Cultural Anthropology Quiz Questions & Answers
Test Your Ethnography Knowledge
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge on the systematic study of people and cultures with our Ethnography quiz. From participant observation to digital ethnography, this quiz covers a wide range of topics related to the field of ethnography. Challenge yourself with questions on data collection methods, subgenres of e...
Test your knowledge on the systematic study of people and cultures with our Ethnography quiz. From participant observation to digital ethnography, this quiz covers a wide range of topics related to the field of ethnography. Challenge yourself with questions on data collection methods, subgenres of ethnography, and notable ethnographers. Whether you're an anthropology student or simply interested in learning more about the study of human cultures, this quiz is a great way to test your knowledge and expand your understanding of ethnography.
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1. What is ethnography?
- A branch of anthropology that studies individual cultures from the perspective of the subjects being studied
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2. What is the typical scope of an ethnographic study?
- A holistic study that includes a brief history, an analysis of the terrain, climate, and habitat
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3. What is participant observation?
- A data collection method where the researcher participates in the setting or with the people being studied
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4. What are some of the groups and organizations that ethnography has been used to study?
- Traditional communities, youth gangs, religious cults, and various organizations
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5. What is autoethnography?
- A form of ethnographic research in which a researcher connects personal experiences to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings
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6. What is digital ethnography?
- A type of ethnography that allows for more opportunities to look at different cultures and societies
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7. What is multispecies ethnography?
- A type of ethnography that focuses on both nonhuman and human participants within a group or culture
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8. What is relational ethnography?
- Studying fields rather than places or processes rather than processed people
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9. Who are some notable ethnographers?
- Clifford Geertz, Victor Turner, and Pierre Bourdieu
Are You an Expert on Participant Observation?
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge on participant observation as a research method with our quiz! From the history and pioneers of the method to the various techniques and stages involved, this quiz will challenge your understanding of participant observation. Sharpen your skills in analyzing personal documents, c...
Test your knowledge on participant observation as a research method with our quiz! From the history and pioneers of the method to the various techniques and stages involved, this quiz will challenge your understanding of participant observation. Sharpen your skills in analyzing personal documents, conducting interviews, and immersing oneself in the cultural environment. Get ready to navigate the ethical concerns and code of conduct for research as well. Take the quiz now to see how much you know about participant observation!
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1. What is participant observation?
- A qualitative research and ethnographic data collection method
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2. Who first coined the term participant observation?
- Eduard C. Lindeman
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3. Which of the following is NOT a method used in participant observation?
- Online surveys
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4. What is the duration of traditional participant observation?
- Several months to many years
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5. What are the four stages that most participant observation research studies go through?
- Getting to know the people, immersing oneself in the field, recording data and observations, and consolidating the information gathered
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6. What is the ethical concern of participant observation?
- The impact of the researcher's presence on the participants' behavior
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7. Which disciplines use participant observation?
- Anthropology and Sociology
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8. What is the purpose of participant observation?
- To gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals and their practices
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9. What is the role of self-analysis in participant observation?
- To analyze the researcher's own biases and preconceptions
Societal Structures
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of the sociological classification of human societies with this quiz! Explore the concept of social structure, including its definition, impact on larger systems, and role in social stratification. From macro to micro scales, discover the different ways in which social structure...
Test your knowledge of the sociological classification of human societies with this quiz! Explore the concept of social structure, including its definition, impact on larger systems, and role in social stratification. From macro to micro scales, discover the different ways in which social structure shapes the behavior of individuals and influences social norms. Test your understanding of key contributions from structuralist, feminist, Marxist, and functionalist perspectives, as well as contemporary theories from Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu. Take this quiz
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1. What is social structure?
- The patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of individuals.
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2. What do social structures significantly influence?
- Economic systems, legal systems, political systems, cultural systems, etc.
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3. What is social stratification?
- The idea of social structure to explain that most societies are separated into different strata (levels), guided (if only partially) by the underlying structures in the social system.
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4. What does social structure determine in a society?
- The norms and patterns of relations between the various institutions of the society.
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5. What does social structure pertain to on the macro scale?
- The system of socioeconomic stratification, social institutions, or other patterned relations between large social groups.
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6. What does social structure pertain to on the meso scale?
- The structure of social networks between individuals or organizations.
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7. What does social structure pertain to on the micro scale?
- The ways in which 'norms' shape the behavior of individuals within the social system.
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8. What is the relationship between social norms and social structure?
- Social norms are believed to influence social structure through relations between the majority and the minority.
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9. Who contributed to the development of social structure in the 20th century?
- Structuralist perspectives from Claude Lévi-Strauss, feminist, Marxist, functionalist, and a variety of other analytic perspectives.
Kinship and Family Structures Quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of kinship and family structures with our quiz! Explore the social relationships and patterns that form the foundation of human society, from descent groups to marriage customs. Learn about the history of kinship studies and the different ways that societies classify kinship rela...
Test your knowledge of kinship and family structures with our quiz! Explore the social relationships and patterns that form the foundation of human society, from descent groups to marriage customs. Learn about the history of kinship studies and the different ways that societies classify kinship relations. This quiz will challenge your understanding of biological and cultural factors that shape our understanding of kinship and family. Keywords: kinship, family, descent, marriage, anthropology, social relationships.
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1. What is kinship?
- The study of social relationships in one or more human cultures.
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2. What is the difference between affinity and descent group?
- Affinity refers to relationships that arise through marriage, while descent group refers to relationships that arise in one's group of origin.
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3. What is a descent group?
- A social group whose members talk about common ancestry.
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4. What is marriage?
- A socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws.
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5. What is the difference between endogamy and exogamy?
- Endogamy refers to marrying within one's social group, while exogamy refers to marrying outside one's group.
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6. Who developed the alliance theory?
- Claude Lévi-Strauss
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7. What did British social anthropology see kinship relations as?
- Concrete networks of relationships among individuals.
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8. What did George P. Murdock and Claude Lévi-Strauss attempt to find?
- Universal patterns in human kinship.
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9. What is the nurture kinship perspective of cultural anthropologists?
- Social bonds and kinship are mediated by shared social environments and processes of frequent interaction, care, and nurture.
Anthropological Linguistics Quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of Anthropological Linguistics with this quiz! From the origins of the field to its impact on visual perception and bioregional democracy, this quiz covers various branches of Anthropological Linguistics, including nomenclatural/classificational and ethnographic/sociolinguistics....
Test your knowledge of Anthropological Linguistics with this quiz! From the origins of the field to its impact on visual perception and bioregional democracy, this quiz covers various branches of Anthropological Linguistics, including nomenclatural/classificational and ethnographic/sociolinguistics. Challenge yourself with questions on phonology, morphology, and code-switching, and see how much you know about the social and cultural meaning of language. Don't miss this opportunity to explore the fascinating world of Anthrop
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1. What is anthropological linguistics?
- A subfield of anthropology that studies the role of language in its social and cultural context
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2. What is the focus of anthropological linguistics?
- The social and cultural meaning of language
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3. What is code-switching?
- Alternating between two or more languages in the context of a single conversation
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4. What is the difference between anthropological linguistics and linguistic anthropology?
- Anthropological linguistics uses more distinctly linguistic methodology, while linguistic anthropology uses more anthropological methods to analyze language through a cultural framework
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5. What are the two branches of anthropological linguistics?
- Nomenclatural/classificational and ethnographic/sociolinguistics
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6. What is the focus of sociolinguistics?
- How language relates to various social groups and identities like race, gender, class, and age
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7. What is the historical significance of anthropological linguistics?
- It grew in prominence during the early twentieth century when anthropologists and linguists worked in conjunction to analyze Native American languages and study how language related to the origins, distribution, and characteristics of these indigenous populations
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8. What is the relationship between anthropological linguistics and visual perception?
- It has had a major impact on the studies of visual perception, which is concerned with distinctions that are made in languages about perceptions of the surroundings
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9. What is bioregional democracy?
- An area-based, grassroots alternative to representative democracy that seeks to promote the health and sustainability of ecosystems
Cultural Materialism Quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of cultural materialism, an anthropological research orientation introduced by Marvin Harris. This scientific research strategy utilizes the scientific method and principles such as falsifiability, paradigms, and positivism to understand the relationship between a society's infra...
Test your knowledge of cultural materialism, an anthropological research orientation introduced by Marvin Harris. This scientific research strategy utilizes the scientific method and principles such as falsifiability, paradigms, and positivism to understand the relationship between a society's infrastructure, structure, and superstructure and social change. The quiz covers key principles such as etic and emic phenomena, probabilistic infrastructural determinism, and the rejection of the Marxist dialectic. See how well you know this influential approach to anthropology
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1. What is cultural materialism?
- A scientific research strategy that utilizes the scientific method and principles such as falsifiability, paradigms, and positivism
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2. Who introduced cultural materialism?
- Marvin Harris
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3. What does cultural materialism prioritize?
- Etic behavior phenomena
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4. What is probabilistic infrastructural determinism?
- A key principle of cultural materialism, arguing that infrastructure is the most significant force behind the evolution of a culture
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5. What is the relationship between social change and a society's infrastructure, structure, and superstructure according to Harris?
- Social change is dependent on a society's infrastructure, structure, and superstructure
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6. What does cultural materialism distinguish between?
- Behavioral events and ideas, values, and other mental events
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7. What is the relationship between material changes and patterns of social organization and ideology according to cultural materialism?
- Material changes determine patterns of social organization and ideology in turn
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8. What is the relationship between structure and superstructure and infrastructure according to cultural materialism?
- Structure and superstructure are not considered insignificant, epiphenomenal reflexes of infrastructural forces
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9. What is the relationship between cultural materialism and the Marxist dialectic?
- Cultural materialism rejects the Marxist dialectic
Symbolic Anthropology Quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of Symbolic Anthropology with our quiz! Learn about the cultural symbols that help us understand societies, the different approaches to symbolic anthropology, and the key figures who have shaped this field of study. From Clifford Geertz's interpretive approach to Victor Turner's...
Test your knowledge of Symbolic Anthropology with our quiz! Learn about the cultural symbols that help us understand societies, the different approaches to symbolic anthropology, and the key figures who have shaped this field of study. From Clifford Geertz's interpretive approach to Victor Turner's emphasis on symbols initiating social action, this quiz covers it all. Challenge yourself and see how much you know about the fascinating world of symbolic anthropology!
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1. What is symbolic anthropology?
- The study of cultural symbols and how they help understand a society
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2. Who are the major figures in symbolic anthropology?
- Clifford Geertz, David M. Schneider, Victor Turner, and Mary Douglas
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3. What are the two major approaches to symbolic anthropology?
- Interpretive and symbolic
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4. What is Geertz's interpretive approach?
- Humans need symbolic “sources of illumination” to orient themselves to the system of meaning in a particular culture
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5. Who is David M. Schneider?
- A key figure in symbolic anthropology who does not fall into either of the schools of thought
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6. What is Turner's concept of “Social Drama”?
- To describe social interactions that entail some sort of conflict in society, proposing their symbolic significance
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7. What is “Thick Description”?
- A term used often by Geertz to describe the purpose of symbolic and interpretive anthropology
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8. What is the focus of symbolic anthropology?
- A literary basis instead of an empirical one, focusing on tools like psychology and literature
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9. What is the relationship between anthropology and psychology?
- They have influenced one another from very early on, especially due to the influence of different figures such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Claude Lévi-Strauss
Unleash your literary theory prowess with our post-structuralism quiz
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
Test your knowledge of literary theory with our post-structuralism quiz! Explore the key concepts and ideas behind this philosophical movement, including the rejection of structuralism and the critique of binary oppositions. Discover the works of influential writers such as Roland Barthes, Jacques D...
Test your knowledge of literary theory with our post-structuralism quiz! Explore the key concepts and ideas behind this philosophical movement, including the rejection of structuralism and the critique of binary oppositions. Discover the works of influential writers such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Foucault, and learn about the emergence of post-structuralism in France during the 1960s. Challenge yourself to see if you can separate fact from fiction when it comes to the rigour and
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1. What is post-structuralism?
- A literary and philosophical theory that rejects structuralism's self-sufficiency and binary oppositions
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2. Who are some of the writers whose works are often characterized as post-structuralist?
- Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Jean Baudrillard
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3. What does structuralism propose?
- Human culture can be understood by means of a structure that is modeled on language
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4. What does post-structuralism critique?
- The notion proposed by structuralism
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5. When did post-structuralism emerge as a movement?
- During the 1960s in France
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6. What is the metalanguage according to Barthes?
- A systematized way of talking about concepts like meaning and grammar beyond the constraints of a traditional (first-order) language
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7. What did Derrida's lecture at Johns Hopkins propose?
- Theoretical limitations to Structuralism
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8. What was the period marked by the rebellion of students and workers against the state in May 1968?
- The period when post-structuralism emerged as a movement
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9. Has the rigour and legitimacy of the field been questioned by anyone?
- Yes, some observers from outside of the post-structuralist camp
Test Your Knowledge on Thick Description
9 multiple choice quiz questions with answers
How well do you understand human social action? Test your knowledge with our quiz on Thick Description! Discover the meaning behind this method of describing human social action, its origins, and its application in various disciplines. Challenge yourself to answer questions on the critical structure...
How well do you understand human social action? Test your knowledge with our quiz on Thick Description! Discover the meaning behind this method of describing human social action, its origins, and its application in various disciplines. Challenge yourself to answer questions on the critical structures, codes, and totality of situations. Learn about the difficulties and criticisms of this approach, as well as its importance in understanding culture as a system of meaning. Take the quiz now and see how much you know about thick description!
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1. What is thick description?
- A method of describing human social action that interprets the context of physical behaviors and subjective meanings provided by actors to aid understanding by outsiders
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2. Who popularized the concept of thick description?
- Clifford Geertz
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3. What does Geertz's thick description approach emphasize?
- Analysis and integration of observations, and understanding culture as semiotic, with signs and deeper meaning
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4. What is the purpose of thick description?
- To aid in overall understanding of findings by picking out critical structures, establishing codes, and showcasing the totality of a situation
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5. In which disciplines has thick description been used?
- Anthropology, literary criticism, and sociology
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6. What is the interpretive turn?
- A massive cultural shift in the social sciences towards meaning, which shifted from structural approaches as an interpretive lens
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7. What is the importance of thick description in understanding culture?
- It highlights the importance of contextual and textual information in understanding reality, language, and culture
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8. What is Geertz's method of descriptive ethnography credited with?
- Resuscitating field research from an endeavor of ongoing objectification to a more immediate undertaking, where participant observation embeds the researcher in the enactment of the settings being reported
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9. What is a criticism of thick description?
- Some theorists have pushed back on thick description, skeptical about its ability to somehow interpret meaning by compiling large amounts of data and questioned how this data was supposed to provide the totality of a society naturally
