History Flashcards
What does ethnocentrism mean?
Definition:
Ethnocentrism is the technical name for this view of things in which one’s own group view is the central of everything.
Who was the author of “Race et Histoire” and what are the main themes of this book?
Claude Levi-Strauss
- Ethnocentrism is a universal trait of humanity. (Not only colonizers suffer from ethnocentrism, colonized people suffer from it as well)
- ‘Humanity’ as covering all forms of the human species is a recent concept: up until 1952 there were still a lot of colonies.
How was the relationship between Korea and Belgium in the 19th century and give the reasons why it was so difficult to get accurate information on Korea.
Up until 1901, there was no established diplomatic relationship between Belgium/Korea. Although the country opened its borders in 1876, the info on Korea was limited. Westerners weren’t allowed entry into Korea which meant there was no direct contact between Belgians and Koreans, so the only info available was through hearsay. Koreans were labelled barbarians who secluded themselves from the world. There was also a lot of fear and suspicion towards the country.
However in 1882, the Belgian minister to Japan Charles de Groote met Korean diplomats in Japan which positively changed his view on Korea.
What’s the meaning of sinocentrism?
Definition: at the centre the Chinese dynasty (legitimated by the Mandate of Heaven) regarded itself as the most prominent civilisation, surrounded by barbarians (=countries around them).
Basically: China regarded itself as the centre of the world and everyone else was lesser than.
Who used the ‘Tribute system’ and what does it imply?
It was a network of loose international relations focused on China which facilitated trade and foreign relations by acknowledging China’s predominant role in East-Asia. The other states had to send a tributary envoy to China (on schedule), who would ‘kowtow’ (a form of bowing and kneeling so low as to have one’s head touching the ground, it was an act of deep respect) to the Chinese Emperor as a form of tribute and acknowledging his superiority and precedence.
Only China had an Emperor. Others just had Kings.
What were the 4 types of ‘barbarians’ according to China?
- tibetans & turks (Western)
- Uighurs & Mongols (Northern)
- Japanese and Korean (Eastern)
- Indochinese Peninsula (Southern)
What proves the Tribute system in China existed?
Book of the Later Han: it’s the oldest document that mentions Japan. The book itself covered the history of the Han Dynasty and had multiple volumes.
What is the Shimonoseki Treaty? When did it take place?
1895: it’s the treaty that was signed by China and Japan after the first Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895), where China lost. It recognized Korea’s indepence and thus not part of China’s tributal system.
Give the meaning of culturalism and link it to the Freudian psychoanalysis matrix.
Definition: Culturalism is the sociological approach that places great emphasis on culture to explain how a society works. Culture conditions the behaviours of individuals. This is called cultural determinism.
Culturalists use the Freudian psychoanalysis matrix which states that human behaviour is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind.
- ego
- id
- super-ego
What’s the difference between a ‘social anthropologist’ and a ‘cultural anthropologist’?
Social: focus on the society and social institutions
Cultural: focus on the culture of the society.
What did R. Benedict believe and give an example (from the books she wrote).
She believed in determinism: a belief that all human behaviours flow from genetic or environmental factors that, once they have occurred, are very difficult or impossible to change. For example: a determinist might argue that a persons genes make them anxious.
Culture of shame?
What’s the most famous book R. Benedict wrote and what were some of the criticisms she received?
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946): book about patterns in Japanese culture.
- “anthropology at a distance”: Benedict had in fact never been to Japan. The war made it impossible for her to go there. So she studied the Japanese culture through its literature, newspaper clippings, films and recordings. She also conducted interviews with Japanese-Americans and Japanese prisoners.
- the most relevant criticisms published were that of several Japanese scholars. One of them, a jurist called Takeyoshi points out Benedict considers the Japanese (society?) as uniform and homogenous, but overlooks class differences and differences in occupation. For example, a banker will not act the same way as a carpenter.
- A philosopher named Tetsurô wrote that the Japanese described in Benedicts book are not representative of Japanese people. The ones described are ultranationalist soldiers.
- according to folklorist Kunio, no other group of people uses the word ‘guilt’ as frequently as the Japanese. The ‘culture of shame’ only concerns the class of ‘bushi’ (= warriors of premodern Japan)
What are possible criticisms on culturalism? (Examen)
- leads to (over)simplification, stereotyping/clichés, trying to “essentialize” people (“the Japanese are like this…”) and overlooks differences existing within a same culture
- culturalism tends to see specific traits inherent to a culture, while it very well could be observed in other cultures. Benedict attributes that shame is a specific feature of the Japanese culture, but shame doesn’t have a monopoly in Japan, it’s a feeling that can be observed in every country probably.
What are 3 characteristics of stereotypes? (according to the Dictionary of Psychology)
1) Firstly, stereotypes are overly simplistic; they oversimplify a complex reality and erase differences existing between individuals.
2) They are rigid and persistent: they resist even if the contrary is proved.
3) They are socially shared, they are shared by members of a community. In this regard, we can easily imagine the role played by media, intellectuals and artists in the dissemination (verspreiding) of stereotypes.
Some scholars argue that a stereotype may have a “core of truth”; that they can partially reflect reality.
How do stereotypes and discrimination relate to each other?
Stereotypes can produce discrimination, and discriminatory behaviour can in return feed/foster stereotypes.
What is Shamanism?
Definition: “Shamanism is a religion where humans request the help of spirits through meditation of a Shaman”.
Give the 4 categories of spirits believed to exist in Korean Shamanism.
- Heavenly gods + 2. Earthy gods:
- 60% of all spirits, they are personified versions of natural objects and phenomena (ex. sun, moon, rivers, mountains). - Holy people:
- high-ranking military commanders who lived heroic lives or met a tragic end. (ex. General Ch’oe Yong 최영 - 1316-1388). - Mischievous or evil spirits:
- various spirits like old domestic animals, damaged objects, tree spirits and the souls of wild animals. Those spirits cannot be seen as evil spirits on their own, but usually are broken or damaged spirits/objects.
What does the Chinese character 巫 describe and how is it pronounced in Korean?
Pronounced 무 in Korean.
It describes a shaman ‘I’ in the middle connecting the heavens ‘T’ and the earth ‘_’ with other people ‘ㅅ ㅅ’ around him.
(무당 is a female shaman, 박수 무당, far less numerous than female, is a male shaman)
What types of Shamans are there and how do you become one? (1)
- 강신무 (Kangshinmu) is the typical shaman in Korea (northern type, according to their location).
- The spirit descends into the body of a human. The human becomes possessed by this spirit = 신내림 (sinnaerim) (sin = spirit; naerim = descent).
- This person experiences the shaman illness (신병) during adolescence. Dreams of demons or gods, hallucinations and illusions.
- No medication. So goes to a shaman who becomes the shaman’s assistant and a novice shaman
- The shaman in training takes the god who appeared in her dreams as a guardian deity.
- After 5 years (when learned enough skill) she herself conducts a large ceremony 내림굿 (naerimgut) which officially makes her a shaman.
- They can tell fortunes
What types of Shamans are there and how do you become one? (2)
- Sesummu or hereditary shamans.
They receive instructions on how to dance and chant when they are young, but they do not have to do naerimgut. Usually, they are more talented than the Kangshinmu shamans.
- They cannot tell fortune, because they did not go through sinnaerim.
- Can perform rituals.
- Southern type
What is ritual in Korean and how many are there?
Ritual = 굿
3 categories of 굿 :
- Shaman
- village
- personal (has 12 거리 ‘stages’ and is mainly for securing good luck and curing illness)
Elaborate further on the 3rd ritual ‘굿’
Personal 굿:
general = 12 stages (거리) mainly for securing good luck and curing illnesses.
- first 2 & last 2 stages are greetings and farewells to the Gods.
- 3rd, 4th, 9th & 10th stages protect against calamities
- 5th-8th stages = core of the ritual service. The shaman petitions for the 4 highly valued concepts in Korean culture, namely: good fortune, health, wealth and longevity.
- 1 extra stage (between 8 & 9) if a dead spirit needed to be silenced/pacified
Length of each stage depends on the audience. Sometimes a single stage can last several hours.
Words/desires and the God’s speech are altered according to the purpose of the ritual service (by the shaman). Clothes change depending on stage
—> most important ones: fortune, soul and sickness
Is Shamanism still present in Korean culture, if so, how does it show?
Yes,
- In language there are still sayings that refer to shamanism, f.e.: “Even the spirits are not aware of it” –> “No one knows” or “God only knows”
- In food, f.e.: during winter solstice, many people eat red bean porridge to chase away evil spirits
Or during a ritual for (?), a boiled pig’s head (symbol for money/fertility) is placed among other foods to wish success and safety for either a (new) house, business, project, etc. Guests will put multiples of 10 000 won into the mouth/ears of the pig and then kneel down and bow. After the ritual, food and drinks are consumed together with the pig’s head.
What are the 4 highly valued concepts in Korean culture?
- good fortune
- health
- wealth
- longevity
What were the believes of Eliade on Shamanism?
Thought shamans could be viewed as Gods or mediators.
- He says a real shaman should control the spirit and not be controlled by it.
- that a shaman is a sick man who has been cured, who has succeeded in curing himself which makes him capable of empathising with other sick people.
What is the definition of Confucianism?
“A system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius and developed by Mencius. Originating in ancient China.”
What are the characteristics of Confucianism?
- secularity
- morality
- rationality
Who was the founder of Confucianism and how can you summarise his philosophy?
Kong Qiu (latinized Confucius) (551 BCE - 479 BCE) was China's most famous philosopher. Lived during the Zhou Dynasty, that was divided and war ridden. Confucius was concerned with saving the world/China from this disorder. During his life, he was not able to spread his ideas, but eventually his students played an important role in spreading his ideas after he died.
He believed understanding and improving life was possible because “a right way exists” (way = Dao), and that right way can be known by the human mind and practiced through human efforts.
Two basic themes can be found in his work;
- good life
- good government
- -> both are intertwined because both are ethical questions and the same morality pertains to each.
A sentence that can be found in his book ‘The Great Learning’ is a good example of the above:
“Cultivate yourself (susin), manage your family (chega), govern the state (ch’iguk), and then bring peace to this world (p’yǒngch’ǒnha).”
All social relationships are hierarchical (except for friendship). He stated there were Five Cardinal relationships (Three Bonds + the 2 remaining)
–> These relationships are characterised by reciprocal (but not identical) obligations, each party being responsible for maintaining a harmonious relationship by fulfilling the duties of his/her role.
The performance of these obligations must be based on virtues.
Wherein lies the importance of Confucius?
The importance of Confucius lies in having been one of China’s first great teachers as well as a political philosopher.
What are the Five Cardinal Relations?
The Five Cardinal Relations consist of The Three Bonds:
1. Ruler-Subject
2. Father-Son
3. Husband-Wife
and then:
4. Elder brother-Younger Brother
5. Friend-friend (–> the only exception)
What are the Five Fundamental Virtues in Confucian philosophy? (examen)
- Supreme virtue ‘Rén’ (=benevolence, humanity)
- not an abstract virtue, but firmly anchored in a relationship
- Confucius never gave a precise definition of Rén (but Book IV of Analects is dedicated to this notion), but he did however give a concrete example of:
- > the “superior man” or “gentleman”. Someone driven by Rén, under any circumstances: “if a superior man abandons virtue (Rén), how can he fulfil the requirements of that name?”, he can never act contrary to this virtue, in a moment of haste he clings to it.
- Yì (=righteousness, duty, justice)
- Lî (= propriety, etiquette)
- Zhì (= wisdom)
- Xìn (= trustworthiness)
