Religion and Magic
Give an example of both imitative and contagious magic.
Imitative: wearing the same number as Michael Jordan.
Contagious: Wearing Michael Jordan's shoes. (or Giambi's "golden thong")
What is social capital? Give an example.
Social capital is the ability to secure or have access to certain things by being a member of a group. Example: Members of a study group receiving higher grades on an exam
When and what was the Berlin Conference?
European leaders met in 1884 and divided Africa amongst themselves. Colonizers argued that they were doing the colonized a favor- "White Man’s Burden" (moral obligation to civilize the world).
What are the 2 basic potential problems associated with population growth?
Malnutrition
Stress on the planet
What did Cornelio decide to do with his beans when he found out the price had more than doubled? What does this demonstrate?
He didn't sell any beans. This disproves the ethnocentric idea of economic rationality, that maximizing profit is the only goal.
What is the difference between animism and animatism?
Animism is the belief in individualized spirits within people or things, in addition to physical bodies (ie: afterlife).
Animatism is the belief in a generalized power/spirit flowing through all things, over which we have some control.
What are the three forms of reciprocity? Give an example of each.
General (giving a close family member cash when they're having a hard time), Balanced (two friends buying Christmas presents for each other), Negative (selling your rundown car for much more than its worth).
What is the main reason for colonialism? When was the peak of colonialism?
To extract wealth from colonized countries. From 1884 - 1945 (end of WWII).
What is applied anthropology and what are the types of problems applied anthropologists address?
Application of anthropological methods to identify, assess and solve social problems
Using the most basic meaning of applied anthropology, most address developmental problems (developing countries, etc.) and work for groups that manage, promote and assess programs aimed at influencing human social conditions.
What are the three types of ritual ceremonies? What type is Halloween and what function does it serve?
Rite of Passage, Ritual of Intensification and Ritual of Role Reversal. Halloween: Role Reversal.
It decreases social tension and allows for "antistructure," the suspension of normal rules and behaviors.
Regarding religion and beliefs in general, what did the differentiation between "how" and "why" questions explain to us?
Religion/witchcraft explains why things happen (the plane crashed because God willed it) and evidence/science explains how things happen (the plane crashed because it had a faulty propeller).
What are the 5 subsistence strategies? Which allows for the most leisure time, healthy people, quality food, food security?
Foraging, Horticulture, Agriculture, Pastoralism, Industrialism.
Foraging
Give an example of a [answer] that caused this in the US.
Monoculture plantations
(Sugar, cotton, tobacco)
In the film Maquilapolis: City of Factories, what were the two major reasons foreign companies used Mexico as their factory base? What is a maquiladora?
Tax breaks + cheap labor
A factory in Mexico run by a foreign company that imports materials to Mexico, assembles materials in a factory in Mexico, and exports products to consumers in the US or other countries.
What are the Intervention and Collaboration Philosophies? Which is the more effective philosophy to use as an anthropologist?
Intervention philosophy: outsiders guide locals in development, believing they know better than local people
Collaboration philosophy: incorporates local people as leaders and collaborators in every stage
What are the three stages of ritual ceremonies and what do they entail?
1. Separation (removal from "normal" life)
2. Liminality (ambiguous social position with rules suspended)
3. Reincorporation (return to society with a new or modified status)
What are the three means of production?
Land, Labor, Capital
Why was reducing local food production a tactic of colonial powers?
It allowed them to create a cheap supply of workers for plantations
Name and define the three proximate goals of applied anthropology.
Awareness (raise awareness and give voice)
Policy (create or improve policies or laws)
Activism (create, adapt or implement a program)
When is magic used?
1. When the outcome is important
2. When it is not entirely in your control
Why could the concept of "supernatural" be considered ethnocentric?
Supernatural is defined as not observable and in-explicable in ordinary terms but a believer may view it to be observable and very ordinary.
Relations of production are social systems that organize labor. What are the three types of relations of production?
Give an example from San Pablo.
Wage labor + household labor + cooperative labor.
Cooperative labor was used to roof a house in San Pablo.
How did Joint Stock Companies fuel colonialism? Name two joint stock companies that allowed for rapid colonization after the 1500's.
They made treaties, waged war, sent capital back to Europe, occupied lands, etc.
Dutch East India Trading Co.; British East India Trading Co.; Hudson’s Bay Co.; Massachusetts Bay Co.
Name and define the 3 approaches to development.
Modernization approach: model of development that predicts that non-industrial societies will move in the social + technological direction of industrialized nations
Basic human needs approach: projects aimed at providing access to clean water, education and health care for the poorest of the world’s people
Structural adjustment (neoliberal approach): development policy promoted by Western nations, particularly the US, that requires poor nations to pursue free-market reforms in order to get new loans from the Int’l Monetary Fund and World Bank
Define effervescence and communitas as they relate to rituals of intensification.
Effervescence: bubbling up of collective emotional intensity generated by worship
Communitas: state of perceived solidarity, equality and unity among people sharing ritual (eg: church, raves)