Culture
What is cultural relativism?
Cultural relativism is the idea that beliefs and practices should be understood in the context of the culture they belong to, without judging them by the standards of another culture.
Define emotional force.
e.g., The idea that emotions like grief and rage can drive powerful cultural practices, often more effectively than dense symbolic interpretations.
What symbol of Muslim women's oppression does Abu-Lughod critique for being oversimplified by Western perspectives?
The burqa.
Name two theories that cultural relativism replaced.
1. Ethnocentrism: The belief that one's own culture is superior to others and using one's own cultural standards to judge other cultures.
2. Social Evolutionism: The theory that cultures progress through a series of stages from "primitive" to "civilized," with Western cultures seen as the pinnacle of development.
3. Racial Determinism: The belief that cultural differences are rooted in biological or racial differences, often leading to hierarchical classifications of cultures.
Give me an example of emotional force from the reading.
e.g., headhunting or converting to Evangelical christianity
What term does Abu-Lughod use to describe Western efforts to "liberate" Muslim women that echoes colonial practices?
colonial feminism
How does cultural relativism help us think about cultural diversity?
Cultural relativism helps us appreciate cultural diversity by encouraging us to understand and respect different cultures on their own terms, without judging them by our own cultural standards. This approach fosters empathy and reduces ethnocentrism.
How long did it take for the author to grasp what Ilongots had told him about their grief, rage, and headhunting.
14 years
Why is the author critical of the idea of "saving others"?
It's paternalistic, reinforces Western superiority, oversimplifies cultural differences, and ignores structural inequalities
What is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to others and the tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of one's own. This often leads to misunderstanding and misrepresentation of cultural differences.
thick description or interpretive theory
Rather than "saving others" what ideologies/methodologies does she propose?
Solidarity, respect for cultural differences, and addressing structural inequalities?
How does anthropology define culture.
e.g., In anthropology, *culture* refers to the shared beliefs, practices, values, symbols, and behaviors learned and passed down within a society. It is both material (e.g., tools, clothing) and immaterial (e.g., language, rituals) and shapes how people understand and interact with the world. Culture is learned, shared, symbolic, dynamic, and holistic, meaning it evolves over time and influences all aspects of social life.
In most anthropological studies of death, what do analysts eliminate by assuming the position of the detached observer?
emotions
What concept does Abu-Lughod challenge by arguing that feminist campaigns should avoid aligning with imperialist agendas and respect diverse feminist struggles within local contexts?
Western feminist universalism