Chapter 1 Flashcards
Anthropology
The study of human beings, their biology, their prehistory and histories, and their changing languages, culture, and social institutions.
Applied anthropology
Anthropological research commissioned to serve an organization’s needs
Archaeology
The study of past cultures, by excavating sites where people lived, worked, farmed, or conducted some other activity (researchers study the effects of environmental change past societies; how changes in material culture reflect ongoing social, economic, and political changes; and the processes through which complex state societies were formed and disintegrated)
Biological anthropology
The study of the biological aspects of the human species, past and present, along with those of our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates (researchers study the specific processes of human evolution, and how our bodies and genetic makeup change in relation to environmental changes, migration, diseases, and other dynamics)
Colonialism
The historical practice of more powerful countries claiming possession of less powerful ones
Comparative method
A research method that derives insights from careful comparisons of aspects of two or more cultures or societies
Cultural anthropology
The study of the social lives of living communities (researchers study topics as diverse as how and why religious change happens; what happens when a dominant economic system like socialism collapses or a new one like capitalism is incorporated into a traditional economy; and how ad why political violence can erupt in societies experiencing rapid social change)
Cultural relativism
The moral and intellectual principle that one should withhold judgment about seemingly strange or exotic beliefs and practices
Culture
The taken-for-granted notions, rules, moralities, and behaviors within a social group
Diversity
The sheer variety of ways of being human around the world
Empirical
Verifiable through observation rather than through logic or theory
Ethics
Moral questions about right and wrong and standards of appropriate behavior
Ethnocentrism
The assumption that one’s own way of doing things is correct, while dismissing other people’s practices or views as wrong or ignorant
Ethnographic method
A prolonged and intensive observation of and participation in the life of a community
Evolution
The adaptive changes organisms make across generations
Holism
Efforts to synthesize distinct approaches and findings into a single comprehensive interpretation
Linguistic anthropology
The study of how people communicate with one another through language and how language use shapes group membership and identity (researchers study how new languages are formed when different languages come together; and how social changes, such as changes in gender relations, are reflected in and emerge from how people communicate with each other
Practicing anthropology
Anthropological work involving research as well as involvement in the design, implementation, and management of some organization, process, or product
Qualitative methods
A research strategy producing an in-depth and detailed description of social activities and beliefs.
Quantitative method
A methodology that classifies features of a phenomenon, counting or measuring them, and constructing mathematical and statistical models to explain what is observed
Salvage paradigm
The paradigm which held that it was important to observe indigenous ways of life, interview elders, and assemble collections of objects made and used by indigenous peoples
Scientific method
The standard methodology of science that begins from observable facts, generates hypotheses from these facts, and then tests these hypotheses
Theory
A tested and repeatedly supported hypothesis
Industrialization
The economic process of shifting from an agricultural economy to a factory-based one
How did Anthropology begin?
~the disruptions of industrialization
~the theory of evolution
~colonial origins of cultural anthropology
During the nineteenth century, the rise of industrialization, the influence of evolutionary theory, and colonial contact with less industrialized cultures led to the discipline of understanding how cultures operate and interact
Anthropologists are still fascinated-and challenged-by the contrasts and changes in culture worldwide as a result of globalization
What are the four subfields of anthropology and what do they share in common?
~culture ~cultural relativism ~human diversity ~change ~holism
Anthropologists in all subfields share certain fundamental approaches and concepts including culture, cultural relativism, diversity, change, and holism
Some anthropologists continue to debate the idea that the subfields, with their distance methods and specialized research interests, belong together in the same discipline
How do anthropologists know what they know?
~the scientific method in anthropology
~when anthropology is not a science: interpreting other cultures
Anthropology has a strong relationship with the scientific method; all anthropologists use theories, collect data, and analyze that data
While most cultural anthropologists reject the possibility of a completely objective analysis of human culture, other subfields of anthropology, such as archaeology and biological anthropology, are thoroughly committed to the scientific method
How is anthropology put to work in the world?
~applied and practicing anthropology: “the fifth subfield”?
~putting anthropology to work
All four of the subfields have both theoretical and applied aspects. Applied research uses the insights of anthropological theory to solve problems
Most anthropologists see an anthropological approach as providing a better way of understanding people from different backgrounds that of any other discipline, but anthropologists continue to disagree among themselves about how to apply that understanding to address human problems
What ethical issues does anthropology raise?
~do no harm. But is that enough?
~to whom are anthropologists responsible?
Issues of ethics-moral questions about right and wrong and standards of appropriated behavior-are at the heart of anthropology
Certain ethical issues have no easy resolution, such as the ideal that anthropologists should do no harm, or how to resolve sometimes conflicting responsibilities anthropologists have to different communities and public
Can you think of something you do at your college or university that feels “natural” but is probably done somewhat differently at another college? Consider, for example, how you experiences in high school classes may have led you to expect something different from your college classes
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Can you suggest ways that you may learn how people in your town or city view college students from your campus?
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How might you use a comparative perspective even if you only visit just one country while on vacation? Consider the other cultural contexts you have experienced and how these might provide a comparative framework for experiencing a novel society and culture
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Compare how an anthropologist and an engineer might each approach a problem involving where to situate a bridge or highway in a heavily populated area
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If you were studying a local head start program with few resources and observed problems with local funding for the facility, could you suggest some “action anthropology” projects that might help the organization?
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