Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
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 |