ANTH 1003 Week 3 (Auburn - Monica Cox)

social sanction

a reaction or measure intended to enforce norms and punish their violation

wolrdview

collective interpretation of natural and supernatural world based on assumptions people have about their environment

Material culture

physical products of human society

norms

society's rules for right and wrong behavior

cultural appropriation

the unilateral decision of one social group to take control over the symbols, practices, or objects of another

Non material components of culture

value beliefs --worldview norms --folkways --mores

According to the lecture, which school of anthropological thought stresses the interrelationship among the natural conditions in the environment and society? a) Neoevolutionism b) Structuralism c) Functionalism d) Interpretive Anthropology

a) neoevolutionism

Culture concepts: Culture is...

Culture is learned Culture is shared Culture is transformative

Situational learning

trial and error learning

Franz Boas

--Historical Particularism ------argued each society is a unique product of its historical circumstances --Cultural relativism (coined the phrase) --participant observation method of anthropological research CRITICISMS: doesn't allow for cross-cultural approach and universals

The most enduring and ritualized aspects of culture are referred to as a) folkways b) norms c) traditions d) symbols

c) traditions

beliefs

cultural conventions for defining what is true and false

Cultural Materialism

-Marvin Harris -Research strategy that focuses on technology, environment, and economic factors as key determinants in sociocultural evolution -- infrastructure (base) -- structure (framework) -- superstructure (roof) the ultimate explanation for cultural phenomena lies in the fulfillment of basic needs CRITICISM: focuses too much on environmental factors

tradition

practices and customs that have become most ritualized and enduring

value

standards by which members of society define what is desirable and undesirable symbolic expression of intrinsically desirable principles or qualities

People rarely hold conflicting values True False

FALSE

The main idea behind the holistic perspective is to study culture a) by its individual parts b) through systematic connections of different parts c) through third-party reports d) all of the above

b) through systematic connections of different parts

culture is static true or false

false. Culture is NOT static

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

The American anthropologist responsible for the concept of historical particularism was named...

Franz Boas

society

a group of organisms living together in an ordered community; in the case of humans, a group with shared culture

Which of the following is NOT a concept key to the human culture as discussed in the lecture? a) culture is shared b) culture is isolated c) culture is shared d) culture is transformative

b) culture is isolated

extragenetically

something you're taught, NOT born with

7 Elements of culture

1. Culture is learned 2. Culture uses symbols 3. Cultures are dynamic, always adapting and changing 4. Culture is integrated with daily experience 5. Culture shapes everybody's lives 6. Culture is shared 7. Cultural understanding involves overcoming ethnocentrism

Materialism vs. Symbolism

Not necessarily exclusive One approach is not necessarily superior

enculturation

the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values process of learning the social rules and cultural logic of a society ex- I am enculturated to read left and right

Interpretive theory of culture

a theory that culture is embodied and transmitted through symbols Geertz's concept of culture

customs

long-established norms that have a codified and law-like aspect

folkways

norms guiding ordinary usages and conventions of everyday life ex: shaking hands with someone you meet

holistic perspective

A fundamental principle of anthropology: The various parts of human culture and biology must be viewed in the broadest possible context in order to understand their interconnections and interdependence. perspective that aims to identify and understand the whole - that is, the systematic connections between individual cultural beliefs and practices - rather than the individual parts

Artifiact

Any item, made by humans, that represents a material aspect of culture any object consciously manufactured by humans (material component of culture)

Structuralism

Claude Levi-Strauss people make sense of the world through binary oppositions (republican/democrat, men/women, etc)

Post-modernism / Post-structuralism

James Clifford George Marcus Critical of modern scientific and philosophical approaches

Neoevolutionism

Leslie White and Julian Steward the degree of societal development is measured by the amount of energy harnessed by these societies concerned with long-term, directional, evolutionary social change and with the regular patterns of development that may be seen in unrelated, widely separated cultures neoevolutionism relies on measurable information for analyzing the process of cultural evolution. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

According to the lecture, reading your textbook is an example of...

Symbolic learning

According to "Our Babies Ourselves," in the US, individualism is valued highly, so generally parents do not hold their babies as much as other cultures. True False

TRUE

Culture can be transmitted virtually through the Internet in addition to face-to-face interaction. True False

TRUE

According to "Our Babies Ourselves," the goal of child-rearing in any society is to make the child...

a culturally appropriate adult

Shaking hands when you meet someone is an example of a a) Folkway b) More c) Taboo d) Material Culture

a) Folkway

According to "Our Babies Ourselves", which of the following is NOT one of the "3 R's" of child rearing in Dutch society? a) Respect b) Rest c) Regularity d) Cleanliness

a) Respect

symbolic learning

the ability to use and understand symbols (distinct only to humans)

Cross-cultural perspective

analyzing human social phenomenon by comparing that phenomenon in different cultures anthropologists stress this is necessary to appreciate how "artificial" our beliefs and actions are

According to "Our Babies Ourselves", which of the following is NOT typical of child-rearing practices in the United States. a) Bottle-feeding over breast-feeding b) Bed-sharing with child c) Longer periods of crying to teach a child self-reliance d) Adult supervision of small children

b) bed-sharing with child

The defining feature of historical particularism is a) all societies pass through stages from primitive to complex b) individual societies develop particular cultural traits and undergo a unique process of change c) cultural differences are the result of different evolutionary stages d) the material world shapes people's customs and beliefs

b) individual societies develop particular cultural traits and undergo a unique process of change

How, in general, does Marvin Harris (a materialist) explain the biblical dietary laws? a) they were means of establishing the identity of the ancient Hebrews b) they were all related to the Hebrews worldview and what was "normal" in their world c) they resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations d) they functioned to impose order in one part of the ancient Hebrews' world

c) they resulted from some practical, usually economic considerations

Social Evolution

concept tof cultural evolution that societies pass through the same series of stages from savagery to civilization (outdated and ethnocentric) Edward Tylor

Ethnocentrism a) presents a major problem for anthropologists b) means you think your culture is superior to others c) is a common feature of culture d) all of the above

d) all of the above

Edward Tylor

first hired anthropologist founding figure of cultural anthropology offered "culture" to understand differences and similarities among groups of people 1871: "Primitive Culture" Social Evolution: concept of cultural evolution that societies pass through the same series of stages from savagery to civilization [outdated and very ethnocentric] culture differences are result of different evolutionary stages 3 stages of cultural evolution: savagery, barbarism, civilization CRITICISMS: view of ethnocentric - assumes that some people are less intelligent

Ideal vs. Reality

often tomes people perform differently than the ideal

social learning

one organism observes another and will respond to a stimulus and adds that response to its own collection of behaviors

social institutions

organizations that large groups of humans (societies, cultures) create to help solve social problems the organized sets of social relationships that link individuals to each other in a structured way in a particular society these institutions include: --patterns of kinship and marriage --economic activities --religious institutions --political forms

Historical Particularism

rejected any general theory of culture change but believed that each society could be understood only in reference to its particular history Franz Boas --argued each society is a unique product of its historical circumstances --Cultural relativism (coined the phrase) --participant observation method of anthropological research CRITICISMS: doesn't allow for cross-cultural approach and universals

culture

shared way of life that includes material products, values, beliefs, and norms that are transmitted within a particular society from generation to generation refers to the perspectives and actions that a group of people consider natural and self-evident the taken for granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group

Functionalism

societies consist of institutions that serve vital purposes for people Two types: structural and psychological functionalism Structural Functionalism: our behaviors serve to prop up institutions in society Psychological Functionalism: help support individual ----Malinowski CRITICISMS: views society as STATIC, does not account for culture change

symbol

something that stands for something else, without necessary link between the symbol and its meaning something- an object, idea, image, figure, or character - that represents something else can also be a symbol of the body (ex: Japanese bow) Clifford Geertz - "Interpretive Theory of Culture" --- believes our worldview is a collection of symbols ---ex: always color oceans blue

mores

stronger norms than folkways structures the difference between right and wrong ex: Fidelity in marriage or ... It is not considered acceptable or mainstream to abuse drugs, particularly those such as heroine and cocaine

cultural determinism

the idea that all humans actions are the product of culture, which denies the influence of other factors like physical environment and human biology or behavior

cultural construction

the meanings, concepts, and practices that people build out of their shared and collective experiences

cultural relativism

the moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgement about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices

Symbolic/Interpretive Anthropology

the study of culture through the interpretation of the meaning of the symbols, values, and beliefs of a society symbolic rather than material aspects Mary Douglas ex: Americans don't eat dogs because they view them as companions (side note: cultural materialistic argument would argue that dogs were valuable tools like hunting and that is why)