Participant Observation in Social Research
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Questions and Answers

A researcher spends several months working at a local community center to understand the challenges faced by underprivileged youth. Which research approach is being used?

  • Survey research
  • Participant observation (correct)
  • Experimental design
  • Statistical analysis

Which of the following is a primary goal of participant observation in a social research setting?

  • To create operationalized variables of a phenomenon.
  • To develop a holistic understanding of complex social settings and relationships. (correct)
  • To manipulate variables to determine cause-and-effect relationships.
  • To establish a control group for comparative analysis.

A researcher wants to understand the dynamics within a technology startup. Besides observing team meetings, what other methods could they use to supplement their participant observation?

  • Analyzing the company's financial statements.
  • Conducting structured interviews with a pre-defined set of questions.
  • Conducting open-ended interviews with employees, and analyzing internal documents. (correct)
  • Administering standardized tests to employees.

In what key aspect does a researcher engaged in participant observation differ from a teacher who is observing their classroom?

<p>The researcher is more systematic and detached in their observations. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why might a researcher choose participant observation over a purely quantitative study?

<p>To gain a deeper, more nuanced understanding of a phenomenon that might be lost through quantification. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what way does participant observation help researchers understand the 'world' of their subjects?

<p>By sharing experiences, engaging in conversations, and participating in daily life. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A researcher is studying a hospital's organizational structure. How might they supplement their participant observation to gain a comprehensive understanding?

<p>By conducting open-ended interviews and examining official documents. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the role of theory in participant observation?

<p>Theory is generated and developed as a result of the researcher's immersion and observations. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do denotative symbols, important to empiricists, differ from abstract symbols?

<p>Denotative symbols directly correspond to visible elements, whereas abstract symbols are grounded in common experience but removed from direct visibility. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to the information, what is the key distinction between a 'sign' and a 'symbol'?

<p>A sign communicates a message in a specific context, while a symbol stands in place of something, and is able to abstract and recall. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following examples aligns with George Herbert Mead's illustration of animal communication within the context of signs?

<p>A lion roaring to establish territory among other lions. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the empiricist approach to knowledge acquisition influence their use of symbols, particularly denotative symbols?

<p>They emphasize precision and clarity in their work. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do ideological and substantive symbols relate to human needs, according to the information?

<p>They combine various symbols with the human need for purpose and direction. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which activity is LEAST aligned with the principles of multimodal ethnography?

<p>Using participant observation, focusing solely on researcher's interpretations. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which research activity best exemplifies 'grounded theory' in ethnographic research?

<p>Developing theoretical insights directly from the data collected during fieldwork. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A researcher is studying a remote island community. Which approach represents methodological triangulation?

<p>Combining participant observation with historical archive research and diverse community member interviews. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the concept of 'thick description,' as described by Clifford Geertz, enhance ethnographic research?

<p>By providing detailed context and meaning to observed behaviors and interactions. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does paralanguage modify the interpretation of spoken language?

<p>By adding emotional dimensions using tone and cadence. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does the understanding of speech production relate to the study of language?

<p>It provides insight into how articulated sounds are made. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In Anthropology, what does the statement 'all human languages are symbolic systems' suggest regarding the nature of language?

<p>Language uses symbols with culturally specific meaning. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the concept that 'culture is an integrated system' imply for cultural analysis?

<p>Changes in one aspect of culture can affect other aspects. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is the concept of arbitrariness important in the study of language?

<p>It underscores the conventional nature of the connection between linguistic forms and their meanings. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to descriptive linguistics, what does syntax primarily govern?

<p>The rules of the language with which words are arranged. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of great ape communication, how does the gesture-call system relate to the evolution of human language?

<p>It suggests a potential evolutionary link between non-verbal communication and spoken language. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

The study of semantics primarily focuses on which aspect of language?

<p>The meanings of words and phrases. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What key features are common across all communication systems, including those used by humans and other species?

<p>A mode of communication, semanticity, and a pragmatic function. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean to say that all languages are 'rule-driven'?

<p>Languages are based on underlying principles of grammar. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why are 'dialect' and 'language' considered not very useful in describing actual language variation?

<p>They highlight the complex continuum along the linguistic spectra. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the central argument made by proponents of monogenism during the 19th century?

<p>Racial differences are superficial and do not justify social hierarchies. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did colonial powers utilize polygenic concepts after the abolition of the slave trade?

<p>To justify brutal colonial practices by asserting the inherent inferiority of colonized groups. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which concept did Herbert Hope Risley employ in India to map racial categories onto the caste system?

<p>The nasal index. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role does examining 'transnational blackness' play in contemporary Black, African American, and Africana Studies?

<p>It explores blackness both as a site of oppression and as a source of resistance and solidarity. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What critical step is suggested for cultural anthropology to advance racial equity?

<p>Developing a disciplinary origin story that acknowledges past biases and expands the canon. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following would best describe the main difference between 'race' and 'ethnicity'?

<p>Race is a flawed classification system using physical traits, while ethnicity is based on shared heritage and culture. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is 'Racial Constructivism' as it relates to the understanding of race?

<p>The perspective that race and racial categories are constructed over time through socio-historical processes. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following figures advocated for monogenism while also proposing a five-race map of humanity?

<p>Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which figures are recognized for initiating the early usage of polygenism?

<p>Lord Kames and David Hume (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is participant observation, and what challenge does it pose to social science methodology?

<p>It is a method involving immersion in a culture; it raises questions about epistemology and challenges scientific traditions. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In participant observation, what is the primary role of thorough field notes?

<p>To capture the nuances of the observed environment systematically and accurately. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In participant observation, how are the scientific interests of the observer related to the culture being studied?

<p>They are interdependent with the cultural framework of the people being studied. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can researchers test hypotheses that emerge from participant observation data?

<p>By introducing leading questions in the field and reviewing field notes with the hypothesis in mind. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role does intuition play in participant observation, according to the text?

<p>It is less important than empiricism and rationalism. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a key characteristic of social scientific data, according to the text?

<p>Social scientific data are symbolic. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the key procedures involved in analyzing field notes and collected data in participant observation?

<p>Intensive reading of notes, coding paragraphs into categories and using content analysis techniques. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which intellectual movement is closely associated with the initial articulation of polygenism as a scientific concept?

<p>The Enlightenment (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes a study based on participant observation from other research methods?

<p>The description and analysis of a setting based on systematically collected and analyzed data. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the complementary relationship between ethnography's research and reporting aspects?

<p>Ethnography treats field investigation and the presentation of findings as equally important components. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the core principle of cultural relativism?

<p>The belief that all cultures are equally valid and should not be judged by external standards. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was James Cowles Prichard's view on the geographical origin of humanity?

<p>Africa (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did Boas challenge the concept of race?

<p>By using ethnographic data to challenge racial hierarchies and emphasize unique histories. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does ethnography's approach to understanding complex social phenomena differ from more traditional scientific methods?

<p>Ethnography emphasizes 'thick descriptions' to capture the nuances of everyday life, unlike traditional methods that prioritize generalizable data. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the ethnographic aim to 'stay with the trouble' of contemporary lives?

<p>To avoid easy answers and engage with the complexities and contradictions inherent in people's experiences. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Geertz, what is culture?

<p>The fabric of meaning through which humans interpret experience and guide action. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why was Geertz's notion of culture-as-text unsettling for some anthropologists?

<p>It challenged the idea that anthropologists could provide objective and authoritative accounts. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is the representation of historical legacies and scientific canons considered a 'positioned act' in ethnography?

<p>All representations are influenced by the perspectives and contexts of those creating them. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary goal of early anthropological fieldwork, as it became the central methodology of the field?

<p>To disprove theories of racism, eugenics, and evolutionism by understanding diverse cultures. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the main critique offered by contributors to the volume Writing Culture?

<p>That traditional ethnography often overlooks the partiality of ethnographic descriptions. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What characterized the 'scientism turn' in anthropology during the 1960s-1980s?

<p>An increased focus on applying scientific principles like replication and comparison to anthropological research. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

When defining culture as 'a repertoire of socially learned practices and beliefs' what implications does that have?

<p>It does not necessarily imply homogeneity, boundedness, or even sharing of those practices and beliefs. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why are narratives and observations from fieldwork considered 'particular' and 'partial'?

<p>Because fieldwork encounters are always limited and influenced by the researcher's perspective. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A researcher is conducting a participant observation study in a local community center. Which action would demonstrate a commitment to maintaining systematic and accurate field notes?

<p>Recording detailed descriptions of activities and including direct quotes whenever possible. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How have digitized networks and collaborative research transformed traditional fieldwork practices?

<p>By making interlocutors and research partners more aware of anthropology's potential impact. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

An ethnographer studying a religious community notices inconsistencies between what members say they believe and how they act. How might they address this using Geertz's concept of 'culture-as-text'?

<p>By interpreting both the stated beliefs and actions as 'texts' that offer insights into the community's culture. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In what ways can focus group discussions contribute to a deeper understanding of social issues during fieldwork?

<p>They create awareness of stigma-related emotions and foster collective action. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

A researcher aims to test the hypothesis that increased social media use correlates with decreased face-to-face interactions among teenagers. How can this hypothesis be tested effectively using participant observation?

<p>By observing and recording patterns in online and offline interactions and testing the hypothesis against the action. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is mutual trust and long-term commitment essential when exploring individuals' emotional life stories during fieldwork?

<p>To fulfill ethical responsibilities, recognizing that not every story should be shared publicly. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

An anthropologist is studying a remote island culture and notices practices that seem illogical from an outside perspective. How would a cultural relativist approach these observations?

<p>Documenting the practices without judgment and seeking to understand them within the island's cultural context. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which activity exemplifies participant observation?

<p>Living within a community for an extended period, participating in daily activities, and taking detailed notes. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean to say that ethnography 'turns someone's everyday place into a thing called a 'field''?

<p>Ethnography turns mundane places into spaces of investigation and knowledge production. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do limitations like restricted funding and increasing ecological awareness impact the creation of ethnographic knowledge?

<p>They necessitate new forms of knowledge construction, such as online collaborations and public engagement. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following figures is NOT directly associated with the development of ethnography or related social theories mentioned in the provided text?

<p>Albert Einstein (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Franz Boas advocated for which of the following concepts, opposing prevailing theories of his time?

<p>Monogenism, emphasizing the shared ancestry and unity of all human populations. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How did anthropologists in the 1960s-80s use inspiration from linguistics and cognitive science?

<p>To construct cognitive models, cultural classifications, and taxonomies for more systematic analysis. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do political and cultural factors influence the distinction between a dialect and a language?

<p>Political and cultural considerations can override linguistic similarities, leading mutually unintelligible varieties to be classified as the same language or mutually intelligible varieties as different languages. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What role does language contact play in linguistic evolution?

<p>Language contact can lead to significant changes in vocabulary, pronunciation, and syntax as languages interact. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why is a language's 'standard' form considered to have special prestige?

<p>Because it is spoken by people who have the greatest amount of prestige, power, and wealth within the community. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Whorf's hypothesis, how does language influence culture?

<p>Language influences how its speakers perceive the world, which in turn affects their behavior and culture. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements accurately describes African American Vernacular English (AAVE)?

<p>AAVE is a dialect of American English with its own set of complex, rule-driven grammar rules and a distinctive history. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do sign languages demonstrate that they are true languages?

<p>Sign languages are based on a gestural-visual mode and have structural elements comparable to phonemes, morphemes and grammatical rules. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary focus of historical linguistics?

<p>The study of how languages change over time, including their relationships and origins. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How has globalization affected the world's languages?

<p>Globalization has led to the spread of some languages while threatening the survival of others, particularly through colonization and cultural dominance. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the primary consequences of language death?

<p>Language death leads to the loss of associated culture, knowledge, and unique worldviews. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the concept of 'arbitrariness' in the context of language?

<p>The lack of a direct, obvious connection between a symbol and its referent. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'paralanguage' refer to in the study of communication?

<p>The nonverbal elements of speech, such as tone, pitch, and tempo. (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do cultural understandings of family and marriage vary across societies?

<p>Societies have diverse ideas about how people are related, ideal marital arrangements, when to have children, and who should care for them. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How can 'family' be defined?

<p>The smallest group of individuals who see themselves as connected to one another, often residing together and sharing economic responsibilities. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was the prevailing view of human origins among European natural philosophers before the 1700s?

<p>All humans are a single species with a single origin, descended from Adam and Eve (monogenism). (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

When did the theory of polygenism arise?

<p>The mid-1600s. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Participant Observation

A research approach where the researcher spends a long time with subjects in their normal environment.

Purpose of Participant Observation

To gain a complete and detailed understanding of social settings and relationships.

Researcher's Role in Participant Observation

Researchers participate, converse, and share experiences to understand the subjects' world.

Supplementing Fieldwork

Combining fieldwork with other methods like interviews and document analysis.

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Open-ended Interviews

Offers additional insights and can establish rapport characterized by intimacy.

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Official Documents and Records

Records that help understand how record keepers construct their world.

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Researcher's Detachment

A researcher has no direct personal interest, and they can devote full time and attention to the work.

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Systematic Observations

The researcher has more systematic observations.

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Field Notes

Systematic, complete, accurate, and detailed records of that which was observed.

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Qualitative Data

Data rich in description, understanding, and detail but not subject to quantitative procedures.

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Holistic Understanding

Understanding complex social settings and relationships by seeing them in their entirety.

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Culture

The fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action. A repertoire of socially learned practices and beliefs.

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Ethnography

A research method that systematically describes contemporary cultures, based on fieldwork.

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Cultural Relativism

The principle that an individual human’s beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual’s own culture.

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Polygenism

The theory that the human races are of different origins.

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Culture & Meaning

Culture comprises categories of meaning derived from social life itself.

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Culture as Unique

Individual cultures should be understood as unique products of local histories, not reducible to universal processes.

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Importance of Field Notes

Thorough field notes are essential for capturing the nuances of the observed environment.

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Testing Hypotheses

Ensures the validity and reliability of the research findings.

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Ethnography Critique

Highlights the partiality of ethnographic descriptions and the constructed nature of cultural narratives.

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Traditional Ethnography

Traditional ethnography privileged anthropologists’ accounts while banishing any reference to their own subjective states or the political and personal complexities of fieldwork.

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Culture in Social Science

Culture has become a foundational concept in social science, influencing much of 20th-century research.

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Empiricism

Knowledge gained through sensory experience, contrasting with ethical or normative knowledge.

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Sign

A human expression communicating a message in a specific situation.

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Symbol

Stands in place of something else, involving abstraction and recall.

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Denotative Symbols

Symbols that refer to visible, concrete elements.

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Abstract Symbols

Symbols removed from the visible world, built from common experience.

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Monogenism

The idea that all humans come from a single ancestral pair.

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Thick Descriptions

Detailed, in-depth descriptions of complex social data and everyday life.

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Ethnographic Strength

Systematically assembling participant perspectives and creatively combining data dimensions.

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Positioned Act

Acknowledging that representations reflect the perspectives and politics of the summarizer.

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Anthropological Fieldwork

Long-term cohabitation, participant observation, and language learning in a community.

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'Scientism turn'

Emphasized replication, validity, and comparison in anthropological studies.

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Partiality in Fieldwork

The idea that narratives and observations are always limited and require comparison.

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Positionality

Awareness of the researcher's own biases and their impact on the research.

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Collaborative Ethnography

Collaborative research practices replacing single-authored narratives.

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Trust in Fieldwork

Building trust and language proficiency to understand emotional life stories.

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Ethical Responsibility

The ethical responsibility to not publicly share every story learned during fieldwork.

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Ethnographic Field

The transformation of a common location into a site of ethnographic research.

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New Knowledge Formats

Limits to traditional fieldwork leading to new online and public collaborations.

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Aware Interlocutors

Interlocutors and research partners are conscious about anthropology's potential harm and benefits

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Fieldwork

Long-term cohabitation and immersion in a community's daily life.

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Grounded Theory

Theory generated from empirical data.

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Methodological Triangulation

Using varied data sources and perspectives.

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Multimodal Ethnography

Using different media and artifacts in participant observation.

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Human Languages

Systems using symbols to convey meaning.

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Paralanguage

Characteristics of speech beyond actual words.

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Communication Features

Mode of communication, semanticity, and pragmatic function.

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Language

A system of communication.

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Descriptive Linguistics

The study of language structures.

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Syntax Rules

How to put morphemes together grammatically.

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Semantics

Study of word and morpheme meanings.

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Dialect and Language

Variations of language that are not easily defined.

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Dialect vs. Language

Factors like politics and culture determine if speech variations are dialects or languages.

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Language Change

Language contact and internal changes lead to shifts in vocabulary, pronunciation, and syntax.

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Language Standard

A language standard is a variant given prestige, spoken by those with power and wealth.

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Linguistic Relativity

Language influences how its speakers perceive the world, think, behave, and shape culture.

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African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

A complex, rule-driven dialect of American English with a unique history.

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Sign Languages

Sign languages are true languages using gestural-visual modes with their own grammar.

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Historical Linguistics

The study of how languages evolve, classifying them into families.

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Globalization

The global spread of cultures, languages, products, and ideas, accelerated by technology.

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Language Death

The extinction of a language, leading to loss of culture and knowledge.

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Arbitrariness

No inherent connection between a symbol and what it represents.

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Phonology

The study of the sounds of language.

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Family

The smallest group seeing themselves connected.

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Race

A flawed classification system using physical characteristics to divide the human population into discrete groups.

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Ethnicity

Shared heritage, ancestry, origin myth, history, homeland, language, and norms.

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Racial Constructivism

A perspective stating that race and racial categories have been constructed over time.

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Anthropology

The new science of race.

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Colonial Powers

Weaponizing polygenic concepts to justify brutal colonial behaviour.

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Black, African American, and Africana Studies

Examining the role that Africa and African diasporas have played in the founding of anthropology, and in global race systems.

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Cultural anthropology's role

Developing a version of our disciplinary origin story – one that not only considers cultural anthropology's fight against racism, but also acknowledges its biases and blind spots.

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Understanding Human Relationships

Understanding human relationships.

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The scientific interests

The scientific interests of the participant observer are interdependent with the cultural framework of the people being studied.

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Epistemological traditions

Empiricism, rationalism, and intuition are epistemological traditions that inform participant observation.

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The technique of observation

Raises fundamental questions about epistemology and challenges scientific traditions.

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The participant observer

The participant observer seeks to understand the social facts and meanings within a prescribed area of study, interested in people as they are, not as they should be.

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Social scientific data

Understood by understanding different types of symbols

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Study Notes

Participant Observation

  • Participant observation involves a researcher spending a significant amount of time with their subjects in their normal environment.
  • The researcher participates in daily activities, conversations, and experiences to understand the subjects' perspectives.
  • It aims for a holistic understanding of social settings, resisting the reduction of complexity into isolated variables.
  • Participant observers supplement fieldwork with methods such as open-ended interviews and analysis of official documents.
  • The primary distinction from typical observation is objectivity, full-time commitment, and systematic data collection.
  • Detailed field notes are crucial for capturing the nuances of the observed environment.
  • Data analysis involves intensive reading of notes, coding, and content analysis.
  • Resulting studies should describe and analyze a setting based on systematically collected and analyzed data.
  • Key words: Participant Observation, Qualitative Data, Field Notes, Holistic Understanding.
  • Important Figures: Robert Bogdan, Florian Zananiecki and W. I. Thomas, Edwin Sutherland, Frederic Thrasher, Clifford Shaw, Blanche Geer.

Culture

  • Culture, which has been transformed in meaning, is now a central element of the modern social scientific paradigm.
  • Boas challenged racism by arguing cultures are products of unique, local histories, not universal processes.
  • Geertz defined culture as the fabric of meaning through which humans interpret experience and action.
  • Geertz's culture-as-text concept highlights the complexities of ethnographic interpretation.
  • The volume Writing Culture critiques ethnographic construction, emphasizing the partiality of accounts.
  • Defining culture as learned practices and belief systems doesn't necessarily equate to homogeneity or shared understanding.
  • Keywords: Culture, Ethnography, Cultural Relativism, Polygenism, Monogenism.
  • Important Figures: Franz Boas, Robert Lowie, Alexander Goldenweiser, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Clifford Geertz, Renato Rosaldo, James Clifford, Tim Ingold, Jan Brumann, Lene Pedersen, Lisa Cliggett, David Gartman, Maura Mandyck.

Fieldwork, Ethnography, and Knowledge Construction

  • Ethnography is the act of investigation and the reporting of empirical findings.
  • Ethnography offers 'thick descriptions' of complex social data to help outsiders understand the subject's point of view.
  • It combines participant perspectives and various data dimensions.
  • Representations of legacies and scientific canons are positioned acts and subject to political landscapes.
  • Fieldwork involves long-term cohabitation, participant observation, language learning, and immersion in communities.
  • The goal of this approach is to understand different cultures by disproving racism, eugenics, and evolutionism.
  • Narratives from fieldwork are 'particular' and 'partial', needing constant comparison with other data and perspectives.
  • Digitized networks and collaborative research have transformed fieldwork practices.
  • Activities such conducting focus groups discussion foster awareness of emotion.
  • Established trust comes with ethical responsibility in fieldwork.
  • Ethnography turns an everyday place into a research field.
  • New knowledge construction adapts to resource limits and ecological awareness.
  • Keywords: Ethnography, Fieldwork, Thick Descriptions, Grounded Theory, Methodological Triangulation, Multimodal Ethnography.
  • Important Figures: Michael Fischer, Antonius Robben and Jeffrey Sluka, Clifford Geertz, Bryant and Charmaz, Glaser and Strauss, Donna Haraway, George Stocking, A.C. Haddon, Franz Boas, BronisÅ‚aw Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Margaret Mead, Raymond Firth, Evans-Pritchard, DuBois, Leach, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Mary Douglas, Fredrik Barth, Louis Dumont, Karl Heider, Beatrice and John Whiting, Robert LeVine, Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Barbara Tedlock, Michelle Rosaldo, Renato Rosaldo, James Clifford, George Marcus, Talal Asad, Vincent Crapanzano, Stephen Tyler, Mary Louise Pratt, Ruth Behar, Deborah Gordon, James Peacock and Dorothy Holland, Raymond Madden, M.D. LeCompte, K. Kohrs, T. Stodulka, R. Stoller, Varvantakis and Nolas, Coleman, Pink, A. Appadurai, T. Asad, N. Barley, F. Barth.

Language and Culture

  • Culture is an integrated system of mental elements, behaviors, and material items.
  • Languages are symbolic systems that utilize symbols to convey meaning.
  • Different speech sounds are made by exhaling air from the lungs, which then pass through the larynx.
  • Human communication began with great apes who communicated with gestures.
  • Paralanguage includes characteristics of speech beyond words, such as pitch and tempo, that convey additional meaning.
  • Human language differs qualitatively and quantitatively from other species' communication.
  • All communication systems share basic features, like a mode of communication and semanticity.
  • All human cultures feature and use language to communicate.
  • Descriptive linguistics studies the structure of language.
  • Syntax governs how morphemes are combined meaningfully.
  • Semantics focuses on word meanings.
  • "Dialect" and "language" have inconsistent application due to political and cultural factors.
  • Language contact and linguistic processes contribute to Language changes.
  • Any language's standard form gains prestige within the community.
  • The words and structures of language influence the way in which speakers behave and think.
  • African American Vernacular English follows rules that render it grammatically consistent and a dialect of American English.
  • Sign languages use a gestural-visual model that makes them true languages and different than English.
  • Historical linguistics studies how languages change.
  • Globalization spreads culture and language.
  • Many languages face extinction and the loss of culture, knowledge, and worldview it comes with.
  • Keywords: Culture, Symbol, Arbitrariness, Paralanguage, Design Features, Language Universals, Descriptive Linguistics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Historical Linguistics, Globalization, Language Death.
  • Important Figures: Charles Hockett, Noam Chomsky, Benjamin Whorf, Edward Sapir, William the Conqueror.

Family and Marriage

  • Cultural understandings of family and marriage vary widely across societies.
  • A family can be defined as connected individuals.
  • Families are the smallest unit in kinship groups who share the same rights, responsibilities, location and economic opportunities.
  • Key-word: Family, Kinship system.
  • Important figure: Mary Kay Gilliland.
  • Families are a significant part of understanding society.

Race and Ethnicity

  • Prior to the 1700s, most people in Europe believed in monogenism, the idea that all humans are a single species with a single origin.
  • Figures of the Enlightenment advocated polygenism, which is used to name the new science of race 'anthropology'.
  • Even after the 1700's, some people like Blumenbach used a race map to defend monogenism while also undercutting slavery.
  • Polygenic concepts were used to justify colonial endeavors even after abolishing the slave trade.
  • Studying Black, African American, and Africana helps find the roles that Africa has played in the foundation of anthropology and global race systems.
  • Cultural anthropology helps with scholarship and advocacy around racial equity.
  • Keywords: Monogenism, Polygenism, Race, Ethnicity, Racial Constructivism.
  • Important Figures: Isaac de La Peyrère, Hugo Grotius, François Bernier, François-Marie Voltaire, David Hume, Lord Kames (Henry Home), Immanuel Kant, Georg W. F. Hegel, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, James Cowles Prichard, Herbert Hope Risley, Paul Topinard, S.F. Moore, M.F. Frederick, M. Marable, V. Agard-Jones, A. Mbembe, J. Pierre, J. Besteman, F.V. Harrison, M. Mukhopadhyay, E. Shanklin, B. Malinowski, M. Mead, W.E.B. Du Bois, C.B. Day, Z.N. Hurston.

The Methodology of Participant Observation

  • The importance of understanding human relationships in participant observation in social science requires further examination.
  • Scientific interests of the participant observer are interdependent with people's cultural framework.
  • Empiricism, Rationalism and intuition are epistemological traditions that inform the observer.
  • Social scientific data has symbols, empiricism gives it precision and clarity.
  • Signs communicate a message at a time, while symbols stand in place of a referent that helps the subject recall certain things.
  • Denotive symbols are used to refer to visible elements in a human's vision.
  • Abstract symbols build symbolic fundaments out of common experience.
  • Ideological symbols and substantive symbols combine symbols with the human need for direction and purpose.

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Explore participant observation as a qualitative research method. Understand its goals, applications, and how it differs from other observation methods. Learn how researchers immerse themselves in a setting to gain in-depth insights.

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