Term
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Definition
| The study of humanity, including prehistoric origins and contemporary human diversity. |
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Term
| Define Cultural Anthropology. |
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Definition
| The study of contemporary people and their cultures. |
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Term
| What are the goals of anthropology? |
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Definition
- discover what makes people different from one another
- discover what all people have in common
- look at own culure objectively
- produce new knowledge and new theories about humankind
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Term
| What are the general fields of anthropology? Provide an example of a famous anthropologist for each. |
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Definition
- cultural anthropology (ex. Boas)
- archaeology (ex. Indiana Jones)
- physical or biological anthropology (ex. Dian Fossey)
- linguistic anthropology
- applied anthropology
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Term
| What are four characteristics of culture? |
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Definition
- always changing and adapting
- not the same as "nature" (ex. eating, drinking, sleeping)
- based on symbols
- learned
- integrated (holism)
- interact and change
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Term
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Definition
| Provides a first-hand, detailed description of a living culture. Based on direct personal experience of the anthropologist. |
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Term
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Definition
| The comparative study of one topic in more than one culture. Uses ethnographic material. |
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Term
| Define cultural relativism. |
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Definition
| Belief that each culture must be understood in terms of its own values and beliefs and not by standards of another culture. No culture is better than any other. |
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Term
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Definition
| Judging other cultures by standards of one's own culture rather than standards of other cultures. Belief that one's own culture is the way of life and other ways of life are strange and inferior. |
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Term
| Define absolute cultural relativism. |
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Definition
| Whatever goes on in a particular culture must not be questioned or changed because it would be ethnocentric to question any behaviour or idea anywhere. |
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Term
| Define critical cultural relativism. |
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Definition
| Some of what goes on in particular culture can be questioned or changed because of an idea of a set of universal human rights. |
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Term
| Why is Franz Boas important? |
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Definition
- founder of North American cultural anthropology
- introduced concept of cultural relativism
- no culture more advanced than any other
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Term
| Why is Sir Edward Tylor so important? |
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Definition
- developed model of cultural evolution whereby all cultures evolve from lower to higher forms over time
- non-Western peoples at "primitive" stage and Euro-American culture as "civilization"
- assumed non-Western cultures would catch up to level of Western civilization or die out
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Term
| What are the factors that affect or influence fieldwork? |
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Definition
- issues of race
- class
- gender
- age
- culture shock
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Term
| What were the three stages during the history of fieldwork? |
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Definition
| The "Armchair" approach, the "Verandah" approach, and Participant observation. |
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Term
| What was the "Armchair" approach? |
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Definition
| Conducted research by reading about other cultures and then publishing "secondary" research. |
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Term
| What was the "Verandah" approach? |
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Definition
- moved closer to learning directly about people from other cultures
- lived near but not with peoples of other cultures
- invited peoples of other cultures to "verandah" for interviewing
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Term
Who created the idea of Participant observation?
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Definition
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Term
Explain Bronislaw Malinowski's Participant observation.
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Definition
- living and working with people you study
- eating same food and wearing same clothes
- speaking their language and adopting their practices and values
- living as closely to way they live in order to directly experience application of their ideas and beliefs and their systems of knowledge
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Term
| What are the fieldwork techniques? |
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Definition
- interviews
- questionnaires
- watching and asking
- life history
- texts/historical sources
- team projects
- field notes
- tape recording, photography, and videos
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Term
| What are the two ethnographic approaches? |
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Definition
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Term
| Define the realist ethnographic approach. |
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Definition
| Third-person voice, scientific approach. |
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Term
| Define reflexive ethnographic approaches. |
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Definition
Explores research experience itself, highly personalized, acknowledges factors that influence fieldwork.
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Term
| What is the importance of ethics? |
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Definition
- prompted by Vietnam War
- in 1970, standard code of ethics adopted
- main responsibility of anthropologist is to ensure safety of people being studied
- does not condone "undercover" research
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Term
| What are the dangers involved in fieldwork? |
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Definition
- physical and psychological risks
- violence
- frontline anthropology
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Term
| What is the fieldwork process? How is working in the field? |
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Definition
- lengthy and difficult process
- site selection
- gaining rapport with locals (especially with key people who may serve as gatekeepers)
- exchanges and gift giving
- factors influencing fieldwork
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Term
| What are the new directions being taken in fieldwork? |
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Definition
- accountability and collaborative research
- indigenous groups able to read English, so able to critique Western ethnographies
- movement away from treating people as "subjects" and involving them more actively in data collection
- War Zone Anthropology (civilians as combatants)
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