Anthropology Review PDF

***[Terms:]*** **Anthropology:** Holistic and integrated approach to the study of human cultural and biological variation. Concerned with evolution and expressions of cultural and human biological variation. **Bio-cultural approach:** Recognize the pervasiveness and dynamism of interaction betwe...

***[Terms:]*** **Anthropology:** Holistic and integrated approach to the study of human cultural and biological variation. Concerned with evolution and expressions of cultural and human biological variation. **Bio-cultural approach:** Recognize the pervasiveness and dynamism of interaction between biological and cultural phenomena, and explicitly strive to integrate biological, sociocultural, environmental, and other kinds of data. **Culture:** Traditions and customs that govern behavior and belief;: distinctly human; transmitted through learning. Culture is learned, symbolic, shared, all encompassing, integrated, and adaptive. **Cultural anthropology:** Studies human cultural behavior. Human cultural systems. Variations in cultural expressions among human groups. **Ethnographies:** Ethnography is a qualitative method for collecting data often used in the social and behavioral sciences. Data are collected through observations and interviews, which are then used to draw conclusions about how societies and individuals function. Descriptive studies of human societies. Form basis for comparative studies of numerous cultures. **Linguistic anthropology:** Studies language as a human characteristic and attempts to explain differences among existing languages. Looks at relationship of language and culture. **Biological (Physical) Anthropology:** Studies humans as biological species. Focus on human genetics evolution, fossil record, biology of living populations, and primatology. **Archaeology:** Studies past human cultures through material remains. Focus on human remains, plant and animals used, tools, ceramics/ **Applied Anthropology:** Practical application of anthropological theories and methods outside the academic setting. Ex: genetic and biomedical research, public health evolutionary medicine, medical anthropology, conservation of nonhuman primates, and positions in museums and zoos. **Ethnocentrism:** Using your own society to interpret and judge other societies. **Cultural relativism:** Attempting to analyze and understand cultures other than one's own without judging them in terms of one's own culture. **Etic and Emic Perspectives:** *Etic perspectives*: The study of a society using concepts that were developed outside of that culture (outsider or observer). [Emic perspective:] The study of a society through the eyes of the people being studied. **Universal human rights:** Invokes a realm of justice and morality beyond and superior to the ;laws and costumes of particular countries, cultures, and religions. Ex: Right to speak freely, to hold religious beliefs without persecution, and not to be murdered, injured, enslaved, or imprisoned without charge. Avoidance of harm: "death, pain, disability, or loss of freedom or pleasure that results from an act by one human to another" (Gert 1988:47-49). **Female Genital Mutilation:** Violence against women, children, people. "Avoidance of harm". Anthropologists can be the broker between the cultural group and the international government and nongovernmental agencies. Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. **Anthropological fieldwork:** Anthropologist write a lot. Fieldwork: participating in order to write (Emerson ET AL. 2011) To jog and correct memories from the field. Incomplete no matter how thorough. QM: Quality matters. **Head notes:** Important things that happened that you missed. Go back later and jot them down. Rewrite your notes, adding details. **Language:** Systems of symbols and arbitrary meanings, enable speakers to communicate about immediate and remote events. **Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis:** Language and culture mutually influential. Linguistics relativity. a hypothesis, first advanced by Edward Sapir in 1929 and subsequently developed by Benjamin Whorf, that the structure of a language determines a native speaker\'s perception and categorization of experience. **Semantics:** Analyze the "big picture" of what people mean when they say certain things. Semantics acknowledges that word choice and context matter. **Historical Linguistics:** Sir William Jones, 18th century - Language a source for comparison - - **Diachronic:** "Through time" (historical linguistic) **Synchronic:** "With time" Study of languages at one particular point in time, **Signifier:** Word indicating something **Signified:** Thought of that thing **Indexical:** When the signifier is caused by the signified. **Iconic:** When the signifier suggests the meaning of the signified. **Symbols:** Arbitrary signs **Paradigmatic Saussurian System:** Relationships that ties signs together because the could occur in same slot **Syntagmatic Saussurian System:** When a sign in one slot means that something happens on other slot **Semiotics:** Study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretations - **Globalization:** Not necessarily new. But now it is faster and widespread. Rapid change can be detrimental. Increased urbanization. Describes the growing interdependence of the world\'s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information. **Cultural reproduction:** Replication of cultural traits to enhance survival **Modes of production** Ways of (Re)producing, bodies, communities and culture - - - - ***[Authors/Anthropologists -- Know their contribution to Anthropology or their article that we've read]*** **Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban:** "Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights" Fluehr-Lobban is a specialist in Islamic law, anthropology and ethics, human rights, cultural relativism and universal rights, and has authored texts books on Islamic societies and on race and racism. **Richard Lee:** "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari " He is internationally known for his studies of hunting and gathering societies, particularly field-work among the the Ju/\'hoansi-! Kung San of Botswana and Namibia. His research findings and theories have argued that sharing and cooperation, not competition and aggression, have been the key to our success as a species. **Juliana Flinn:** "Reflections of a Shy Ethnographer" She received her Ph. D. in anthropology from Stanford University in 1982. Her research interests include Micronesia, cultural identity, kinship, gender, migration, and dance, and her teaching interests include cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and ethnographic methods. **Michael Agar:** "The circle" Historical linguistics Sir William Jones, 18th century - Language a source for comparison - - **Deborah Tannen:** "Fighting for Our Lives" Argument culture, debates. **Enid Schildkrout:** "Body as a visual art" Body art as visual language. She has done fieldwork in many parts of Africa, focussing on Ghana and Nigeria, where her work has included studies of urban ethnicity, migration, and women and children in Islamic societies. She has also curated many African art and ethnology exhibitions on the art of the Congo and West Africa. **Ralph Linton:** Early interest in archaeology. Curators, american indian and oceanic collections, field museum of natural history. PhD, Harvard 1925. Taught Wisconsin, Columbia and yale. One Hundred Percent American. **Conrad Kottak:** "Globalization of a Brazilian fishing community". One community observed over 45 years, 1962-2007. 1980 changes: motorization, paved road factories. 2000s: ecological awareness. **Billy Evans Horse:** "A TRIBAL CHAIR PERSPECTIVE ON INHERENT SOVEREIGNTY" "Sacred Pipe in Modern Life " Tribal Chair's Perspective on Inherent Sovereignty" Tribal sovereignty vs. inherent sovereignty. "I give you a language and I want you to speak this language. When you stop speaking this language, there will be no more Kiowas" Why does the author begin this piece with a traditional story? What is the relationship of this story of the Kiowa widow and her grandson to the rest of the essay? 2\. The author presents different examples of how Kiowa culture has changed. Identify and discuss three examples from the essay. How are these connected? 3\. How have the Kiowa been incorporated into a global economy? What are the consequences for them? How are they responding? **Edward Sapir:** Notable Linguistic anthropologist. His theoretical work on the relationship between the individual personality and culture remains a major part of culture theory in anthropology, as does his insistence on the symbolic nature of culture and the importance of culture as understood and articulated by its members. **Benjamin Whorf:** Notable Linguistic anthropologist. His experience in languages and cultures lead him to establish the notion of the culture--language equation at Yale University. This theory is known as linguistic relativity, Whorf\'s linguistic relativity hypothesis, or the Sapir Whorf hypothesis. The theory studies the link between human thinking and human language. **Ferdinand de Saussure:** Swiss, radical approach - Darwin's disease - - - ***[Places -- know their significance in the text]*** **Kalahari Desert:** **Micronesia:** **Arembepe, Brazil:** ***[Concepts:]*** **What's the point of anthropology?** Define what it means to be human. Identifying the range of humans beliefs and behaviors. Identify human universals. "To make the strange familiar and the familiar strange". **What are the limits to cultural relativism?** Few take an extreme relativist position. But moral judgements can be assessed and argued from a social scientific perspective. Anthropologist dilemma: double- standard in violence against women. "At times relativism may frame and enlightened the debate, but, in the end, moral judgment and human rights take precedence and choices must be made." **What are the qualities of good notes?** - - - - - - **Why were the !Kung Bushmen not nice to Lee?** **Distrust of Outsiders**: The !Kung had historically faced exploitation and misunderstanding from outsiders. Their skepticism towards Lee may have stemmed from this history, leading them to be cautious or unwelcoming. **Cultural Norms**: The !Kung have different social norms and expectations about relationships and interactions. Lee\'s behavior or approach might not have aligned with their cultural practices, causing friction. **Resource Competition**: The arrival of researchers often brings changes to local resources or social dynamics. The !Kung may have perceived Lee as a threat to their way of life or access to resources. **Miscommunication**: Language barriers and misunderstandings can lead to negative perceptions. What might have been intended as friendly behavior could have been interpreted differently by the !Kung. **What did Flinn say that offended her informant/friend in Micronesia?** In her research in Micronesia, anthropologist Eleanor Flinn made a comment that offended her informant and friend w[hen she remarked on the importance of "being honest" in their interactions. This statement was interpreted by her informant as an implication that they were not honest, which clashed with their cultural norms around communication and relationships.In many cultures, including some in Micronesia, direct comments about honesty can be seen as disrespectful or accusatory, as they challenge the underlying trust and social bonds.] Flinn\'s intention was likely not to offend, but it highlights how cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings in communication. This incident underscores the importance of sensitivity to cultural contexts when conducting ethnographic research. **What was the goal of early linguistics and how did Saussure change that?** **What are some examples of a Saussurian system (The Circle by Agar gives us multiple examples)?** **What is argument culture?** **What happened to the village of Arembepe between 1962-2007?** **How have the Kiowa been incorporated into a global economy?**