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140 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Hard Sciences vs. Soft Science
Hard sciences= any of the natural or physical sciences, in which aspects of the universe are investigated by means of hypotheses and experiments

Soft sciences= any of the specialized fields or disciplines, that interpret human behavior, institutions, society, etc., on the basis of SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS for which it may be difficult to establish strictly measurable criteria
Science's aim is to...
cover the greatest number of empirical facts from the smallest number of hypotheses
The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 'social sciences' is:
some do, some don't
Science answers the question...
"how?" but gets confused when you ask the question "why?"
Science take no...
cognizance (thought) of the things that make life worth living

it only deals with things that can be measured
Two Types of Culture
1. Circumstance- ignores preference

2. Choice- you self identify with, or based on personal choice
Tolerance vs. Acceptance
Tolerate- to allow the existence or act without prohibition, to permit

Accept- to take or receive, with approval or favor
The God Must Be Crazy
culture in positive light: Bush people- no ownership, easy for them to be content
culture in negative light: our culture

-coke bottle begins to destroy their society
Cross cultural analysis
used to look for cultural universals-- traits, practices, beliefs, traditions, or patterns that are common to all known human cultures
Culture
-traditions and customs that guide beliefs and behavior
-customs and opinions about proper and taboo behavior
-consistent observable behaviors, thoughts among a group of individuals
Society
-organized life in groups
-organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another
-an organized group of common interests
Human adaption
-humans are the most adaptable species on the planet
Two types of adaption have allowed mankind to achieve global dominance:
1. biological
2. cultural
Natural selection
species adaption
evolution
mutation
Enculturation vs. Acculturation
Enculturation- the process by which an individual learns the traditional content of a culture and assimilates its practices and values

Acculturation- the cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture.
Seven Aspects of Culture
1. Learned
2. Symbolic
3. Constrained
4. Shared
5. Ordinary
6. Integrated
7. Adaptive & Maladaptive
Culture is learned...
-Symbols: signs that have no natural or actual connection

Culture shapes thoughts, actions, perceptions and beliefs in three ways:
Direct teaching
Observation
Unconscious absorption
Culture is symbolic...
-abstract thinking
-to conceptualize world
-arbitrary and subjective
Culture is shared...
-there must be sharing of attitudes, beliefs, values, practices, traditions or memories
-between generations or members of a social group
Culture is constrained...
-culture helps us control "human nature"
-culture teaches us when, where, and how to express our biological values and needs
Culture is ordinary...
-not the high arts or being educated in those classically trained subjects
-there is no culture that is more important or more worthy of study
-culture is unlimited
Culture is integrated...
-connected and patterned systems of life
-change in one culture impacts all others
-train members to share common core values
Culture is adaptive & maladaptive
- biological and cultural adaptions
- these adaptions don't necessarily generate both/neither short-term and long-term gains
Ideal culture vs. Real culture
Ideal: what cultures say they "should" do as well as what those cultures themselves describe as their "normal" behaviors

Real: actually do and practice that can be observed by either hard, or social sciences

- the difference lies in PERCEPTION
Ethnography
the scientific description of individual cultures
-also called "field work"
requires two things:
1. an inside understanding (emic)
2. an outside analysis (etic)
Research Methods
1. Participant observation
2. Interviews (both structured & unstructured)
3. Family history and genealogy
4. Snitches & Narcs (key consultants & informers)
5. Collecting life histories
6. Survey research
7. Team research
8. Longitudinal research
9. Problem-oriented studies
Participant Observation
-most common form

-three man purposes:
1. observe
2. describe
3. analyze

-engage another culture completely while maintaining an objective opinion

two ways to record:
1. personal journal or diary
2. formal field notes and observations
Interviews
-second most common

- 4 types:
1. formal structured
2. formal in-structured
3. informal structured
4. informal unstructured

-difference--equipment level
Questionnaire vs. Interview Schedule
Questionnaire: they may or may not yield high levels of response but anonymity often allows for more "real" response

Interview Schedule: they often yield more data but sacrifice "real" response
Genealogy & Family History
Genealogy: traces the lineages of families

Family history: collects stories about those families from their past

-helps establish kinship both inside and outside
Snitches
-key informants or cultural consultants

-individuals with expertise in local life and crucial inside experience

-voluntary and paid or involuntary and unpaid
Life histories
-of individuals of particular interest

-diversity

-very time consuming
Survey research
-borrows from statistics

-good for collecting mass amounts of data and for helping to establish preliminary hypotheses
Problem oriented Ethnography
-local and global

-very experimental
Longitudinal Research & Team research
-due to advances in technology and travel
-native and a nonnative anthropologist work together
-response to the traditional Western domination
-local responsibility and for safe anthropology
Ethics
-system of moral principles
-conformity to moral principles

-anthro. does not advocates a specific set of moral values, it does advocate that we act ethically along our own value system
Real Taboos
-a practice or attitude proscribed by society as improper or unacceptable
-behavior considered impure, dangerous, or anti-social
-a prohibition with supernatural or social consequences for disobedience
Affirmative Action
-Civil Rights Act of 1964
-race, color, sex, religion, or national origin
-both discrimination in education or employment
Ethnicity vs. Race
Race: arbitrary classification especially based on various physical characteristics

Ethnicity: traits, background, allegiance, or association with a physical group while being excluded from another

-biological differences--real, obvious, or important to humanity
Ethnic Groups
cultural similarities and/or differences

-can share common practices like beliefs, values, traditions, etc

-often share language, religion, history, location, etc.
Culturally Constructed (Ethnic groups and races)
-cannot be defined by biology, anatomy, or physiology
-we often think of things in terms of race because our culture teaches us to conceptualize differences in phenotype as actual differences in genotype
Genes (race)
-no biological basis for race
-more genetic variations between individuals than between races
Genotype vs. Phenotype
geno: genetic makeup of an organism

pheno: physical expression of genes by an organism
Races describe differently
U.S.: skin color
China: culture
Japan: blood
India: caste/class
Assimilation
the incorporation of a minority group in to the majority such that it no longer retains cultural cohesion or continuity
Plural Societies
The combination of ethnic, economic, and ecologic interdependence to create a functional society
Multiculturalism
the process by which the socialization of individuals occurs in both cultures, the majority culture and their own ethnic culture
Problems with race
1. prejudice and racism
2. racial stereotyping
3. discrimination
4. ethnic cleansing
5. genocide/ethnocide
6. cultural colonialism
Cultural colonialism
the domination of a specific culture or ideology over all cultures in a geographic area
-cultural prejudice
Ethnocentrism
the belief that your own culture is the "best"; it also includes making judgments on other cultures based on your culture's moral standards
Cultural relativism
that morals, values or practices differ among cultures and that those cultures deserve respect

-anthropology advocates methodological relativism not moral relativism
Nature vs. Nurture
Nature: biological component; don't believe in biological determinism, the expression of genetics impacts our lives

Nurture: social component; don't believe in social determinism, our culture of origin has a profound impact in shaping our attitudes, beliefs, and practices
Sexual Dimorphism
marked biological differences
-extend beyond genitals/secondary sex characteristics and include behavior, ornamentation, form and structure
Sex vs. Gender
Sex: biological

Gender: all traits, practices, attitudes, or beliefs that a specific culture assigns to, and attempts to transmit to, males and females
-is fluid and socially constructed
Gender Role
tasks, activities, or habits that society assigns to the sexes
Gender Stereotyping
the process through which we make blanket and oversimplified statements or hold ideas that force the sexes to portray certain characteristics or possess certain habits
Gender Stratification
the unequal distribution of or access to objects (socially important resources, power, prestige, wealth, education, rights, or freedoms) between men and women
-leads to real world differences that can reinforce stereotypical attitudes
Gender is treated more equally when:
1. there is equal control over products and people with freedom to control individual labor
2. roughly enough economic contributions by both sexes
3. no sharp division between the public and domestic spheres of lie
4. equal access to social prestige
Domestic-Public dichotomy
the contrast between the value of women's roles in the home when compared to men's roles in the public life
-arises from many different factors including economics, religion, education, and social values (not confused with misogyny)
-general social devaluation of the work and worth of women
Ways to trace kinship
1. patilocality (living with male's family)
2. matrilocality (living with female's family)
Ways to trace descent
1. patrineally (through the father)
2. matrilineally (through the mother)
Patriarchy vs. Matriarchy
Patriarchy: a political system where men play a more profound role in social and political organization

Matriarchy: a political system where women play a more profound role in social and political organization

-Matriarchies- low population density and abundant resources
-Patriarchies- high population density and scarce resources
Feminization of poverty
the increasing representation of women in lowest income brackets and among what we consider low socio-economic status
4 Types of Sexual Orientation
1. Heterosexual: opposite gender
2. Homosexual: same gender
3. Bisexual: both genders
4. Asexual: neither gender
Sexual behaviors
dictated by culture and vary greatly from culture to culture
Sexuality is...
fluid
Art
the expression of aesthetic principles of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance
Aesthetics
the appreciation and recognition of effects of art on the mind and body
Expressive culture
art = object
aesthetics = application
Two types of art
1. High art: museum arts, classics, mosaics
2. Folk art: practical art, ornamentation
How do anthropologists study art differently from other social scientists?
-art, religion, culture, agriculture, commerce can't be assumed to be different institutions
-focus on both the art and complex relationships
-how it's representative of local, national, or global cultures
Two school of art interpretation:
1. Relativists: art, and the interpretation of that art, is not connected to that artist; based on the experience with the art

2. Objectivists: art, and the interpretation of that art, cannot be separated from that artist; ultimate authority with the artist

-anthropologists accept both positions
Subfields
1. Visual anthropology: visual representation by cultures (art, performance, etc.)

2. Symbolic Anthropology: study of cultural symbols

3. Folklore: study of myth, legend, ritual, oral history, pop culture, etc.

4. Ethnomusicology: the study of social and cultural uses of music, dance, and instruments
Power vs. Authority
Power: the ability to exercise control over any, and all, facets of life

Authority: the right to exercise power with approval and is socially generated
Four Types of political organization
1. Band
2. Tribe
3. Chiefdom
4. State

-first three cannot be independently studied
Three main characteristics of a band:
1. Small population
2. Kin-based group (related by blood or marriage)
3. Forage for food
Four main characteristics of Tribes:
1. Small to moderate population
2. Organized groups of kin
3. Intensive food population
--horticulture
--pastoralism
4. No socio-economic stratification and no centralized rule
Two main characteristics of Chiefdom:
--intermediate form (between chiefdom and nation-state)

1. Differential access to power and resources based on kinship
2. They establish a permanent political structure to enforce political decisions upon their members
Four main characteristics of State:
1. Complex
2. Population is large and multi-ethnic
3. Formal government
4. High levels of socioeconomic stratification

--useful in understanding the sociopolitical organization (scale and complexity)
Four things states can do better:
1. Control population
2. Establish judicial systems and formalized law code
3. Enforce laws
4.Have a fiscal policy
Conflict Resolution and Law
--All societies have way to resolve conflict--socially regulated and socially settled

--only state organized societies use formalized code of conduct--with judicial systems and enforcement organizations
Leadership
1. Bands= Leader: power in name only

2. Tribes
-Village head: limited authority; leads by persuasion and example
-Big Man: regional authority; leads by reputation and authority

3. Chiefdom and States= Office: permanent political position usually hereditary position in chiefdoms and appointed/elected in states
Status
--any position

Two types:
1. Ascribed: no choice
2. Achieved: choice
Stratum
group within a multigroup society that have different social status and access to valuable resources
Differential access
when groups have unequal access to resources
-superordinate (elite)
-subordinate (underprivileged)
Three dimensions of stratification
1. Wealth: all material assets of an individual

2. Power: all opportunities to control others

3. Prestige: cultural capital, respect, and general worth of an individual
Open vs. Closed systems
Open: allows for mobility with merit, achievement, and ability (U.S.)

Closed: for limited or no mobility with birth or family status (rural India)
Language
-spoken and written

-allows us to discuss history, experiences, and feeling and to share it with others

-is arbitrary and learned
Animals use call sounds that differ from language in three ways:
1. possess a limited # of sounds
2. only used in times when certain stimuli are present
3. cannot be formed to combined complex ideas
Aspects of language
-Displacement: meta-thought

-Productivity: slang

-Cultural transmission
Sapir-Whorf Theory
Theory of language:

different languages create different ways of looking at the world
Adaptive Strategies
for survival in societies that are unrelated but similar

1. Foraging
2. Horticulture
3. Pastoralism
4. Agriculture
5. Industrialism
Foraging
-no management of natural resources

-substantially less work (than agriculture and pastoralism)

-exist on marginal lands
Horticulture
-uses none of the factors of production intensively

-4 modes of production
1. land
2. labor
3. money (capital)
4. machinery

-fallow farming, slash and burn, mixed field farming
Agriculture
-the intensive and continuous use of land and labor (does not mean non-mechanized)

-3 major improvements
1. domesticated animals
2. irrigation
3. terracing
=greater crop yields, more stable food supplies, larger populations
Pastoralism
-care for some species and depend on them for their food
-move constantly

-2 variations:
1. general pastoralism: all members move
2. transhumance: permanent settlement and some move
Economy
how population or society produces, distributes, allocates, and consumes resources
Modes vs. Means of production
Modes: way we organize production

Means: things we organize to produce
rational allocation for maximum profit
-originally most logical choice

now: you may choose to maximize other things like wealth, reputation, comfort, harmony, family or friends, etc.
Economic anthropologists are concerned with two things:
1. How are production, distribution, allocation, and consumption organized in different cultures?

2. What motivates inside cultures to do those things?
the basics of economics
we don't have anything so it makes us choose how we want to use our resources
Five "funds" or uses for the resources we have:
1. Subsistence (food)
2. Replacement (necessary technology)
3. Social (friends and family)
4. Ceremonial (religious)
5. Rent (shelter)
Driving forces for the market
supply and demand
Redistribution
collection and control of resources in populations
Reciprocity
exchange between social equals
Reciprocity continuum is how we measure the three types of exchanges:
1. Generalized exchange: giving to another with no immediate expectations for return
2. Balanced exchange: when gifts are given, a gift is expected. It does not have to be immediate
3. Negative exchange: you attempt to get what you want as cheaply as possible and by any means necessary
Family
-the most important social unit
-biologically and socially constructed
-a group of people who are considered to be related to eachother in some way (blood, marriage, tradition)
-vary b/w cultures
Two types of family:
1. Family of orientation = grown up in
2. Family of procreation / nuclear family = spouse, child
Neolocality
where the married couple lives with neither set of parents and moves off to live on their own
Collateral household
where children, spouses, live with their family of orientation
Extended household
three of more generations in one location
Descent groups
permanent social organization whose members claim a common ancestry

apical ancestors= original founders of lineage

two types:
1. lineage
2. clan
Lineage vs. Clan
Lineage: unilineal descent group that actually traces their ancestry back to a certain person or persons
--practice demonstrated descent

Clan: unlineal descent group that merely claims to descend from a certain person or persons
--stipulated descent
Exogamy vs. Endogamy
Exogamy: mating with or marrying someone outside of your own family real or constructed and/or outside of your social group
--cultural universal

Endogamy: mating with or marrying of someone inside your social group
Genitor vs. Pater vs. Mater
Genitor: you biological mother of biological father

Pater: socially recognized father

Mater: socially recognized mother
Bridewealth vs. Dowry
Bridewealth: husband pays the wife in exchange for the woman and her reproductive services
--more common


Dowry: wife pays the husband for increased cost of maintaining an extra member in the household
Religion
--creation of superhuman agency usually involving devotional and ritual observances and containing a moral code

--beliefs, practices, and rituals concerned with supernatural phenomenon

--cultural unversal

--core value
Fundamental characteristics of religion:
1. Supernatural
2. Fulfills human needs
3. Has a collective system of meaning
4. Explains things that are otherwise not able to be explained
5. Generally social
Sir Edward Burnett Tylor's stages of Religion
1. Animism
2. Polytheism
3. Monotheism
4. Scientific discovery
Magic
-can be set apart from religion, or can be a religion, itself

-2 types:
1. Imitative magic = voodoo
2. Contagious magic = Psycho-magic
Ritual
-established or prescribed procedure

-convey values, provide messages, and express sentiments

-encourage a common social order
Aspects of rituals
1. formed
2. stylized
3. repetitive
4. stereotyped
5. social
6. sincere
7. fixed
Rites of Passage
--socially constructed

--activities, or rituals, that separate major important events in the life of an individual

--transition periods

--liminality= the middle stage
Wallace's Typology of Religion
to explain what he thought was the evolution of human religion and how economic systems changed religion and religious practice
Shamanic
-Shamans
-Zoomorphic
-Foragers
Communal
-Shamans and organized community events

-Polytheistic (with deities controlling minor natural phenomenon)

-Horticulturalists, Agriculturalists, and Pastoral peoples
Olympian
-Professional priesthood (organized class of holy individuals) run by state

-Pantheon with distinct hierarchy and complete control over natural forces

-Chiefdom and archaic states (non-industrialized)
Monotheistic
-religious leaders from many denominations
-single supreme being
-states (industrialized)
The World System Theory
countries that were once economically and politically independent are now interdependent
-shaped by Capitalist world economy
Capitalist World Economy
-international trade
-create capitalist world system
-when countries are committed to production for external distribution to earn profit rather than internal distribution to supply domestic needs
World System Theory (Fernand Braudel)
--all societies have interrelated parts which form parts of system; societies, culture, countries, and religions are all sub-systems in a large world system

--there is a social system, based on wealth, prestige, and power, that extends beyond individual countries

--inequality around the globed through unequal access to that social system

--has (and continues to) shape economic, political, and social policies
World System Theory added (Wallerstein)
countries in the world as occupying places in a hierarchy that has three distinct positions
Three levels of World System
1. core/cores = dominant countries that have powerful state organizations and advanced methods of production

2. middle = export goods and commodities, lack power (either political or economic)

3. periphery = weakest with low level of industrialization, supply cheap labor, raw materials, and agricultural products
Three World System processes
1. Exploration
2. Exploitation
3. Industrialization
The Industrial Revolution
-move away from domestic production in favor of industrial production

-American colonies provided raw materials and markets for Britain
4 Reasons Britain was able to Industrialize faster than their neighbors
1. Huge population increases fueled demand for mass produced goods
2. Plentiful raw materials that are needed to create more durable metals and increase production
3. Quality navigation aided both import and export markets
4. The growth of Protestant work ethic
Karl Marx
-sees effects of Industrial stratification

-bourgeoisie (the owners) are different from the proletariat (the workers)

-the bourgeoisie begin the exploit the proletariat for personal gain; class consciousness (identity with economic group)

-workers were cut off from moving into the bourgeoisie b.c they were unable to access the resources the upper class possessed

--ideas apply today, except: while the workers might access the resources they have no control over resource use
-thus, inequalities exist around the globe
Three dimensions of stratification
1. Wealth = all the material assets of an individual

2. Power = all opportunities to control others

3. Prestige = cultural capital, respect, and general worth of an individual
Imperialism vs. Colonialism
Imperialism: the policy of extending your sovereignty over foreign nations, peoples or cultures, through either conquest or economic control

Colonialism: complete domination of a people by a foreign power
Post-colonialism- people reanylze their identities:
1. Acceptance of native beliefs
2. Acceptance of foreign beliefs
3. Acceptance of both sets of beliefs