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131 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Children's Games:
play (definition) |
voluntary, amusing interactions with oneself, with others, or with one's environment
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Children's Games:
play (aspects) |
physical action, manipulation of objects, mental activity
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Children's Games:
pastime |
traditional forms of play with no organized rules (e.g., a teeter-totter)
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Children's Games:
games |
play that involves a clear goal
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Children's Games:
cooperation |
the point is to accomplish something TOGETHER
(e.g., African foot-linking game) |
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Games of Skill
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games that emphasize physical activity
(e.g., mumbledypeg - a knife-tossing game of skill) |
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Games of Strategy
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games of logic that require the manipulation of symbols (e.g., chess & checkers)
*many games combine skill and strategy (e.g., football & baseball) *emphasized in complex societies *Murdoch: games of strategy reflect a hierarchical social structure |
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Games of Chance
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games where chance is a major variable
(e.g., craps) *associated with strong responsibility training |
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Secret Languages
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playful manipulation of one's own language, usually by children; three methods: inversion, insertion, & reduplication (boys=inversion, girls=reduplication)
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Acculturation
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one culture becomes significantly like another culture in the context of a power imbalance
(e.g., replacing revenge killings with sports; baseball hats in St. Vincent, because of economic attraction) |
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Syncretism
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traits from 2 or more cultures come together to make a new trait
*usually in a dialogue between two unequal classes *Trobriand Cricket - "victory dances" derive from sexy dances *Converted Church center pole - comes from Vodou, where it represented Danbala's "doorway" to the ordinary world -> form-function inversion (Vodou: spirits descend; Converted: human spirits ascend) |
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Baseball vs. Football
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baseball = agricultural worldview
- lasts as long as necessary - one against many - analytical - less specialized roles football = mechanical (industrial) worldview - time limit: reflects hourly salaries - specialized roles |
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Proxemics
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Edward T. Hall (mid 1950s); the use of space in communication
4 main types: public space, social space, personal space, & intimate space (probability of touching) |
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Kinesics
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body language, especially gestures (related to proxemics)
(e.g., handshakes, bows) *coyness display: a way of flirting |
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Material Culture:
(definition) |
the things a culture makes
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Material Culture:
Folk Costume |
traditional clothing (may not even be what we consider to be clothing at all)
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Material Culture:
Folk Architecture |
(e.g., NW Thailand - house on stilts, walls 4 feet high)
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Material Culture:
Folk Objects (definition) |
tools, toys, etc.
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Material Culture:
Folk Objects - Bullroarer |
an object that makes noise by swinging it on a string; shape varies, but typically resembled an elongated square
-> E.B. Tylor (cult. evol; survivals): cited Aborigines' use as a survival with no sacred meaning (untrue; calls spirits) -> also expressly thunder, or flatulence from the gods; associated with male initiation |
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Material Culture:
Folk Objects - Sacred Flutes |
(e.g., digeridoo - uses circular blowing)
*related to bullroarer *stories of women owning flutes of power, ending in misuse & male control *Freudian: male birth; phallic symbolism -> bullroarer & flute represent anus |
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Consciousness
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one's awareness of one's self and one's surroundings; changes all the time, because awareness changes; awareness in a very particular fashion in particular circumstances (e.g., "work mode" as opposed to watching TV)
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Altered States of Consciousness
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an unusual type of awareness; one is aware of things in a not-normal way
(e.g., "beer goggles") *mostly associated with religion -> spirits not acessable in normal perception -> spirit posession - drugs - 15 states - methods to hurry process |
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Altered States of Consciousness:
Entopic Imagery |
images that derive from effects from within the central nervous system
(e.g., the spots one sees when dizzy) *Lewis Williams |
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Altered States of Consciousness:
Form Constants (of entropic imagery) |
imagery that is always the same in different cultures
*radial lines *a grid *filigree/meandering lines (tree-like) *dots *parallel lines *nesting curves *zig-zag |
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Stratified Societies
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a society in which groups have different access to resources, power & prestige (in this order)
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Socioeconomic Class
(definition) |
group of people with more or less the same income & behavior
(e.g., rich people & gracefulness; Santa Monica real estate) |
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Socioeconomic Class:
Open Class System |
class system where mobility is possible between the classes; two ways: occupation & marriage
*always the danger of falling in class |
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Socioeconomic Class:
Conspicuous Consumption |
display of wealth to enhance status
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Caste
(a closed class system) |
a social class into which one is born and must remain in for one's lifetime; occupation & marriage are regulated
*best studied in India |
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Caste:
Ritual Pollution |
something about one has been spiritually polluted
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Torres Strait, New Guinea
(film) |
material culture: turtle masks only exist in museums & personal collections around the world
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Food:
Purity |
wholeness & cleanliness; ambiguity = danger
dirt: matter out of place ->every individual should be a complete & self-contained example of its kind & there should be no mixing of kinds *Leviticus taboos *cows in India |
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Food:
Anthropophagy |
cannibalism; two kinds: exocannibalism & endocannibalism
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Exocannibalism
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eating outsiders, usually enemies; almost always in revenge (assoc. with warfare)
*rare today |
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Endocannibalism
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eating one's own people
*very common: probably done in 1,000 culture today *one eats one's dead relatives as a sign of respect *a death sentence for behavior damaging to the community |
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Mortuary Cannibalism
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always relatives; done for different reasons: respect, loneliness
*allowed to rot: mourners experience disgust of death; togetherness -- all suffer *kuru: "laughing sickness" (fatal); New Guinea; only women & children |
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Folk Medicine:
Causes of Disease |
*natural causes (modern Western society)
*magic *disease-object intrusion *soul-loss *spirit intrusion *breach of taboo |
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Magic
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the mechanical control of the supernatural; a mechanism makes it happen (e.g., "open sesame")
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Disease-object Intrusion
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a physical thing is inside the ailing person
*spiritual doctors *Hebrew shamans ->hallucinogenic drugs used to see inside the patient ->enemy shaman has evil helpers in village who keep putting it back ->disease shot back at enemy *generally acknowledged as slight-of-hand, but shamans feel that people need a physical manifestation of disease |
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Soul-Loss
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lack of interest in normal activities, great sadness, not feeling like working, etc.; described by Western medicine as clinical depression
*where did it go? ->frightened into leaving ->can be a number of souls for each part of one's body ->soul may have got stuck somewhere during a dream |
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Spirit Intrusion
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can be demon posession
(e.g., pentecostal church - epilepsy & deafness) |
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Breach of Taboo
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breaking a taboo/prohabition can cause sickness
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Aspects of Successful Healing
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*naming process
*personality of the healer *patient's expectations *techniques of healing |
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Naming Process
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gives confidence to patient; knowing the name leads to the healing process
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Personality of the Healer
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a caring attitude allows the patient to feel healed
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Patient's Expectations
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*reputation of the healer
*length traveled to go to healer *visual display of confidence (e.g., diplomas on wall; skulls & drums - traditional healer) |
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Divination
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finding something hidden by means of the supernatural; most commonly the future
*"water witching": divining rod used to find water source for well-digging |
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Omen
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a natural occurence believed to be a communication from the supernatural
(e.g., augery - Romans would interpret the guts from a sacrificed animal) |
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Astrology
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divination by the stars
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Ordeal
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the supernatural communicates through exposure of individuals to danger, often to reveal guilt or innocence
(e.g., Spanish Inquisition - boiling oil; God protects the innocent) |
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Spirit Medium
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a spirit communicates through an individual; the spirit tells what one should do to solve a problem
(e.g., Ouija board; Spiritualists - automatic writing) |
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Oracle
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divination where one receives an answer to a specific question
(e.g., Bible oracle; Delphic oracle; a healer's dreams and visions) |
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Imitative Magic
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magic that operates on the principle that like actions produce like results
(e.g., rain dance) |
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Contagious Magic
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magic that operates on the principle that after two things have been in contact, they continue to influence eachother
(e.g., "lucky gym shorts") |
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Amulets
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objects with magical force; sometimes magic is forced into it, other times it posesses magic in itself
(e.g., red string from Rebecca's tomb; evil-eye amulets) |
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Fetish
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object with a spirit inside that can be controlled; very often a statue
*zombies: spirit in a bottle; from ground-up bones in a rum bottle, kept under bed; sometimes has mirrors & scissors attached on the outside |
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Sorcery
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use of magic to harm someone; harming someone supernaturally through spells and paraphernalia (any items associated with task)
*a sorcerer wants others to know who he/she is; sorcery can be the source of power, e.g., political power |
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Witchcraft
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harming someone supernaturally through psychological processes only (no items & spells); no obvious way to identify the witch
*comforting for people to feel there's a controlling force, even though the source of the distress is physically undetectable to the naked eye |
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Evil Eye
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harming someone supernaturally through envy; typically separate from witchcraft as ANYONE can do it
*amulets used against it (e.g., eye-shaped, Italian horn, red thread, etc.) *most prevalent in peasant societies (large inequalities) ->can be an equalizer |
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Religion
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people's relationship to the supernatural
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3 Types of Religion
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animatism, animism & theism
*societies change and leave behind survivals |
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Animatism
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belief in impersonal source; "force" (or "mana" - "luck", in English)
*everything has force, but some have more than others *keep force high as possible (e.g., force is low during illness) *maintains power structure: ->chiefs have a high amount of mana and can harm or cure others (sometimes too great even to touch themselves) ->tabu/taboo |
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Tabu/Taboo
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a prohibition with an immediate, impersonal supernatural sanction
(e.g., impact is like sticking one's finger in an electrical socket) |
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Animism
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belief in spirits
*spirit: a supernatural person ->anthropopsychic: spirits have human-like personalities *animistic society: EVERYTHING has a spirit; usually simple societies (hunter-gatherer) |
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Theism
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belief in god(s)
*monotheistic societies evolved from polytheism *polytheistic: one pleas to a specific god for a specific situation *polytheistic societies: as people begin having different jobs, so, too, do the gods; a majority of monarchs (esp. in Africa) believe in polytheism |
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God
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a spirit who creates or controls some aspect of the world
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Shaman
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a person who does spiritual work on behalf of the community through altered states of consciousness; 2 main functions: curing and recovery
*only sought out when there's a problem |
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Ritual
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a stylized, symbolic action (has meaning beyond itself); can occur on a large or individual scale
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Deindividualism
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losing one's self in a larger, collective identity
(e.g., football - fans are excited as though they personally scored a touchdown) |
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Communitas
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feeling of equal unity during ritual
*differences are erased, although a priest is still a priest... |
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Rites of Passage
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a ritual that marks a change in status; 3 parts: separation, transition, incorporation
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Liminality
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being in-between states
*dangerous; the opposite of purity |
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Hazing
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deliberate humiliation put on new members of a group by established members of a group
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Rite of Intensification
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ritual that increases the feelings of a group about itself
*occurs on a regular basis (e.g., Independence Day) |
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Rite of License
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ritual that gives one permission to do something one normally cannot do, but only during the ritual
(e.g., Halloween) |
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Folk Groups:
Norms |
can be conscious or unconscious
(e.g., St. Vincent church behavior: shirt must be tucked in) |
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Folk Groups:
Rules |
stated norms
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Folk Groups:
Laws |
a formal rule
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Folk Groups:
Sanction |
a reaction to behavior with the function of controlling that behavior; most common: satire (making fun of the offender)
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Folk Groups:
Core Values |
the values especially valued in a society
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Culture-Specific Syndromes
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a disease found only in certain cultures
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Amok
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a sudden, violent outburst; typically male (Malaysia)
core value: one must hide one's true feelings |
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Koro
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an anxiety state where a man believes his penis is shrinking into his body; male (Malaysia)
core value: sexual modesty (every case follows some sort of overindulgence in a sexual experience) |
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Latah
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a hyperstartle reflex (continuously startled for 15 minutes); middle-aged women
core value: a middle-aged woman is the model of proper behavior |
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Anorexia Nervosa
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one thinks one is fat and tries to get thinner - one can't see one's real body shape; typically female, younger (Western society)
core value: an attractive person is thin |
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Major Cultural Institutions
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*subsistence
*economics *marriage *kinship *special groups *politics *spcialization *language *art *religion |
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Subsistence
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how a culture gets its food
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Economics
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how goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed
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Marriage
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a socially approved union between a man and a woman
(with some exceptions, e.g., a woman in Africa can obtain equal status to men by cutting off heads in battle and by marrying a woman) |
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Kinship
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a system of rights and obligations based on categories of relatedness through blood and marriage
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Politics
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how power is excercised and organized
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Socialization
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acquiring the norms and rules of society
*occurs throughout life, but mostly during childhood |
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Language
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a system of communication based on arbitrary symbols
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Art
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forms of creative expression guided by aesthetic principles
*constantly judged according to type and as a success or failure |
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Subculture
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a culture that's part of a larger culture
(e.g., surfers) |
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Subculture and Group Solidarity
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what adheres a subculture together that doesn't exist in larger culture
*aesthetics *morality *slang/jargon/argot *separate channels of communication *special unmet needs (e.g., confidence) |
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Slang
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playful, alternate language
*playing with the norms |
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Jargon
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specialized language associated with an occupation
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Stigmatized Groups
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groups that are marked as inferior in some way
(e.g., lepers, Jews, gypsies, gays, African-Americans) *create own subculture |
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Urban Life:
Social Power |
the ability to get someone else to do your will
*cities are a power organization *power can be obtained in many ways (e.g., money, popularity, mutual agreements, assoc. by family, threats, etc.) *in any social power relationship, it has to make sense to both parties |
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Types of Political Organization
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band, tribe, chiefdom, state, civilization
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Band
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a small, autonomous unit; essentially hunter-gatherer
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Tribe
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2 or more communities with something connecting them politically; almost always a military arrangement
*sedentary groups *marriage arrangements *when something is given, paying back is delayed |
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Chiefdom
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2 or more communities with power integrated in the office of chief
*major decisions made by chief *chief cannot enforce will, but can keep people in fear because of supernatural authority and wealth |
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State
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a large, complex society where the govenment has a monopoly on the legitimate use of force
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Civilization
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living in cities
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4 Reasons People Have Decided To Live In Cities
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*technology (usually assoc.
with food; hydrolic theory) *warfare (usually assoc. with conscription - every village sends a number of soldiers) *trade (equal measurements) *religion (religious officials ask people to give up power for supernatural assistance) |
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Urban Worldview
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*specialization
*mechanical power (e.g., transportation) *lack of traditional controls *high mobility *continuous change *mechanical time *anonymity *record keeping |
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"The Lau of Malika" (video)
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last two shamans commited ritual suicide; Western world and Christianity slowly taking over; the culture house containing last supernatural objects from shamans' homes
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Migration
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movement from one place to another, emphasizing long stays; some places have concentrations of ethnic groups
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Chain Migration
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migrants help their family and friends to migrate
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Metropole
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the home country of a colonizing power
(e.g., France was the metropole of Vietnam, therefore many Vietnamese live in Paris) |
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Transmigration
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people move back and forth between two or more places
*cheaper airfare during last 20 years *emphasizes long stay |
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Transnationalism
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maintaining networks and identity in more than one country
(e.g., Haitians in NY; Haitian presidential candidate campaigned in NY) |
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Poverty
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the lack of resources to provide an adequate standard of living
*perception of lack of needs within market system |
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Skid Row
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an area of desperate poverty and substance abuse/dependency in a city
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Culture of Poverty
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adaptations to poverty are passed on from generation to generation
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Instant Gratification
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satisfaction of desires now rather than later
*any major jolt has a very adverse effect on the financial situation *substance abuse *fattening foods (cheaper) |
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Rotating Credit Association
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each member gives a fixed sum to one member at fixed times, by turns
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Social Capital
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trust, cooperation and compromise built up through social interaction
(e.g., drug dealers) |
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Occupational Lore
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e.g., cab drivers gain prestige from cleverly chatting up customers or other companies
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Informal Economy
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economic activity outside government oversight or control
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Illegal Economy
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anything legally prohibited
(e.g., prostitution & drugs) |
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Unreported Economy
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under-table tax evasion
(e.g., waitresses not reporting tips; illegal alien work pay) *subject to much more exploitation |
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Bribery
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inducement by reward to act contrary to acceptable behavior
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Kickback
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a percentage, payment, or service with no added benefit
(e.g., doormen at hotels & cab companies) |
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Extortion
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demand for payment by threat
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Rentseeking
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payment for something normally done for free
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Facilitation Payments
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payments made to hasten a legal process
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Office Forwardables
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anything folkloric that's been forwarded in office emails
*a form of resistance against the management & cubicle mentality |
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Chain Letter
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a letter appealing to the supernatural to encourage receivers to send them on to others; 3 types: charity, petition, luck
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