Intro To Cultural Anthropology Final Exam Study Guide
Capitalist Production
- Most recent - Economic system based on private property owned by a capitalist class - Workers sell their labor to capitalists - By keeping wages low, capitalists are able to sell the products of the workers for more than it costs to produce the products - Important distinguishing feature: Workers are separated from the means of production
Materialism
A Marxist concept that emphasized the ways on which human and social and cultural practice were influenced by basic economic needs.
Ethnobotany
A branch of ethnology which studies the uses of plants for food, construction, dyes, crafts, and medicine
One thing that separates media anthropologists from other media scholars...
A commitment to long term participant-obersvation based field work
World System
A complex web through which goods circulate around the globe. Complex chains of distribution separate the producers of the good from consumers.
Balanced Reciprocity
A direct exchange in which something is traded or given with the expectation that something of equal balance will be returned within a specific time period. This involves three distinct stages 1) the gift must be given, 2) it has to be received, and 3) a reciprocal gift has to be returned
Political Economy
An approach to anthropology that investigates the historical evolution of economic relationships as well as the contemporary political processes and social structures that contribute to differences in wealth and income.
Double-edged sword of globalization
Being told some other group is at fault for the problems they are facing
Declaration of Belem
Called for governments and corporations to respect and justly compensate the intellectual property rights of indigenous groups - especially regarding medicinal plants
Social Control
Fields of social system most actively involved in maintenance of norms and the regulation of any conflict
Economic Anthropologists
Focus on how people produce, exchange, and consume material objects and the role that immaterial things such as labor, services, and knowledge play in our efforts to secure our livelihood.
Public Anthropology
Focuses on the interface between anthropology as an academic discipline and the broader public that supports and, ideally finds much value in it
Boyer's term, anthropology of meditation...
Focuses on the way that images, speech, people, and things become socially significant or meaningful as they are communicated
Broad Spectrum Diet
Foraging societies tend to have this. It's a diet based on a wide range or resources
Four modes of subsistence
Foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, and agriculture
Three types of reciprocity
Generalized, balanced, and negative
Multi-cropping
Horticulturalists practice this - Growing a variety of different plants in gardens that are biodiverse.
Informal Economy
Includes a diverse range of activities that are unregulated and untaxed by the state
Mechanical Infrastructure
Includes the apparatuses that bring networks of technology into existence
Structural Violence
Is a form of violence in which a social structure or institution harms people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs.
Personalized Transactions
Occur between people who have a relationship that endures past the exchange and might include both social/economic elements
Mass Communication
One-to-many communication that privileges the sender and/or owner of the technology that transmits the media
Foodways
The cultural norms and attitudes surrounding food and eating it
Habitus
The embodied dispositions that arise from one's enculturation in a specific social setting. It results in a feeling of ease within specific settings
Hominin Radiation
The geographic expansion of multiple hominin species.
Homeostasis
The movement of a particular system towards equilibrium In ecology this is associated with the idea that ecosystems should remain at the stable ecosystem associated within an area
Mono-Cropping
The reliance on a single plant species
Means of Production
The resourced used to produce goods in a society such as land for farming or factories
Commodity Chain
The series of steps a food takes from the location it is produced to the store where it is sold.
Subsistence System
The set of practices used by members in a society to acquire food
True or False? Almost all societies combine one or more of the four modes of subsistence
True
True or False? Foraging is the only immediate return subsistence system?
True
True or false? Media consumption is bound to culture
True
Ethnoecology
Use and knowledge of plants, animals, and ecosystems by traditional societies
Cultural Ecology
Used by Julian Steward to describe how cultures use and understand their environments
Agriculture Societies
Used in the U.S.A, involves the cultivation of domestic plants and animals using technologies that allow for intensive use of land.
Globalization
Used to discuss the circulation of goods, the fast and furious exchange of ideas, and the movement of people.
Generalized Reciprocity
When we gift without reckoning the exact value of the gift or expecting a specific thing in return
placebo effect
a response to treatment that occurs because the person receiving treatment believes it will work, not because the treatment itself is effective
Bands
a small kinship-based groups found among foragers
Exurban
a term that describes the migration of generally affluent people from urban areas to rural areas for the amenities of nature, recreation, and scenic beauty associated with rural areas.
Chiefdom
intermediate between tribe and state. -kin based - featured differential access to resources and permanent political structure
Emotionalistic explanation
suggests that illnesses are caused by strong emotions such as fright, anger, or grief; this is an example of a naturalistic ethno-etiology.
Power
the ability to exercise one's will over others
Development Anthropology
the branch of applied anthropology that focuses on social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development
Ethnomedicine
the comparative study of cultural ideas about wellness, illness, and healing
Immediate Return System
the food acquired can be immediately consumed. Foraging is an immediate return system.
Media practices
the habits or behaviors of the people who produce media, the audiences who interact with media, and everyone in between.
Hegemony
the internalization of a dominant ideology
Epidemiological Transition
the sharp drop in mortality rates, particularly among children, that occurs in a society as a result of improved sanitation and access to healthcare
Environmental Anthropology is a way...
to informs and connect with a variety of other disciplines that address similar questions of sustainability
Maladaptive
traits that decrease the capacity of individuals to survive and reproduce
Adaptive
traits that increase the capacity of individuals to survive and reproduce
True or false? Western biomedicine tends to conceive of the human body as kind of a biological machine
true
Media
used to describe a set of technologies that connect multipole people at one time to shared content
Naturalistic ethno-etiology
views disease as the result of natural forces such as cold, heat, winds, or an upset in the balance of the basic body elements.
Personalistic ethno-etiology
views disease as the result of the actions of human or supernatural beings
Weber's three dimensions of stratification
wealth (economic status), power (political status), prestige (social status)
Manfred Steger's Definition of Globalization
"The intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa.
Domestic Production
- Characterizes the lives of foragers, and small scale subsistence farmers with social structures that are more egalitarian - Labor is organized on the basis of kinship relations - Subsistence farmers produce food for their families own consumption. - Foraging societies are characterized by 1) the collective ownership of the primary means of production. 2) Lower rates of social domination 3) Sharing
Organization Correlations
- Forages tended to have band organization - Horticulturalists and pastoralists tended to have tribal organization - Chiefdoms and nonindustrial states usually had agricultural economies
Tributary Production
- Found in social systems divided into classes of rulers and subjects - These societies share several common features 1) The dominant units of production are communities organized around kinship relations, 2) The states society depends on the local communities, and the tribune collected is used by the ruling class rather than exchanged or reinvested, 3) Relationships between producers and rulers are often conflictual, and 4) Production is controlled politically rather than through direct control of the means of production
2 ways in which media anthropologists organize their studies of media
1. Choose a category or type of media 2. Locate their ethnographic studies within a particular community
Four Important Characteristics of Agriculture
1. Reliance on few staple crops - foods that form the backbone of the subsistence system. 2. The link between intensive farming and a rapid increase in human population density 3. The development of a division of labor, a system in which individuals in a society begin to specialize in certain roles/tasks. 4. Its tendency to create wealth differences.
Neoliberalism
A multi-faceted political and economic philosophy that emphasizes privatization and unregulated markets
Wilderness
A natural area that is untouched or unchanged by human actives and often seen as a cultural construct of the American west.
Shaman
A person who specializes in contacting the world of spirits
Economic Anthropology
A study of livelihoods: How humans work to obtain the material necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter that sustain our lives.
Fabrication
A technique for reporting on research data that involves mixing information provided by various people into a narrative account that demonstrates the point of focus for researchers
Proposed Framework for public anthropology
Accountability, Transparency, Collaboration, and benefitting others
Negative Reciprocity
An attempt to get something for nothing. Examples - email scams and gambling
Redistribution occurs when...
An authority of some type collects economic contributions from all community members and then redistributes these back in the forms of good and services
Disease
An epic, or scientifically identified health threat caused by bacteria, virus, fungi, parasite, or other pathogens
Geographical Indication Status (GI)
An international property-rights system, regulated by the World Trade Organization that legally protects the rights of people in certain places to produce certain commodities.
Built Environment
Analysis of the ways in which cultures and the environment are mutually interconnected, demonstrates that there is no way to separate the "natural" world from the human-influenced world.
Atomized Transactions
Are impersonal ones between people who have no relationship with each other beyond the short term of the exchange.
Norms
Cultural standards or guidelines that enable individuals to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a given society
Modern Anthropological Studies of Subsistence Systems
Draw on insights and perspectives of several different fields including biology, chemistry, and ecology. As well as a range of ethnographic techniques which allow for cross-cultural comparisons of diets.
Anthropogenic
Environments and pollutants caused by human activities
The 5 Scapes of Globalization - Arjun Appaduri
Ethnoscapes, technoscapes, ideoscapes, financesapes, and mediascapes
Pastoralism Societies
People raise herds of domesticated livestock. Over 1/2 of the world's pastoralists reside in Africa, and there are large numbers in Central Asia, Tibet, Arctic Scandinavia, and Siberia. Sometimes referred to as nomadic pastoralism, because of the need to supply grazing fields and water for the livestock, requiring several moves a year. Most often herd and raise cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. The goal of many pastoralists is to use the animals for resources such as milk which can be transformed into butter, yogurt, and cheese. Or products like fur and wool which can be sold. They measure wealth and status according to the number of animals a person owns. They face pressure from tourism, increased human population, intensive agriculture, famine, and drought.
Illness in ________________ is viewed as the result of aggression or punishment purposefully towards an individual'; there is no accident or random choice involved
Personalistic ethno-etiology
Specialized function in all states
Population control, judiciary, enforcement, and fiscal.
chiefly redistribution
Products moved up the hierarchy to central office, then were distributed during feasts sponsored by the chief
Concept of Lifestyle
Refers to creative, reflective, and sometimes even ironic ways in which individuals perform various social identities
Glocalization
Refers to the adaptation of global ideas into locally palatable forms
Syncretism
Refers to the combination of different beliefs - even those that are seemingly contradictory - into a new, harmonious whole
Ideoscape
Refers to the flow of ideas
Mediascape
Refers to the flow of media across borders
Ethnoscape
Refers to the flow of people across boundaries
Technoscape
Refers to the flow of technology
Meaning
Refers to the ideas or values that accompany the exchange of information
Colonialism
Refers to the political, social, economic, and cultural domination of a territory and its people by a freeing power for an extended period of time
Global South
Refers to the poorest countries of the world
Consumption
Refers to the process of buying, eating, or using a resource, food, commodity, or service.
Cultural infrastructure
Refers to the values and beliefs of communities, states, and/or societies that make the imagining of a particular type of network possible
Global North
Refers to the wealthier countries of the world
Harvest Rituals
Religious ceremonies focused on improving the food supply.
Processual Archaeology
Scientific approach that focused primarily on relationships between past societies and the ecological systems they inhabited
Horticulture Societies
Small scale cultivation of crops intended for primarily subsistence. Differs in three ways from other kinds of farming. 1. Horticulturalists move their farm fields periodically to use locations with the best growing conditions. 2. Horticultural societies use limited mechanical technologies to farm, relying on physical labor from people and animals. 3. Differs from other kinds of farming in its scale/purpose. - Common around the world, primarily in tropical areas of South and Central America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
Slash and burn agriculture
Small-scale farmers cut down a forest let the wood dry for a few weeks, and then burn it, clearing the land for cultivation. Also called swidden
Markets
Social institutions with prices or exchange equivalencies. They are regulated by supply and demand mechanisms. They are based on transactions, or changed in the status of a good or service between people, such as a sale.
Foraging Societies
Sometimes known as hunting and gathering, describes societies that rely primarily on wild plant and animal resources. They are small and have an egalitarian social structure. They move camps frequently, place a high cultural value on generosity, gender inequality, and elders tend to command respect and enjoy higher social status. Some groups spend up to 70 hours a week collecting food.
Media Anthropologists
Study mass communication and digital media with a particular interest in the ways in which media are designed or adapter for use by specific communities or cultural groups
Somatic
Symptoms that are physical manifestations of emotional pain
Delayed Return System
Techniques for obtaining food that require an investment of work over a period of time before the food becomes available for consumption.
Carrying capacity
Term used by anthropologists to quantify the number of calories that can be extracted from a particular unit of land to support a human population
"Re-entrenchment"
Term used by social scientists to describe efforts people make to reassert their traditional values and ways of life
Anthropocene
Term used to describe the period or (epoch) in geological time which the effects of human activity/activities have altered the fundamental geochemical cycles of the earth as a result of converting forests into fields and pastures and bring oil, gas, and coal on a large scale
Homo Economics
Terms used to describe a person who would make rational decisions in ways predicted by economic theories
Redistribution
The accumulation of goods or labor by a particular person or institution for the purpose of dispersal at a later date.
Urban Anthropology
The anthropological study off life in and around world cities, including the study of urban social problems, differences between urban and other environments, and adaptation to city life
At the heart of media anthropology...
The assertion that media practices are not universal
Mode of Production
The social relations through which human labor is used to transform energy form nature using tools, skills, organizations, and knowledge. There are three types: domestic (kin-ordered), tributary, and capitalist
Historical Ecology
The study of how human cultures have developed overtime as a result of interactions with the environment
Historical Particularism
The theory that every culture develops in a unique way due to its history, including the interaction of people with the natural environment
Neolithic Revolution
The transition from foraging to farming.
Transnationalism
The understanding that people's lives may beloved and/or significantly influenced by events that cross the geo-political borders of nation states
Applied Anthropology
The use of anthropological data, perspectives, theory, and methods to identify, assess, and solve contemporary problems.
Domestic Economy
The work associated with obtaining food for a family or household
Photovoice
a research method that puts cameras into people's hands so they can make their own representations of their lives and the activities.
Eco-justice
a movement to recognize and remedy the adverse relationship between social inequality and the harms and risks that come from environmental destruction and pollutants.
Medical anthropology
a distinct sub-specialty within the discipline of anthropology that investigates human health and health care systems in comparative perspective.
General Purpose Money
a medium of exchange that can be used in all economic transactions
Communal Healing
an approach to healing that directs the combined efforts of the community toward treating illness
Humoral healing
an approach to healing that seeks to treat medical ailments by achieving a balance between the forces, or elements, of the body
Biomedical
an approach to medicine that is based on the application of insights from science, particularly biology and chemistry
Illness
an emic condition of poor health felt by individual
Culture-bound syndrome
an illness recognized only within a specific culture
Extractive reserves
community-managed protected areas designed to allow for sustainable extraction of certain natural resources (such as fish, rubber, Brazil nuts, and rattan) while maintaining key ecosystems in place.
Ethno-etiology
cultural explanations about the underlying causes of health problems
biocultural evolution
describes the interactions between biology and culture that have influenced human evolution
Ecocide
destruction of an environment, especially when done intentionally by humans
zoonotic
diseases that have origins in animals and are transmitted to humans
Pantribal Sodalities
extend across whole tribe, spanning several villages
Xenophobia
fear of foreigners
State
formal government and socioeconomic stratification
Authority
formal, socially approved use of power
Indigenous media
media produced by and for indigenous communities often outside of the commercial mainstream
Tribes
non-intensive food production (horticulture and pastoralism)
Sodalities
non-kin groups, often based on common age or gender, that link local groups in tribal societies
The social construction known as __________ influences the subjective experience of an illness within a culture
stigma
Office
permanent position, which must be refilled when it is vacated by death or retirement
Stratification
separate social strata that differ in access to wealth, power, and prestige
Chiefdom characteristics
social relations baed on kinship, marriage, descent, age, generation, and gender. - Chief and assistants occupy political offices
Age sets
sodalities that include all men born during a certain time span