Anthropology Summary

Chapter 1 Notes challenge of anthropology: to understand the rich diversity of human life & to see how our particular life experiences connect to those of others by bringing these perspectives together, we can grasp more fully the totality & potential of human life global web of interaction anthropology provides a unique set of tools, including strategies & perspectives, for understanding our rapidly changing, globalizing world anthropology: the study of the full scope of human diversity, past & present, & the application of that knowledge to help people of different backgrounds better understand one another Franz Boas: one of the founders of American anthropology conducted studies that showed the wide variation of physical forms within groups of the same national origin & the marked physical changes in the children & grandchildren of immigrants as they adapted to the environmental conditions in their new country Audrey Richards: studied Bemba people in 1930s focused on issues of health & nutrition among women & children opened a pathway for the study of nutritional issues & womenÕs & childrenÕs health in anthropology ethnocentrism: the belief that oneÕs own culture or way of life is normal & natural; using oneÕs own culture to evaluate & judge the practices & ideals of others what anthropologists donÕt want us to do, wants to move beyond it ethnographic Þeldwork: a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living & interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives Òwalking in their shoesÓ anthropology studies both the people & the larger structures of power around them; including: families, governments, economic systems, educational institutions, militaries, the media, & religions; as well as ideas of race, ethnicity, gender, class & sexuality also seek to understand the ÒagencyÓ of people - central role of individuals & groups in determining their own lives, even in the face of overwhelming structures of power all humans share connections that are biological, cultural, economic, & ecological our increasing connection today reminds us that our actions have consequences for the whole world, not just for out own lives & those of our families & friends four-Þeld approach: the use of four interrelated disciplines to study humanity: physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, & cultural anthropology physical anthropology: the study of humans from a biological perspective, particularly how they have evolved over time & adapted to their environments paleoanthropology: the study of the history of human evolution through the fossil record use bones to track changes in human physical form over time primatology: the study of living nonhuman primates as well as primate fossils to better understand human evolution & early human behavior (like monkeys, apes, etc.) archaeology: the investigation of the human past by means of excavating & analyzing artifacts prehistoric archaeology: the reconstruction of human behavior in the distant past (before written records) through the examination of artifacts (e.g.campsites, hunting grounds, buildings, burials, garbage dumps ,etc) may suggest trade patterns, consumption habits, gender roles, & power stratiÞcation historic archaeology: the exploration of the move recent past through an examination of physical remains & artifacts as well as written or oral records (e.g. houses, stores, factories, sunken slave ships & polar ice caps, etc.) linguistic anthropology: the study of human language in the past & present languages are complex, vibrant, & constantly changing systems of symbols through which people communicate with one another descriptive linguists: those who analyze languages & their component parts e.g. some spend years in rural areas helping local ppl construct a written language from their spoken language historic linguists: those who study how language changes over time within a culture & how languages travel across cultures sociolinguists: those who study language in its social & cultural contexts how different speakers use language in different situations, or with different people they explore how language is affected by factors such as race, gender, age, class, etc. cultural anthropology: the study of peopleÕs communities, behaviors, beliefs, & institutions, including how people make meaning as they live, work, & play together war & violence, love & sexuality, child rearing & death search for patterns of meaning embedded within each culture & they develop theories about how cultures work participant observation: a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in & observation of the daily lives of the people being studied living & working with people on a daily basis, often for a year or more -> to see the world through the eyes of others ethnology: the analysis & comparison of ethnographic data across cultures patterns of human behavior & to explore how local experiences intersect with global dynamics seek to help people better understand one another & the way the world works holism: the anthropological commitment to look at the whole picture of human life - culture, biology, history, & language - across space & time globalization: the worldwide intensiÞcation of interactions & increased movement of money, people, goods, & ideas within & across national borders key dynamics: time-space compression, ßexible accumulation, increasing migration, & uneven development these dynamics are reshaping the ways humans adapt to the natural world, & the ways the natural world is adapting to us time-space compression: the rapid innovation of communication & transportation technologies associated with globalization that transforms the way people think about space (distances) & time e.g. a letter that once took 10 days to send from TX to Kenya can now be attached as a PDF & emailed with a few clicks of a mouse e.g. instant message, text message, FaceTime, etc. these changes have transformed not only how long it takes us to do something, but also how quickly we expect other people to do things ßexible accumulation: the increasingly ßexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate proÞts in an era of globalization, enabled by innovative communication & transportation technologies cheaper labor, lower taxes, & fewer environmental regulations to be increasingly ßexible about the way they accumulate proÞts increasing migration: the accelerated movement of people within & between countries rural workers migrating to urban areas seeking to improve their lives & the lives of their families back home movement of people within & across national borders is stretching out human relationships and interactions across space & time; immigrants send money home, call & email friends & family, and sometimes even travel back & forth migration is building connections between distant parts of the world, replacing face-to-face interactions with more remote encounters & potentially reducing the hold of the local environment over peopleÕs lives & imaginations uneven development: the unequal distribution of the beneÞts of globalization although the global economy is creating extreme wealth, it is also creating extreme poverty the worldwide diversity of human culture itself is a testimony to human ßexibility & adaptability to particular environments anthropocene: the cultural historical era in which human activity is reshaping the planet in permanent ways climate change, water scarcity, overpopulation, extreme poverty, biological weapons, & nuclear missiles climate change: changes to EarthÕs climate, including global warming produced primarily by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases created by the burning of fossil fuels our ancestors have successfully adapted to the natural world around us for millions of years, but human activity & technological innovation now threaten to overwhelm the natural world beyond its ability to adapt to us 6/25/18 What is Anthropology? What does it do? anthropos + logos: science/study of humankind, homo sapiens uses a holistic approach: research on the human experience at all times & in all places deals with all dimensions of humanity explores human cultural similarities & differences uses archaeological record to assess the cultural evolution of our species explains our biological evolution by studying fossil record describes human biological diversity today History of Anthropology Emerged 100 years ago rooted in globalization: ßows of ideas, peoples, money, goods European expansion: economic & colonial 15th-19th centuries facilitated by technological advances transportation & communication shipbuilding, steam engine, railroads, & telegraph adventurers, missionaries, merchants, officials brough info about ÒothersÓ to Europe generated questions that anthropologists grappled with Early Anthropologists unilinear evolutionary theory: barbaric- primitive-civilized developed by Henry Morgan & other evolutionists Boas developed: cultural relativism & historical particularism Boas & Dubois developed historical/cultural theories of race Frank Boas: found American anthropology Dubois: American-American scholar cultural relativism: to understand cultures, without bringing them down to bring yours up opposite of ethnocentrism Structural functionalist theory: Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Evans-Prichard -> founding fathers society as organisms interpretationist school of thought: Clifford Geertz interaction between culture & power: Wolf, Gramsci, Foucault anthropology evolved into various specializations: branches What are the subÞelds of Anthropology? Four major subÞelds: lenses/ perspectives Cultural (sociocultural) anthropology archaeology physical/biological anthropology linguistic anthropology Sociocultural anthropology ethnography: a research strategy-Þeldwork focused on one group The descriptive study of one culture, subculture, or micro culture culture: american culture subculture: hispanic, african american, asian american, european cultures micro culture: horticulture/gardening ethnology: the comparative study of cultures more than two cultures/groups theorization: explaining how things work foragers: the Washo in the USA vs. the San people in the Botswana What does Archaeology do? archeology: the systematic study of the remains of previous cultures reconstructs the life ways of people who lived in the past uses research methods including: artifacts features ecofacts forensic Biological anthropology/ physical anthropology studies homo sapiens as biological beings areas of focus include paleoanthropology: studies fossils remains to identify our early ancestors primatology: looks at primates (apes, monkeys, etc.) contemporary human variation: examines anatomical & physiological variation in living humans forensic anthropology: applied to legal issues (homicides) Linguistic anthropology studies language & its relationship with culture explains how culture is coded with languages the linguistic politics of power hegemonic: coined by Gramsci the power of language: discourse/narrative/stories related to linguistics: ethnolinguistics sociolinguistics What Makes Anthropology Unique? holistic: an integrates biocultural perspective combines scientiÞc & humanistic components of research Þeldwork with foci on people & their local communities comparative method cultural relativism (Boas) evaluating a culture within the context of that culture challenges cultural ethnocentrism making value judgments using your own culture as the ÒstandardÓ this isnÕt how we dress, how we eat, etc. so it is abnormal deÞning something as abnormal is deÞning something as a problem Anthropology & current globalization What is globalization? ßows of peoples, capital, goods, ideas, services increase of interaction between countries; economic, cultural, etc. ßaws of habitat interactions have been intensiÞed, due to increasing technological change We live in a global world: the story of the women of Plachimada in India (coke) Labor, coke, sprite, fanta, activism destruction of local resources, ways of life how Coke connects your lives to theirs Globalization: key dynamics time-space compression: Òthe world has become a global villageÓ ßexible accumulation: Òoff shoringÓ - outsourcing business operations cheaper labor, lower taxes, & fewer regulations china is producing for the world increasing migration: 200 million international vs. 400 million internal 230 million chinese move around during the year more than 65 million refugees in the world (from conßict-ridden regions) Chapter 2 Notes culture: the intricate patterns of ideas & behaviors humans create to live together in groups eating is shaped by culture, including ideas about religion, gender, race, ethnic identity, immigration, class & age; also linked to power culture: a system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, & institutions that are created, learned, shared & contested by a group of people manual for understanding & interacting with the people and the world around us the culture that we learn has the potential to shape our ideas of what is normal & natural, what we can say & do, and even what we can think no individual has their own culture; culture is a shared experience developed as a result of living as a member of a group constantly contested, negotiated, & changing enculturation: the process of learning culture we learn culture throughout our lives from the people & cultural institutions that surround us norms, values, symbols, & mental maps of reality are 4 elements that an anthropologist may consider in attempting to understand the complex workings of culture; vary from culture to culture norms: ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people what is considered ÒnormalÓ & appropriate behavior may include what people wear on certain occasions; weddings, funerals, work, school, etc.; how younger people should treat older people, who one can date, etc. assumed, not written down; learned over time & incorporated into our daily lives norms that are written down = laws based on ideas of age, kinship, sexuality, race, religion, class, & legal status -> specify what is normal & what is not cultural norms may discourage exogamy (marriage outside oneÕs group) and encourage endogamy (marriage within oneÕs group) cultural norms powerfully inform & enforce our behavior can be challenged by those who disagree with the norm values: fundamental beliefs about what is important, what makes a good life, & what is true, right, and beautiful promoted & cultivated by cultures ultimate standards that should guide peopleÕs behaviors, & goals powerful cultural tools for clarifying cultural goals & motivating people to action some ppl willing to kill or die for them can become powerful political & economic tools symbol: anything that represents something else shaking hands, waving, whistling, nodding, smiling, thumbs up/down, middle Þnger, etc. not universal, but within their particular cultural context, they convey certain meanings nonverbal, action-based, & unconscious religions have symbols that represent deeper meanings to their adherents mandala, the Koran, the Torah, Christian cross, holy water, statues of the Buddha, etc. National ßags, money, etc. change in meaning over time, & from culture to culture mental maps of reality: cultural classiÞcations of what kinds of people & things exist, & the assignment of meaning to those classiÞcations ÒshortcutsÓ to navigate our experience & organize all that data that come our way mental maps organize the world into categories that help us sort out our experiences & what they mean; we do not want all the details all the time two important functions (1) mental maps classify reality: problematic when people treat cultural notions of difference as being scientiÞcally or biologically ÒnaturalÓ (e.g. race) (2) mental maps assign meaning to what has been classiÞed: not only do people in a culture develop mental maps of things and people, they also place values & meanings on t hose maps unilineal cultural evolution: the theory proposed by 19th century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex set worldÕs cultures along a scale from most simple to most complex; using terms like savage, barbarian, & civilized early anthropologists believed that they could trace the path of human cultural evolution, understand where some cultures had come from, & predict where other cultures were headed rejected by Franz Boas historical particularism: the idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in speciÞc ways because of their unique histories cultures arise from different causes, not uniform processes diffusion: the borrowing of cultural traits & patterns from other cultures - to explain apparent similarities society: the focus of early British anthropological research whose structure & function could be isolated and studied scientiÞcally viewed human societies as living organisms => through Þeldwork, sought to analyze each part of the ÒbodyÓ each part of the society Þt together & had its unique function within the larger structure structural functionalism: a conceptual framework positing that each element of society serves a particular function to keep the entire system in equilibrium interpretivist approach: a conceptual framework that sees culture primarily as a symbolic system of deep meaning Geertz: difference between a wink & a twitch of the eye thick description: a research strategy that combines detailed description of cultural activity with an analysis of the layers of deep cultural meaning in which those activities are embedded e.g. cockÞght not simply a cockÞght; represents generations of competition among the village families for prestige, power, & resources within the community; symbolizes the negotiation of those familiesÕ prestige status & standing within the larger groups Geertz: every cultural action is more than the action itself; it is also a symbol of deeper meaning power: the ability or potential to bring about change through action or inßuence ability to inßuence through force or the threat of force interpersonal relations, institutions, structural frameworks of whole societies all human relationships have a power dynamic stratiÞcation: the uneven distribution of resources & privileges among participants in a group or culture some are drawn into the center of the culture; others ignored, marginalized, or even annihilated balance of power ßuctuates over time, not Þxed by examining the way access to the resources, privileges, & opportunities of culture are shared unevenly & unequally, we can begin to use culture as a conceptual guide to power & its workings culture includes the powerful institutions that these people create to promote and maintain their core values material power: includes political, economic, or military power; through coercion or brute force hegemony: the ability of a dominant group to create consent & agreement within a population without the use or threat of force hegemonic aspect of power: the ability to make people discipline their own behavior so that they believe and act in certain ÒnormalÓ ways - often against their own interests, even without a tangible threat of punishment for misbehavior Many in US culture still see interracial marriage as unthinkable & undoable cultural norms combined with long-term geographic & institutional patterns of segregation still powerfully inform & enforce our behavior agency: the potential power of individuals and groups to contest cultural norms, values, mental maps of reality, symbols, institutions, & structures of power systems of power that dominant groups create are never absolute; dominance is never complete individuals/groups with less/no power may contest the dominant power relationships & structures, through either political, economic, religious, or military means forms of resistane culture is learned from the people around us, not written into our DNA interrelated effects of globalization on local cultures: homogenization, the global ßows of culture through migration, and increased cosmopolitanism Chapter 3 Notes ethnographic Þeldwork: a primary research strategy in cultural anthropology typically involving living & interacting with a community of people over an extended period to better understand their lives attempt to understand peopleÕs everyday lives, to see what they do and to understand why; seek to understand their experience through their eyes; participate in their activities, take careful notes, conduct interviews, take photographs, & record music try to see how local lives compare to others & Þt into larger human patterns and global contexts anthropology enables us to avoid the tendencies of ethnocentrism; offers the opportunity to unlock our ability to imagine, see & analyze the diversity of human cultures salvage ethnography: Þeldwork strategy developed by Franz Boas to collect cultural, material, linguistic, and biological information about Native American populations being devoted by the westward expansion of European settlers cultural relativism: understanding a groupÕs beliefs & practices within their own cultural context, without making judgments -> rejection of ethnocentrism Malinowski: father of Þeldwork urged anthropologists to stay for a long period in their Þeld sites, learn the local language, get off the veranda, engage in participant observation, and explore the mundane imponderable participant observation: a key anthropological research strategy involving both participation in and observation of the daily life of the people being studied walking in their shoes, seeing through their eyes; gives depth to our observations & helps guard against mistaken assumptions based on observation from a distance E.E. Evans Pritchard synchronic approach: sought to control their experiments by limiting consideration of the larger historical & social context in order to isolate as many variables as possible he documented the groupÕs social structure - political, economic, & kinship, capturing the intricate details of community life criticized his failure to consider the historical context & larger social world Margaret Mead testiÞed to the fact that US cultural norms were not found cross-culturally but were culturally speciÞc Annette Weiner: went to Trobriand Islands 60 yrs later, focused on womenÕs roles, concluded that MalinowskiÕs observations were incomplete reßexivity: a critical self-examination of the role the anthropologist plays & an awareness that oneÕs identity affects oneÕs Þeldwork & theoretical analysis e.g. Malinowski focused on the male-dominated system of economic exchange among islands; his age & gender inßuenced what he saw and what others were comfortable telling him engaged anthropology: applying the research strategies & analytical perspectives of anthropology to address concrete challenges facing local communities & the world at large in a world of conßict & inequality, social scientists must develop an active, politically committed, & morally engaged practice to address concrete local and global problems anthropologistÕs toolkit: the tools needed to conduct Þeldwork, including information, perspectives, strategies, & even equipment rappart - relationships of trust & familiarity with members of the community we study; deepening of that rapport enables the anthropologist to move from being an outsider toward being an insider key informant: a community member who advises the anthropologist on community issues, provides feedback, and warns against cultural miscues life history: a form of interview that traces that biography of a person over time, examining changes in the personÕs life & illuminating the interlocking network of relationships in the community kinship analysis: a Þeldwork strategy examine interlocking relationships of power built on marriage & family ties social network analysis: a method for examining relationships in a community, often conducted by identifying whom people turn to in times of need zeros: elements of a story or a picture that are not told or seen & yet offer key insights into issues that might be too sensitive to discuss or display publicly mutual transformation: the potential for both the anthropologist & the members of the community being studied to be transformed by the interactions of Þeldwork emic: an approach to gathering data that investigates how local people think and how they understand the world etic: description of local behavior & beliefs from the anthropologistÕs perspective in ways that can be compared across cultures ethnology: the analysis & comparison of ethnographic data across cultures polyvocality: the practice of using many different voices in ethnographic writing & research question development, allowing the reader to hear more directly from the people in the study 6/27/18 race is a social construct; different levels to classify certain groups of people; white, black, hispanic, etc. man-made, socially invented, words invented to achieve certain purposes > classiÞcation classiÞcations created by the state phenotypical features ethnicity is deÞned by where you came from; shared language, culture, religion, etc. ethnicity could be racialized made into a race there is history behind ethnicity gender is a social construct, based on genitalia masculinity, femininity, etc. sex is based on birth, biology by Monday: July 2nd -> a site for ethnographic Þeldwork a populous place, shows everyday life rich enough to show a story Location, & why you chose that location Commentary #2 1 question from chapter 4 other question from clip assigned What is Culture? a way of life: knowledge, ideas, behaviors, material creations learned/acquired: no such thing as a natural culture enculturation: we are enculturated by our parents socialized to be a member of a particular group; how to behave and act, only you & other people within that group will know how you guys think/behave shared: ideas and practices constitute a culture contested Þghting over the meaning of things/culture all the time not equal; gender, class, etc. transmitted primarily through language symbolic (language, art, religion, politics) & material signiÞers of things representing something else mental maps of reality: categories of people/things classiÞcation and assigning meanings/signiÞcance/values Characteristics of Culture cumulative: created over time, shaped by people & the institutions they establish the culture of consumerism - has become a way of life manufacturing the desire to consume dynamic: constantly shifting, contested, negotiated adaptive: to the changing circumstances diverse: diversity within & across world cultures integrated: aspects of culture are intertwined religious culture, political culture, etc. Culture as a Way of Life a force that molds us unto who & what we are what we eat, how was it, how we speak, how & what we worship, how we think, how we behave & feel, whom to (not) marry, even how we kiss Components of Culture: Cognitive, Symbolic, & Material cognitive: processes of - learning, knowing, perceiving behaviors: norms for how people act and conduct themselves use of their bodies, interactions, creative expression who you can kiss, who you can marry exogamy, endogamy laws banning marriage between whites/non-whites material creations: artifacts, tools, machines, features things we create signify our cognitive/though processes Clifford Geertz - culture supplies blueprints/programs/standards structural vs. cultural cultural: containing to/relating to culture structural: organizational, relations culture as a text: BoasÕ Legacy though his students Margaret Mead: one of the few American anthropologists Ruth Benedict: Zora Hurston: African-American anthropologist, one of the pioneers as well How are Culture and Power Related? Antonio Gramsci (1971): two types of power coercive power persuasive power -> hegemonic, without using force; just using your voice coined the concepts: hegemony & subaltern authority: the exercise of legitimate power, the right to rule stratiÞcation: unequal distribution of key resources human agency: ability to contest established norms power vs. authority power: ability to make people do things, to make decisions on peopleÕs behalf authority: exercise of legitimate power legitimacy: socially accepted sanctions of power most powerful people do not have authority Michel Foucault (1977): theorized the mundane nature of power biopower: all human relations are embedded in power relations/ power dynamics Eric Wolf: power in all aspects of culture Approaches to Ethnography classic ethnography: the descriptive study of the ÒotherÓ claimed to produce objective, unbiased reports about other cultures positivism: holds that truth is universal modernism: a school of thought with Grand History/Culture examples: Evans-Pritchard (the Nuer in Sudan) Malinowski (the Trobriand Islanders in Papua New Guinea) Reßexive Ethnography recognizing the researcherÕs biases in: formulating research questions conducting Þeldwork producing description/ ethnographic integrates researcherÕs experience into the ethnographic process claims that truth is relative, context-speciÞc, culturally-situated Emerged in the 1980s: J. Clifford & G. Marcus: writing Culture Discussion - 6/27/18 Research methods surveys - questionnaires distributed to participants to assess a characteristic of interest lab experiments - measuring a variable in a controlled environment interviews - in person or by phone; structure be more ßexible Þeldwork - observing participants in a natural environment ethnographic commonly used in anthropology Ethnography both a science & an art science - method of testing hypothesis through observation & data collection art - being an effective outsider who understands the community relies on qualitative data extensive participation observation may need a Ôgate keeperÕ Different images of the observed 2 types of images that can harm the subject sympathetic courageous immersive Objective research can be mundane sometimes research on poor urban communities tend to associate them with crime rates & drug dealing How does globalization affect oneÕs Þeldwork? researchers can examine how the global & the local inßuences of participants intertwine easier access to community can stay in contact after data collection is complete Chapter 4 Notes through linguistic anthropology - we explore not only the details of a languageÕs vocabulary & grammar, but also the role of language in peopleÕs lives, bot has individuals & as communities the diversity of language reßects humansÕ dramatically different ways of perceiving, thinking about, and engaging with the world language: a system of communication organized by rules that uses symbols such as words, sounds, & gestures to convey information descriptive linguistics: the study of the sounds, symbols, & gestures of a language, and their combination into forms that communicate meaning anthropologists focus on describing language as it is used & not on prescribing how people should use it they work to describe the elements & rules of a particular language phonemes: the smallest units of sound that can make a difference in meaning => b/p => big/pig phonology: the study of what sounds exist & which ones and important in a particular language morphemes: the smallest units of sound that carry meaning on their own different from phonemes because they have no meaning on their own morphology: the study of patterns & rules of how sounds combine to make morphemes syntax: the speciÞc patterns & rules for combining morphemes to construct phrases & sentences e.g. my pig, not pig my grammar: the combined set of observations about the rules governing the formation of morphemes & syntax that guide language use kinesics: the study of the relationship between body movements & communication explores all the facial expressions, gestures, & postures that convey messages with or without words e.g. nods, handshakes, bows, & arms folded meanings not universal; vary from culture to culture paralanguage: an extensive set of noises (such as laughs, cries, sighs, & yells) & tones of voice that convey signiÞcant information about the speaker whether speaker is happy, sad, angry, tired, scared, disgusted, enthusiastic, etc. 1950s: Noam Chomsky - suggested that the human brain is hardwired with a basic framework for organizing language that creates a universal grammar - a similar structure in all languages all humans share a similar language ability & ways of thinking Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking opposite of ChomskyÕs theory by Edward Sapir & Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed that languages establish certain mental categories, or classiÞcations of reality, almost like a grammar for organizing the worldview that shapes peoplesÕ ways of perceiving the world research with the Hopi: a Native American group in the southwestern US rather than using separate verb tenses expressing past, present, & future => they combine past & present into one pattern reßects a different conceptualization of time & a unique worldview in which past & present reßect lived reality whereas the future is hypothetical or potential Laura Bohannan: Þeldwork in Nigeria, Tiv words such as chief & leader hold different meanings & roles in the two culture do not translate to people with a different cultural worldview ÒdeadÓ does not translate bc the Tiv have no concept of ghosts => imagined ShakespeareÕs characters as beset by witchcraft demonstrates that power of our environment to shape our language & the power of our language to shape the way we see the world languages are dynamic; they change & adapt as the natural and cultural worlds shift humans invent new words & concepts to describe and discuss the changing world as they experience it lexicon: all the words for names, ideas, & events that make up a languageÕs dictionary focal vocabulary: the words and terminology that develop with particular sophistication to describe the unique cultural realities experienced by a group of people e.g. the Bolivian Aymar Indians have 200 names for potatoes; potato are a major source of food in their diet e.g. the Nuer of Sudan (Evans-Pritchard) have more then 400 words to describe cattle; they rely on cattle in their economy, political system & kinship structures e.g. email, texting, tweeting ,etc. sociolinguistics: the study of the ways culture shapes language & language shapes culture, particularly the intersection of language with cultural categories & systems of power such as age, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender & class e.g. the N-word: history of racism, inequality, & the threat to make those dangers real in the present sociolinguists examine the use of language in tis speciÞc contexts & the way language shapes & is shaped by other dynamics of power language & gender are intertwined in personal & public conversations difference model: between the ages of 5-15, boys & girls grow up in different linguistic worlds girls hang out in small groups, indoors in more intimate conversations boys play in larger groups, often outdoors, & compete with one another for group status, often through verbal jokes, stories & challenges dominance model: the cultures of communication learned by boys & girls intertwine with gender dynamics throughout the larger culture: at home, school, work, play, & even religion men are more likely to use dominant speech acts such as commands, explanations, contradictions, criticisms, challenges, & accusations women are more likely to ask, request, agree, support, accommodate, accept, & apologize men more likely to interrupt other speakers to insert their ideas/concerns, express doubts, or offer advice dialect: a nonstandard variation of a language prestige language: a particular language variation or way of speaking that is associated with wealth, success, education, & power mastery over a language brings a set of resources that enable the individual to be more successful Pierre Bourdieu: linguistic standards are established & reinforced by a cultureÕs educational institutions, government, media & religious organizations other language variations are judged against the norm of the prestige language & their speakers are associated with inferior positions within the culture code switching: switching back & forth between one linguistic variant & another depending on the cultural context switching from language to language & from linguistic style to style switching from informal to formal historical linguistics: the study of the development of language over time, including its changes and variations e.g.Spanish & French developed from Latin language continuum: the idea that variation in languages appears gradually over distance so that groups of people who live near one another speak in a way that is mutually intelligible the farther one travels, the more the language varies, but it tends to be partially mutually intelligible to those living nearby China: different variations of languages that are mutually unintelligible none is considered superior or inferior to another, but they do ary in prestige the current age of globalization will provide more opportunities for languages to met & either mix or remain largely unchanged effects of globalization on language increasing global interconnection threatens to diminish language diversity worldwide increasing migration to urban centers often leads speakers of less widely used languages to assimilate & adopt the more widely used language more prominent language dominate global media, including TV, radio, print, etc. English is a prestige language that provides effective access to international economic activity & political engagement as many as half of the 7000 languages in the world could be lost by the end of the 21st century in 2017, 144 languages had fewer than 10 speakers another 329 had fewer than 100 speakers these 473 languages rep. almost 7% of the worldÕs languages language loss: the extinction of languages that have very few speakers on avg. one language is lost every 10 days when a language is lost, when it is crowded out by more widely used languages, we lose all of the bodies of information & local knowledge that had been developed (perhaps over thousands of years) by that community within a language is embedded rich knowledge about plants, animals, & medicines, a particular groupÕs unique way of knowing the world & thinking about talking about human experience documenting a local language may involve years of work in a detailed & painstaking process that draws on all the basic skills of Þeldwork & descriptive linguistics linguists have been working to document the Lakota language by collecting & preserving language samples, cultural knowledge, & artifacts linguistic anthropologists are deeply engaged in the analysis & understanding of the role language plays in human life & in understanding the transitions & changes that are facing the human linguistic landscape in an era of increasing globalization 7/2/18 What is language? language: system of communication that uses symbols based on certain rules, to convey information dogs growl birds sing to each other humans use sounds & gestures we give meaning to sounds & writing, we can imagine objects based on words they are associated with The study of language descriptive linguistics: the study of sounds, symbols, & gestures of a language phonology: study of sounds that exist in a particular language, & which of them are important morphology: study of how morphemes are formed from rules & patterns The structure of language phonemes: smallest units of sounds morphemes: smallest unit of sounds with meaning ÔneedÕ => 1 morpheme Ôneed-less-lyÓ => 3 morphemes syntax: speciÞc rules & patterns guiding language How does language shape our ways of thinking? Chomsky: believed the ability to learn and organize language is hard-wired in all humans Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: language determines thinking; different languages yield different ways of thinking about the world different language, different perceptions Language is constantly evolving invention of emojis no longer need to rely on exclamation marks to convey tone new words in a languageÕs lexicon reßects changing world How do systems of power interact with language and communication? The signiÞcance of the n-word throughout the history of the US seen as a symbol of white power & slavery censored in media replaced with terms such as black, negro, and African-American attempt by young generation to change its connotation Language and gender difference model: boys & girls learn to socialize differently, which leads to miscommunication between them dominant model: language reßects power dynamics where men are usually seen in position of superiority common speech acts by men: commands, challenges, contradictions common speech acts by women: asking, agreeing, apologizing What are the effects of globalization on language? diminishing language diversity out of 7000, almost half of them are becoming extinct 1 language is lost every 10 days strengthening language from colonizer cultures english is one of the most dominant languages in the world result of British expansion to other cultures revitalizing languages e.g. Latin, for purposes of translating ancient passages assimilation immigrants are pressured to adopt the customs & language of the host country Harvest of Empire Movie Notes Puerto Rico - official language was english granted US citizenry just in time for them to get drafted for WWII got yelled at for speaking their language, in puerto rico Guatemala Miami Cubans voters voted for english only ordinance Chapter 5 Notes anthropologists view race as a framework of categories created to divide the human population race: a ßawed system of classiÞcation, with no biological basis, that uses certain physical characteristics to divide the human population into supposedly discrete groups races, as a a biological concept, do not exist categories of race have shaped our cultural institutions - schools, places of worship, media, political parties, economic practices - and have organized the allocation of wealth, power, and privilege at all levels of society race has served to create & justify patterns of power and inequality within cultures worldwide, & many people have learned to see those patterns as normal & reasonable race is not Þxed in nature but, is created, perpetuated, & changed by people through individual & collective action racism: individualsÕ thoughts & actions and institutional patterns & policies that create or reproduce unequal access to power, privilege, resources, & opportunities based on imagined differences among groups genotype: the inherited genetic factors that provide the framework for an organismÕs physical form phenotype: the way genes are expressed in an organismÕs physical form as a result of genotype interaction with environmental factors (e.g. nutrition, disease, & stress) Jonathan Marks: compares the problem of sorting people into races with the problem children might have in sorting blocks into categories children sorting blocks into 2 categories: big & small might agree on some - the largest & smallest , but others may be harder to classify same for humans & the concept of race; some individuals may be more difficult to categorize traits like skin color are not linked to any other particular set of genes & cannot serve to predict anything else about the underlying genotype colonialism: the practice by which a nation-state extends political, economic, & military power beyond its own borders over an extended period of time to secure access to raw materials, cheap labor, & markets in other countries or regions the classiÞcation of people based on phenotype, particularly skin color, became the key framework for creating a hierarchy of races - with Europeans at the top - that linked peopleÕs looks with assumptions about their intelligence, physical abilities, capacity for culture, & basic worth racism & systems of racial classiÞcation are complex frameworks built out of the encounter of colonialism with local cultural patterns, global migration, & speciÞc movements of resistance racism today is shifting as it intersects with other systems of power, e.g. ethnicity, gender, sexuality, kinship, or class Brazil: their system of racial classiÞcation is color-coded; its terminology is far more expansive, encompassing hundreds of categories miscegenation: a demeaning historical term for interracial marriage their government promotes assimilation & interracial marriage race intersects closely with class - landownership, wealth & education a Òracial democracyÓ but inequality exists in almost every area of Brazilian life & is directly linked to color darker-skinned Brazilians face higher levels of exclusion & injustice; most of the poor are Afro-Brazilians, most of the rich are white United States: the changing race categories do not reßect a change in human genotype or phenotype, but in how the government organizes the diversity of people within its borders white supremacy: the belief that whites are biologically different from & superior to people of other races whiteness: a culturally constructed concept originating in 1691 Virginia designed to establish clear boundaries of who is white & who is not, a process central to the formation of US racial stratiÞcation Jim Crow: laws implemented after the US Civil War to legally enforce segregation, particularly in the South, after the end of slavery hypodescent: sometimes called the Òone drop of blood ruleÓ; the assignment of children of racially ÒmixedÓ unions to the subordinate group a person is considered black if they are even 1/32 black nativism: the favoring of certain long-tern inhabitants, namely whites, over new immigrants Chinese, Irish, & Other Immigrants: European immigrant laborers saw the Chinese as competitors for jobs & branded them the Yellow Peril - a ÒraceÓ that could not be trusted Irish, Italians, Greeks, etc. are now considered white, but they initially faced discrimination, prejudice, & exclusion bc they were not Anglo-Saxon Protestants Middle Easterners racialization: the process of categorizing, differentiating, & attributing a particular racial character to a person or group of people individual racism: personal prejudiced beliefs and discriminatory actions based on race being prejudiced involves making negative assumptions about a personÕs abilities or intentions based on the personÕs perceived race may be expressed through a lack of respect, or through suspicion, scapegoating, & violence ranging from police brutality or hate crimes microaggressions: common, everyday verbal or behavioral indignities & slights that communicate hostile, derogatory, & negative messages about someoneÕs race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion institutional racism: patterns by which racial inequality is structured though key cultural institutions, policies, & systems includes: education, health, housing, employment, the legal system, law enforcement, & the media even when outlawed, it can persist through contemporary patterns of institutional behavior that perpetuate he historical injustices racial ideology: a set of popular ideas about race that allows the discriminatory behaviors of individuals & institutions to seem reasonable, rational, & normal ideas about the superiority of one race over another caused people in the US to believe that slavery was natural, that the European settlers had a God-given right to ÒcivilizeÓ & ÒtameÓ the American West, & that segregated schools were a reasonable approach to providing public education intersectionality: an analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, & class interact to shape individual life chances & societal patterns of stratiÞcation Chapter 6 Notes ethnicity: a sense of historical, cultural, & sometimes ancestral connection to a group of people who are imagined to be distinct from those outside the group sense of belonging & shared identity through connections to family, religion, hometown, language, shared history, citizenship, sports, age, gender, sexuality, education, & profession inßuence who we date, what we eat, where we work, how we live, & even how we die one of the strongest sources of solidarity available => ppl often turn to local alliances for support, safety & protection ethnicity emerges powerfully in speciÞc situations of conßict, tension & opportunity Fredrik Barth: people construct a sense of ethnicity as they organize themselves in relation to others whom they perceive as either culturally similar or culturally different ethnic identity starts with what ppl believe about themselves & how others see them anthropologists seek to understand how ethnicity is created, reinforced, how boundaries are constructed, how group identity is shaped, & how differences with others are mobilized & perpetuated origin myth: a story told about the founding & history of a particular group to reinforce a sense of common identity e.g. Americans: landing of the Mayßower, the 1st Thanksgiving, the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution, the Civil War, the settling of the West retold to emphasize a shared destiny as well as shared values of freedom, exploration, individualism, & multiculturalism 7/9/18 Race & Racism hegemonic story: dominant story => immigrants come here to steal our jobs -_narrative story: gives a different explanation to the hegemonic story The Global North vs. South global north => advanced, wealthy nations: US, Japan, etc. hegemonic global south => developing countries Identity - sense of belonging, deÞning who you are Personal identity how we see ourselves our lived experiences background/family personality traits Sociocultural/discursive identity social roles physical features membership (groups we belong to) ethnicity, nationalism, other markers of identity The Five Master Statuses Race: the Ferguson story (BLM) creates hierarchy of status since black folks were not considered Ôhuman beingsÕ & were treated like animal/property, black lives matter all lives do matter, but not in the context of how blacks are & were treated Class Gender Sexuality Disability Why should we care about these categories? signify meaning & signiÞcance/worth to individuals & groups of people deÞne social locations (statuses) where you stand in your society determine life changes life/death situation Exploring Racialized Identity Are we all ÒAmericansÓ? What does that mean? Racialized responses to disasters: Hurricanes Katerina and Maria What is Race? Race is a culturally constructed system of classiÞcation based on phenotypes: skin color, bone, hair, eye color, & shape A justiÞcation for injustices there is only one race: the human race, homo sapiens humans share more than 99.9% our DNA our genes are not the causes for race & racism peopleÕs actions created & perpetuated race & racism Herbert Spencer: British/racist anthropologist wanted to justify the superiority of the British empire said people in global south were poor is because they didn't meet the criteria of the survival of the Þttest What is Racism? Institutionally patterned framework for inequality Creating unequal access to key resources power wealth privilege opportunities individualsÕ ideas & actions state actions & policies History of the Idea of Race & Racial Ideology: Global Context linked to the rise & expansion of European capitalism (15th century) colonialsm & its enduring legacies imagined categories of things (Snajek 1994) International hierarchy of things (Trouillot 1994) the rise of market capitalism (Smedley 1993) Wage labor: indentured & slave labor colonialisms shape racisms: Brazil vs. the US Race & Racisms: Brazil a Portuguese colony One of the 2 largest multiracial nations in the Western Hemisphere the largest African population in the New World 40% of 12-20 million enslaved Africans came there outlawed slavery in 1888 100 different racial labels assimilation & interracial marriage no rule of hypodescent 1 drop of blood => black Òracial democracyÓ Race & Racisms: the United States about 2 million of 12-20 million enslaved africans to US race is the most important stratifying principle rigid racial categories of people the rule of hypo descent = the one drop of blood deÞnes access to key resources power wealth privileges opportunities How Has Race been Constructed in the United States? Race and the US Census form in 1850: white, black, and mulatto in 1870: white, black, mulatto, chinese, and indian (native americans) in 1940: 8 categories white, negro, indian, chinese, japanese, Þlipino, hindu, and korean immigration from other places shaped the form - hispanics illustrates how state actions & policies create & recreate racial categories Constructing Whiteness: American Colonial Life slavery & conquest of Native Americans European indentured labor & African slaves expanded plantations in the South more land-displacing & exterminating Native Americans more labor-enslaving millions of Africans (over 400 yrs) Actions justiÞed in racial terms the legal rights of landholder white supremacy: non-whites biologically different slaves as 3/5th of a person (1790-1860) The Legal Construction of Whiteness in the US colonial laws created whiteness the term white as a separate race was born in 1691 in Virginia white privileges were invented in early 1700s in Virginia the Þrst race bribe the right to own a gun, livestock, & land the right to obtain freedom at the end of indenture the right to discipline blacks the right to vote the psychological wage of whiteness (W.E.B. Dubois) Implications of the Colonial Laws divide-and-rule prevented rebellion by poor whites in collaboration with slaves boundaries were deÞned & policed the rule of hypo descent the Jim Crow (the 2nd race bribe) the War on Drugs, the new Jim Crow (the 3rd race bribe) Michelle Alexander: the New Jim Crow Ethnicity & Nationalism: The Sociocultural & Historical Complexity of Sports The symbolic values of sports personal & national identities moral education national identity/citizenship imaginations colonialism/immigration power, proÞt, media What is Ethnicity? Ethnicity is a constructed sense of belonging based on shared: culture language history kin ties & occupation religions ethnicity marked differences since ancient times ethnic identity is ßuid ÒBarbariansÓ interacted with the Romans/Greeks Constructing Ethnic Identity Barth (1969): Òthe social organization of cultural differenceÓ making boundaries via origin stories, historical events ethnic boundary markers: language, food, dress, history Constructing Indian identity in the US: Johanna Lessinger (1995) consumption public festivals- the India Day Parade in NY Indian immigrant media Little India Becoming Indian American all corners of India, with a population of 1.2 billion over 1000 languages Little Ethiopia: over 86 languages/ethnic cultures- Ethiopian American How is Ethnicity Created & Mobilized? ethnicity as a source of conßict ethno-political entrepreneurs push a worldview via the lens of ethnicity Rwanda: the Hutu vs. Tutsi conßict Resulted from the Belgian colonialism: divide & Rule strategy genocide (1 million ppl died) orchestrating ethnic conßict in the former Yugoslavia Catholics Croatians vs. Muslim Albanians driven by notions of essential, primordial, & ÒpureÓ identities How does Ethnicity Relate to the Nation? states: structures of political, economic, military rule nation-state: a political identity with a shared sense of culture, ancestry, & destiny as a people nation: a group of people with a shared place of origin nationalism: a desire to share a nation-state nation-states as imagined communities Benedict Anderson (1983) printing press in the 18th century Europe examples: the Õ90 minute nationÕ the French soccer team: colonial past immigration Discussion Race a system of classiÞcation based on physical traits (e.g. skin color) a social construction, w/ no biological basis a ßawed system often used to justify inequality inaccurately linking phenotype to genotype has differed from state to state & throughout time Whiteness & citizenship in the US free whites could be naturalized citizens those of African descent were included after Civil War Supreme Court decided who was white; sometimes inconsistent Takao Ozawa & Thiad Singh Racism perception & treatment of a racial/ethnic group, or its members, as inferior to oneÕs group can lead to prejudice & discrimination micro-aggressions individual vs. institutionalized Prejudice & Discrimination prejudice: evaluation of a group or member of that group based on conceptions about that group discrimination: negative & unequal treatment of members of a certain group based on their membership in that group Institutionalized racism patterns of racial inequality & negative treatment manifested through institutions, policies, & systems e.g. racial proÞling & tracking may not have actual intent of being racist reßects political & economic power of dominant group seen in education, health care system, housing, etc. adam ruins everything Race & Segregation segregation: geographically or socially separating ppl based on race/ethnicity associated with higher poverty, lower-quality schools & medical facilities, & closer proximity to hazardous-waste facilities made illegal after Civil Rights Movement, but its consequences persist discriminatory practices & self-segreation Color-blindess, solution or problem? proponents argue that race is a social construction, & is therefore not real should ignore racial issues in the US to discuss it is to perpetuate racism Eduardo Bonilla Silva argues that refusal to perceive any differences at all between racial groups is actually in itself racism White privilege an invisible package of unearned assets a color-blind ideology ignores the structured racial dominance in society Ethnicity ethnic identity: historical, cultural, & sometimes ancestral connection to a group shared national origin, language, & cultural or religious practices social construction just like race provides individuals with a sense of solidarity & identity Chapter 7 Notes gender studies: research into masculinity & femininity as ßexible, complex, and historically & culturally constructed categories gender is a central element in every aspect of human culture; including sexuality, health, family, religion, economics, politics, sports & individual identity formation sex: the observable physical differences between male & female, esp. biological differences related to human reproduction gender: the expectations of thought & behavior that each culture assigns to people of different sexes sexual dimorphism: the phenotypic differences between males & females of the same species differ in primary sexual characteristics (as well as secondary sexual characters (breast size, hair distribution, pitch of voice, etc.) biology cannot predict the roles that men & women play in a given culture; anthropologists consider how gender is constructed culture by culture, & they explore the implications of those constructions of for the men & women in each context cultural construction of gender: the ways humans learn to behave as a man or woman & to recognize behaviors as masculine or feminine within their cultural context gender is a powerful, yet invisible, framework that shapes the way we see ourselves & others masculinity: the ideas & practices associated with manhood femininity: the ideas & practices associated with womanhood gender is a system which we organize our collective lives, not on the basis of merit or skill, but on the constructed categories of what it means to be a man or woman Gender in the US: Boys, Girls, & Youth Sports study by Landers & Fine hierarchy of opportunity, training, & encouragement that favored boys over girls attributes stereotypically associated with boys such as athleticism, assertiveness, aggression, strength & competitiveness are actively constructed along gender lines through a wide variety of youth sports Constructing Masculinity in a US High School ethnography by C.J. Pascoe fag discourse: occurred almost exclusively among white male students in a daily banter of teasing, bullying, & harassment not about whether or not somebody was gay, but was directed at boys who werenÕt necessarily ÔmasculineÕ powerful tool for enforcing the boundaries of masculinity - a disciplinary mechanism for making sure Ôboys are boysÕ through the fear of abuse or violence girls can adopt masculinity to gain status gender performance: the way gender identity is expressed through action gender as a continuum of behaviors that range between masculine & feminine an individual may display various characteristics at different times depending on the setting e.g. a woman may enjoy sewing dresses for her daughters but also dominate boardroom discussions as CEO of a company Machismo in Mexico study by Matthew Gutmann; what it means to be a man for the men & women in Mexico City what i means to be a man (or woman) in the community can depend on the particular man or woman or the particular circumstance anthropological research suggests that more exploration must consider both the ways biology & culture shape one another & the ways in which ideas of gender are constructed & performed in response to each cultureÕs gender norms & expectations gender is a set of ßuid constructs that can be changed over time stratiÞcation based on gender is not Þxed & natural; emerges as a result of decisions to arrange access to power, privilege, & resources in particular ways intersex: the state of being born with a combination of male & female genitalia, gonads, and/or chromosomes biopower: the power of the state to regulate the body Hindu religion acknowledges these variations in myth, art, & ritual myths feature androgynous & intersex Þgures art depicts a blending of sexes & gender The Role of Hijras in Hindu Ritual hijras are religious followers of the Hindu Mother Goddess, Bahuchara Mata => often depicted & described as transgender transgender: a gender identity or performance that a does not Þt with cultural norms related to oneÕs assigned sex at birth most are born as men, though some may be intersex studied by Serena Nanda ritual initiation: extensive ritual surgery to remove penis & testicles (now outlawed in India) hijras become an alternative sex & gender tend to adopt many characteristics of the womanÕs role but neither viewed as man or woman gender stratiÞcation: an unequal distribution of power in which gender shapes who has access to a groupÕs resources, opportunities, rights, & privileges gender stereotypes: widely held preconceived notions about the attributes of, differences between, & proper roles for men & women in a culture stereotypes create important assumptions about what men & women might expect from one another gender ideology: a set of cultural ideas, usually stereotypical, about the essential character of different genders that functions to promote & justify gender stratiÞcation gender stereotype & ideology vary from culture to culture, though their effects may appear similar when viewed through a global lens Chapter 8 Notes sexuality is a cultural arena within which our desires are expressed, socialized, and thwarted an arena in which people debate ideas of what is moral, appropriate, and ÒnaturalÓ & use those ideas to create unequal access to societyÕs power, privileges, & resources MeadÕs work with young people in the islands of the western PaciÞc challenged the assumption that US attitudes about gender roles & expressions of sexuality were universal traits sexuality: the complex range of desires, beliefs, & behaviors that are related to erotic physical contact & the cultural arena within which people debate about what kinds of physical desires & behaviors are right, appropriate, & natural humans have developed a sex life that likes far outside the natural framework of that of our mammal relatives attraction, desire, & even lack of interest are not only biologically driven but also triggered by a vast array of cultural factors - including responses to the potential partnerÕs age, religion, class, race, education, & employment prospects - or previous experiences that may shape the bodyÕs physiological response to certain stimuli culture shapes what ppl think is natural, normal, & even possible Same-Gender ÒMati WorkÓ in Suriname Gloria Wekker explores the lives of black, working class Creole women in South America mati: women who form intimate spiritual, emotional, & sexual relationships with other women 3/4 working class black women engage in Òmate workÓ may engage in sexual relationships with either women or men, both women and men usually choose a visiting relationship rather than marriage to maintain their independence they see sexuality as ßexible behavior rather than Þxed identity Sexuality in Nicaragua Roger Lancaster men are considered gay if they receive anal penetration the penetrator is still considered a manly man In Nicaragua the same acts that in the US would be seen to reveal oneÕs homosexuality are interpreted differently sexology: a scientiÞc study of sexuality emerged in US in 19th century; played a central role in the establishment of heterosexuality as the dominant erotic ideal & the divide into heterosexual & homosexual groups the sex most people were having White Weddings Chrys Ingraham wedding culture enculturate boys & girls about what to do, when, and with whom, in order to lead up to that perfect day weddings are key cultural institutions through which we learn what it means to be heterosexual Michel Foucault described sexuality as Òan especially dense transfer point for relations of powerÓ in every culture, sexuality - like race, ethnicity, class & gender - is an arena in which appropriate behavior is deÞned, relations of power are worked out & inequality and stratiÞcation are created, enforced & contested a consideration of Òwho is allowed to do what with whom & whenÓ exposes the intersections of sexuality & power in a culture Intersections of Race & Sexuality for Black Gay Women Mignon MooreÕs study Black women considered black, before they are even considered their sexuality Sex, disability, & social justice in Denmark & Sweden two very liberal states sexuality is acknowledged, discussed & facilitated in Denmark in Denmark, promote welcoming attitudes regarding sex in SWEDEN erotic lives of people of disabilities are denied, repressed, & discouraged they are commonly treated like children whose erotic desires & sexual behaviors are seen as inappropriate or even dangerous to their own well being topic is to be avoided at all costs individual expressions of sexuality & local understandings of sexuality are undergoing dramatic shifts as they intersect with economic policies, immigration practices, & political movements at the national, regional, & international levels inßuenced by processes of globalization Globalization in Nigeria study by Rudolf Gaudio feminine men with the introduction of strict Islamic sharia law (forbids same-gender sexuality) => they have faced increased persecution, harassment, & marginalization because of their gender & sexual nonconformity many Nigerians regard homosexuality as part of the wave of Western inßuences that have been ßooding their country & content for mor then 100 years govÕt sees the push for gay rights as a new front of Western imperial domination 7/11/18 What is Gender? (2) Perspectives essentialist: gender is natural, biological, & rigid exists apart from social processes, independent of peopleÕs perceptions of it constructionist: gender refers to the culturally constructed roles & behaviors assigned to each sex (male/female) reality cannot be separated from the way culture makes sense of it difference is created through social processes & institutions Gender Studies gender studies: examine masculinity & femininity ßexible, complex historically & culturally constructed categories MeadÕs (& Zora HurstonÕs) work paved the way for feminist anthropology Mead (1935) studied 3 communities in New Guinea The Arapesh: women are tough, aggressive, independent The Mundugumor: both sexes Þt stereotypically male behaviors The Tchambuli: male are less responsible, gossipy Female are businesslike, sexually aggressive, providing for their family challenged US cultural assumptions about human sexuality the two, binary gender roles: male & female debunked the claim that men/women are biologically programmed to behave in certain ways evolved through (over the last 4 decades) rejecting biological determinant The Performance of Gender: Judith Butler the way gender identity is expressed through action a continuum of behaviors that range between masculine & feminine people make choices how to express their identities enables us to think beyond easy dichotomies liberating: realizing that gender is NOT a naturally limiting framework but it is a set of ßuid constructs & ßexible choices allows for dismantling gender stratiÞcation Constructionist Perspectives of Gender men & women are made, NOT born gendered roles/behaviors & expectations are assigned/constructed as a central element in every aspect of human culture we learn how to be women & men masculinity femininity sports, schools, religious institutions, families, media humans are born with biological sex biological sex does not predict gendered roles What is Sex? refers to the observable physical differences between M/F biological differences related to reproduction genitalia, gonads, chromosome patterns (XX vs. XY) body shape (the pelvis), breast size, hair distribution, & pitch of voice sexual dimorphism fall along a continuum chromosomal distinctions are untidy: XXX, XXY, X Are There More Than 2 Sexes? primary characteristics of biological sex do not neatly Þt into the 2 assumed labels of M/F Ann Fausto-Sterling theorized about 5 sexes intersexuals: with a mix of male & female traits intersexuals are viewed as a problem FoucaultÕs biopower medical intervention: Þxing them via surgery & hormonal treatment some hijras are intersexes Gender Diversity: Cross-Cultural Perspectives many societies assigned 3rd gender roles to individuals machismo & masculinity (Mexico): a constantly changing landscape does not Þt the stereotypical deÞnitions of machismo exempliÞes the ßuidity of male identity hijra of northern India: male to female via emasculation (Serena Nanda) gender variant: made up of feminine & masculine continuum the mahu gender on polynesia: a Òhe-sheÓ, a male gender diversity: participants in womenÕs voice, adopts feminine dress, speech, gestures the two-spirits people (berdache) among the Zuni of US (Ruth Benedict) The Hijras of India The Hijras of Bangladesh The Two Spirits People Gender StratiÞcation, Gender Stereotypes, & Gender Ideology unequal distribution of key resources: power, wealth, & prestige preconceived assumptions about attributes of men & women aggressive vs. nurturing intelligent vs. emotional a set of cultural ideas that naturalize attributes of men & women the egg & the sperm (the aggressive sperm vs. the submissive egg) man the hunter vs. woman the gatherer perceived historical & universal patterns of male dominance Fighting against Gender-based inequalities UNÕs SDG: achieve gender equality & empower all women challenging gender ideologies & stratiÞcation mothers of Òthe disappearedÓ in el salvador (losing children to death squads) information, occupying public spaces, protesting, holding the state accountable Globalization Reshaping WomenÕs Lives in search of: cheap labor, lower taxes, fewer regulations the gendered production processes in export factories (Barbados) gendered patterns of global migration (Filipino & Indonesian workers) Latina/o workers in the US DeÞning Sexuality the complex range of desires, beliefs, & behaviors erotic physical contact, intimacy, & pleasure the cultural arena in which people debate about ideas of what kinds of physical desires & behaviors are: morally right, appropriate & natural use these ideas to create unequal access to status, power, resources What is Sexuality? sexual ßuidity: variable patterns of sexual experience sexual orientation: enduring pattern of sexual desire for persons of: the same sex the other sex both sexes (may, may not manifest in sexual behavior) sexual identity (lesbian/gay, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual) self-concepts of individualÕs sexual selves What is the Role of ÒNatureÓ or Biology in Human Sexuality? Jared Diamond: human sexuality as a complete outlier by the standards of 30 million animal species & 4300 mammal species long-term sexual relationship, co-parenting, sex in private human women are receptive to sex at non-ovulation times having sex for fun rather than exclusively for reproduction genetics cannot predict individual human sexual behaviors humans developed a sex life that lies far outside the natural framework Culturally Constructed Desires & Behaviors cultures construct our sexual desires & behaviors people, events, & the cultural environment parents, family, friends, & doctors religious communities, sex education classes, the media the feelings & actions may have roots in human evolution but humans are enculturated from birth to channel these feelings & desires culture shapes what people think is natural & normal watching, listening, & imitating are ways to learn about sex some cultures are permissive about sexuality & premarital sex (Yanomamo) other societies are restrictive (some societies in Africa & the Middle East) honor killing same-gender Mati work in Suriname Machismo & sexuality in Nicaragua (aggression vs. passivity) sexuality & pleasure in corporate Japan (selling the idea of sex) Sexual Attraction & Behavior ÒBeauty is in the eye of the beholderÓ: no universal standards some groups like women with plump bodies (ex. the Maricopa) others like women with a slim body (ex. the Maasai in Africa) corpulence is desirable among the Siriono of Bolivia sex play varies, kissing sucking the partnerÕs lips & tongue (Trobrianders, Kwakiutl) placing lips near the partnerÕs face & suddenly inhaling (the Tinguian) How Has Sexuality Been Constructed in the US? the oppositional constructions of heterosexuality vs. homosexuality heterosexuality was invented in 1892 normalization of heterosexuality as the dominant erotic ideal discourse of sexology: a scientiÞc study of sexuality the commercialization of Òwhite weddingsÓ wedding industry ($80 billion) making brides Chapter 9 Notes kinship is the most effective strategy humans have developed to form stable, reliable, separate, & deeply connected groups that can last over time & through generations kinship: the system of meaning & power that cultures create to determine who is related to whom & to deÞne their mutual expectations, rights, & responsibilities provides support & nurture ensures reproduction of the next generation protect group assets inßuence social, economic, & political systems nuclear family: the kinship unit of mother, father, & children kinship groups come in a variety of shapes & sizes through marriage, remarriage; we adopt, foster choose families of people who care about us sometimes we imagine our nation to be part of a one big, related, kinship community descent group: a kinship group in which primary relationships are traced through certain blood relatives includes: mother, father, sister, brother, grandparents, children, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, etc. long chains of connections from parent to child that reach back through many generations to a common ancestor or group of ancestors & forward to imagined future generations lineage: a type of descent group that traces genealogical connection through generations by linking persons to a founding ancestor clan: a type of descent group based on a claim to a founding ancestor but lacking genealogical documentation may be matrilineal (constructing the group through FEMALE ancestors) or patrilineal (tracing kinship through MALE ancestors) ambilineal: traces kinship through both mother & father aka cognatic or bilateral The Nuer of Southern Sudan: studied by British anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard they constituted a patrilineal descent group both boy & girl children were born into the group, but membership could only pass to the next generation through the sons, who inherited membership through their fathers exogamous: marriages within the group not permitted Cattle => center of Nuer economic life a successful marriage proposal require the groom to provide cattle in exchange for the bride despite representing one of the six key cross-cultural variations in kinship studies, their day-to-day kinship practices didnÕt match the clear patrilineal descent model that might be imaged on a Nuer family tree Kathleen Gough revisited a generation later & found that most Nuer individuals continued to trace kinship relations through BOTH parents shows that relationships created by marriage often just as important as those created through descent particular expressions of kinship recorded by Evans-Pritchard may have been adaptations to political & economic conditions rather than an entrenched, changeless kinship norm affinal relationship: a kinship relationship established through marriage and/or alliance, not through biology or common descent builds kinship ties between two people who not immediate biological kin & in-laws linked through affinity & alliance, not through shared biology & common descent marriage: a socially recognized relationship that may involve physical & emotional intimacy as well as legal rights to property & inheritance arranged marriage: marriage orchestrated by the families of the involved parties ensure the reproduction & continuation of the kinship group & build alliances with other kin groups more of a social obligation & a symbol of commitment to the larger group than for personal satisfaction & fulÞllment companionate marriages: marriage built on love, intimacy, & personal choice rather than social obligation polygyny: marriage between one man & two or more women polyandry: marriage between one woman & two or more men monogamy: a relationship between only two partners serial monogamy: monogamous marriages following one after the other incest taboo: cultural rules that forbid sexual relations with close relatives exogamy: marriage to someone outside the kinship group endogamy: marriage to someone within the kinship group bridewealth: a gift of goods or money from the groomÕs family to the brideÕs family as part of the marriage process can stabilize the marriage by establishing a vested interest for both extended families in the marriageÕs success dowry: the gift of goods or money from the brideÕs family to the groomÕs family as part of the marriage process in instances where the dowry is considered insufficient, the bride may become a victim of domestic violence may lead to murder or suicide of the bride; through bride burning of self-immolation (India) The Langkawi of Malaysia the Langkawai house & its hearth - where ppl gather to cook & eat - serve as places to construct kinship kinship is acquired through co-residence & co-feeding sisters & brothers have the closest kinship relationship in childhood because they grow up in the same household eating the same food as they marry & move out of the shared home, their ÔbloodÕ becomes less similar many children in the community have grown up spending signiÞcant time in homes with adults other than their birth parents Ôfoster familyÕ; treated on an equal basis with those born into the family Malay ideal is to marry someone close in terms of genealogy, geography, social status, or disposition all those who live together & eat together, regardless of their backgrounds, gradually come to resemble one another physically family of orientation: the family group in which one is born, grows up, & develops life skills when adulthood is reached, expected to detach from their nuclear family of orientation, choose a mate, & construct a new nuclear family family of procreation: the family group created when one reproduces & within which one rears children Chapter 10 Notes class: a system of power based on wealth, income, & status that creates an unequal distribution of a societyÕs resources systems of class stratify individualsÕ life chances & affect their possibilities for upward social mobility systems of social class create & sustain patterns of inequality, structuring the relationship between rich & poor, between the privileged & the less well off egalitarian society: a group based on the sharing of resources to ensure success with a relative absence of hierarchy and violence human evolutionary success relied on cooperation & the sharing of food, child rearing, & hunting-and-gathering responsibilities, not on hierarchy, violence, & aggression reciprocity: the exchange of resources, goods, & services among people of relatively equal status; meant to create & reinforce social ties members of our extended ÒgroupÓ share their resources of time, food, or other amenities for the long-term beneÞt of sustaining the group ranked societies: a group in which wealth is not stratiÞed but prestige & status are largely hereditary; preset regardless of the skills, wisdom, or efforts of other members redistribution: a form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group & reallocated in a different pattern potlatch: elaborate redistribution ceremony practiced among the Kwakiutl of the PaciÞc Northwest the chief would establish & reestablish claims to prestige & status by holding an elaborate feast & gift-giving ceremony chief would give guests all of his personal possessions; the more elaborate the gift giving, the more status & rank the chief gained in the community chiefÕs generosity applied pressure on his guests to reciprocate in a later ceremony social status is established not by wealth & power, but by the prestige earned via oneÕs capacity for generosity Karl Marx against economic change & social upheaval bourgeoisie: Marxist term for the capitalist class that owns the means of production means of production: the factories, machines, tools, raw materials, land, & Þnancial capital needed to make things proletariat: Marxist term for the class of laborers who own only their labor working class; lacked land to grow their own food, tools to make their own products, & capital to build workshops or factories unable to make their own living, sold their work to capitalists in return for wages Max Weber against the backdrop of economic & social upheavals prestige: the reputation, inßuence, & deference bestowed on certain people because of their membership in certain groups certain occupations may hold higher or lower prestige in culture can affect life chances life chances: an individualÕs opportunities to improve quality of life & realize life goals determined by access to Þnancial resources & to social resources such as education, health care, food, clothing, and shelter he suggests that the state holds the monopoly on the legitimate use of force, & class-based societies & elite control of the means of production would not be possible without the exercise of state power through police, tax collectors, & military Pierre Bourdieu social mobility: the movement of oneÕs class position, upward or downward, in stratiÞed societies social reproduction: the phenomenon whereby social & class relations of prestige or lack of prestige are passed from one generation to another society is not a meritocracy habitus: BourdieuÕs term to describe self-perceptions, sensibilities, & tastes developed in response to external inßuences over a lifetime that shape oneÕs conceptions of the world & where one Þts in it taught & learned from an early age & is culturally reinforced through family, education, religion, socioeconomic status, & the media cultural capital: the knowledge, habits, & tastes learned from parents and family that individuals can use to gain access to scarce & valuable resources in society Leith Mullings intersectionality: an analytic framework for assessing how factors such as race, gender, & class interact to shape individual life chances & societal patterns of stratiÞcation 7/16/18 What is Kinship? relatedness: human kinship (99.9% of our DNA) the most effective tool for group formation a system of meaning & power that cultures create to: decide who is related to whom deÞne their mutual expectations, rights, & responsibilities in the west, it is traced biologically, & constructed through marriage & remarriage adoption fostering choosing imagination (Anderson Benedict) Descent Groups: Consanguineal & Affinal Ties biological descent: traced via consanguineal (ÔbloodÕ) ties lineage: genealogical connection to a founding ancestor proven by documentation clan: a claim to a founding ancestor not proven, no documentation available biological or marriage ties shared economic & child-rearing obligations common residence Descent Groups: Unilineal & Ambilineal ambilineal (bilateral or cognatic): through both the mother & father lines (Samoans, Maori, Hawaiians) unilineal: matrilineal (Mosso in southwestern China) patrilineal (the Nuer, & most people in the world) Evans-Pritchard studied the Nuer cattle-deÞning element of culture bride price: in cattle vs. in dollars Affinal Ties: Marriage Rules monogamy: between 2 partners polygyny: between one man & two or more women (Brahmans, Nuer) polyandry: one women & 2 or more men (Nyar, Nimba) incest taboo: rules that forbid sexual relations with certain close relatives other marriage patterns: exogamy: marriage to someone outside the kinship group endogamy: within the kinship group marriage payments: bride wealth & dowry Residence Patterns: where do married individuals live & why? neolocal: newly married couple living away from their parents popular in industrialized societies (7% of all societies) patrilocal: newly wed couple live with the groomÕs father virilocal residence: living with the husbandÕs group the most popular pattern (58% of cultures practicing it) creates alliances between groups (e.g. Yanomami) matrilocal: couple live with the brideÕs mother (15% of all societies) bilocal residence (ambilocal residence): live wither with or near the groomÕs parents of the brideÕs parents The Social Constructions of Family: what constitutes a family? Eurocentric deÞnitions of traditional family forms in terms of: biological or marriage ties shared economic & child-rearing obligations common residence These criteria did not apply to all forms of family across cultures in polygynous Betsileo of Madagascar, women & children live in one place & men in another among the Maori of new Zealand & the Cook Islands, a child is reared by a grandmother in a distant household extended, expanded families, blended, single-parent, gay families in US Functions of Kinship organize people in groups: families, residence, & descent groups shape cultureÕs economic/political/religious structures direct peopleÕs behavior: roles in society status provides security to members of group economic (lending money, sharing food, providing labor & services) support in daily tasks & major life transitions (birth/marriage/death) Inequality is Man-made: Not Natural egalitarian societies (98% of human history) hunting & gathering as economic & social structure reciprocity: the exchange of resources among people non-stratiÞed: equal access to resources absence of hierarchy & violence evidence from contemporary foraging societies: The Ju/Hoansi, Inuit, & Hadza Theories of Class: Cultural Capital Pierre Bourdieu: education & reproduction art & human tastes theorized the ties between class, culture, & power social reproduction of class at schools habits-self-perceptions & beliefs that are reinforced through: family institution education & the media cultural capital: knowledge, habits, tastes learned from parents Theories of Class: Intersectionality Leith Mullings: intersectionality among race, gender, & class reexamines class by analyzing the deep connections The Harlem Birth Right Project the impact of class , race, & gender on womenÕs health & infant morality the underlying conditions: housing, employment, child care, environment the loss of manufacturing jobs with good wages cuts in the government social services structural problems Karl Marx argued economic forces are the primary basis for stratiÞcation the Bourgeoisie exploit the Proletariat for proÞts use race, gender, & ethnicity to divide wrote Communist Manifesto, urging class consciousness Max Weber life chances: opportunities that people have in common by virtue of belonging to a particular class prestige: reputation based on membership to a group can give access to wealth Chapter 11 Notes economy: a cultural adaptation to the environment that enables a group of humans to use the available land, resources, & labor to satisfy their needs & to thrive Cohen (1974): refers to an economy as a set of adaptive strategies that humans have used to provide food, water, & shelter to a group of people through production, distribution, & consumption of foodstuffs & other goods food foragers: humans who subsist by hunting, Þshing, & gathering plants to eat pastoralism: a strategy for food production involving the domestication of animals horticulture: the cultivation of plants for subsistence through non intensive use of land & labor agriculture: an intensive farming strategy for food production involving permanently cultivated land the rise of intensive agriculture in nonindustrial cultures led to social stratiÞcation carrying capacity: the number of people who can be supported by the resources of the surrounding region the exchange of goods & ideas appears to be central to the workings of culture, establishing patterns of interaction & obligation among people; (3) main patterns of exchange reciprocity: the exchange of resources, goods, & services among ppl of relatively equal status; meant to create and reinforce social ties often raise the prestige of the gift giver generalized reciprocity: exchanges in which the value of what is exchanged is not carefully calculated & the timing or amount of repayment is not predetermined common among close kin or close friends; serves as an expression of personal connection while reinforcing family & social networks balanced reciprocity: occurs between ppl who are more distantly related; includes norms about giving, accepting, & reciprocating giver expects the gift to be accepted & then to receive something in return; recipient has an obligation to accept the gift & reciprocate with a gift of equal value goal: to build & maintain social relationships, often beyond the immediate kin group negative reciprocity: parties seek to receive more than they give, reaping a material advantage through the exchange occurs among people who are strangers, antagonists, & enemies with opposing interests parties hope to minimize their cost & maximize their return redistribution: a form of exchange in which accumulated wealth is collected from the members of the group & reallocated in a different pattern requires the collected goods to ßow through a central location - a chief, storehouse, govt, etc. brings prestige to the community leader as food & goods collected from the leaderÕs supporters are reallocated for supporting the general populace or establishing alliances with outside groups may increase or decrease the inequality of wealth & resources within a group e.g. US government collects money & then reallocates & redistributes the nationÕs wealth to provide services & infrastructure barter: the exchange of goods & services, one for the other colonialism: the practice by which a nation-state extends political, economic, & military power beyond its own borders over an extended period of time to secure access to raw materials, cheap labor, & markets in other countries or regions the conquest of Native American lands, genocide of indigenous people, & enslavement of Africans relied on intertwined ideologies of racial supremacy, patriarchy, & religious destiny to establish, expand, and justify a hierarchy of exploitation central to the European colonial enterprise modernization theories: Post-WWII economic theories that predicted that with the end of colonialism, less-developed countries would follow the same trajectory toward modernization as the industrialized countries development: Post-WWII strategy of wealthy nations to spur global economic growth, alleviate poverty, & raise living standards through strategic investment in national economies of former colonies by the 1960s, scholars began to question the Western development model; despite the end of colonialism, less-developed countries, even those with rich natural resources, did not experience modernization & economic growth dependency theory: a critique of modernization theory arguing that despite the end of colonialism, the underlying economic relations of the modern world economic system had not changed underdevelopment: the term used to suggest that poor countries are poor as a result of their relationship to an unbalanced global economic system global economy was still structured to extract resources from lessdeveloped countries & transfer them to developed, industrialized countries dependency theorists argued that underdeveloped countries should break their dependency on the global economic system & build up & protect their own self-sufficient national economic activities core countries: industrialized former colonial states that dominate the world economic system they extract cheap labor & raw materials from periphery countries & send them to the industrialized core they control the most lucrative economic processes, including the Þnancial services sector periphery countries: the least-developed & least-powerful nations; often exploited by the core countries as sources of raw materials, cheap labor, & markets est. patterns of economic, political, & military relationship ensure the steady transfer of wealth, natural resources, & human resources from the periphery to core, contributing to underdevelopment semiperiphery countries: may have developed some industry, draw resources from the periphery, & export manufactured products to the core & periphery, but they lack the economic & political power of the core Wallerstein suggests that peripheral areas often exist within core countries Appalachian mountain region within US over 80% of the worldÕs population still live in developing nations decades after the end of colonialism Fordism: the dominant model of industrial production for much of the 20th century, based on social compact between labor, corporations, & government ßexible accumulation: the increasingly ßexible strategies that corporations use to accumulate proÞts in an era of globalization, enabled by innovative communications & transportation technologies offshoring: relocating factories anywhere in the world that provides optimal production, infrastructure, labor, marketing, & political conditions outsourcing: hiring low-wage laborers in periphery countries to perform jobs previously done in core countries has transformed the local factory assembly line into a global assembly line neoliberalism: an economic and political worldview that sees the free market as the main mechanism for ensuring economic growth, with a severely restricted role for government policies are the centerpiece of an ever-evolving global economic system that promotes uneven development & ensures that wealthy countries remain wealthy & poor countries remain poor commodity chains: the hands an item passes through between producer & consumer globalization has extended their span across territories & cultures; intensifying the connection between the local & global in ways previously unimaginable Chapter 12 Notes Elman Service created framework that shaped a generation of anthropological thinking about political systems band: a small kinship-based group of foragers who hunt & gather for a living over a particular territory might range in size from twenty to several hundred people depending on the time of year & the groupÕs hunting & ritual cycles break up & reform regularly in response to conßicts among members & the formation of new alliances politically, they are highly decentralized, with decisions made primarily by consensus with limited resources to compete for, bands have minimal stratiÞcation of wealth & power require active cooperation among diverse groups of relatives & non relatives in order to successfully adapt to an unpredictable & shifting landscape tribe: originally viewed as a culturally distinct, multiband population that imagined itself as one people descended from a common ancestor; currently used to describe an indigenous group with its own set of loyalties & leaders living to some extent outside the control of a centralized authoritative state assumption that less-complex political organizations are naturally less effective, stable, rational, & civilized today, no groups operate totally outside the framework of the state even a weak state or a failed state directly inßuence all those living within its borders in modern day => ethnic group = tribe chiefdom: an autonomous political unit composed of a number of villages or communities under the permanent control of a paramount chief represented a transitional form between the simpler political structures of tribes & the more complex political structures of states might encompass thousands of people spread over many villages leadership centralized under a single ruling authority Þgure hold authority to make & enforce decisions process of redistribution served a central role in moderating inequality & limiting conßict within the chiefdom anthropologists have not observed a band, tribe, or chiefdom that has not been inßuenced by colonialism, the power of the state, & the forces of globalization no political arrangement of band, tribe, or chiefdom can operate outside the pervasive inßuence of the state state: an autonomous regional structure of political, economic, & military rule with a central government authorized to make laws & use force to maintain order & defend its territory origins of the state => the rise of agriculture & the emergence of Þxed settlements ppl of all classes within the bounds of the state acquire an identity as citizens who owe allegiance to the state, not to the local networks based on kinship, religion, or ethnicity ßuid, contested, & fragile constantly being shaped & reshaped by elections, political campaigns, court rulings, creditors, legislation, & executive orders, etc. Max Weber: the fundamental characteristic of a state is its ability to establish a monopoly on the legitimate use of force in a particular territorial domain hegemony: the ability of a dominant group to create consent & agreement within a population without the use or threat of force state sovereignty: the right of the state to maintain self-determination within its borders civil society organization: a local nongovernmental organization that challenges state policies & uneven development, & advocates for resources & opportunities for members of its local communities 7/18/18 Economy and Its Purpose adaptive strategies to satisfy basic human needs food foraging: the San in Namibia, Washo in CA, the Inuit food productions pastoralism Horticulture agriculture industrialism: industrial agriculture & manufacturing industrial revolution in Europe since the 18th century Economy: Distribution & Exchange exchange of goods & ideas central to human cultures reciprocity: exchanges & resources among ppl of equal status generalized: the value of what is exchanged is NOT calculated offering a ride to the airport balanced: giving & expecting to receive something in return: social bond negative: parties seek to receive more than they give redistribution: collecting wealth in the form of tribute/tax market exchange: the buying & selling of goods/services/labor consumerism How did contemporary Global Economy Evolve? early long-distance trades: more than 2000 yrs: Asia, the Middle East, Europe, & Africa silk, porcelain ceramics, tea, fruit, drugs, cotton, tobacco, arms, & powder (China: the middle kingdom) European trade generated surpluses for China: silver & gold EuropeansÕ interests in the Caribbean and the Americas plundered the Mayan & Aztec kingdoms/indigenous populations forcing local populations into slave labor Colonialism european countries depended on maritime trade: 1500-1800 American colonies served as a forerunner of colonial expansion the european conquests of the New World launched an era of global colonialsm redrew the map of the world reorganized the political & economic balance of power on a global scale advanced military weaponry & strategies that favored Europeans laid the foundation for todayÕs global economic system The Triangle Trade: Europe, Africa, the Americas exchanges of goods, people, wealth, food, diseases, & ideas transformed life on both sides of the Atlantic developed Europe/the US, & underdeveloped Africa a sugarcane plantation economy: exported sugar to Europe sugar sweetened coffee, tea, & cocoa plantation expanded, & rising demand for cotton in EnglandÕs textile industry: growing need for more labor: enslaving Africans free labor of African slaves The Industrial Revolution: 18th-19th century was funded by capital gained from the Triangle Trade machine-based manufacturing, led by England raw materials, cheap labor, open markets of the colonies intense competition among European countries during the 19th & early 20th centuries drove the next phase of european colonial activities the scramble for africa: the berlin conference in 1884-5 redrew the political map of Africa, Asian, & the middle east From Fordism to Flexible Accumulation Fordism: social compact among labor, corporations, govt a model of efficiency in industrial mass production: $5/8hr wage created consumers, and a rapid expansion of the middle class until the 1970s change from Fordist model to Òstrategies of ßexible accumulationÓ (David Harvey) offshoring: relocating factories for optimal production outsourcing: hiring low-wage laborers in periphery countries softward design, airplane reservation, data processing, radiology readings, textile bypass high production costs, organized labor, & environmental laws Gramsci & Foucalt Antonio Gramsci theorized about two forms of power: coercive power: institutions & force => police, the army, the court persuasive power: oratory, arguments, ideology, wealth, charisma, etc. hegemony: the ability of a dominant group to create consent & agreement without the use or threat of force subaltern: oppressed, marginalized individuals/groups Michel Foucault biopower: refers to a set of mechanisms through which the basic biological features of the human species became the object of a political control food sexuality reproduction health/illness behavior What is Power for Foucault? an art of governing via technologies of power discourse/narrative institutions (courts, schools, hospitals, prisons, etc.) how individuals use/manipulate symbols for political ends power is embedded in all human relationships sexual relationships productive relationships kinship, religion, gender, education the postmodern notions of power involve: the mundane, the informal, & the everyday use analyzing power relations = analyzing a society What is Authority? authority refers to: the exercise of legitimate power the right to rule/manage ex. chiefs, presidents, prime ministers legitimacy drives from the peopleÕs political culture expectations about the nature of power how it should be attained, used, & transferred polynesia: offering the largest pig feasts the british king: being born to the power lineage the US Constitutions: 3 branches of govt Chapter 13 Notes religion: a set of beliefs & rituals based on a unique vision of how the world ought to be, often focused on a supernatural power & lived out in community anthropologists understand that religious worlds are real, meaningful, and power to those who live in them task => make these worlds come alive for others by capturing their vivid inner life, sense of moral order, dynamic public expressions, & interactions with other systems of meaning & power martyr: a person who sacriÞces his or her life for the sake of his or her religion saint: an individual considered exceptionally close to God & who is then exalted after death religious pilgrims come in search of healing from suffering, illness, & Þnancial ruin and for relief from the presence of evil spirits religions can be ßexible & innovative at the local level; such local expressions of religion are no less complete, meaningful, or true than those taught in the most elite religious schools of theology Emile Durkheim: sacred: anything that is considered holy profane: anything that is considered unholy ritual: an act or series of acts regularly repeated over years or generations that embody the beliefs of a group of people & create a sense of continuity & belonging his work has provided key analytical tools to understand common elements in different religious movements & the practical application of religious ideas in the social life of religious adherents saw religion as ultimately social - something practiced with others - not private or individual through the collective action of religious ritual, group members reaffirm, clarify, and deÞne for one another what is sacred & what is profane anomie: an alienation that individuals experience when faced with physical dislocation & the disruption of social networks and group values rituals embody the beliefs, passions, and sense of solidarity of a group of people Arnold van Gennep rites of passage: a category of ritual that enacts a change of status from one life stage to another, either for an individual or for a group e.g. birth, coming of age, marriage, and death Victor Turner theorized that the power of ritual comes from the drama contained within it, in which the normal structure of social life is symbolically dissolved & reconstituted three stages in all rites of passage (1) individual experiences separation physically, psychologically, or symbolically - from the normal, day-to-day activities of the group; may involve going to a special ritual place, wearing special clothing, or performing actions such as shaving oneÕs head (2) liminality: a period of outsider hood, set apart from normal society, that is key to achieving a new perspective on the past, future, and current community (3) reaggregation or reincorporation: returns the individual to everyday life & reintegrates him or her into the ritual community, transformed by the experience of liminality & endowed with a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and connection to the larger group communitas: a sense of camaraderie, a common vision of what constitutes a good life, and a commitment to take social action to move toward achieving this vision that is shaped by the common experience of rites of passage pilgrimage: a religious journey to a sacred place as a sign of devotion & in search of transformation and enlightenment involves the same process of separation, liminality, and reincorporation associated with other rites of passage also shares sense of comments among those who undertake the journey life in society is a process of becoming, not being; it is a process of change religion has the ability to initiate and foster change not only in the individual but in the larger culture Karl Marx warned ppl that religion dulled peopleÕs pain so they did not realize how serious the situation was religion played a key role in keeping the proletariat from engaging in the revolutionary social change that he believed was needed to improve their situation believed that economic realities have formed the foundation of social life and have generated societyÕs primary dynamics, including class stratiÞcation & class struggle religion provides an opiate to undermine the massesÕ impulses to resist exploitation & change the social order Marvin Harris cultural materialism: a theory that argues that material conditions, including technology, determine patterns of social organization, including religious principles human culture is a response to the practical problems of earthly existence why Hindus venerate the cow, why Jews & Muslims abstain from eating pork, & why some ppl believe in witches these practices might have developed in response to very practical problems as people sought to adapt to the natural environment Max Weber religious ideas are key for understanding the unique development of societies worldwide and the rise of industrial capitalism, particularly in western Europe shamans: part-time religious practitioners with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings imitative magic: a ritual performance that achieves efficacy by imitating the desired magical result contagious magic: ritual words or performances that achieve efficacy as certain materials that come into contact with one person carry a magical connection that allows power to be transferred form person to person Evans-Pritchard: Rethinking the Logic of Magic Azande peopleÕs witchcraft does not involve rituals, spells, or medicines; it is a psychic power that may be used consciously or unconsciously by a witch to cause misfortunes or death witchcraft is inherited from a parent, and a witchÕs body contains a witchcraft substance that cannot be detected during life but during autopsy magic can be used to combat witchcraft for them, witchcraft and magic provided a rational & intellectually consistent explanation for what science cannot explain Paul Stoller Songhay region got initiated bc he practiced their rituals and such very intensely symbol: anything that represents something else they create a sense of order & resist chaos by building and reinforcing a larger worldview - a framework of ideas about what is real, what exists, and what that means authorizing processes: the complex historical and social developments through which symbols are given power & meaning Chapter 14 Notes health: the absence of disease and inÞrmity, as well as the presence of physical, mental, and social well-being medical anthropologists have identiÞed a vast array of ideas about the causes of health, & disease, different notions of the body, & varied cultural strategies to address pain, treat, illness, & promote health these beliefs & practices are intertwined with the way local cultures imagine the world works & the relationship of an individualÕs body to his or her surroundings disease: a discrete natural entity that can be clinically identiÞed & treated by health professional may be caused genetically or through infection by bacteria, a virus, or parasites => same regardless of location or cultural context illness: the individual patientÕs experience of being unwell the culturally deÞned understanding of disease the way he or she feels about it, talks about it, thinks about it, & experiences it within a particular cultural context culture gives meaning to disease, shaping the human experience of illness, pain, suffering, dying, and death sickness: an individualÕs public expression of illness and disease, including social expectations about how one should behave & how others will respond before seeking the assistance of a trained medical professional, people everywhere apply their personal medical knowledge, their own strategies for dealing with disease, illness, pain & discomfort ethnomedicine: local systems of health and healing rooted in culturally speciÞc norms & values includes the ways in which local cultures create unique strategies for identifying & treating disease and conceptualizing the experience of health, illness, & the physical world non-Western health systems; emphasized natural healing remedies such as herbs, teas, and massage; reliance on religious ritual in health practices, & the role of locally trained healers ethnopharmacology: the documentation & description of the local use of natural substances in healing remedies & practices they also consider Western biomedicine Healing Practices of Tibetan Buddhism Applied in Northern India Ladakh people => their only health care is provided by approx. 200 machos, traditional healers whose healing practices are deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism amchi medicine is based on achieving bodily & spiritual balance between the individual & the surrounding universe diagnose ailments by questions patients questions, examining bodily wastes, & carefully taking the pulse treatments include: changes in diet & behavior & the use of natural medicines made in water & taken by the patient as an infusion or drink no surgery, if absolutely necessary, taken to Western doctor biomedicine: a practice, often associated with Western medicine, that seeks to apply the principles of biology & the natural sciences to the practice of diagnosing disease & promoting healing medical migration: the movement of diseases, medical treatments, and entire health-care systems, as well as those seeking medical care, across national borders medical 7/23/18 DeÞning Religion: A Belief in Supernaturalism critical role in human life & culture supernatural vs. religion a ÒuniversalÓ deÞnition vs. unique local expressions beliefs that prescribe how the world should be lived out in community revealed via supernatural power the everyday religious practices of people in communities rituals, magic, pilgrimages, rites of passage, sacred & profane Anthropological Study of Religion: SigniÞcance provides insight into: meaning & human difference power relations love & Sexuality morality & mortality human origins kinship insight into how religion works in your own life the US the world Shared Characteristics of Religion all local expressions of religion combine some of the following: belief in powers or deities whose abilities transcend the natural world myths & stories reßecting on the meaning & purpose of life rituals that reinforce collective beliefs powerful symbols & specialists a community of believers Example, NidaÕs work on the Gurage of Ethiopia 3 deities: Bozha (thunder god), damamuit (fertility goddess), waq (sky god), vs. Christianity & Islam (the Muslim shrine of Yabret Shehoch) Why Do People Develop Religions? religions perform speciÞc functions including: cohesion & support (Emile Durkheim: solidarity) education & discipline (the Ten Commandments) revitalization & euphoria (the molimo ceremony of the Mbuti pygmies in Africa) ecology (cows are sacred in India, eating beef is prohibited in Hinduism) explaining the unexplainable: a variety of misfortunes in life Anthropological Insights into How Religion Works shaped by the ideas of Durkheim, Marx and Weber Emile Durkheim: sacred vs. profane, the effect of ritual, solidarity a uniÞed system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things uniting into one single moral community Karl Marx: religion as Òthe opiate of the massesÓ (Marvin Harris) religion worked like a narcotic in dulling peopleÕs pain: exploitation keeping the working poor from engaging in the revolutionary change religious institutions mask the material conditions of & exploitation Max Weber: religion as agent of social transformation key for understanding the rise of industrial capitalism ascetic values of self-denial & self-discipline from Calvinistic Protestant teachings Anthropological Insights: Religion and Rituals people live religions through their actions: rituals rites of passage: life transitions (A. Gennep) chisungu songs (Audre Richards, the Bemba of Zambia) the power of rituals form the drama from within it (Victor Turner) separation, liminality, & reincorporation: communitas, pilgrimage religion & cultural materialism (Marvin Harris) why do humans behave in certain ways? cows signiÞes ahimsa - the practice of non-violence & respect for life the unity of all life is critical to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism Beliefs in Supernatural Beings & Forces supernatural beings: invisible beings that exhibit form, personality: gods, demons, souls, ghosts, tricksters, witches supernatural forces magic: the techniques used to manipulate supernaturall forces & beings Evans-Pritchard: magic as organized, rational/logical act Paull Stoller in Songhay, Niger imitative magic: drawing, photo, & carving that result in desired outcomes contagious magic: hair, footprints, hoof prints, feces combined baseball magic (George Gmelch): hitting & pitching using fetishes (charms) to inßuence the outcome Supernatural Practices & Practitioners: Shamanism shamans: specialize in dealing with supernatural beings & forces using a variety of techniques: drumming, medicinal ßora, psychosomatic practices priest: a fulltime supernatural practitioner who is part of a bureaucracy chaplain, pastor, monk, etc. formal religious institutions with trained specialists/moral rules/ritual practices ritual: behavior that is formalized, repeated, with symbolic meanings rituals occur in 2 major categories of ceremonies across cultures: rites of passage: Barmitzvah/Batmitzvah, wedding/funeral rites of intensiÞcation: chisungu Religion as a System of Power & Meaning symbols (Weber & Geertz): sacred cow, cross, Torah scroll, Mecca deep meaning & powerful emotions authorizing processes: hajj, Sharia blurring the boundaries between meaning & power: e.g. Zapatista globalization shaping religion migration: immigrant Chinese Gods transnational ties The Cultural Notions of Health & illness WHOÕs standard deÞnition of health as: the absence of disease & inÞrmity the presence of physical, mental, & social well-being medical anthropology: healing practices & health systems around the globe indigenous & tribal communities farming communities urban metropolises & migrant communities Medical anthropology generates knowledge on: ideas about the causes of health & disease concepts of the body strategies to address pain, treat illness, & promote health beliefs & practices are intertwined with the local perspectives how the world works & of individualÕs body distinguish between: disease-natural entity, caused genetically or via infection illness: individual patientÕs experience of being ill including how you feel, talk, think about it, & experience it sickness-public expression of illness/disease Ethnomedicine: Local Health Systems Everywhere study of local systems of health & healing embedded in culturally speciÞc norms & values creating unique strategies for dealing with diseases conceptualizing the experience of: health illness the physical world Non-Western Systems natural healing remedies such as: herbs, teas, & massage, reliance on religious rituals in health practices locally trained healers like shamans, spirit mediums, & priests ethnopharmacology: documenting & describing the local use of natural substances e.g.: amchis => traditional healers whose healing practices are deeply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism Biomedicine applies the principles of biology & the natural science to: the practice of diagnosing diseases & promoting healing encompasses many local variations & a range of treatment practices characterized by the use of medication, surgery, & other invasive treatments a predominance in many Western cultures all medical systems constitute a form of ethnomedicine they develop from & are embedded in particular local cultural reality we might call all healers: ethno- healers practicing local health knowledge about disease illness health Medical Anthropology: folk medicine folk medicine: ordinary peopleÕs perceptions of health, illness, & cures studies of folk medicine among Hispanic populations in the US, Latin America, & Mexico provide unique perspectives Susto: a common folk illness (Fright sickness) severe cases (espanto) result in higher death rates greta & azarcon (a folk cure for empacho- constipation & indigestion) Cultural Notions of the Body Shape Health Practices we are embodied beings bodies are constructed vs. as natural, isolated, universal Scheper-Hughes & Lock (1987): a womanÕs story of her illness vs. studentÕs reaction