Ant 160 Exam 1 Study Guide
Anthropology:
Anthropology- a social science that studies all humans at all times and their diversity, an examination of human
adaptation, also used to solve human problems
4 fields of anthropology- archeology (prehistoric and historic), physical/biological (study of humans as a biological
species), linguistics (historical, descriptive and sociolinguistics), cultural (study of contemporary cultures)
Why is Anthropology unique? Its cross cultural approach, scope of study, holistic perspective, its curiosity to discover
cultural universals and particulates
What is applied anthropology? Problem solving
Culture:
6 defining features:
SharedLearned- by means of enculturation (generation to generation) or acculturation (one culture to another)
Levels -national, international, subculture
Symbolic- verbal (languages) and nonverbal (signs and symbols)
Cultural normsIdea vs. real patterns of cultureCulture is- Adaptive & maladaptive/integrated/ culture change
Cultural relativism- appreciation for other ways of living as a human being
Ethnocentrism- thinking your culture is “best”
Naïve realism- thinking that all humans are the same
Culture shockCultural universals- things that is true across different cultures
Subsistence Handout:
Adaptation- humans adapt biologically and culturally
Definition of subsistence strategy- getting food, shelter and clothing, a cultural adaptation to the environment
Features of food collectors- lowest population density, small community size, band level (10-50), nomadic or semi
nomadic, no fulltime specialist, no individual differences in wealth (egalitarian), informal noninstitutionalized leadership,
generalized reciprocity= sharing, nuclear family as basic unit
Kinship:
Cultural universal
Definition
Consanguineal- by birth
Affinal- by marriage
Bilateral kinship- affiliate with mother and fathers sides, all relatives are important, not a descent system, no clear cut
groupings, makes marriage complicated
Unilineal decent: descent on one side of the family
Patrilineal-descent on father’s side
Matrilineal- descent on the mother’s side
Lineages- descent from a known ancestor
Clans- assumed descent from an ancestor creates larger groupings and includes more territory,
Functions of unilineal groups: regulate marriage, economic functions, political functions, religious functions
Marriage:
Cultural universal- diversity! shaped by incest taboos, tells you who you can and can’t marry
Why marry?
Economics- division of labor, childrearing
Political- alliances, establishes affinal kin, links larger territories
Social- sexual competition, important for social order
Religious- god told us to
Arranged vs. love marriage? - reasons to marry
Monogamy= 1 male, 1 female
Bride service- when a new husband goes and lives with the family and hunts etc…
Nuclear family- mom dad and siblings
Sexuality: is a Cultural universal
Gender definition- male or female, based on biological factors
Sex definition- …
Sexuality=Sexual Culture- social knowledge, emotional patterns, channels and restricts sex (premarital)
Norms- culture rules of what’s “acceptable”
Values- based on cultural norms
Why sex? - Important to establish a strong social relationship, procreation, recreation
Gender identity- a sense of belonging based on how someone identifies oneself
Gender role- expected behavior, may become very stereotypical
Gender signs- outward signs of identity, clothes, jewelry etc
Aging:
Senescence- old age or aging
Age stages- infant, child, adult, etc… lots of culture don’t have an “adolescence”
Life course- important unit of study
Sociocultural gerontology- anthropology of aging, comparative, cross cultural,
Ageism- prejudice or discrimination based on age
Political Organization:
Cultural universal/bands/ conflict
Ant 160 Exam 2 Study Guide
Lecture:
Lee Video
Wildlife Conservancies (community based natural resource management)EcotourismArts &CraftsCultural Resource ManagementProblems:
Land &water RightsPovertyLanguage & Cultural RightsHIV/AIDSOutmigration for wagesOther refugeesLack of education & training & jobsRacismSources of Culture ChangeCulture Contact/ ColonialismCommercialization (outmigration for work, cash cropping, trade w/ neighbors)Religious changePolitical & Social ChangeColonialism:
DefinitionBelief SystemEffectsBefore colonialismAfter colonialismThe Berlin ConferencePastoralism & Tribal Organization Handout
Bilateral Kinship vs. Patrilineal/Matrilineal Descent Handout
Saitoti: Set I, II, III questions“People of Cattle” (origins, present day location)the “new Pastoralism”/ semi-nomadic (transhumance)Colonialism and the MaasaiAge & Sexual division of labor of Maasai
Important social rules
Biological vs. social fatherRelationships with family members (mother, father) over the life courseSaitoti’s school experiencesReligion experiencesExperiences with white people-
Maasai women: control of gourds & jewelry
CircumcisionMarriage“wealth-in-people’Wealth= cattle (two different concepts)Enkishon= blessed with children
Laibon= political & religious informal leaderMythology about maasai and their cattleKraal- houses, sign of prosperity in the villages (roof of pure cow dung), thornbushes, meat camps
Maasai marriage: polygyny, patrilocal, exogamy
Maasai descent: partlineal
Values of educationMaasai men: patriarchal, control of the cattle & people, circumcision, marriage, role of elders
Saitoti’s experiences in Europe, the US (NYC, LA, Boston), his 2 jobs in Tanzania
Importance of rituals (know what rituals are practiced we have discussed)
The Man of the Serengeti- why was he coming home in the video, “Serengeti Diary”?/ Two Worlds?
Il-murran (singular), moran (plural)
Lecture:
“Serengeti Diary”- conservation, poaching, marriage, lifecourse, rituals, il-murran, elders
“Maasai Today”: Culture ChangePastoralism & tribal organizationFamily/ marriageReligion/ ritualsIl-murran & age-set systemConservative vs. progressive- they are very weary and suspicious of change,
Importance of educationSaitoti IV:
Age set systemLifecourse of males and females compared
Know the age-stages &order!
Ant 160 Final Exam Study Guide
SUDAN COUNTRY PROFILE/ POPULATION OVERVIEW HANDOUT:
Ethnicity in terms of Blacks/ Arabs: 52% black, 39% Arab
Religion: Sunni muslim 70% in north, 25% indigenous, Christian 5% in south/Khartoum
Language(s): Arabic and English are “official”, program of arabization in progress, Nubian
Type of government: alliance of military, national assembly, based on English common law and Islamic law, Islamic
oriented authoritarian govt
Political control: since 1956 military regimes have been in control, Northern rulers are a military elite
Civil war(s) & the basic conflict: National Congress Party/ Sudanese People’s Liberation Army
THE SUDAN: HISTORICAL TIMELINE HANDOUT:
-life in Sudan in BC times: sedentary village life, grain cultivation and contact with Egyptians
Effect of slavery/ slave trading: destabilized Sudan in 1800’s and was controlled by Northern Arabs, population decline
from 7 to 2 million in 20 years
-1884: Berlin Conference (before & after)- before 80% of Africa was locally controlled but after 50 countries were
formed to control interior resources
-1898: British/ Egypt “condominium”- joint rule of Sudan from 1898-1956
-1956: Sudan independence
Power division: power is consolidated in the north
Ethnic composition: largest group is the Northern Arabs, Dinka (2 mil), Nuer (1 mil) are largest minorities
Addis Ababa Agreement: 1972 southern autonomy south of 10th parallel within Islamic republic of Sudan
North/ South Comprehensive Agreement: 2005 southern rebels have autonomy for 6 years
Points to remember:
1. North vs. South division is ancient and rooted in history
2. Muslim vs. Black is an oversimplification
3. There is much more ethnic and religious diversity
4. There are also 2 other factions in the south as well as the North vs. South conflict
5. There has always been outside manipulation/ intervention in politics advantaging the north
6. Access to wealth/ power/prestige is shaped by
a. Ethnicity
b. Geography
c. History including the slave trade and colonialism
d. Misgovernance
e. Racism
LECTURE: IMMIGRATION TO THE US-OVERVIEW
-who are “Americans”?Emigration: migration FROM
Immigration: migration TO
Why do people immigrate?- to escape: hunger/racism/political & religious persecution/bad economies
Immigration today: same reasons, we are a nation of immigrants, we all have separate histories
indigenous people: Native Americans
______-American
-1790 Naturalization Act: “any alien, being a free, white person may be admitted to become a citizen of the US”
Quota system: 1952 certain amount of people from each country
LECTURE: FOREIGN BORN POPULATION (US CENSUS 2000)/ IMMIGRANTS, REFUGEES, IDP’S
-foreign born definition: Anyone who is not a US citizen at birth, includes: immigrants, legal nonimmigrants (temporary
migrants), humanitarian migrants, people illegally present
Immigration definition: migrate TO
-immigrants: aliens admitted to the US for lawful permanent residence
Refugees (humanitarian migrants): who cross borders to escape persecution (political, economic, religious, ethnic).
There are over 15 million in the world, most of whom are in refugee camps
IDPs (definition and comparison): Internally displaced persons, they don’t cross borders but aren’t in their homes
LECTURE: HUMAN RIGHTS:
-1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: stated all the rights we as humans are born with
What does a human have a right to?: …
Ideals & reality: freedom/ democracy, equal opportunity, to gain access to wealth, power and prestige, but in reality
that’s impossible
Worlds problems:
1. Non renewable resources
2. Land and water rights
3. Immigration, refugees, IDPs
4. Food shortage and famine
5. War/ crime
6. Cultural and language rights
7. Ethnocide= loss of culture
8. Genocide= loss of life
Why?: lack of understanding, ignorance, and fear about human diversity, people cant live peacefully with “them” bc
were “us”
What to do?: education, solve problems where they are, understand the desire for basic human rights
Why do anthropologist care?: bc they work with local populations, emic view, ethical responsibility
Anthropologists’ view: advocacy/ self-determination
LECTURE: ANTHROPOLOGY AS A CAREER:
Applied ant= problem solving, knowledge put to use in all 4 fields
3 ethical responsibilities:
1. To those we work with: protect their dignity and identity; keep from harm
2. To report research to the public thru outreach
3. To teach what we learn
Emic perspective: the insiders POV, local level, grass roots, bottom up approach
2 types:
1. Qualitative
2. Quantitative
FOREWARD:
Research problem: what is life like for an immigrant in the US
Why use ethnography?: it gives a more in-depth analysis
PREFACE:
What does fieldwork involve?:
Significance of understanding “globalization”?: it threatens all cultures as they become the same and all in one
Why understand culture change?
INTRODUCTION:
Who are the Nuer and what was life like before war?: an agro-pastoralist group from South Sudan, they just farmed
before the war and chilled, cattle were very important, patrilineal clans and lineages like a big family tree
Who is EE Evans- Pritchard and why was he important?: the first anthropologist to work in Africa using research,
methods of long-term fieldwork and participant observation, he went in the 30’s
What is the war about? (know about the north/ south conflict): between the Southern groups like the Nuer and the
govt dominated North, north is Islamic and arab but the south belongs to sub-Saharan Africa,
Ch 2
What is the international refuge problem?: there are 12 million refugees and 20 million IDPs
Refugee: someone who flees their country bc of the real or potential threat of persecution based on their ethnic group,
political views, or religious beliefs
Economic migrant: ppl who leave their countries to flee economic hardship or to seek better opportunities elsewhere
Know about the north south conflict.
Effect of war on families & neighbors?: the rebels were often as big of a problem as the govt, home, fields, and livestock
was stolen and ruined,
What it is like to escape?: very hard and there is no good way of doing it
Problems in applying for resettlement: there was an initial interview that established yourself as a refugee, you are
interviewed by people who didn’t speak their language, and the questions were hard and people who had HIV didn’t get
in
Ch 3
Culture shock for Nuer in MN: snow, housing, transportation, work,
Barriers in new life: how to shop or cook, their names, language barrier
Patterns of resettlement/ why MN?: where they initially resettled wasn’t their choice, they went to MN bc the cost of
living was low and there were jobs available
Describe the Nuer in MN: low English competency and low education, men had some education but women had almost
none, they are all young, lots of single young men also
Mutual assistance associations & why important?: formal organizations thru which co-ethnics provide one another with
aid in a variety of different ways, they are important bc they are the helping hand and the representation for the Nuer
Ch 4
Lifestyle comparison in terms of material possessions: they were usually second hand and very cheap, even in Sudan
they weren’t very important,
Food: they eat a mix of American and Nuer foods, njerra spongy bread, they eat frozen pizzas, they don’t like our milk
Daily life: it governed by daily necessities, not used to going by a clock,
Work & jobs: its hard for them to get places on time
Education: same as work and jobs
Work in MN: there were many jobs but it was hard for the Nuer to hold a job, they have low end jobs
Welfare in MN: they have all been on welfare and they have good welfare for 3 months but it is cut after that and they
get basic welfare for 5 years, they don’t report income but they get caught
Childcare issues in MN: its expensive to have a child looked after,
Why is a car a bad cow?: bc cows don’t give you problems unless they’re sick but a car in a cold place like MN often
breaks down, this is exacerbated bc they cant buy any good cars
Ch5
Nuer families in MN: They stress a tight nuclear family, a lot of people came over with their families,
Marriage in MN: most got married in the movement between refugee camps,
Gender relationships in MN: they have a new promotion of female independence in MN, they are now forced closer bc
of living arrangements, child birth is dif too
Domestic conflict/ domestic violence: Nuer beliefs say that women have need to be beaten, bc there is more stress in
the MN the beating were common, Nuer women call 911 a fair amount
Marriage and bride wealth in MN: it was really expensive bc there were so few Nuer girls in MN
Ch6
How do Americans respond to NUER?: they were mostly helpful
Reality of racism & complexity of relationships of whites, Nuer, and African Americans in MN: locals saw them as Af.
Americans but they were not like them at all,
American attitudes toward refugees: they were victimized and ppl even said they should be thankful
Nuer Reality as refugees
Refugees and American churches: they were Christian so church was somewhere they kind of felt at home but they
were a very dif Christian than Americans
Ch 7
What is the future like for the Nuer? Positives/ Negatives?: if there is peace I will go home” they are ok with being here
but would rather go back