Fields of Study & Schools of Thought
What field of anthropology tries to understand the different practices, traditions, social organizations, values and norms of various groups around the world?
BONUS: And why?
cultural anthropology
What is the main idea of sociolinguistics and why does it matter?
Studying how people use language within their culture to express status, relationships and belonging
What are some ways in which language shapes culture (or vice versa)?
Answer to be confirmed by teacher
Feminist Anthropology
Looks at how cultures determine gender roles, debunk gender myths and shows how gender is constructed. Also looks at how race, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation are constructed.
What is the digital divide?
BONUS: Why is it important?
The gap between people/cultures/communities who can access digital technologies, including the internet, versus those who cannot.
What kind of anthropologist studies the objects left behind by human civilizations, as well as other markers of history (including human remains)
BONUS: And why?
Archeologist
Why are there so many endangered languages around the world?
Colonialism, globalization, lack of resources/support for language preservation efforts, native speakers growing old without as many native speakers in the younger generations
What is the difference between individualist and collectivist cultures?
Individualistic cultures, which prioritize the individual over the group, contrast with collectivistic cultures, which prioritize the group over the individual.
A comparative study of multiple cultures
Ethnology
Which school of thought explains that every action, belief or relationship in a culture functions to meet the needs of individuals? (focus interdependence among all things within a social/cultural system for long term survival)
Functionalism
What is the main idea of the "cultural iceberg"?
Culture is defined by far more than what we can see on the surface, and is often best understood by those within a given culture
Structural linguistic anthropologist Noam Chomsky, developed the theory of universal grammar, which theorizes that
all children are born with internal, universal rules for grammar and language acquisition (LAD=Language acquisition device)
In what ways do traditional games reflect and teach culture?
To be confirmed by teacher
An in depth study of one culture
Ethnography
What anthropological phenomenon is typically marked by a process of separation, transformation/initiation and reintegration/return?
BONUS: Why is it important?
Rites of Passage
Which school of thought (created to counter cultural evolutionism and reduce ethnocentrism) states that an anthropologist cannot compare two cultures because each has its own internal rules that must be accepted.
Cultural Relativism
According to Lenneberg, language serves 3 primary functions: (1) Identification (2) Integration (3) Socialization. What happens at the integration stage of language acquisition?
Sharing language provides a sense of identity/community. Easier to exchange ideas, beliefs and values, meaning that a sense of social solidarity/unity will be generated/developed.
What is ethnocentrism in the context of cultural anthropology?
Analysing another culture based on the norms and context of your own culture
Thick description
An approach to cultural observation that requires detailed contextual information about the cultural phenomena, not only observing and recording observable behavior, but also interpreting what that behavior means within its cultural context.
What is the repatriation debate about and why is it important?
Whether (often stolen) artifacts should be returned to their place of origin (e.g. the Elgin Marbles)
Which school of thought examines how resources or conditions within an environment (Climate, food supply, geography) influence how a culture develops?
Recall: The barrel model model of infrastructure, social structure and superstructure
Cultural materialism
Lenneberg theorizes that most children will complete all 3 major stages of language acquisition (1) Identification (2) Integration (3) Socialization by when?
Age 3
Lenneberg's third stage of language aquisition, which highlights the means/method through which people learn the content of their culture (beyond what they could directly experience).
Socialization
What are the big ideas of postmodernism as a school of thought?
it is impossible to have any “true” knowledge of the world. Postmodernists use reflexivity (reflecting on their own world view, biases and impact on the culture they study)