anthro
Progressivists
all social theories like sociology, anther, philosophy, poly scie, psychology
Negative reciprocity
an immediate exchange of items
symbolic (interpretive) anthropology
anthropology should be the search of meaning to peoples lives how to they express that particular meaning
Independent invention
cultures learning through experimentation and invention, independent of borrowing from other cultures
Geertz(1926-2007) - interpretive ethnography
he methodology was a thick description
Functionalism
how culture functions as a system (to keep culture intact)
Life history
in-depth interview(s) of an individual investigating change over lifetime
Cultural Ecology
looking at how humans use culture to adapt to their environment
animal husbandry
looking for grass and water for their animals, their whole society relies on that
Applied Ethics
taking the ethical standards and applying them real life situations Is euthanasia immoral? - What are human rights and how to we defend them? - Is affirmative action just of unjust? - Is capital punishment a breach of human rights?
transhumans
part of group herd for certain times
ritual
perscribed behavior in which there is no empirical connection between the menas(e.g. tapping home plate three times)
culture core
subsistence & productive strategies
ethnology
systematic comparison between more than one groups(different types of people in different parts of the world doing different types of things)
Genealogies
use of diagrams, symbols to uncover kinship, marriage and descent patterns
Ethnographic realism
"objective" account of group written by someone with firsthand knowledge
Hierarchy of cultural types
-Bands -Tribe -Chiefdom -State
Normative ethics
Assumes that there is only a single principle which to judge all actions e.g., golden rule
Postmodern Anthropology
Belief that an objective neutral knowledge of another culture is impossible
DOMESTIC ECONOMY
HOW LABOR ETC IS ORGANIZED WITHIN THE HOUSHOLD i.e. organization of househol and life, division of labor, gender role
POLITICAL ECONOMY
HOW LOBOR ETC IS ORGANIZED OUTSIDE THE HOUSEHOLD i.e. political organizations, military, police, corporations
Structural functionalism
HOW culture FUNCTION FROM A TOP DOWN APPROACH
Moral relativism
Implies there are no universal moral standards
Cultural Relativism
Judging people by their own cultural standards.
emic
Local explanations of cultural phenomena
Cultural Materialism
Material (not ideological) processes & constraints cause social action
what are the psychological functions of the nacireman body rituals, and how do they fit with malinowskis
The psycological functions of the nacireman inclue mouth-rites, excretion as a holy act, andn dental work to exorsize demons. If an individual is having poor health, they would want to chnge their routine, through a ritual. These affect they psychy of the subject because it is a change of pace from daily life. Malinowski demostrates response to chance and uncertainty, and when the necireman are put into these situations i.e. the latipso, they are unsure of the outcome. this complete change of pace, shocks their mind and may take them out mental trouble they are going through. i.e. when the men enter the latipso, their wives are seeing them fullly naked for the first time, and it is with a female taking care of the man, this affects the unconscious of the female, and may lead her to a change of consciousness. Baseball players have routines and rituals, as do the nacirmen, like excreting their bodily fluids in a specific place in their home. If it is not done there, then Malinowskis theory would hole that uncertainty would come about.
metaethics
What does it mean to have right and wrong behavior? Are right and wrong behaviors universal or relative? How do we support right behavior and punish wrong behavior? (seeks to understand the nature of ethical standards of conduct)
what can surveys and questionarres provide that ethnographic research cannt?
a broad range of respondants who can address a wide range of questions. results are usually faster, and a correlation is sometimes concluded. Does not have to be face to face.
routine
a course of action that is regularly followed
Enculturation
a process by which culture is learned by an individual
Degenerationsim
biblical cause for variation in human society
explicit culture
cultural knowledge that people can talk about
tacit culture
cultural knowledge that people lack words for
explain culture and ethnography
culture is the values, traditions, and customs specific to a certain group of people. ethnography is the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures
Thick description
describing in detail so that outsiders can understand as if they were insiders
qualitative research
elicits the cultural knowledge of the people sought to understand
what is magic
eliminating uncertanties, and fears, by associating an event with an action to control the uncertanties and fears
culture advances as more energy is captured, what does the equation represent?E X T = P
energy, technology, product
Pastoral nomadism
entire group moves with animals throughout year trade with agriculturalists for crops
Reflective ethnography
ethnographer puts his/her feelings, reactions into text
What can ethnographic research reveal that questionarres and surveys cannot
ethnographic research delves into the core issues at hand. It allows a researcher to pick apart an individuals life, and assess the situation from a birds eye view. The intimacy of the research is, not as common in questionnaires and surveys cannot tap into. For example, an ethnographer can comprehend the interconnected dilemmas that a the social structure of a prostitution ring faces when one of the members has HIV. some customers receive the service unknowing of the virus, making that consumer susceptible to the spread of the disease. Others have the knowledge that the disease is prevalent, but lack the ability to confess it to a client or the ring, because of fear of backlash from the prostitution community, i.e. being ousted of your place of business. This is a specific example of what one ethnographer discovered through her in depth research, not from reviewing the answers from a survey. Ethnographic reseach can expose casualty.
How is ethnographic research different than other social science approaches to research
ethnographic research is complete immersion within the study, an example is the fieldworker who spent ten years in a prostitution ring in New York City.
Tyler - everything in contemporary society derives from a lesser stage
evolution of religion animisim - animals/plants have a spirit polythism - multiple gods monotheism- one god
Acculturation
exchange of cultural features taken FROM another cultural (theirs to yours)
balanced reciprocity
exchange with other people, payback is delayed
etic
external interpretations Researcher's explanatory categories Scientifically and statistical perspective
Harris 3 levels of huan society
infrastructure - mode of production and mode of reproduction structure - social and political relations superstructure - beliefs and value systems
malinowski's theory of magic
is to help us understand how ballplayers[people] respond to chance and uncertanty
Indirect diffusion
items, customs from group A > C via group B (A>B>C)
Fetishes
material objects believed to embody supernatural power that can aid and protect the oner (like a cross, or a neck lass)
Forced diffusion
one culture subjugates another forcing its customs on the other
unilinear Evolutionists
one method that all cultures followed from from primitive to complex believed in the psychic unity of humankind = fundamental similarity of human thought
generalized reciprocity
one person gives to another without expecting anything materially in return
what are some of the ethical issues faced by anthropologists when they conduct an ethnographic study
responsibility to people and animanls. obtain informed consent when conducting research. Responsibility to scholarship and science. Responsibility to the general public. Responsibility to Students and Trainees. In specific the reading gives the example of a women who enters a prostution ring for research. Many dilemas maay occur during that time including, responsbility to report, informed consent, keeping yourself safe(not using the drugs or trying the activity). When you live with prostitutes for ten years it may be difficult to not engage in the act.
Skinner's theory of magic
sheds light on why personal rituals get established in the first place
fictive kinship
social relationship between people not based on ties of blood or marriage
naive realism
the idea that all people see the world the same
Taboo
things that you shouldn't do (stepping on the foul lines)
Direct diffusion
trade, intermarry, war