Midterm 2 Cultural Anthro

Bronislaw Malinowski

British anthropologist (born in Poland) who introduced the technique of the participant observer, functionalism, and holism.

Victor Turner

British anthropologist who also taught in US Fieldwork in Africa Focus on ritual as social process major figure in symbolic/interpretive anthropology

Cocaine and the Economic Deterioration of Bolivia (Weatherford)

Impacts of Cash Cropping Rural villages depleted of work force. Families and traditional cultural patterns disintegrate. People can no longer afford local products (cocaine) that suddenly become valued in the West. Health Impacts Young men become permanently disabled. Chemicals dissolve pisacocas skin so they lose use of feet and hands. Pisacocas lose mind from smoking laced cigarettes supplied by producers. Spread of STIs through producer-sponsored prostitution (to keep workforce happy). Nutrition Impacts More land used for coca production than food production (peasants must buy food). Impoverishment drains labor from rural farming areas (loss of labor = less production). Economic Impacts Rural poverty gets worse (especially as the young and able become disabled). Economic disparities increase (those who control production/distribution get wealthy).

Race as Fiction, Racism as Social Problem (Smedley and Smedley)

Imperialism and colonialism brought Europeans in contact with disparate peoples. Scientific/evolutionary attempts to explain human differences (see McGee and Warms) led to creation of new concept: discrete racial categories. Origins of Race Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) made one of the first attempts to classify the human species. Five sub-species of humans based on temperament, dress, and culture. Classification did not imply superiority/inferiority. Georges Louis Leclerc (1707 - 1788) argued that all humans are the same species. Interested in process, not just classification. Geography determines human characteristics. Ideal = central Europe; degeneration from there. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach posited five varieties of humans: Caucasian, Mongoloid, Ethiopian, American, and Malay. Designated Caucasian as closest to representing God's image, the original humans from which all others degenerated. Established hierarchal ordering of the varieties. Carleton Coon. 1962: a final attempt (in anthropology) to identify discrete races and theorize about racial superiority. Caucasoid, Capoid, Congoid, Mongoloid, and Australoid races.

Making Men:

Multiple paths to masculinity, all influence by enculturation through direct transmission, learning through rituals, informal means of social control, influence of media, enculturation through observation.

Nationalism

Nationalism stresses solidarity regardless of socio-economic class, rural-urban, regional, or ethnic distinctions. Nationalism usually driven by dominant ethnic group within the nation-state. Nationalism often instilled through national school system. Pay homage to the nation (pledge of allegiance). Learn lingua franca (linguistic uniformity).

Family of Orientation

Nuclear family in which one is born and grows up

Gender Violence and Pop Culture

What are the social repercussions when extreme violence is associated with an idealized model of masculinity? What does it mean that we are entertained by men beating up women? What does it mean that millions of men and boys choose to watch entertainment that is abusive, degrading, and disrespectful to women? What does it mean that men are aroused by the gender violence portrayed in WWE? Why Is WWE Different? Emulating how to "be a man". Glorifying the bully (physical and psychic domination of others). No consequences, only rewards: fame, fortune, sexual control over women.

Neolocality

When couple marries they establish new, independent residence

Patriolocality

When couple marries they move to husband's household/community

Matrilocality

When couple marries they move to wife's household/community

Video Games and Gender

Why do people behave badly? Audience (think kids, attention). Anonymity. No Consequences. Exclusive Male Domains? Are women devalued in societies where males are secretive and/or exclusive?

Levirate

Woman marries brother of deceased husband

Patrilocal Marriage

Woman transferred from natal family (guest who will depart) to marital family (outsider who must gain acceptance).

Ralph Linton

he was a functionalist he was interested in acculturation and the diffusion of material culture.

Maguire "The Birth of Biometric Security"

uses Foucault's Concept of Panopticism

What does it mean to say human variation is clinal

variations dont have sharp boundaries

Jules Henry

American Schoolrooms: Learning The Nightmare former WU faculty

Nation-State

"An autonomous political entity, like the USA or Canada." Relatively modern phenomenon (18th-19th CE) facilitated by mass literacy, media, etc. Political boundaries do not correlate with ethnic boundaries. Most nations are therefore ethnically diverse.

Nationality

"Ethnic groups that once had, or wish to have or regain, autonomous political status." Not all ethnic groups are nationalities (some have autonomous political status). Nationalities live within nation states. Leaders of nation states often consider nationalities to be threats to national unity.

Lewis Henry Morgan

"Ethnical Periods" Founder of kinship studies. Greatest contribution: reconstructing the evolution of kinship

A.R. Radcliffe-Brown Joking Relationships

"Permitted Disrespect" - Asymmetrical: A required to tease B, B required to take no offense, B not permitted to tease A vs. Symmetrical: A and B tease eachother Joking & Marriage 2 ways to avoid conflict: 1) Avoid them, 2) joking: mutual disrespect, playful antagonism prevents hostility Joking relationships are a means to prevent discord between certain family members relieves social tensions among extended family members you can tease younger/same aged in laws, but not elder in laws

Social Construction of Race

"Races" defined in "culturally arbitrary, rather than scientific, manner." If the primary basis of race is biological, then why do our ideas about race change through time? Why do our ideas about race vary across cultures? Why doesn't our perception of a person's race change when his/her phenotypes change?

Ernestine Friedl

"Society and Sex Roles" 1970s - anthropologists at the forefront of gender studies male domination appears to be a human universal, source of male power/authority is the control of scarce but necessary nutrient: animal protein food acquisition and distribution (veggies kept within immediate family, meat distributed beyond immediate family - honor, social links/reciprocity) Hunter gatherer societies with small scale social organization (band) women begin childbearing at the time when they are old enough to hunt, pregnancy and childcare limits mobility/ability to hunt Key Point: male power resides in ability to control meat distribution, requires returns, creates obligations

Globalization

"The accelerating interdependence of nations in a world system linked economically and through mass media and modern transportation systems." (Kottak) Not a new process - what is new is the current pace (the accelerating interdependence). Braudel's World System: Local processes are directly and indirectly influenced by national, regional, and global processes.

Monogamy

1 man and 1 woman

Racist Agendas and Science

1840: Free White Persons, Slaves, Free Colored Persons 1850: Color (White, Black Mulatto) 1850-1920: Categorization used expressly to advance "scientific" racial theories. Inclusion of mulatto category for the purpose of using census data to study race. Census data used to "prove" blacks and mulattos are less fertile and live shorter lives, and hence that they are inferior (in biological and evolutionary sense).

N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman

1917: Namibia, former German colony, transferred to South African control after WWI. 1959: South African govt. officials encourage !Kung to settle at Tshum!kwi to begin new life as farmers (corn = mealie meal) and herders. 1970: Apartheid system extended to "Bushmanland". !Kung movements restricted, loss of former hunting/gathering territories. 1966: SWAPO (South West African People's Organization) starts guerilla war for Namibia's independence from South Africa. 1970s: 50,000 South African troops sent to counter SWAPO. Construction of military bases. Recruitment of !Kung (know terrain; good trackers). 1981: 47% of Tshum!kyi's males aged 15-45 had joined military. What did the Marshalls find in 1978?

Max Weber

3 related dimensions of social stratification emphasized understanding a particular setting from the point of view of the person in it. Pioneer of interpretive sociology.

Bilateral Descent

A Descent Group traced through both paternal or maternal lines

Superstition

A belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.

Social Construct

A category (e.g., "gender") created and developed by society A perception of a group (e.g., "men, women") that is 'constructed' through cultural or social practice

Patrilineal Descent

A descent group traced through the male's family line (Unilineal) If given a diagram select the ones that descend from the grandpa (sons and daughters), then select the sons kids but not the daughters kids

Patriarchal

A family unit that places the father in the role of leadership

Matriarchal

A family unit that places the mother in the role of leadership

Serial Monogamy

A form of marriage in which a person may have several spouses in his or her lifetime, but only one spouse at a time.

Patriarchy

A form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Descent Group

A social unit whose members claim common ancestry studies of descent lineages helped illuminate basis of political and social organization in many societies (Nuer - EE Pritchard, Yanomamo - Chagnon)

Pioneer Fund Agenda

Advocate for research on "racial betterment" (changed to "human race betterment" in 1985). Sought to fund scientists whose research would "prove" that blacks are inferior to whites and provide subsidies so results of research could be widely disseminated to people in positions of power. Original Mission: to aid "parents of unusual value as citizens". Defined as parents whose children "are deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original thirteen states prior to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States . . ." Note: "white persons" changed to "persons", 1985.

Urla and Swederlund "Measuring up to Barbie"

American Women are Discontent with their Bodies - Evidence of Discontent: Drugs, Cosmetics, Dieting, Cosmetic Surgery The Beauty Myth is fueled by profitable industries (cosmetic, weight loss, fashion, etc). Feminine bodies "never feminine enough". Constant need for refining, reshaping. barbie developed during Cold war: symbolized aspirations of prosperity, domestic containment, rigid gender roles continued success by adapting to times gendering kids: learning connection between personal appearance and "happiness", connection between appearance and acceptance among peers, lessons about grooming for social events (proms, dates, weddings). accessorizing barbie: Socializing into consumer culture: learning "cultural capital" of name brands, learning connection between fashion/taste and social status. Key points: Choosing body type is pervasive feature of consumer culture. Keeping control over body (i.e., conforming to gendered norms) has become sign of "individual's social and moral worth". Playing with Barbie can lead to internalizing values of ideal body size/shape. Girls can link Barbie's body shape (and accessories) with her popularity and glamour. Inability to realize the ideal can have negative effects on self-esteem. barbie represents proper place of women in domestic sphere

Performative Speech acts

An effect (e.g., status transformation) is carried out via an utterance (speech-act). Can be a key component of a rite of passage. Direct and immediate relationship between utterance and effect providing all social and linguistic conventions are met.

Transgender

An umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex

Franz Boas

Anthropologist who challenged scientific racism and evolutionary constructions of racial hierarchy argued for cultural relativism and historical particularism

Louise Lamphere "Strengths and Limitations of an Anthropological Dichotomy"

Argues that domestic public dichotomy is outdated Tibetan woman in Nepal discusses ban on cheap liquor video Domestic-Public dichotomy as an appealing hypothesis that doesn't hold up to scrutiny 3 Examples: 1. Functional separation must be distinguished from physical separation. (Margery Wolf on Taiwan). 2. Men and women use domestic and public spaces at different times and in different ways. (Rayna Rapp on France). 3. Segregating women from men does not mean women lack agency. (Cynthia Nelson on Middle East) Worn out Dichotomy It's too simplistic, too many nuances/exceptions new foci: gender relations, not just gender. Understand that "woman" is not an invariable category; need to recognize how age, class, ethnicity, etc. influence social position and agency.

Sangeetha Madhavan "best of friends and worst of enemies"

Bamanan v. Fulbe polygyny Look more at lecture 6.2

George Gmelch "baseball magic"

Baseball permeated by rituals, mana (fetishes), magic, taboos, etc. practiced by fans and players alike. Examples: Rally Squirrel, Curse of the Billy Goat. Magic Supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims. Most prevalent in situations of uncertainly. Reduces stress, creates illusion of control. Taboos Strong prohibition against words, objects, actions, discussions, or people. Breaking baseball taboos leads to misfortune. Most are idiosyncratic (held by individuals). Some are part of baseball culture: don't step on white lines, don't mention no-hitter to pitcher. Fetish (similar to Mana) Material object believed to embody supernatural power. Fetishized objects aid and protect owner. Routines as Rituals Comforting, bring sense of order to the world. Help with concentration. Intended to manipulate odds of success. Much more common in situations of uncertainty (like pitching, hitting, not as much fielding)

Colonialism and the World System

Based on capitalist (industrial) production. Extraction of raw materials from colonized lands, sent to industrial production centers. Value added goods shipped back.

Polytheism

Belief in multiple Gods

Witchcraft

Beliefs widely distributed (nearly universal). Incorporates non-human powers. Witchcraft as "innate, inherited ability to cause people misfortune or to kill them." (E-Pritchard) Witches become socially important during times of crisis (e.g., drought, plague). Witchcraft accusations more common during times of stress and social upheaval.

Communitas

Collective liminality, an intense feeling of social solidarity among initiates. Communitas acts as a leveling mechanism (a custom or social action that operates to reduce differences).

Evans Pritchard and Azande Witchcraft

Colonial Context: British extending control over parts of Africa. Opinion that beliefs in witchcraft and other "superstitions" evidence that "primitive peoples" were inferior. Evans-Pritchard sought to demonstrate otherwise. Azande Witchcraft: Classification of misfortunes that are harmful to people. A mechanism for explaining unfortunate events. Accepted as common, routine, and part of everyday existence. 2 Independent Chains of Causation: Proximate (Secondary) Cause. An event which is immediately responsible for causing an observed result. Ultimate Cause. The real reason something occurred. The reason two events coincided in time and place. Witchcraft brings a man in relation with events in such a way that he sustains injury." Caveats Witchcraft does not explain all deaths and other unfortunate events. Not all witchcraft accusations are credible. Incompetence, laziness, ignorance, stupidity. Witchcraft does not exclude natural causation. Belief is consistent with human responsibility and "rational appreciation of nature" (i.e., empirical knowledge of cause and effect).

Colonialism and Identity

Colonialism shaped the world as we know it today. Borders of many countries (e.g., most of Africa) are legacies of colonialism. Many ethnic groups and "tribes" are colonial constructions. Identities created or solidified through colonial bureaucratic processes (e.g., census) and policies (e.g., territorial control).

Cross-Cultural Studies of Gender have shown

Comparisons of one culture with one or more other cultures. These provide information about the degree to which to which children's development is similar, or universal, across cultures, and to the degree to which it is culture-specific.

Mana

Concept common in South Pacific. Sacred, impersonal force that resides in people, animals, plants, or objects. Associated with luck or fortune. Used to explain differential success (why some people are lucky while others are unlucky).

World Systems Theory (Wallerstein)

Core The most powerful nations who dominate international economy. Core monopolizes the most profitable activities (e.g., finance). Semi-Periphery and Periphery Less power, wealth, and influence, less technologically advanced. Yet possess resources necessary for core. Places where raw products (e.g., agriculture, mining) are produced. Places where labor is cheap. Fundamentally exploitative relationship between core and periphery.

Does Ethnic Diversity Inevitably Lead to Ethnic Conflict?

Countries where one ethnic group controls and dominates others are more prone to violence (Sri Lanka, Rwanda). Countries where power is dispersed among ethnic groups are less prone to violence (Malaysia, Indonesia).

Marvin Harris

Cultural Materialism he claimed that IQ tests are culture bound and not accurate tests of a person's overall intelligence. "Race, Human Variation, and Forces of Evolution"- races vary physically bc their location and lifestyle

Unilineal Descent

Descent Group matrilineal or patrilineal - traced through either paternal or maternal lines

Broccoli and Desire (Benson and Fisher)

Desire exists at both sites of production and consumption (Benson and Fischer) Pablo: Broccoli as Export Crop I grow broccoli because it fits my moral worldview (family production) I retain control over means of production (land). I am upwardly mobile (self, and kids thru education). I want to be part of the global system. Smallholders with relatively large landholding are relatively wealthy and can grow for foreign market. Feed family from milpa fields. Achieve relative affluence through export. Susan: Broccoli as Health Food Broccoli connected with health and well-being. Romanticizing Desire Broccoli from Mayan farmers fits globally conscious consumer image. It must be more organic than US mega-producers. It supports smallholders trying to maintain their traditional lifestyles. I eat broccoli because I want to be healthier/stay in shape, make healthy food for my family, support traditional lifestyles.

Local & Global Connections

Desire exists at both sites of production and consumption (Benson and Fischer). Desire connects people in new and complex relationships of production/exchange (Bestor). Desire in one place linked to exploitation and social ills in other places (see Weatherford).

A. R. Radcliffe Brown

Developed a functional approach to the study of kinship systems (Functionalism - departure from evolutionary perspectives, focus on how kinship system functions rather than theorize on how it arose. ) Marriage involves kin networks, not just 2 individuals Known for seeking functional explanations for social behaviors Joking Relationships: "Permitted Disrespect": argued that joking relationships are a means to prevent discord between certain family members

Sexual Dimorphism

Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species. For example, humans are slightly dimorphic for body size, with males being taller, on average, than females of the same population.

Shearing and Stenning "Say Cheese"

Disney World

Trademarking Racism (Pauline Strong)

Divergent Opinions Native American mascots are good: Honor native cultures, embody team traditions, intensify pleasure of sports. Native American mascots are bad: Perpetuate stereotypes. Revive historical oppression. Cause pain to Native-Americans. The "Mascot Slot" 17th - 19th CE viewed as part of wilderness that needed to be subdued and tamed. Today mascots = totemic images, still connected with nature (not culture). Effect is "objectifying, appropriating and signaling the inferiority of Native American cultures and peoples." Respect? Honor? Defenders of mascots claim to be respecting and honoring Native American peoples and traditions. Honoring reality? Or reproducing a stereotype? What is the origin of the costumes, music, and behaviors (tomahawk chop)? Defending "Redskins"? Term historically linked to "treachery, warfare, displacement, extinction and sexual violence." Must consider the intent of the act ("I do not intend to be disrespectful") but also the effect of the act (disparaging and dehumanizing Native American people and culture).

Moving Away from Marital Violence (Jan Brunson)

Dukha (suffering) Brunson did not conduct research on suffering, yet the theme continually arose. To what extent is female suffering in marriage culturally sanctioned or expected? What impediments does a woman face if she wants to leave an abusive husband? Nepal: Marriage and Family System Arranged Marriage. Woman has limited choice in selection of husband. Patrilocal Marriage. Woman transferred from natal family (guest who will depart) to marital family (outsider who must gain acceptance). Joint Family. New bride lacks power; under authority of husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law.

Why "Ethnic" Conflicts?

Ethnic groups form in response to colonial and post-colonial policies that create shared interests: political power, access to education/jobs, control over local resources. Conflicts are NOT caused by ancient ethnic or tribal loyalties Conflicts arise when group asserts identity to counter dominance and marginalization.

Top-Driven Ethnic Conflicts

Ethnicity used by leaders to mobilize people. Step 1: Instill sense of ethnic hatred through propaganda. Create atmosphere of distrust. Create mythologies of difference. Step 2: Encourage/coerce people to participate in persecution.

Race: What It Is Not (Ruth Benedict)

Excerpt from Race: Science and Politics (1940). Historical Context: WWII. Nazism and notion of pure and dominant Aryan race. Emphatic warning that racial politics are misguided and dangerous. Problems Linguistic category (Aryan = Indo-European languages) conflated with racial category. Those who speak Indo-European languages have no phenotypical ("racial") unity. Racial features are hereditary traits whereas cultural practices are learned behaviors. If race determines behavior, how to explain Nordics transition from aggressors to pacifists? Japanese transition from pacifists to aggressors. Points Many different "races" contributed to the growth of European culture. Cannot attribute one's cultural achievements to racial superiority. Nazi's notion of a "Master Race" is nonsense.

Serena Nanda "Arranging a Marriage in India"

Explores arranged marriages from the perspective of a family seeking a wife for their son, most marriages arranged by parents arranged marriages are contrary to the american ideal of individualism, and the notion that a successful marriage is based on romantic love Marriage is a family decision (not individual) Emphasis on quality of bride's family, extended family values, modern aspirations but traditional values parental decision: marriage is too important to be arranged by such an inexperienced person as myself as opposed to US anxiety over being popular Many people consider 'love matches' to be more risky than arranged marriages.

The Pioneer Fund

Founded in 1937 "to advance the scientific study of heredity and human differences." Connections with eugenics in Germany; advocates of Nazi's racial ideology and racist policies. Influenced by Earnest Sevier Cox who pushed legislation to "repatriate" all blacks to Africa. Influenced by Madison Grant, promoter of scientific racism.

Eugenics

From Greek, meaning "of good stock." Study and practice of selective breeding in order to improve the quality of the human species.

How Sushi Went Global (Bestor)

Growth of Sushi in USA From strange foreign item (1970s - low demand) to upscale fare (1990s - high demand). Americans changing to healthier diets (less red meat), adapting to new markets (Kosher sushi, cooked sushi, "California Roll", etc.), connections with socioeconomic class (marker of economic standing and "worldliness"). Globalization Tuna connects Europe, Asia, and North America in complex business and cultural exchanges. Points to Ponder Globalization ≠ Westernization (flows of info/commodities/technologies go both ways). Sushi = example of acculturation (adopting Japanese cuisine in American society).

Intervention Philosophy

Guiding principle of colonialism, conquest, missionary activities, and development. An ideological justification for outsiders to guide native peoples in specific directions ("White Man's Burden").

Social Stratification

Hierarchical ranking of individuals and groups in any given society. Inequality patterned in such a way that people of one group tend to get more rewards or have higher status than others.

Racial Odyssey (Rensberger)

Humans have many differences besides skin color, hair texture, and facial features. Evolutionary success attributable to genetic variability. Some "racial" traits reflect evolutionary adaptations to different environments. Natural Selection: Advantageous traits passed on because more with that trait survive to reproduce. Skin Color and Evolution Ultra-Violet radiation. Harm: disrupts cell division; causes cancers. Benefit: Vitamin D synthesis. Melanin (pigmentation) blocks UV radiation. Block too little, disrupts cell division. Block too much, no Vitamin D.

Race and Intelligence

IQ tests can be culturally biased (or biased toward class that designs them). IQ test scores heavily influenced by quality of schooling, modes of instruction, etc. Thus, IQ test scores reflect innate intelligence and quality of education. Therefore, IQ tests are not a reliable measure of innate intelligence.

Eugenics Movements, USA

IQ tests developed, early 1900s (first "scientific" tests to determine intelligence.) Eugenics became prominent, early 1900s. Compulsory sterilization practiced against those deemed unfit to breed (e.g., those with low IQ).

Historical Particularism

Idea (Boas) that histories are not comparable; diverse paths can lead to the same cultural result

Bohannan "Shakespeare in the Bush" and the Tiv

In telling the story of Hamlet, Bohannan noted that her audience of Tiv elders was not surprised to learn that the queen (Hamlet's mother) married her dead husband's brother (Hamlet's paternal uncle). In fact, they found the queen's actions to be perfectly acceptable. This is an example of:

Incest taboo

Incest Taboo is a human universal Details of taboo differ Cultures define who is or is not kin differently

Does Discrimination Still Exist? (Smedley2)

Individual level? Easy to identity. Institutional Level? More subtle, difficult to prove causality.

Sir Francis Galton

Influenced by Darwin's theory of natural selection. Reasoned that, by protecting the weak, humans are acting against natural selection. If those with less intelligence outbreed those with more intelligence, result is "reversion toward mediocrity." he's a dick

Case Study: "Deepa"

Left husband due to his drinking, beatings, and forcing her to work shortly after giving birth. Moved back with natal family. Sympathetic father who experienced hardships. However, still vulnerable. If she remarries, what about daughter? Ambiguous status in household. What happens when younger brother marries?

The Challenges of Advocacy in Anthropological Research on Intimate Partner Violence (Karin Friederic)

Initial Research: Domestic violence couched in folk idioms (the evil eye) and embodied suffering (flu-like symptoms). Subsequent Research: Through local NGO and human rights discourse the suffering takes a name: violencia doméstica Methodological Issue In casual in-depth interviews women reluctant to provide details. In formal survey + in-depth interviews women willing to provide details. Changing Perceptions Previously: Husband's use of physical force was not deemed violent. Accepted as legitimate. Today: Considered unacceptable if man beats wife for pleasure (por gusto). Considered acceptable if man beats wife due to suspicion of infidelity (and other reasons). Manuel Whips Carla Extended family violence. Cousin Manuel whips Carla in main plaza. She claims unruly son. He claims public insult. Reassertion of Manuel's authority in public eye seen as legitimate. Role of Anthropologist? Wanted to help; provided minimal help. Manuel = collaborator, friend, man of influence. Dilemma illustrates "how deep immersion and an orientation to long-term collaboration can complicate efforts to ensure protection and practice advocacy." The Activist-Anthropologist - advocacy & protection Advocacy: Domestic violence denaturalized through naming it and making it visible. Protection: Advocacy puts people at risk (e.g., women who help run training programs) and obscures larger structural problems (lack of legal protection).

Coggeshall "Ladies Behind Bars"

Life in an all male prison: Female gender roles can emerge in an all-male society. Individual's gender redefined or reconstructed in prison context. Male and female gender roles emerge in all male society. Males create females (the ones who are weaker), then dominate and subjugate them. The Gender Hierarchy: Real Men defined by ability to fight to protest/resist sexual advances, ability to keep and protect women. Ladies/Queens: Those who come out voluntarily. High status, control over self-concept. Kids: Kept in servitude by others. Signifies owner's power and prestige. Gumps & Punks: Kept in servitude by gangs, prostituted for money. Gumps "turned out" willingly. Punks "turned out" unwillingly. Dykes: female guards. Position of power and authority over men. Defined in non-feminine terms. Example of how gender is constructed. The caricatures of men/women that are created reflect gender concepts in society at large.

2010 Census Form: Important Points

Just because there is no scientific validity to the taxonomy of people grouped as "races" does not mean that "race", as a concept, is meaningless or unimportant. Race as a social construct influences how we view ourselves and others. Race as a social construct can be used as a basis for social stratification.

Race, Intelligence, and Eugenics

Long history of attempting to measure "functions of the brain" (intelligence) through IQ tests, then map results on racial categories.

Kinship Diagram Symbols for Male, female, Married, and Descendents

Male - Triangle Female - Circle Is Married to - = (equal sign) Is Descended from - the lines from the symbols

Incest

Marriage/sexual relations with close relative incest taboo is a human universal (Details of taboo differ)

Hijras in India

Member of the "third" gender in India (seen as neither male nor female). Often intersex (genitalia is neither exclusively male nor female). Low status, marginal members of society. Make living by performing at weddings and birth ceremonies (association with fertility).

Beverly Strassmann's Hypothesis (reportedby Small in "A Woman's Curse")

Menstrul Hits in Dogon Society

Moral Relativism

Morality is not objective but rather reflective of the culture environment or circumstances.

Team Entrance Rituals

More emphatic in sports where physical strength and domination are keys to success. Purposes: team bonding, energize team (and supporters), gain psychological edge over opponents.

Yuan and Mitchell "Land of the Walking Marriage"

Mosuo Society Matrilineal Decent, female-headed households, no formal marital unions sisi = "walking back and forth", informal unions based on love, no dowry children raised by mother and her brothers No social or economic obligations between father and children Advantages: avoid partitioning of land. all siblings (brothers and sisters) contribute to the welfare of the household. No potential conflicts between mother in law and daughter in law

Revitalization

Movements aimed at altering or revitalizing a society

Gender Stereotype

Oversimplified but strongly held ideas about the characteristics of males and females

Bridewealth

Paid to bride's family by groom's family

Dowry

Paid to groom's family by bride's family

Case Study: "Radha"

Poor family; neolocal residence. Refuses to have second child w/drunk husband. Feels divorce is impossible despite violence. Cannot earn enough to support self and daughter. Inappropriate for single woman to live alone. Returning home shameful for woman and parents.

Melvyn Goldstein "When Brothers Share a Wife"

Practice Polyandry It's a means to ensure family unity/conserve household resources patrilocal post martial residence patrilineal inheritance (inheritance at marriage not at paternal death) Men inherit land and animals from fathers, women inherit dowry (jewelry and some animals) in this system a woman will most likely live with the mother-in-law, father-in-law, one or more husbands, and own children.

Case Study: Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutus

Pre-Colonial Era: Spoke same language, practiced same religion. Frequently intermarried. Fluid categories (a Hutu could become Tutsi and visa versa). Colonial Era: Belgian rulers created "racial" distinction (Tutsis "taller, smarter, wealthier"). Identity solidified through census/identity cards. Tutsis privileged for indirect rule. Post-Colonial Independence: Struggle for power. Tutsi/Hutu competition. Leaders play role in demonizing the other. Ethnic identity, as specified on identity card, used as basis for who to kill (1994 genocide)

Case Study: Sri Lanka's Tamil and Sinhalese

Pre-Colonial: Different religion (Hindu/Buddhist), different language, different culture. Yet coexisted for centuries. Colonial Era: In order to rule, British colonialists "relied on hardened and artificial notion of ethnic boundaries." They "created new social groups and identified them by ethnic, religious, or regional categories." Post-Colonial Independence: Colonial administrators created Tamil cause by establishing system that discriminated against them. Tamils responded by forming LTTE in 1976 (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). War for separate state raged 1976 - 2009.

How Do Ethnic Groups Form? Constructivist View

Pre-colonial: ethnic/tribal identity rarely important in everyday life. Identity related to birthplace, lineage, wealth status. Identity is fluid, can change through social and spatial mobility and within lifetime. Colonial powers and post-colonial states formed more rigid "ethnic identities". Categorizing for control (census). Privileging for indirect rule (e.g. Tutsi, Sinhalese).

Goldstein's hypothesis about Tibetan marriage system

Predicted that the marital practice whereby brothers share a wife would decline as Tibetan societies became more integrated into a market economy In contrast, still very strong. It still exists because Tibetans have found the practice to be an advantageous strategy for diversifying income sources in today's modern economy. Corollary/Consequence: many women excluded from marriage, low fertility and population growth

Cultural Relativism

Principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture

The Myth of Global Ethnic Conflict (John Bowen)

Problematic Assumptions Ethnic identity is ancient and unchanging (a primordialist view). Ethnic identities motivate people to kill and persecute others. Ethnic diversity inevitably leads to inter-ethnic violence. Ethnic Conflict = Ethnic Hatred? Implies that violence is natural characteristic of some ethnic groups; ignores that violence is consequence of political processes and actions.

Enculturation

Process of learning one's culture through informal observation and formal instruction

Linguistic Profiling (John Baugh)

Prof. of African and African-Am. Studies, Wash U. Research on linguistic behavior and social stratification. Racial profiling usually based on visual cues. Linguistic profiling: based on auditory cues. Linguistic patterns (phonetics, grammar, vocabulary) vary by ethnic group. People judge intelligence (and other characteristics) based on linguistic patterns. People treat others according to judgments made on the basis of linguistic patterns.

Race as a Social Construct

Race as a social construct informs our actions and behaviors. We continue to classify people according to physical characteristics and assume those correspond with social, cultural, and psychological characteristics. Consciously or subconsciously, we treat or interact with people of dissimilar "races" differently.

Ideological justification for using "race" as a basis for social stratification (Smedley and Smedley)

Races are biologically discrete groups; certain physical characteristics deemed markers of race. Races naturally unequal, must be ranked. Distinctive cultural behaviors linked to biology. Behaviors associated with race innate and inherited. Differences between races profound and unalterable (justification for segregation). Racial classifications stipulated in legal and social system (eg., Jim Crow laws).

Sukuma "Tribe" of Tanzania

Registered as single tribe by British. Missionaries standardized dialect into one language for Bible translation. Standardized language taught in schools. Colonial impact? Forging common identity.

Agnatic

Related through the male kinship line

Herdt "Rituals of Manhood"

Ritual scarification Gender enculturation in Papua New guinea Warfare and Masculinity: Warfare used to be constant and nagging among Sambia, and it conditioned the values and masculine stereotypes surrounding the male initiatory cult." Manliness: Strength "pivotal idea in male ethos". Unbending masculinity performed on battlefield. Boys enculturation in ideals of masculinity. Gender and Enculturation: Babies nurtured by women (mothers). Children raised by women (if female), men (if male). Becoming Male: nature provides male genitalia, yet maleness not biologically given - its induced through ritual. Maternal attachment inhibits manly growth. Separation from mother essential (wiped clean of female contaminants so masculinity can develop). Ritual insemination to rid body of female contaminants and induce puberty. Ethnographic example of society that draws major distinction between genders. Example of how gender is constructed among males though initiation rituals.

Rite of Passage

Rituals associated with transition from one place or stage of life to another. Change in social status affected through ritual. Help create (and maintain) group identity.

Race, Evolution, and Behavior (Rushton)

Rushton's Racial Categories: Orientals (East Asians, Mongoloids), Whites (Europeans, Caucasoids), Blacks (Africans, Negroids). Rushton claims to identify 60 social/behavioral variables that distinguish racial groups and argues that these are innate and genetically determined variables.

Strange Relations (Wodaabe of Niger)

She moved from an arranged marriage to a polygynous love marriage patrilocal Polygyny arranged marriage and love marriage

Fetish

Similar to mana Material object believed to embody supernatural power. Fetishized objects aid and protect owner.

gender construction

Starts at birth (dressing, naming): sex category becomes gender status.

Taboo

Strong social prohibition against words, objects, actions, discussions, or people that are considered undesirable by a society. Often backed by supernatural sanction. Breaking a taboo is considered objectionable and has social consequences. ex) Incest (every society has it but the details differ), Menstruation (in many societies a menstruating woman cannot have contact with religious items, food, etc.), Food (some animals unclean - Jews/Muslims, some sacred - Hindus, some inappropriate to eat - Dogs for Americans)

Margaret Mead

Student of Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Culture and Personality: How does culture determine personality of the individual? Popular writer; public face of anthropology gender roles, stereotypes, and stratification systems are socially constructed (emphasis of Mead's research). Comparative Approach to reject notion that all differences between men and women are innate (biologically determined). If male/female differences are innate they should be universal (found in all societies) and they should be invariable (remain same over time).

Ruth Benedict

Student of Franz Boas at Columbia University Proponent of Culture and Personality school that posits enculturation shapes individual's personality; overlap with psychology. Contemporary and close companion of Margaret Mead. Emphatic warning that racial politics are misguided and dangerous.

Ritual

Stylized and repetitive. Performed in special (sacred) places and at set times. Transmit enduring cultural messages and values. Can be religious or secular.

Magic

Supernatural techniques intended to accomplish specific aims. Actions, offerings, spells, formulas, incantations. Magic most prevalent in situations of chance and uncertainly when people feel they cannot control matters (e.g., hazardous activities). Reduces stress, creates illusion of control.

Totemism

Symbolic association with an object (animal) through stipulated descent. Sacred emblems symbolize common identity. Functions to create solidarity among groups of people.

Liminality

The in-between phase of a passage rite

Colonialism

The political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended time.

Hypodescent

The principle that a child of mixed descent is automatically classified as minority.

Cultural Imperialism

The spread or advance of one culture at the expense of others, or its imposition on other societies, which it modifies, replaces, or destroys—usually because of differential economic or political influence.

Gender Role

The tasks and activities a culture assigns by gender

Edward Tylor's theory of religion and why he was wrong

Theory: As society evolves humans become more "rational". Why Was Tylor Wrong? Religion transmitted through enculturation (part of a group's core cultural values). Religion does more than explain the mysterious, it also creates and maintains group identity and solidarity (social benefits), and provides solace in dealing with uncertainty (psychological benefits).

Vulnerability

To whom can a woman turn to alleviate domestic violence? Father-in-law or mother-in-law? Other women in the community? Parents and siblings? Can a woman with little education or job skills leave a husband and become independent? Gender discrimination in job market. Inappropriate for single woman to live alone.

Industrialization

Transformation from domestic (home handicraft) to industrial (factory) production. Factories clustered where coal and labor cheap. Industrialization fueled urban growth and increasing social stratification. Process started in Europe (1700s) Closely related to colonialism. Global networks of extraction (raw materials), production (finished goods), and consumption.

William Skinner

Understanding the family system provides one with the tools to analyze household economic strategies, family management strategies, inter-generational relations, demographic processes, marital norms, gender roles, etc.

Gender Stratification

Unequally distribution of rewards (socially valued resources, power, prestige, etc.) reflecting men's and women's different positions in a social hierarchy What men do is often valued more highly (education; economic activities; politics; etc.) Gender ideology legitimates stratification

Blackman's article "Focus on the Fridge"

Used to be a luxury, now universal in US households Fridge Functions as: a command and control center, a place to display family history/familial affection, and a place to display domestic/moral values Maschio: middle class fridge as a ritual space (place where objects acquire special qualities and convey special meanings) Who is allowed inside is a measure of kinship, social distance, and age (ex you dont just go into a randos fridge)

Maguire "Birth of Biometric Security"

Uses a concept developed by Foucault to argue that biometric security is effective not just because it makes the body the target of control but also because knowledge of that control induces people to regulate their own movements and behaviors. Concept called Panopticism

Evans Pritchard "The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events"

Zande Witchcraft

Yuan and Mitchell "Walking Marriage in China"

a 25-year-old Mosuo woman is most likely to live in a household consisting of he

Levling mechanism

a custom or social action that operates to reduce differences

Fraternal Polyandry

a form of polyandry where brothers are co-husbands

Genderization

a formal process that assigns gender identity ex- circumcise or female genital mutilation

Ethnic Group

a group of people distinguished by cultural similarities (shared among members of that group) and differences (between that group and others) ethnic group members share beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms, and a common language, religion, history, and geography. Ethnic group members share beliefs, values, habits, customs, and norms because of their common background. Distinctions from other groups based on language, religion, historical experience, and geographic placement. Markers of ethnic group include collective name, belief in common descent, and association with a specific territory.

Matrilineal Descent

a social descent group traced through the maternal lines (Unilineal) If given a diagram select the ones that descend from the grandma (sons and daughters), then select the daughters kids but not the sons kids

Sexual Orientation

an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex or the other sex

Race

any of the groups into which humans can be divided according to their physical characteristics e.g. color of their skin, color and type of hair, shape of eyes and nose.

John Bowen

argues that ethnicity is a product of modern politics, and assumptions about divisions between groups are false and fueled by modern political situations

Ralph Linton "Totemism and the A.E.F."

argues that members of a particular group of people displayed symbolic and behavioral characteristics that are analogous to totemism. Totemic Complex Conditions 1. Division of people into groups conscious of their individuality. 2. Groups possess distinctive names derived from animal, object, or natural phenomenon. 3. Name used as personal appellation in conversation with outsiders. 4. Symbol of group namesake adorns persons and property; taboo against outsider usage. 5. Reverential attitude toward group namesake and its representation. 6. Belief that group namesake is a guardian and/or provider of omens. Divergences Absence of marriage regulation. No belief in descent from totem. No rites to propitiate totem.

Whats a Smallholder

family farms where small amount of land is owned by the family which acts as the primary unit of production.

Sex

biological differences that are more or less unalterable e.g., Y chromosome in males, different genitalia

Consanguineal Kin

biologically related relatives blood relatives ex) Parents, Siblings (if have 1 common biological parent), and Aunts/Uncles (but not all of them)

Diffusion

borrowing between cultures either directly or through intermediaries

Domestic-Public Dichotomy

differentiation between home and outside world Strong differentiation correlates with more gender stratification (higher status for men than women) Seeds of the concept developed by M. Mead. Fully articulated by Rosaldo (1974). "Cultural systems give authority and value to the roles and activities of men." Women confined to domestic realm; men gain and maintain more power and authority through access to public realm. Hypothesis attempts to explain universal subordination.

Family

difficult to define because it varies cross-culturally Murdock: A social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabitating adults. Census: a group of two people or more related by birth, marriage, or adoption, and residing together." Kottak: A family is a group of people who are considered to be related in some way, for example, by "blood" (common ancestry or descent) or marriage.

John Bowen "The Myth of Global Ethnic Conflict"

ethnic groups and ethnic violence

Cultural Materialism

idea (Harris) that cultural infrastructure determines structure and superstructure

Religion

is a human universal: "Belief and ritual concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces." a) a belief in a divine or superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator(s) or ruler(s) of the universe. b) expression of such a belief in conduct and ritual.

Sororate

man marries sister of deceased wife

Polygamy

often misused but it can be 1 man with many women or 1 woman with many men (polygyny v. polyandry)

Polygyny

one man with more than one wife

Polyandry

one woman with more than one husband

"Sister Wives" is an example of

polygyny polygyny acceptable in cultural (religious) context. Unions of choice based on love. Women have autonomy, unions between people close in age can also be opposite though where its acceptable in cultural religious context but unions arranged by church elders. women have little autonomy. unions between older men and younger women

Fictive Kin

relatives through affection unrelated by birth or marriage but significant emotional relationship like that of a family relationship ex) God Parents, Frat bros, Sorority Sisters, Foreign Exchange Parents, etc.

Affinal Kin

relatives through marriage ex) Step Parents, Step Siblings, Some Aunts/Uncles, Wife or Husband, In-Laws

Judith Lorber

sociologist who said gender is human invention, organizes social life and social relations, everything is gendered

Endicott and Endicott

studied the Batek using 3 methods: What are the bases of Batek gender egalitarianism

Egan's Article "The Persistence of Polygamy" what do supporters/opponents of polygyny argue

supporters: men are evolutionarily wired for multiple sex partners; have natural urge for diversity of mates, polygyny keeps sex within marriage, legitimizes offspring, polygyny offers 'sense of security' and 'sisterhood' for modern women (+ sharing of domestic duties) Opponents: lack of female autonomy, appointed marriages often have large age differences between spouses, incestuous unions (ie first cousins), early (child) marriages = pedophilia and statutory rape

Hegemony

the consistent dominance or influence of one group, state, or ideology over others

Exogamy

the custom of marrying outside a social group to which a person belongs (can be educational, gender, levirate, religious, ethnic)

Endogamy

the custom of marrying within a social group to which a person belongs (can be educational, gender, levirate, religious, ethnic)

Gender

the traits that a culture assigns to and inculcates in males and females

Reify

to make something more concrete or real.

Wood "Sex and Consequences"

what happens when society recognizes same sex marriage? ex) Native American Berdaches (men who take on female social roles) Nandi of Kenya (women marry women to perpetuate matrilineal descent group) Azande of precolonial Africa (men who cant afford wives marry other men) Consequences: Institutionalized homosexuality always has negative consequences. Males secretive and exclusive; women devalued and marginalized (Etoro as evidence). Societies where homosexuality is the norm have low birth rates.

Max Weber's analysis of socioeconomic stratification

who has a higher status a cop or businessman