobriand islands
used yams to smooth social relations - not sharing yams resulted in no gifts and disapproval, the chief had the largest wealth in yams to redistribute
kinship in subsistence
crucial to arrange marriages in order to keep access to specific areas
maasi
a society that emphasized male lineage, women were excluded in building wealth or social status
agriculture
growing crops on permanent plots of land, traced back to neolithic period
family farming
farming to support family, to sell as part time or full time farmers, done on private property
industrial agriculture
producing agriculture for capital intensive means, big farming corporations hire workers and restrict flexibility
industrialism and the digital age
foods and services are produced through mass employment to satisfy consumer demands
flexible wokrforce
workforce with freelancers and part-time ((hiring workers not permanently)
commodity chain
the steps from the produce to the market, separate the producer from the consumer
modes of consumption
- a person’s ‘intake’ of eating or using things
- the output to spend or use resources to obtain things
minimalism
few and finite consumer demands, sustainable (include foragers, horticulturists and pastoralists)
consumerism
consumer demands are infinite, means to satisfying demands are never sufficient
hyper-consumerism
excessive consumerism, consumption for its own sake
levelling mechanism
an unwritten but culturally imbedded set of rules that restrict an individual’s capacity to become wealthier than others
