Week 1: Intro to Cultural Anthro Flashcards
holism
an approach that views cultures as interconnected systems as a whole, puts together the social, historical, economic, religious, etc. aspects
cultural relativism
an idea that suggests understanding another’s behaviour or beliefs from the perspective of their culture, not our own
enculturation
the process of coming to terms with the way of thinking and feeling that are appropriate to respective cultures
ethnocentrism
the tendency to view one’s own culture as most important and correct and as the stick by which to measure all other cultures
deductive approach
creating a hypothesis, then designing a case study to prove or disprove it - finds reasoning from general to specific
comparison
analyzes the similarities and difference among cultures and societies to draw conclusions about human behaviour
concept of culture
where culture is a set of beliefs, practices, symbols that are learned and shared, forming a whole that binds people together to shape their world views and way of life
anthropology
the study of humanity, challenges your perspective on the world
dualism
concept that forms a distinction between two aspects of reality: the separation between the mind and body
idealism
our mind makes us human, our ideas and beliefs shape our human reality
materialism
focuses on how material aspects like economy and technology shape human behaviour, ignores beliefs and values
limitation of holism
as holism looks at culture as a whole, it may neglect to factor individuals aspects
biological anthro
studies human origins and evolution from genetics and primate behaviour
archaeological anthro
studies past materials like art, shelters, artifacts - how people used to live
linguistic anthro
studies language as a cultural tool, how it shapes communication and cultural identity
cultural anthro
studies human cultures and their practices across the world, and how they relate or differ
applied anthro
applies anthro theories and methods to address social issues for development
culture is not your friend
culture can force norms onto individuals, changing who they really are - can also be used against you
ethical relativism
perspective that morals and ethics are relative to specific cultural contexts - not all cultures have the same ethics
cultural determinism
theory that culture shapes people’s actions and belief over biology or individual agency
franz boas
developed cultural relativism, insisted that differences among groups came from environmental and social conditions - worked w/ the inuit
renato rosaldo
an example of how anthropologists can use their emotional responses to fieldwork to advance research - worked w/ the ilongots who killed in response to anger (felt the same after wife died)
ethnography
the in-depth study of of the everyday practices/lives of people
armchair anthro
form of research that did not involve direct contact w/ the people studied
inductive approach
collects evidence through fieldwork and creates a hypothesis afterwards - finds reasoning from specifics and generalizes it
participant-observation
an anthropologist observes while also participating in the same activities that their studies are engaged in
cultural evolutionism
discredited theory that suggested societies evolved through stages from simple to advanced
functionalism
approach that emphasizes the way that parts of a societies work together to make the whole function
going native
fully immersing yourself into a cultural group through acts like marriage, assuming key roles like leadership positions in society
field work
primary research method that involves anthropologists directly in contact with the studied society
off the vernanda
phrase to describe field work done from the safety of the porch, unreliable as key informants were the primary source
positivist mode of fieldwork
approach that focuses on objective knowledge, involves quantifiable data - anthropologists become invisible observers
etic perspective
an observer/outsider’s view of a culture
emic perspective
an insider’s view of a culture
julian steward
an example of an anthropologist who used the evolutionary theory, w/ the idea that you could research culture objectively
native anthropologist
conducts research in their own community, aces issues like objectivity (more anthropologists are becoming native)
rich points
moments in field work where differences or misunderstandings create opportunities for research
culture shock
a discomfort when your common sense is no longer common sense when entering a different culture
reverse culture shock
difficulty experienced when you return to your home culture after immersing yourself in another, the familiar feels strange
key informant
individuals who are knowledgeable about their own culture, providing assistance to anthropologists
field notes
detailed records of everything experienced during field work, reflections, helps for understanding context
personal journal
addition to field notes, a book about your own feelings w/ reflections from experiences
thick description
a description that goes beyond the context and observations, provides both emic and etic perspectives
french structuralism
a theory that focused on understanding the underlying structures of human thought and culture, emphasizing binary oppositions and symbolic systems.
interpretive anthro
focuses on interpreting cultural symbols and meanings, prioritizing the subjective experiences and narratives of individuals
marxism
theoretical framework that focused on class struggle and material conditions - emphasized power inequalities
post modernism
rejected marx’s theory, allows people to interpret their own situation
feminism
gender inequality highlighting women and the way gender shapes practices - examples: female clitoris mutilation, female experiences omitted from ethnographies
polyvocality
when multiple voices and perspectives are included in ethnographic research
reflexivity
practice of critically examining one’s role, biases, and influence in research process
situated knowledge
concept that knowledge is always shaped by context and perspective - emphasizes that knowledge is not neutral or universal
annette weiner
corrected bronislaw malinowski’s analysis of the kula system
contested identity
a dispute among groups about the group’s collective identity or identities
diaspora
when a particular group of people leave their homeland and scatter across the world in different locations
land tenure
how property rights like permission to use, control, and transfer land are distributed within societies
noble savage
inaccurate way that portrays indigenous groups as completely innocent, childlike, and uncorrupted
remittances
money that migrants working in foreign countries send back to their homeland for family
arbitrariness
the relationship between a symbol and its meaning where there’s no obvious connection
socialization
process where humans learn to become members of a group by interacting appropriately with others and coping with the behavioural rules
critical age hypothesis
when children reach a certain age with no exposure to using a language, the child will no longer be able to learn (3-4y)
communicative competency
knowledge that speakers and listeners communicate appropriately in different context
linguistic ethnocentrism
belief that one’s language is superior to another’s, viewing other language only through the lens of their own linguistic norms
openness
ability to produce new meaning, different words
displacement
the ability to easily discuss events, emotional states, and objects in past and future
prevarication
using language to lie
duality of patterning
1st level, meaningless sounds are combined to form words/part that have meaning. 2nd level is combining those units to form longer messages
semanticity
the meaning of signs in a communication system, a feature of all species’ communication
linguistic context
paying attention to how surrounding words, expressions, and sentences affect the meaning of the given expression
sapir-whorf hypothesis
theory that the language that you speak allows you to think about some things and not others, it affects how you see the world
dead metaphors
a loss of original significance - “goodbye”
euphemism
used with the intention to conceal an unpleasant meaning (sugarcoating)
morphemes
the basic meaningful units of life - the meaning
phonology
study of the sounds of language
semantics
how meaning is conveyed at the word and phrase level
non-linguistic context
paying attention to objects and activities that are present in the situation of speech at the time we’re speaking
hopi language
language from northeastern arizona that does not have verb tenses, and distinguishes 2 modes of thought (objective and subjective)
softer version of sapir-whorf
extensive cod ability allows one to speak more conveniently about a subject, influences thinking
ethnopragmatics
study of how language is used in specific cultures - how it shapes relationships
phonemes
the basic meaningless sounds of a language
morphology
study of morphemes of a language
pragmatics
how social context contributes to meaning in interaction
aesop rock song
“pigs” was an example of pragmatic in a linguistic context while “new york” was an example of pragmatics in a non-linguistic context
strong version of sapir-whorf
leads to linguistic determinism, which is the concept that language can limit human knowledge, classifies gender
codability
the ability of a language to express thoughts and ideas through its vocabulary and grammar
genre
difference in communicative habits and expectation
language and power
language has the power to influence the world, and in context of grammar - it reproduces power
creole
a language that develops from a pidgin when the pidgin becomes so widely used that some children consider it a first language
code-switching
using two or more language varieties in a particular interaction
heterglossia
the coexistence of different genres and styles of speech
african american english (AAE)
an example of creole language, subjected children to inequality as it put them at a disadvantage when in formal settings that use a standard english
pidgin
a simple language that has no native speakers develops in a generation where people who don’t share a language spend a long time together
closed system
a form of communication that cannot create new meanings or messages, only convey preprogrammed messages
cultural transmission
the need for some aspects of the system to be learned, a feature of some species’ communication systems
paradox of culture
culture is paradoxical in a way that there is a contradiction, culture can force us into boxes that influences how we behave, but we also need culture to tell us to an extent who we are, shaping us
gesture-call system
a system of non-verbal communication using combinations of sound, body language, facial expression - typical by apes, primates, and humans
historical linguistics
study of how languages change
interchangeability
the ability of all individuals of the species to both send and receive messages - a feature of some
kinesics
study of all forms of body language
language universals
characteristics shared by all linguists
larynx
the voice box, has the vocal bands that produce voice
lexicon
the vocabulary of a language
linguistic relativity
the idea that structures and words of a language influences how its speakers think
middle english
the form of english spoken from 1066 AD until 1500 AD
pragmatic function
the useful purpose of communication - feature of all
unbound morpheme
morpheme that can stand alone as a separate word
vernaculars
non-standard varieties of language, usually distinguished from the standard by their inclusion of stigmatized forms
what components do all languages share?
- phonology
- morphology
- syntax
- pragmatics
- semantics
