ANTH 1002 Midterm

La Pensée Sauvage

Who: Claude Levi-Strauss, Geertz What: "The Savage Mind" When: 1962, english translation came in 1966 Where: France Identification: refers to the 'untamed' human thought, understanding of the idea of reciprocity, holistic sense of culture, culture repeats itself in many different ways Why #1: structure of myth, allows us to perceive myths as units of isolated elements, together they create meaning not just mythical thought Why #2: structural linguistics cites meaning in interaction of words Why #3: example is totemism, meaning comes from juxtaposition of animals How: one of the earliest works of fundamental structuralism

Thick Description

Who: Clifford Geertz What: Deep Play: Notes in the Balinese Cockfight (from The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973) When: 1950s -- lived from 1926 to 2006 Where: Bali/Indonesia among the Balinese Identification: description of human behavior that not just explains the behavior but the context as well such that the behavior becomes meaningful to an outsider. Why #1: Thick description is a way of doing fieldwork that makes what is being analyzed, namely the behavior of individuals, more meaningful. Why #2: Thick description was used by Geertz when he did fieldwork on the Balinese. Why #3: Geertz, ethnography, deep play, rationality, fieldwork How: Thick description helped explain why the cockfighting in Bali/Indonesia were rational even when so much was at stake and why so many men participated in it. It also explained the symbolism that could be taking place behind a cockfight.

Deep Play

Who: Clifford Geertz What: Deep Play: Notes in the Balinese Cockfight (from The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973) When: 1950s -- lived from 1926 to 2006 Where: Bali/Indonesia among the Balinese Identification: when the stakes are so high that someone's behavior is, or at least seems, irrational -- odds are almost even and bets are very expensive Why #1: Deep play can only be established using thick description as a mode of analysis. It explains human behavior and why something may be rational, even if it doesn't seem as so. Why #2: Deep play showed why the Balinese were not completely irrational in their cockfighitng and what the events actually meant on a larger scale. It showed the interdependent system of symbols. Why #3: Geertz, ethnography, rationality, fieldwork, thick description How: The deep play within the Balinese cockfighting showed that one's status is not permanently affected by a cockfight, but instead, is interpreted during the fight. It becomes a meaningful display of something that is important to society (e.g. hierarchy/status) and shows why the Balinese may not have been completely irrational.

Social Fact

Who: Emile Durkheim, French sociologist, social psychologist and philosopher often cited as the father of social science What: The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) When: Mid-1890s -- lived from 1858 to 1917 Where: France; no field work conducted Identification: Emile Durkheim's belief that external factors influence human behavior. Why #1: Explains human behavior and how society stays together despite their differences. Why #2: Explains social cohesion and why individuals do not solely act on self-interest. Why #3: Emile Durkheim, Marcel Mauss, Total Social Fact, Reciprocity How: One argument is for religion where people with different ideas unite together.

Umbaga

Who: Evans-Pritchard What: "The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events" When: Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande (in 1937) Where: Zande tribe Northeastern part of DR Congo (plural is azande) Identification: translates to "second spear" and serves as a justification for coincidence by citing witchcraft as the cause of death, not the actual disease or action Why #1: Does not exclude real cause, justification for "coincidence" Why #2: Provides natural philosophy for unfortunate events How: Challenges "Western" anthropological idea of what is rational behavior tradition

Laura Bush

Who: Lila Abu-Lughod What: "Do Muslim Women Need Saving?" When: 2001 Where: Radio address Identification: Laura Bush described the veiling of Afghan women as "oppressive" and spoke of women taking off the veil as "liberating" themselves Why #1: When writing about the Lele, Douglas broke traditional anthropological practice and wrote in the past instead of present tense. Why #2: exemplification of a "savior complex", orientalist ideas How: reinforced divide between "the west and the rest", Bush imposed her cultural understanding on others

Asl

Who: Lila Abu-Lughod What: Veiled Sentiments When: 2000; 1952-present Where: Bedouin peoples from the Awlad 'Ali tribe in Egypt Identification: Asl means the blood of the ancestry including sentiments, ideas, feelings and behavior, primarily used for men and mainly through blood lineage. Why #1: Whereas hasham and tashasham are primarily used for the lower-class and the weak, asl is used primarily for me mainly through blood lineage. Why #2: Asl explains blood lineage and relationship both in the social and kinship sense. Why #3: Hasham/Tashasham, Veiled Sentiments, Abu-Lughod How: Abu-Lughod shows that asl reveals nobility and is an important part of the society.

Hasham/Tashaham

Who: Lila Abu-Lughod What: Veiled Sentiments When: 2000; 1952-present Where: Bedouin peoples from the Awlad 'Ali tribe in Egypt Identification: Hasham means modesty or voluntary deference to superiors that reveals virtue (e.g. veiling). It shows social intimacy and distance strengthening kinship society. Why #1: Whereas asl is used primarily for men mainly through blood lineage, hasham and tashasham are used primarily for the lower-class and women to signify inferiority. Why #2: Abu-Lughod tries to highlight resistance, agency and independence among a society that is highly marginalized through two honor codes within society. Why #3: Asl, Veiled Sentiments, Abu-Lughod How: Abu-Lughod shows that asl reveals nobility and is an important part of the society

Agl

Who: Lila Abu-Lughod What: Veiled Sentiments When: 2000; 1952-present Where: Bedouin peoples from the Awlad 'Ali tribe in Egypt Identification: reason or social sense; the social sense and self-control of honorable persons; allows people to perceive the social order and their place within it; an aspect of maturity; self-mastery Why #1: As people in the Bedouin society grow older, they are expected to embody wisdom and experience Why #2: Women who exhibit agl is considered to be agla, reasonable, well-behaved, "characterized by agl" Why #3: Hasham is part of this, "honor of the weak" How: Abu-Lughod demonstrates that Agl is part of the aging process of honor, and therefore takes experience and knowledge to comprehend

Taonga

Who: Marcel Mauss What: The Gift When: 1924 Where: Maori society Identification: fixed property--immovable, inalienable possessions, closely linked to possessions of the family, sometimes stylized "le'Tonga" or "Taonga" Why #1: Tonga symbolizes everything that makes someone wealthy, limited to things that cannot be exchanged Why #2: concepts can be exchanged through marriage (not physically) on the mother's side Why #3: in Samoa and New Zealand means the jewels and possessions incorporated into the family How: associated with "hau" there is "hau" attached to every gift and must make it back to the original owner

Hau

Who: Marcel Mauss (nephew of Emile Durkheim) What: The Gift When: 1924 -- lived from 1872 to 1950 Where: Maori (aboriginal peoples of New Zealand) Identification: Hau means "spirit of the gift." Why #1: Mauss builds on top of Durkheim's assertions and creates total social facts. Why #2: Mauss noticed that gifts were not purely voluntary, but actually, more obligatory. Why #3: reciprocity, "spirit of the gift," total social fact, social bonds, structural functionalism How: Hau shows how societies stay together and the bonds that are created through gifts.

Lele

Who: Mary Douglas, British anthropologists What: The Lele of the Kasai When: 1963 Where: Lele people on the western bank of the Kasai River in the Basongo area (then south-western Belgian Congo) Identification: Ethnic group in modern-day DR Congo. Why #1: When writing about the Lele, Douglas broke traditional anthropological practice and wrote in the past instead of present tense. How: The book describes the social, economic and religious life of the Lele people.