Anthropology 1000, Unit One (Questions & Answers)

What do we mean when we say that culture is invisible?

culture is such a part of our lives, from baby to death, we don't stop to think about it often, or where it came from etc...

What is the primary responsibility of fieldwork?

responsibility to those people that they are working with. The culture in study.

What is an implicit symbol? & example

symbols with more than 1 meaning, people argue about the meaning of those symbols, get emotional about it, people kill each other over them. ex: Religious symbols

What is applied anthropology?

the application of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve social problems.

what is cultural anthropology?

the branch of anthropology concerned with the study of human societies and cultures and their development.

What is enculturation?

the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of a culture or group by a person, another culture, etc.

What is material culture?

the physical evidence of a culture in the objects and architecture they make, or have made. The term tends to be relevant only in archeological and anthropological studies, but it specifically means all material evidence which can be attributed to culture, past or present.

What is cultural relativism?

the principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

What is archaeology?

the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture

What is paleoanthropology?

the study of the formation and the development of the specific characteristics of humans (hominization) and the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship lines in the family Hominidae, by means of the study of fossils, such as petrified skeletal remains, bone fragments, footprints and associated evidence, stone tools, artifacts, and settlement localities.

What is participant observation?

to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such as a religious, occupational, sub cultural group, or a particular community) and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their cultural environment, usually over an extended period of time.

What is ethnography?

written work about a culture.

What is ethnocentrism?

Judging other cultures based on your beliefs

What is evolutionary psychology?

a theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits—such as memory, perception, or language—as adaptations, i.e., as the functional products of natural selection.

What is dominant discourse?

a way of speaking or behaving on any given topic — it is the language and actions that appear most prevalently within a given society. These behaviors and patterns of speech and writing reflect the ideologies of those who have the most power in the society.

What are the four themes of Cultural Analysis?

1) Adaption and change 2) similarities and differences 3) holism and specificity 4) connect local/regional and global

Essay Question (Memorize!): Explain the four issues/problems and how they were resolved, in the 1970's, with doing fieldwork and writing ethnographies which led to changes in cultural anthropology.

1) Informants. Early Anthropology, most were older men. Older men going into traditional cultures, there is no way woman are going to talk to them. Therefore, we lose out on a lot of learning about the culture. Problem with the informants was that all informants we're males, and therefore we would be excluded from half of the culture, UNTIL women became anthropologists in the 1970's. 2) Ethnographic Presence. Time it takes to write ethnographies, films, and get them published. Back then it would take a long time to get to the culture, a long time to come back, write about it etc.. anthropologists we're becoming historians because they would examine the culture and then finally get to publish their work years later, and a lot would have changed. How was it changed? Technology- cell phones, and also the ability to bring those of that culture to our culture back home. 3) Power. Most anthropologists were a reflection to their society. Studying culture as inferior, they were racist, condescending etc. Refelction of colonialist powers. End of colonialism (post ww2), finally, in the 70's the anthropologists realized they had to change their entire approach-- be nicer to them, respect them, realize they are just as human as everyone else. 4) The savages Learn to read. Modern education, modern medicine, spread throughout the whole world. Outside world was coming to them, kids were so hungry for knowledge. Education has spread. "at a certain time, we were the unquestioned experts". Now, the culture begins to read our books, watch our movies, and then they begin to correct the ethnographies from the anthropologists.

What are the three reasons why we find the study of culture both fascinating and frustrating?

1) It is complex- cannot know much about humans just by looking at them 2) It is always changing 3) It is invisible

What are the three fundamental questions asked by Anthropology?

1) What are our origins? 2) How do we explain human behavior? 3) How will the decisions we make today change who we are tomorrow?

What are the two ways to respond to culture shock?

1) people get over it, they get used to it. 2) some never get used to it, & they ask to leave

What is the key to dealing with ethnocentrism? (3 things)

1. Don't allow yourself to see anyone as inferior or that they don't belong! 2. Recognize and expect that we'll encounter things that will disturb us 3. It's part of diversity

How does symbolic thinking come to mind during human survival?

1. Remember the past, control the present thru making informed choices. 2. Plan for the future: being able to predict successfully based off of symbolic communication gives us an edge over our competitors 3. Recognize patterns in nature.

Two implicit symbols to be on the test and their meanings:

1st: Swastika. Used by humanity for thousands of years. Seen in different religions, boy scouts used it in the 20th century, originally meant good things, until WW2 era, then stood for hate, murder, genocide, worst crimes in history etc. Now, meaning switched and people despise it despite what it used to mean. Raleians, a religious group, claimed that for years it was a good sign and that we need to take it back and make it good again 2. Confederate Flag, or "stars and bars", has three meanings. a. Southern culture, southern pride etc, people who raise this flag say it has nothing to do with being bad, but that it goes with their culture, they're Americans but not the same. b. Outlaw culture: seen in chaplain, connecticut, but don't stereotype them just as bikers, a lot of them are college professors, college kids, old people, etc. Seen more as a club, of people who don't live by the rules. A lot of them are still nice people. They think of themselves as the only free people, call others "sheeple". c. Terrorist Culture, ex: KKK, neo-Nazis. They legitimately terrorize people, if you're not one of them, they'll attack you

What is culture shock?

A feeling of anxiety and unease because you feel out of place.

What is holism?

an analysis of a society as a whole which refuses to break society into component parts.

What is culture?

A set of learned beliefs and behaviors that humans use to adapt to and change their environment.

What is symbolic communication?

Abstract representation of reality in order to explain or control the world

What is reflexivity?

Asking why we believe what we believe.

What are social Networks?

Complex matrix of relationships

What kind of behavior was most responsible for human survival?

Cooperation, an example of invisibility of culture

What is the great paradox of culture?

Culture limits our choices while at the same time allows us to become fully humans.

Explain what we mean when we say that a culture is dynamic? Why is it difficult to recognize this?

It means that cultures are constantly changing. It is hard to recognize this because we don't all change at the same rate.

What did informants do in anthro?

Helped us learn about the studied culture, worked with the anthropologists

What is cultural Relativism?

If you want to understand another culture, you have to try and see the world through their eyes.

What are the two types of symbols?

Implicit and explicit symbols

3 important aspects of symbolic communication?

Language, Gestures, and objects

What are some ways Universities utilize symbolic communication?

Mascots, school colors, and buildings

Those who control ____, control everything in reality?

Symbols

What is a good reason as to why all humans are ethnocentric?

Power of enculturation: We are all slightly ethnocentric because we are going to be attracted or repelled by something that we see in other cultures based on how we were raised/where we lived.

What are sanctions? Both External and internal.

Punishment for violations of appropriate behaviors or beliefs. External sanctions- getting something taken away from you. Internal sanctions- Punishments that come from within. Don't do things because you dont want to experience shame, guilt, embarrassment, humiliation, etc...

Explain how same-gender marriage is part of the nature v nurture debate today.

Reason why we should ban same sex marriage: destroying the doundation of human success, which is marriage + mating between a man and woman, therefore, destructive to natural society, or (human nature, basic laws of nature) Those who supported it, claimed it would boost diversity and therefore advance society.

Why is it important to understand culture shock?

So we dont end up thinking like this "The reason I dont like it here is because the people here are bad, I dont like them"

What is language in Symbolic Communication?

Symbolically speaking, i.e. generation talk, texting phrases and emojis etc.

What do the tattoos on the faces of the Mauri men mean to the others in the tribe?

Tells of their status, age, role in society

What is it about humans that allow us to evolve our culture?

The ability to think abstractly

What is the ethnographic present?

The convention of presenting ethnographic research in the present tense—now largely abandoned in favor of more explicit historical contextualization.

What is fieldwork?

The practice of 'fieldwork' can be done in a variety of different settings such as an urban or virtual environment, a small tribal community, a museum, library, cultural institution, business, or a primate conservation area.

What are objects in Symbolic Communication?

Things we wear, we own, in our room, things in our car, etc... Shows people what we are like

Explain the Nature vs. Nuture Debate and why it is important to Cultural Anthropology.

This is the second fundamental question in anthropology: NATURE: 1) Evolutionary Directives: Genetic Directions, directives, that helped people survive back then. Human Nature, something innate in modern humans. This means we have... 2) limited options. Limited because they have to be a reflection of Evolutionary directions, like our human nature. 3)sociobiology (evolutionary psychology) Want a successful society? Follow human nature. NURTURE: 1) Ability to make choices: comes from our ability to think abstractly. This means that we have... 2) many options (cultural diversity) lots of ways of being happy, being successful, allows for cultural diversity, which is the source of our success. 3) Cultural Anthropology

What is an explicit symbol?

Those symbols have one meaning, there is no argument over that one meaning and its not very controversial, nobody gets emotional about it, everyone is in agreement. Ex: traffic lights

Explain what anthropologists mean when we say that "truth" is cultural and historical, not eternal and universal.

Truth = values. Truth is cultural because they pertain and are unique to each and every culture. Truth is cultural and historical not universal nor eternal.

What is it about the way humans genuinely smile that differs them from all of the other species?

We show teeth to represent happiness, while other species use teeth to show aggression

What are gestures in Symbolic Communication?

We use our bodies to communicate with others, our facial expressions, and the amount of personal space we want to have with others. Tells about what we like and who we are

Explain how the Woman's movement of the late 60's and early 70's became part of the Nature vs. Nurture debate.

Woman's march, 1970's, when people challenged tradition. Went against human nature, specifically the idea of woman, long-bred, being the child-carrier, taking care of them etc. (stay-at-home) Predicted to fall apart because it doesn't follow human directives. turns out it boosted diversity, and made society better!

what is the recently popular tattoo in the US?

a Semicolon (;)

What is sociobiology?

a field of scientific study that is based on the hypothesis that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to examine and explain social behavior within that context.

What is collaborative anthropology?

a focus on the complex collaborations between and among researchers and research participants/interlocutors