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Culture and Society questions

Terms in this set (145)

There is evidence that minority residents of Anytown have less access to resources such as strong schools, libraries, and recreational centers than their majority counterparts. This is an example of
stratification.
The human body contains roughly 100 trillion cells. Approximately what percentage of those cells are independent microorganisms?
90 percent
Fatima lives in rural Morocco. Before her sister's wedding, she will decorate the bride's hands and feet with henna, a temporary dye used to make elaborate tattoos. She goes on YouTube and Instagram to study the latest henna designs from around the world and chooses a few that are stylish and modern but also traditional enough to satisfy their elders. Her research BEST represents what perspective?
cosmopolitanism
Bedouin women living on the margins of society in Egypt are often illiterate but maintain rich traditions of oral poetry and song. Anthropologists point out that political and socioeconomic conditions, not a lack of interest in modern life, have shaped Bedouin women's current realities. This explanation is based on a perspective of
historical particularism.
What research idea BEST represents one that might deal with epigenetics?
tracking the long-term effects of radiation exposure on infants living near the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident
In the United States, people drive on the right side of the road, whereas in Great Britain people drive on the left. This is an example of a difference in
cultural norms.
The Nazi regime used forms of material power such as political coercion and military brute force, but it also created generalized agreement among the German population about the "dangers" of Jews, Roma, and other groups. This type of societal agreement allowed the horrors of the Holocaust to take place and can BEST be described as
hegemony.
According to Clifford Geertz, when one person winks at another, the symbolic meaning of the wink depends on the situation, the relationship between the people, and their ability to understand what is being communicated. This involves deep cultural knowledge, and to fully understand it, the anthropologist should use a perspective of
the interpretivist approach.
In Samoan villages, parents do not use "baby talk" with infants and expect children to run simple errands when needed. These practices are BEST described as part of the Samoan system of
enculturation.
Anthropologists might BEST refute the idea that human culture is biologically determined by using which observation?
All humans must eat, but eating habits vary across groups.
When the French government banned the use of religious symbols in schools in 2004, it focused not merely on people's individual beliefs, but also sought to shape national society by creating new rules within an established
cultural institution.
Advances in seafaring technology allowed Europeans in the fifteenth century to travel farther and faster than before, thus seeing more of the diversity of the 'world's people. In response, they created the concept of "race," which divided the world's population into distinct categories and created a lasting and influential
mental map of reality.
The handshake as a form of greeting in the United States is an example of a
cultural symbol.
American gun culture is shaped by major economic, political, and social forces present in the United States. According to Clifford Geertz, the BEST way to study this culture is to use
thick description.
Bertram marries someone from outside his cultural group. Which anthropological term BEST describes this situation?
exogamy
Debates about privacy in post-September 11 American society are fundamentally debates about
cultural values.
In Spain, morning lasts from the time people get up until about 2:00 p.m., when they eat the main meal of the day. In the United States, morning lasts from the time people get up until about noon, when they eat lunch. This means that the concept of morning adapts to different
mental maps of reality.
During the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, regular citizens across Middle Eastern countries took to the streets to protest policies and treatment by government officials. These public protests were an example of the exercise of which type of power?
agency
Imagine that you are driving in Taiwan. You arrive at a red, eight-sided sign. Even though you may not understand what is written on the sign, you know that it is telling you to stop. The sign itself is an example of a cultural
symbol.
Imagine that you decide to study your workplace as an anthropologist. In your final analysis, you describe the owner and founder as "the brain" of the organization, the manager as the "heart and lungs," and the employees as "the muscular system." You note that each of these "parts of the body" has to do its job and if not, it must be repaired or replaced for the business to keep working smoothly. Your anthropological perspective is BEST described as
structural functionalism.
In human history, culture has played an important role in the physical evolution of the human body. Which example BEST illustrates this?
the development of stone tools
The nineteenth-century theory of unilineal cultural evolution held that, of all the world's cultures, Western cultures were the most
ivilized.
The development of today's consumer culture requires that people continually desire and purchase new goods and services. This contrasts with the frugality and modesty of the so-called "Protestant ethic" of the past and represents a shift in cultural values. What bears the MOST responsibility for this shift?
the advertising and financial services industries
A hydroelectric dam is built in Haiti to provide electric power to those who can afford it. The Haitian citizens who had lived in the valley where the dam is built are relocated to a mountainous location where it is very difficult for them to make a good enough living to afford electricity. Which key dynamic of globalization does this story BEST illustrate?
uneven development
Anil is an anthropologist who studies how words transmitted via social media have been used both to resist and to uphold power during recent revolutionary periods in Libya, Egypt, and the Sudan. Anil would most likely classify himself as a(n)
linguistic anthropologist.
What BEST characterizes the current time period?
Anthropocene
April is excited to see a display of arrowheads and other stone tools in a local museum. She wants to learn more about some of the tools. Which type of anthropologist should she contact?
archaeologist
What is an anthropologist MOST likely to study?
how minority residents of a small town work together to resist discriminatory policies
A hundred years ago in the United States, most college-age adults envisioned living and working near the town where they grew up. Today, many more college-age adults envision living and working in a location away from the town where they grew up. Which key dynamic of globalization BEST explains this phenomenon?
increasing migration
Which of the following would be considered participant observation?
living in a Brazilian shantytown (favela) to learn how locals cope with poverty
When did anthropology arise as a scientific discipline?
the mid-1800s
Augusto is a farmer who encounters several bones while plowing his field and wants to know if the bones are human. Which type of anthropologist should he call?
biological anthropologist
Scientists predict what change in global temperatures by the year 2100?
an increase of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit
Ana has started a project comparing ethnographic data about educational techniques in Lesotho to data about educational techniques in New York City. This process is known as
ethnology.
Which key dynamic of globalization is at work when Andre sends a text message and becomes concerned when he does not receive an immediate response?
time-space compression
An archaeological team decides to hire a cultural anthropologist to interview villagers nearby the excavation site. This cultural anthropologist will work with locals to turn the site into an appealing and accessible tourism destination for visitors, thus providing a new source of income for the community. The cultural anthropologist's approach can BEST be described as
applied.
Which of the following do anthropologists believe to be true?
Few, if any, isolated groups have existed in human history.
A company is interested in building a new factory in Bolivia and wants to know how to ensure positive interactions between workers and management. Which type of anthropologist should the company contact?
cultural anthropologist
A company that used to be based solely in the United States now has factories in the United States plus Mexico, Guatemala, and Indonesia. Which key dynamic of globalization is at work in this example?
flexible accumulation
Carlos is an anthropologist who wants to learn more about American college student culture. He decides to enroll in a college, take classes, live in a dorm, and interact with students. This ethnographic technique is best known as
participant observation
Claudia is frustrated because, having just arrived at her field site, she is having a hard time convincing people to sit down for an interview with her. To reassure her, it would be most appropriate to say, "Don't worry, you just haven't had enough time to
build rapport
During fieldwork, conversational pauses or things unsaid by respondents can convey important meaning. Which term is used in your chapter to describe these elements of a story that are not told or seen, or key details omitted from a conversation?
zeros
Among the following, the best example of qualitative data would include
field notes recorded during participant observation.
Nancy Scheper-Hughes is identified in the chapter as an engaged anthropologist. Which of the following challenges has she sought to address through her work in Brazil?
child mortality
Anthropological descriptions of cultural groups often include discussions of the role of the anthropologist herself in conducting the research. This provides important context to the reader and is a concept known as
reflexivity.
The process of fieldwork alters the character of
both the anthropologist and the study community.
Which statement is at the core of the American Anthropological Association's statement on ethics?
Do no harm.
Rania has been doing ethnographic fieldwork with members of a Hmong-speaking community in Wisconsin who have helped her compose and revise interview questions. This collaboration is an example of what ethnographic technique
polyvocality
Which of the following statements about early anthropological investigations is accurate?
The roots of anthropological fieldwork lie in the globalization of the late 1800s.
Quality ethnographic writing should include which of the following perspectives?
both emic and etic
You spend most weekends engaged in participant observation of ritual feasting and dancing in your study community. What is the best way to record your observations so you can analyze the cultural significance of these gatherings?
Keep detailed field notes after each celebration and compare your observations.
Charles is interested in studying access to paved sidewalks, bike paths, and jogging trails as a means of encouraging fitness in his study community. As a first step in his research, he would most likely create a map of the community's
built environment.
Concerned about the impacts of European settlement, Boas and his students rapidly gathered ethnographic material from Native American groups so that they could learn as much as possible about them. This type of study is known as
salvage ethnography.
Chan has started a project comparing ethnographic data about health care practices in a Mozambique village to data about similar techniques in rural Kentucky. This approach is known as
ethnology.
Anthropologists are ethically bound to let those we study know why we are studying them, and to obtain their permission to do so. Which term summarizes this obligation?
informed consent
Ethnographies about Puerto Rican culture written by Julian Steward and Sydney Mintz are important to the history of anthropological research because they
examine how communities integrate into the modern world system.
Francisco returned from 18 months of fieldwork in Mongolia and is now writing the introduction to his new ethnography. By describing his language training, how long he spent doing research, and his prior experience as a Peace Corps volunteer, he is most likely striving to establish
ethnographic authority.
Curtis wants to study how teachers in an urban elementary school feel about administrators such as the principal and superintendent. He wants to use a hidden camera in the teachers' lounge to capture teacher comments. This study would best be described as
not ethical because there is no plan for obtaining informed consent.
Laws implemented to legally enforce racial segregation in the American South after the Civil War were known as
Jim Crow Laws
"Middle Eastern" is a categorization that gained prominence in American discourse after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The solidification of this category is BEST described as a result of
racialization.
New York City public schools have been found to have highly disparate funding allocations, giving more money per student to schools in neighborhoods with mainly white students. This is BEST characterized as an example of
institutional racism that perpetuates historic modes of discrimination.
Despite experiences of discrimination early on, Italians, Irish, and eastern European immigrants got incorporated into the category of "white" fairly quickly in the early twentieth century. One of the MAIN reasons for this had to do with
economic incentives and government-sponsored programs.
The idea of hypodescent (similar to the belief in racial difference on which it is based) can be said to be a "human construct" MOSTLY because
it is based on ideology rather than on phenomena proved to exist in nature.
What percentage of the human genetic code influences visible characteristics associated with race?
less than 0.1 percent
To say that "there is no biological basis for race" can MOST accurately be restated as
race involves ideas and observations separate from biology.
If you walked from western Africa to Russia, you would not find a point along the way where you could identify a distinct change in skin color among the people living there. This thought experiment BEST suggests that the phenotypic criteria we commonly use for race, such as skin color, hair texture, or eye shape exist
along a continuum of normal human variation.
What is an example of nativism
policies providing more social services to native-born citizens than to immigrants
Increasingly, anthropologists and activists are drawing attention to whiteness in examining race and racism. By referring to whiteness as an "unmarked category" they MOST likely mean that it has been
treated as a default identity against which other groups are measured.
What is an example of colonialism
the control of one country over other territories
Early European settlers to North America believed themselves to be intellectually superior to Native Americans, and thus destined to rule them. This is an example of
racial ideology
Emily, who was born in New Jersey to Korean parents, meets a group of students at her college freshman orientation. After she introduces herself as being from Newark, one of her peers says, "But where are you really from?" Their comment could be considered an example of
microaggression
Former President Barack Obama had a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya. His race is commonly described as African American or black. This is MOST closely an example of what concept?
hypodescent
The concept of race that most people are familiar with today emerged
in the 1400s, with European colonial expansion
The "invisible knapsack" is Peggy McIntosh's metaphor for
the unearned and often unrecognized advantages held by white people.
What can be seen by the naked eye
phenotype
What term would be used to describe all members of the Turkish population living outside of Turkey yet maintaining emotional and material ties to their homeland?
diaspora
India has a population of about 1.3 billion people. It is impossible that any individual citizen would meet all other members of their home nation. Still, literacy movements, especially in rural areas of the country, promote the reading of national newspapers, which promote the sense that all Indians share common concerns and beliefs. What term BEST applies to this example?
imagined community
What is defined as "a sense of historical, cultural, and sometimes ancestral connection to a group of people who are imagined to be distinct from those outside the group"?
ethnicity
The slaughter of as many as one million Tutsis in Rwanda during the 1990s is an example of
genocide.
America's first Thanksgiving is an example of a(n)
origin myth
Of the nearly two hundred nation-states in the world today, how many existed in their current form during the nineteenth century?
very few
A shared language or religion is an example of a(n)
ethnic boundary marker.
What BEST describes one of the unexpected effects of globalization on ethnic identity
People have turned to ethnicity for support, safety, and solidarity
U.S. campaigns to establish English as the official language of towns, states, and even the federal government are MAINLY an attempt to
counteract multiculturalism
What was the MAIN reason that the Belgian colonial government in Rwanda established a national identity card that included the category "ethnicity"?
to enforce segregation between Hutus and Tutsis
Croat attempts to remove Muslim individuals from a village in the former Yugoslavia (now central Bosnia) are an example of
ethnic cleansing.
What term is MOST strongly connected to the idea of assimilation?
melting pot
What is an example of groupism?
the temptation to divide populations into distinct groups despite fuzzy boundaries
In the nation of Myanmar, propaganda accuses the Rohingya of plotting to wipe out followers of which religion?
Buddhism
Professional golfer Tiger Woods has parents from two different ethnic groups, African American and Asian American. He has been criticized in the past for identifying with both of these groups at different times. Anthropologically, we see this behavior not as reason for critique, but rather as an example of
situational negotiation of identity
What is one way globalization has influenced the female labor force in developing countries
More women are traveling to wealthier nations to provide services such as housekeeping and child care.
How have most Western societies, responded to the small minority of individuals who are intersex (born with a combination of male and female genitalia, gonads, and/or chromosomes)?
by assigning a gender, often with surgery or hormone treatment
In Mexican society, males are often associated with the term machismo, which indicates toughness and self-centeredness. This is an example of the
cultural construction of gender.
What is an example of how gender ideology is often reflected in gender stereotypes?
descriptions of the roles of egg and sperm in biology textbooks
What are the primary factors that have generally been considered in determining an individual's sex?
genitalia, gonads, chromosome patterns
True or false? Males are the universally dominant gender in human societies.
False, because previous assumptions of universal male dominance were revealed to be overly simplistic.
What percentage of the world's poorest people are women and girls?
60 percent
With low wages and strict controls on speed and productivity, how do Barbadian "pink-collar" workers in the informatics industry express their agency?
by choices in dress and hairstyles
Henry believes that women don't belong in politics or business and should do all of the cooking and cleaning around the home. Aside from being seen as particularly boorish by contemporary American cultural standards, Henry's beliefs are an example of
gender stereotypes.
According to C. J. Pascoe's research in a U.S. high school, what did students use to establish and protect their sense of masculinity?
"fag" discourse
Identify the anthropological evidence that has helped challenge the notion that early human males were hunters and primary providers for their kin groups whereas women played secondary, passive roles.
Current foraging societies display collaboration rather than strict division between gender roles.
Among the Etoro of Papua New Guinea, males have almost exclusive access to power, wealth, and resources over females. This is an example of
gender stratification.
In many Western countries, both men and women cook but women tend to cook the family dinner and restaurant chefs are more likely to be men than women. This an example of
how culture shapes gender roles.
"Research into understanding how gender identities and expressions are shaped and affect one's life chances" is known as
gender studies.
Transgender individuals are common in many Native American groups. What term is MOST appropriately used today to describe such individuals?
Two-Spirits
Human males are, on average, stronger than females. Human females, on average, live longer than males. These are all examples of
sexual dimorphism.
What is described as an example of gender diversity in a culture?
the role of hijras in India
Approximately what percentage of humans are born with biological traits associated with neither exactly male nor female?
1.7 percent
What is one of the MAIN reasons that anthropologists consider gender to be "performed" rather than hardwired or innate?
Each of us makes continual choices about how we will display our gender identity, according to the situation and who is around.
What BEST describes the approach used by women activists in El Salvador to empower women and stop the systematic sexual violence used by the government during the civil war?
They leveraged traditional ideologies of motherhood and nurturing to directly confront injustice.
Which of the following represents what Michel Foucault referred to as biopower?
medical procedures on intersex individuals
Mignon Moore's research with black lesbian couples in the United States suggests that they are creating a new version of which cultural value?
respectability
Chrys Ingraham believes that the notion of "white weddings" influences American society in which of the following ways?
The father "giving away" the bride promotes the idea of women as "property.
Helen Fisher suggests that through evolution humans have developed a set of neurochemicals that drive an "evolutionary trajectory of loving." What is a neurochemical that she sees as important in human sexuality?
dopamine
In which nation are white-collar male workers likely to visit highly sexualized "hostess bars" with colleagues after work?
Japan
The scientific study of sexuality that began to emerge in the United States in the late 1800s and continues today is known as
sexology.
What BEST articulates Alfred Kinsey's position on human sexual behavior?
Humans exhibit a continuum of behaviors from homosexual to heterosexual.
According to Rudolf Gaudio's research in northern Nigeria, which of the following BEST states how 'yan daudu conceptions of homosexual behavior different from most Western conceptions?
Yan daudu can marry women, form families, and have children.
What do black lesbian couples describe as being the MOST influential part of their identities, according to Mignon Moore's research?
race
A cultural anthropologist studying human sexuality would be MOST interested in studying the effect of
the media on sexuality.
What percentage of college students in a 2006 college survey would define oral sex as "having sex" with someone?
40 percent
Who might be thought of as displaying machismo in Nicaraguan culture?
a high school male who boasts of multiple female sexual partners
The term heterosexuality has been in use in Western culture
since the 1890s.
Which animals have sex for fun as opposed to exclusively for reproduction?
humans, dolphins, and bonobos
Jared Diamond refers to humans as "the animals with the weirdest sex life." His findings, based on comparisons with millions of other animal species, MOST strongly suggest that
environment and culture also play roles in human sexuality.
In October 2014, Columbia University students carried twenty-eight mattresses onto campus to protest
alleged improper handling of sexual assault cases.
A full understanding of sexuality would need to include erotic desires, beliefs, and behaviors, as well as
ideas about what is considered acceptable and how power affects people's experiences.
What is the MOST commonly practiced marriage type in the United States today?
companionate marriage
Biology and marriage are not the only bases for kinship in human societies. What BEST describes behaviors that may constitute an additional kinship strategy?
living or eating together, which leads to adoption/fostering
A culture's definition of kinship ALWAYS helps determine the
expectations for different roles, such as mother, father, or uncle.
Ibrahim's family taught him values that he rebelled against as a teenager. Now that he's older, he's beginning to see the wisdom of his parents' lessons. They provided for him a family of __________. When Ibrahim gets married, he and his wife decide to wait a few years before having kids. Once they do, they will be a family of __________.
orientation, procreation
Members of the Nuer tribe trace genealogical connections over time via relatedness to founding ancestors. When these relationships cannot be documented, what term BEST represents this concept?
a clan
Traditionally, Nuer men could be married to more than one woman. Which term BEST describes this practice?
polygyny
Which term refers to marriage to one person (only)?
monogamy
In the United States, law and custom forbid marriage to certain family members. These laws and customs perpetuate
kindred exogamy.
In her study of the Flats, a community outside of Chicago, Carol Stacks found that residents created new kinship relationships when necessary MAINLY to
help one another survive poverty.
When Lupe first started researching her family's history, she went to Ancestry.com and, to limit her search, focused only on people related to her "by blood" until she could locate her great-great-great-grandparents on both her mother's and father's sides of the family. (She figured that later on she could look for people who married into the family.) In other words, Lupe was MOST interested in defining her ancestral kinship in terms of
a descent group.
Stan and Sue get married. Their respective families now have occasion to get to know one another. What BEST describes their new interaction?
an affinal relationship
In India, the compulsory practice of a bride's family providing gifts to the groom's family upon marriage was outlawed in 1961, as it led to multiple cases of domestic violence. This practice was best known as
dowry.
What is a common purpose of marriage in human societies?
determining control of property and inheritance
Upon marriage, the groom's family presents the bride's family with a meaningful monetary gift. Which term is MOST applicable to this situation?
bridewealth
Which of the following households would be considered a nuclear family?
a mother, a father, and their nine children, ages one to seventeen
In certain remote parts of Tibet, one woman will become married to all of the brothers in a particular family. Which term BEST describes this practice?
polyandry
A framed coat-of-arms hangs on the wall of Lourdes's grandmother's house in Paraguay certifying her family's ancestral connection to a general in the Spanish forces that colonized South America in the 1600s. What term BEST represents Lourdes's genealogical link to this man?
lineage
For historical and religious reasons, Jewish women in Israel feel great pressure to reproduce the family and the nation. How is this ideal encouraged in Israeli policy?
Israel has more fertility clinics per person than any other nation.
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