ANTH. 213
Dr. S. Cosminsky
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Fall 2005
Study Questions
Definitions and Identifications
age sets
age grades
affinal relatives
consanguineal relatives
lineage
clan
matrilineage, patrilineage
brideprice or bridewealth
bride service
dowry
endogamy and exogamy
nuclear family
extended family
unilineal,patrilineal, matrilineal descent
bilateral descent
cognatic descent
double descent
ambilineal descent
kindred
Eskimo kinship classification
fictive kinship
cross cousins and parallel cousins
neolocal, patrilocal, matrilocal, ambilocal,
avunculocal residence
levirate, sororate
incest taboo
postpartum sex taboo
role ambiguity
gender
gender ideology
feminization of poverty
genderlects
infant mortality
purdah
Hijra
male gender bias
female genital mutilation
occupational segregation
female infanticide
gender roles
sexual dimorphism
sexual stratification
socialization
acephalous societies
stateless societies
band society
tribal society
chiefdom
state society
authority
power
political integration
coercive theory of state formation
hydraulic theory of state formation
voluntaristic theory of
state formation
crime
law
negative sanctions
positive sanction
oath, ordeal
moots
rebellion
revolution
social control
social norm
ascribed status
achieved status
egalitarian societies
stratified societies
bourgeoisie
proletariat
nouveau riche
assimilation
pluralism
class
caste
varnas
egwugwu
kola nuts
cowries
osu
chi
rites of passage
ANTH. 213
Dr. S. Cosminsky
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Fall 2005
Essays
1. What are the criteria on which principles of kinship are based? Describe at least six of the categories that
are used by some systems.
2 What are the various explanations which have been offered to explain the incest taboo?
3. Explain why neolocal residence in the United States is said to be compatible with the dominant values
and the economic system.
4. How important are economic factors in the definition of gender in the United States? What factors have
pushed women into or out of the work force?
5. Give three examples of extreme gender ideology.
6. What were the major factors that Scrimshaw found affected womens use of family planning clinics in
Ecuador, and what recommendations did she make to maximize using these clinics?
7. Are there universals about gender roles across all societies? Is male dominance universal? Give some
examples.
8. Which societies of the world are among the most highly stratified along gender lines?
9. What did Margaret Mead argue about gender roles in her study of three New Guinea societies
10. What is social control? In what situations are informal means of social control used and when are they
most effective?
Give some examples of informal and formal means of social control.
How are these used among the Ibo of Nigeria (Things Fall Apart)
11. What are the functions of associations like age grades.
12. Discuss the simlarities and differences or class and caste systems.
13. Compare and contrast the functionalist and conflict theories of stratification.
14. Name and define the three criteria delineated by Max Weber for measuring levels of social inequality.
15. What are the main characteristics of the Ibo kinship system (Things Fall 5part)?
16. What are the main values and social norms among the Ibo? How does Okonkwo and his behavior
reflect these values and norms and how do they deviate from them?
17. Describe the nature and consequences of social and culture change that were occurring among the Ibo
in Things Fall Apart.
18. Draw a geneology of Okonkwo's kinsmen in Things Fall Apart.
ANTH. 213
Dr. S. Cosminsky
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Fall 2005
19. Discuss the significance of the title, Things Fall Apart.
20. Give an example and describe a rite of passage among the Ibo from Things Fall Apart.
21. Give an example and describe a rite associated with the agricultural cycle or a rite of solidarity among
the Ibo from Things Fall Apart.
22. What project did Dr. Patten recommend as a way of improving child nutrition in Malawi and how was
she able to overcome possible male objections to the project.
23. How and why did the anthropologist, Anthony Paredes, help the Poarch Creek obtain official
recognition as a Native American tribe?
24.How does the case of Islamic law or Shariah, illustrate the dilemma faced by Canada in trying to uphold
values of multiculturalism, as well as the rule of equitable law?
25. Who are one's kinsmen in a patrilineal system, and who are one's kinsmen in a matrilineal
system. Draw your own geneology and fill those relatives who would be in your patrilineage and your
matrilineage if you lived in a society with lineages (If given a kinship chart, you should be able to fill in
members of Ego's patrilineage and matrilineage).
**You should review the key terms at the end of each chapter, most of which are listed above, and you
should be able to answer the thought questions at the end of the Applied Perspectives in each chapter.
These questions are in addition to the essay questions above. Information from these case studies will be
on the final.
ANTH. 213
Dr. S. Cosminsky
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Fall 2005