Mock exam Flashcards
Summarise:
Structural functionalism
The theory that looks at society like a person and says that it has needs and will change, as well as looking at natural patterns in a culture, however its restricted to social structures
Summarise:
Cultural materialism
The idea that everything is built upon the infrastructure, and that things in the structure and superstructure can only change if the infrastructure can support it
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Postmodernism
The theory that isn’t really a theory, more a critique of the other theories, it says that nothing can be right or wrong
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Feminism
This can be split into different categories(liberal, radical) but is mainly the theory that women have been oppressed before but should now have equal rights
Summarise:
Agency
Agency is the idea that humans can make their own choices and overcome structural limitations
Summarise:
Structure
Structure is the limitations in society that prevent people from being able to do things
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Marxism
The idea that there is a proletariat and bourgeoisie class system where the rich stay rich because the poor people can only sell their work to them
What is armchair anthropology?
Anthropologists doing no fieldwork but coming up with assumptions and conclusions about the culture in question
Who was the father of fieldwork?
Bronislaw Malinowski- stayed for 4 years in the Trobriand islands. He said you must become properly integrated with the culture eg learning the language- PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION
What did Franz Boas suggest when doing fieldwork?
An inductivist method- going in with no assumptions and making inferences afterwards
Define:
Eugenics
Controlled breeding to increase desirable characteristics
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Social Darwinism
The idea that individuals, groups and people are subject to the same ‘natural selection’ laws as animals
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The ‘white man’s burden’
The idea that the Europeans had to educate the indigenous people (savages) they came across
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Ethnocentrism
Judging another culture by the values and standards of your own culture- assumption your culture is superior
Define:
Kinship
Perceived connections from categories, groups, relationships or behaviour
