Anthro Actually....
Ejido
- form of land tenureship/ ownership as well as a system of distribution system of redistribution that combines communal ownership with individual use -In Mexico, a piece of land farmed communally under a system supported by the sate -Town land grants still exist today where every family in the town has the right to collectively access land
Power
-Ability to make someone do something whether they want to or not. -Part of Weber's Dimensions of Social Inequality ...ranked society based on wealth, power, and prestige -NOT =W or Pr, can have one but not the others... EX: P, no W Captain of sports team, the President
Egalitarian society
-According to Morton Fried... 3 types of societies: egalitarian, ranked, and stratified -Everyone is more or less equal outside of age and gender ...No formal leadership or permanent person in position, everyone has a voice in decision making -Most commonly manifested/functions best in Band societies (KUNG!) ...small, highly mobile, autonomous group (50 or less people) -however, anyone can gain prestige, no limited number of prestigious positions?
Ranked society
-According to Morton Fried... 3 types of societies: egalitarian, ranked, and stratified -societies ordered against one another by lineage, kin, or family ties -Able to everyone back to a chief/headman EX: Nuu-Chah-nulth society Rank every member of their society from 1-100 by looking at them Certain clothing based on lineage/prestige
Stratified society
-According to Morton Fried... 3 types of societies: egalitarian, ranked, and stratified -societies with dif social strata based on either a CASTE system or SOCIAL CLASS -only existed ~5,000 years... early ex: Sumerians CASTE SPEW: Classes: social mobility, (American Dream) Usually based on wealth, and access to prestige and power
Rite of Passage
-An important event marking a stage in someone's life, -EX: Birth, Puberty, Marriage, bar/bat mitzvah quinceñera Ex: Sambia initiation -9/10 year old boys are separated from their mothers and forced to run through a gauntlet -after completing the run, they are purified with a nose bleeding and initiated into a secret society
Redistribution
-Centralized authority collects resources and then portions/redistributes them back out to the community -maybe in a different distribution than what was originally owned EX: taxes EX: Norse Kingly Redistribution King would sponsor a raid entire village would be looted and findings would be brought back to king king would redistribute from the loot pile to his raiders based on merit
Part-time craft specialization
-During low times, people specialize in specific industries (hense part-time), this dedication to specialized production the main practice EX: Modern highland mayan people: Throughout the year families are still cooking and farming, but in low times, the entire village may also dedicate their time to specific tasks like making pottery, fireworks, or reed mats
Natural Aversion Theory
-Edvard Westermarck -Natural aversion to developing romantic feelings/sexual desires for the people you have grown up with EX: Kibbutz: tight-knit communal, agricultural communities, a number of families get together pool resources and live a common existence STUDY: Less of those children in a kibbutz environment married each other than what one would expect in aggregate
Class system
-Ex of a stratified society -classes of people based on wealth, can move back and forth within the system -based on your wealth you have a different amount of power and prestige -Example: in our society, the class system is organized underclass, working poor, working class, middle class, upper-middle class, capitalist class
Caste system
-Ex of a stratified society Castes: -Ranked, isolated socio/economic divisions -born into caste -determines overall familial status: occupation, power, wealth, prestige, marriage -No social mobility in current life, (if you play your role well in current caste, you will be born into the higher cast in your next life) Ex: -Hindu caste system: untouchables--> Bhramins -Igbo in Nigeria: 2 castes, lower caste is predestined to a lifetime of working in temples Discrimination caca
Margaret Mead
-Famous American Anthropologist -most famous for her ethnography about gender and sexuality in Polynesia -concluded: culture is the key to gender, GENDER IS SOCIAL NOT BIOLOGICAL ... each culture practices gender differently -Set out to find opposite and gender roles/norms than those practiced Western Society -Ex: Found societies where both men & women--> feminine AND ones where both --> Masculine ALSO Chambri: reversal of western gender roles -Critiques: Findings seemed too neat Did not spend extensive amounts of time with each culture
Polygyny
-Form of polygamy where a man has more than one wife -More common form of polygamy (than polyandry) -While all societies have some form of monogamy, POLYGYNY is also somewhat common and exists in most societies in some form -Most common in West Africa Some: Advantages: -can create an elevated social unit, benefit the social standing, -economic benefits, richer and more prosperous Disadvantages: -competition among wives can create long term issues for the family... ( jealousy→ instability ) -complex family units can complicate the inheritance and power distribution
Polyandry
-Form of polygamy where a woman has more than one husband -less common form of polygamy (than polygyny) Ex: Tibetan polyandrous fraternal marriage -Exists today in Tibet, a group of brothers share the same wife -each have sexual access to the wife Conflicts: -when a child is born, no one really is sure which husband = father -competition among husbands can create long term issues for the family... ( jealousy→ instability ) -creates a surplus of women
Marcel Mauss
-French sociologist, author of "The Gift" -gift giving always necessitates reciprocity - always some sort of social relationship that you're entering anytime you give a gift... always some sort of benefit/relation of obligation/dependency -no such thing as a free gift, always a social obligation/benefit to the giver
Exogamy
-Marrying outside an identity group -A marriage rule that encourages one to marriage out of a specific social identity -race/class/social group Exogamy EX: within a village's moiety structure: two major lineage groups in a village may encourage each other to specifically marry outside into the other group
Berdache
-Native American Tradition Men who identify more closely with female gender identity (dressed like women did "women's" work, married other men, took on role of wife) -sex/gender/sexuality is rooted in social role instead of biology -often considered to be powerful healers since they were different
Monogamy
-Relationship between two people, the practice of being married to/in a relationship with only one person at a time -Ubiquitous: occurs in some form in basically all societies around the world in varying percentages, -even animals can be monogamous GIBBONS!
Sex
-The biological differences between men and women (genital, chromosomal, hormones) -Biological identity "male" & "female" -determined by our genetic differences
Gender
-The socially-constructed meanings of what it means to be a man or a woman, "masculinity" & "femininity"
Acculturation
-a form of diffusion (the spread of a cultural pattern from one culture to another) - one politically/economically dominant group forces an inferior group to adopt aspects of their culture -can bespurred through colonialism or threat EX: New World "discovery"... -Europeans changed the Americas through acculturation... -explains why Christianity is the dominant religion in Latin America- (Spanish was like... Coercive force, convert or we will kill you... lmao)
Witchcraft
-a more involuntary form of magic .... you don't necessarily control your whitchcraft abilities -may not know you are doing witchcraft/are a witch... the but a power emanates from you and affects other people -both men and women can be witches -witches sometimes seen as antisocial Ex: in Tanzania, whichcraft is a psychic force, witches are said to walk upside down, and participate in incestuous and cannibalistic acts
Sorcery
-a more purposeful form of magic, actively done by the perpetrator -force that is readily available -potions and incantations to appeal to supernatural powers -both males and females can engage in sorcery
Conflict theory model
-a paradigm of social stratification -Marxist model -society stratified based on relationships of exploitation and distribution of resources and power... Exploiters: bourgeois, manipulate the lower class labor for personal benefit The exploited: proletariat, manipulated...
Functionalist model
-a paradigm of social stratification -some sort of difference is necessary in order to promote people to take harder jobs and sacrifice more of themselves -for example, a doctor should be paid more than a janitor -conflict theory model is a different way of explaining social stratification
Rite of passage
-a ritual/tradition/event that's occurence is recognized by the community as an important transformation for an individual -an important even marking a stage in someone's life (birth, puberty, bar mitzvah, marriage) -generally have some sort of "test" involved in order to pass into the next stage of life -ex: bar mitzvah, Sambia initiation -In a communal colt community, people come together w/o an elevated leader to worship to practice a rite for the benefit of the whole group... Ex: Sambia initiation -9/10 year old boys are separated from their mothers and forced to run through a gauntlet -after completing the run, they are purified with a nose bleeding and initiated into a secret society
Vision Quest
-an example of an individualistic cult religious practic -individuals directly interact with Gods/ supernatural beings -no intermediator -intentional entering into an altered state of conscious to discover some broader truth -hallucinogenic drugs, rhythmic music and dancing that allows people to become possessed by Gods fasting abstaining from sleep self mutilation
Wealth
-anything considered valuable that people can collect (money, cattle, produce, goods) -Part of Weber's Dimensions of Social Inequality ...ranked society based on wealth, power, and prestige NOT =W or P, can have one but not the others... EX: W, no P/Pr Lottery Winner/Bank Robbers wealthy no power
Social Norm
-behavioral guidelines for a normal, proper, or expected way of behaving -informal but generally understood within a culture or group -people who do not follow these norms may be shunned/suffer a varying range of consequences -norms differ according to culture/ situation can be changed over time EX. Western Culture: shaking hands when you meet someone, beating women is bad
generalized specialization
-broad based training that people take part in to learn general specializations of crafts and tasks. -no particular full-time dedication to mastery of a specific skill -the only main divisions of specialization are by gender and by age... Ex. Kung -People generally know the tasks necessary for prosperity and survival for their age/gender
Cultural capital
-coined by French anthropologist/sociologist Pierre Bourdieu -refers to one's knowledge/cultural competence KEEPS THEM FROM or ENABLES THEM TO BECOME socially mobility through things such as a college degree, the way they dress/speak etc. EX: -knowing how to play golf... boss asks you to pitch to him on the golf course, w/out the cultural knowlege of golf skills, you may be less accessible (a skill tied to a specific type of CC/privilege) -Knowing how to dress/having the means to afford an outfit for an interview
Bride wealth
-compensation to bride's lineage for the loss of her economic potential, -Groom or his kin give a substancial gift of $ or material goods--> bride's -there is often a required Bride Wealth for the groom to pay for his wife as she's is viewed as a valuable asset -legitimizes the new socioeconomic unit created by the marriage
Max Weber
-created Weber's Dimensions of Social Inequality ...ranked society based on wealth, power, and prestige -differences in W/P/P divides us into strata... (general sources of differential ranking) -Wealth: anything considered valuable that people can collect (money, cattle, produce, goods) -Power: ability to make someone do something whether they want to or not. -prestige: social standing, one's place in society. -can be achieved through different means.
World systems theory
-created by Wallerstein -argues that since the 18th century, we've lived in a large extended single world system relying primarily on core areas (most powerful areas that dominate other areas), semi-periphery areas and periphery areas -core provides high profit consumption goods to semi-periphery and periphery areas -semi-periphery and periphery areas give cheap labor and raw materials back to core areas -these economic relations lead to inequality and different outcomes of prosperity -explains why some countries are rich and others are poor
Sexual Dimorphism
-distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes of an animal (in addition to difference between the sexual organs) -Animals that are monogamous are usually similar in size... like gibbons! -physiological difference between males and females: seen in gorillas, lions, rams, deer Gorillas are polygynous, Males are much larger than females, have more bigger teeth, and competitive -Similar selective pressures on both males and females
Ordeal
-example of formal means of social control (method to ensure people follow rules) -motivates people people to follow rules/obey social norms by utilizing dangerous, painful, punishments/consequences for those who break the rules EX: punishments for breaking the rules include whippings, hand-cuttings off...
Modernization theory
-explains differences in economic development based on sociocultural differences -different cultures have distinct potentials to advance their societies -urbanization, market economies, wealth, education, and ability to plan for future are all examples of sociocultural differences that can affect economic development -CRITIQUE: The list of modern features is basically a list of western values and achievements and works backwards to classify other societies as not modern...ETHNOCENTRIC Not culturally relativistic... dif countries have dif values...
Band
-first classification in the Elman Service's Classification sequence -Least complex and oldest form of socio-political organization -Ex:!King band: -hunter gatherers/ foragers Egalitarian -Everyone is more or less equal outside of age and gender -No formal leadership or permanent person in position -Small autonomous group (50 or less people)
State
-forth classification in the Elman Service's Classification sequence -Most complex and youngest form of socio-political organization Traits: -sophisticated and sustainable agriculture -largest political entities -most complex economies -politically set apart from chiefdoms: bureaucracy, civil servants and systems that implement services and provide input -traditional indicator that a society is a state: some kind of formalized writing system Ex: Inca
Institutionalized racism
-government entity-creates/enforced laws that impact the distribution of resources in ways that disproportionately favor different races... -Explicit blatant: segregation laws & seperate/= laws that explicitly deny Black access to resources (Schools, jobs, busses, water fountains, housing..) -harmful effects on prosperity/well-being -S. African Apartheid -more subtle: Chicago redlining... exclusive property loans, strategic creation of segregated neighborhoods based on property values... intended to segregate neighborhoods
Internal racism
-ideas inside our heads, but can manifest themselves as outward expressions/in laws..institutions -internal ideas/expectations/stereotypes about value, beauty, behavior, expectations, and actions races EX: perception of beauty...hegemonic beauty standards... (lighter and straighter hair, lighter skin)
Female Genital Mutilation
-most common in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia -includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to female genitals for non-medical reasons... can have extreme negative medical consequences -controls women's sexuality// thought to ensure virginity before marriage and fidelity afterward -In some communities, FGM is almost universally performed and unquestioned// accepted as a social norm// form of rite of passage
Magic
-not readily explained by science -anyone can practice religion...but not everyone can do magic... -way more active than religion.... direct invoking of the supernatural -unlike religion(group oriented) magic is more situational and individual -people who can practice magic are considered are supernatural beings
Personally mediated racism
-outward expressions of racism/discrimination/predjudice Race-based -blatant discrimination -use of offensive/degrading slurs -making someone uncomfortable -more subtle examples: store clerk buying into stereotypes and in attempt to catch shoplifting, follows a minority costumer around the store...
Shaman
-part-time religious specialist in a Shamanistic religious organization -not everyone gets to be a shaman ...shamans are still involved in regular day-to-day activities - through some type of exceptional quality or training, gains access to the Gods/the divine -the term is controversial because it actually only refers to Tungus religious specialists in Siberia, but people now use it to mean any religious specialist of this kind -sometimes seen as magical -because they heal individuals
tribe
-second classification in the Elman Service's Classification sequence -second least complex and oldest form of socio-political organization Traits -Horticultural//generally, low intensity agriculturalists -more sedimentary than the bands, living in areas for a longer amount of time -Political system: decision making: somewhat egalitarian but with the emergence of head/men or Big Men, widely respected by society, achieved status Ex: Yanomamo
Religion
-set of beliefs and patterned behaviors concerned with supernatural beings and behaviors -indirect, group oriented, philosophic aspects, -often more passive than magic (direct invoking of supernatural) ...the higher being will decide whether or not your prayers are answered -usually routine practice and outlines the basis of how to live one's life -Functions of Religion 1. social control: 2. conflict resolution: 3. group solidarity 4 . cognitive functions 5. emotional function -sometimes...issues defining religion... when we attempt to untangle it from politics, or science, or social motivations EX: Kikuyu culture, -difficult to separate religion from other parts of life... are rituals such as goat scarification... has religious, social, and economic purposes prevent haunted ancestors... feast... reaffirm social status...
Race
-social construct... based on arbitrary phenotypic differences that imply BUT DON'T actually correspond with genetic or cultural distance/superiority --> led to racism through claims of "biological innate differences" b/w races... exaggerations of these fictional differences is used to justify racial hierarchies/racism EX: Black v. White Skull shapes, bigger brains.... -some groups receive lower status and privilege based on their race... differs from culture to culture, depends on dominant group... -different from ethnicity, which is a sense of origin, not necessarily based on appearance
Social Stratification
-social differentiation that people into socioeconomic strata, based upon their occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power -Ex: Hindu Caste system Social Castes are divided based on all social criteria (wealth, status, power), forms hierarchy Lowest caste locked into a life working least desirable jobs, recognized as untouchables, Higher castes locked into life of wealth, status, luxury
Prestige
-social standing, one's place in society. -can be achieved through different means. -Part of Weber's Dimensions of Social Inequality ...ranked society based on wealth, power, and prestige -NOT=W or P, can have one but not the others... Ex: Pr, no W Poet, Criminal -EX: -Samburu society has gerontocracy -prestige is achieved through age -manifested: Men can't marry until 30, limited status based on age.
Marriage
-social union or legal contract between people called spouses -establishes a kin-based group and that provides norms for residence, property, labor, sexual relations, and/or childbearing -Functions of Marriage: Economic reasons Alliance/Status Limiting sexual access/ clarifying descent
Racial privilege
-some groups receive lower social status and privilege based on their race -through complex tangle of institutional/ internalized/ personally mediated racism ... dif races enjoy different levels of privilage.. White people have way more freedom and opportunity than minorities... -Systemically and historically set on an easier, more direct, path to social, economic, and political prosperity
Ascribed status
-status passed on through birth/blood/kinship only, regardless of merit/leadership capabilities -UNLIKE achieved status.... EX: CASTE SPEW Ex: Chiefdoms. introduced hereditary claims to power/ chiefs often gain power/elevated status by means of have ascribed status, regardless of leadership ability
Social Control
-the enforcement of conformity by society upon its members, either by law or by social pressure -these methods generally enforce social norms to ensure that its members follow formal and informal rules -EX: Ordeals or weird looks from strangers ect
Ethnicity
-the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common real or imagined sense of national or cultural tradition/orgiin -another way people justify access to power and wealth -Depends on family history... can multiple one ethnicities, depending on your -genocide is the mass killing of people from an ethnicity... for example the holocaust... I am white; race I am jewish: ethnicity
Social mobility
-the movement of people WITHIN or BETWEEN social strata in a society. -how people move within a class system (based on socio/economic status/wealth) -More complicated than it seems, (American Dream debate) -Pierre Bourdieu....cultural capital (one's knowledge/cultural competence.. KEEPS THEM FROM or ENABLES THEM TO BECOME socially mobility) through things such as a college degree, the way they dress for job interviews, the way they speak, etc.
Applied anthropology
-the practical application of anthropological method and theory to the needs of society -contrary to pure anthropology which is anthropology for the sake of knowledge -examples: anthropologists working for companies and trying to change views
Reciprocity
-the practice of exchanging gifts and favors, moving goods through a network -all societies participate in gift giving -motivated by creating long term relationships, and establishing interdependence -3 types: generalized, balanced, competitive
Gender Stratification
-the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women -differences in economic potential, political power, and status based on gender Ex: Saudi Arabia Outside the family, men and women are completely separated and experience totally different social, political privilege in restaurants there are separate booths for families, many women can not be seen in public unescorted by men
Supernatural
-things that can't be proven/explained by science/natural phenomenon, -connected to divinity and divine beings -heavily tied to religion: EX: Gods are supernatural beings that impact how people live and what they believe -supernatural beings are often included in myths that religions are based on... No evidence of supernatural forces not existing, so it is difficult to challenge the legitimacy supernatural-ly motivated actions/institutions
Cheifdom
-third classification in the Elman Service's Classification sequence -2nd most complex and youngest form of socio-political organization -Groups are considered to be farming or herding agricultural, not foraging -Political system: introduce hereditary claims to power/ascribed status// elevated persona v. commoners Chiefs + immediate family, can transfer power regardless of that child's leadership capabilities EX. King Kamehameha chief of Hawaii
Linked changes
-unanticipated secondary consequences of new inventions -changes that occur because of other changes: may or may not be obvious that the changes happened as a result of the invention -EX: cell phones led to many linked changes... increase in car accidents because
Rite of solidarity
-when a group of people come together to protect the group from some outside danger, it is communally beneficial -in a communal cult .. -communities comes together ...without an elevated leader to worship ... communally practice a rite for the benefit of the whole group -example: ancestor veneration like Fendi Hana
Bride Service
-work performed by the groom for his bride's family either before or after the marriage (weeks/years) -This labor, instead of money or material goods, is exchanged for a wife. -Working for the brides family is valued to pay off the value of marrying his wife
Kula Ring
Form of balanced reciprocity: -formal structure, process, set time/date of gift giving Trade system in New Guinea -Formalized gift-giving relationship between men on different islands -shell necklaces and bracelets are traded in opposite directions around the ring of islands -the goods moving in the Kula ring are examples of inalienable goods (not easily moved around or traded sometimes because of their value. Individual, one of a kind, chain of ownership) -with each trade, its gains worth based on it's associated with the producer and its former owners
Potlatch
Form of competitive reciprocity/ competitive giving Kwakiutl -feasts where the host invites the community with the objective to give away all his possessions in return for increased social status -One gains the greatest status through giving the greatest gifts // being able to provide what others cannot
Globalism
Globalization: modern large scale interconnections and the spread of information and ideas Rates of change Dynamic: inherent features of culture All groups change... but the rate/ways in which groups change varies Ex: Western change is accelerating while other cultures may not be changing as fast -outside influence -innovation/invention There are things in society that limit avenues of innovation... Inventions are not always adopted... cultural resistance
Endogamy
Marrying within an identity group: religion, inside your subculture, EX: Hindu marriage: Hindu caste system encourages endogamy, implemented to maintain social order Within this rigid system, exogamy is highly discouraged/forbidden and hinders ones social mobility in the next life social class determines your relative prestige, social status, and occupation
achieved status
Unlike ascribed status: status passed on through birth/blood only, regardless of leadership capabilities achieved status is a higher position or STATUS that is gained/ACHIEVED on the basis or merit One's ascribed status is reflective of their personal skills, accomplishments, abilities, and efforts Ex: Captain of a sports team
Alienable Goods
commodities, fixed value Alienable goods: fixed value, 5 coconuts for a chicken, a commodity, there is many of, all have the same value, easily traded back and forth
Inalienable Goods
gained so much value through all the different owners, can eventually be untradable, not easily moved around or traded sometimes because of their value. Individual, one of a kind, chain of ownership receive value based on previous ownership not easily moved in trade EX one of a kind, antiques/heirlooms ex: family heirlooms, dont have the same value to people outside the group
Functions of religion
social functions: 1. social control: the enforcement of conformity by society upon its members, either by law or by social pressure religion enforces social norms to ensure that its members follow formal and informal rules by assigning such rules supernatural/unarguableconsequences 2. conflict resolution: papering over social tensions, providing a moral code, religion can set un-arguable standards of justice based on supernatural laws. Religious courts determine who's right and wrong on a consistent, unarguable basis 3. group solidarity: social network people can draw on, leads people to look out for each other, mobilizes people collectively toward shared goals (build a church, feed the hungry, etc) psychological functions: 1.cognitive function: creates a system of logic by which we can rationalize the world (why good things happen to bad people or bad things happen to good people) 2. emotional function: get people through death, sickness, natural disasters
Urbanization
the process of becoming more urban -a factor in modernization theory that can help explain differences in economic development
