Unit 1 Study/Discussion Guide

Topic: Culture, Fieldwork and Theory

Sources: Lenkeit Chapt 1-4; Lessons and Required Links

Terms

Discussion Questions

1. Compare and contrast different definitions of culture. Which definitions do you identify with, and why?
2. How do concepts of real and ideal culture, mental and behavioral culture, covert and overt culture, and emic and etic perspective on culture help in understanding our subject matter? Realistically, what problems do these concepts pose for the person who wants to study culture?
3. Some anthropologists believe that the majority of elements of a culture are adaptive. What precisely does this mean? Provide examples.
4. What are the goals of cultural anthropology? Given these goals, are some cultures more important to study than others? Why or why not?
5. Compare and contrast cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Why are anthropologists supposed to practice cultural relativism? What do some see as the problem with cultural relativism? Are there any practices or beliefs that objectively can be universally condemned?
6. How does the article on the Nacirema and the Sacred Rac help you understand the concept of ethnocentrism? Does it help you to "see ourselves as others see us?"
7. What is cultural shock and what are its symptoms? Do tourists usually experience severe cultural shock? Why or why not? Did Chagnon, Lee, or Bohannan experience culture shock? Explain.
8. Can you remain detached and emotionally uninvolved with the people you are studying What problems do you face in your field work if you do and if you do not? Give examples from your readings.
9. What problems might you run into in fieldwork as regards your own cultural values? How do these problems interfere with the purpose of fieldwork? What would your reactions have been to the problems faced by Laura Bohannan in Return to Laughter, by Richard Lee in "Eating Christmas...", and by Chagnon in "Doing Fieldwork...."
10. What is the difference between status and role? Ascribed and achieved status? The ethnographer needs to have a recognized role in the culture being studied. Why is this necessary? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of various possible roles? Did Bohannan, Lee, and Chagnon have such roles?
11. How might the ascribed gender role of a culture pose difficulties, or present advantages, in doing fieldwork.
12. To what extent should an ethnographer adopt or practice the customs of another culture during the fieldwork experience? To what extent is it possible to do so?
13. Explain what is meant by "participant-observation". Ideally, how does an ethnographer do fieldwork? Discuss the "shoulds" and should nots", as well as specific methods that should/can be utilized.
14. What are the basic assumptions of functionalism as a theoretical approach? Analyze witchcraft among the Tiv as a functionalist would. Try to analyze marriage in the US as a functionalist would.
15. Explain the basic assumptions and the problems with the three theoretical approaches: cultural evolutionism, functionalism, and cultural materialism(cultural ecology). Which one is not a currently acceptable theory in cultural anthropology, and why?

Topic: Foragers

Sources: Lenkeit: Chapt. 5; Lessons; Links

Terms

Discussion Questions

1. Discuss the evolutionary-ecological paradigm, particularly the archaeological and ethnographic data that supports it.
2. Discuss the basic characteristics of hunting and gathering (foraging or collecting) societies. In what ways are these traits illustrated by the traditional culture of the !Kung?
3. What are the definitions of "affluence" presented in Sahlins' article "The Original Affluent Society"? Given those definitions, what is his argument that foragers are the original affluent society?
4. Discuss reciprocal exchange, including the specific functions of generalized reciprocity. Does it exist in our culture, and how important is it? How does reciprocal exchange operate in hunting and gathering cultures like the !Kung? Using the !Kung as an example, explain how reciprocal exchange, in a broad sense, operates to create and maintain an egalitarian society.
5. How do foragers minimize population growth?
6. What is meant by mode of production? Classification is difficult, but for purposes of this class, five modes of production or adaptive strategies have been defined. Briefly define each mode, presenting its major defining characteristic.
7. As population size increases, what are the four major options that any society may adopt? Which is usually the first, and why? Ultimately, what problems exist with each of the four possibilities? Traditionally, what was the solution for the !Kung San, and why?
8. According to Diamond, what was "the worst mistake in the history of the human race"? What advantages does he believe that foraging had over subsequent modes of production? (Be able to explain at least three advantages.) What evidence does he cite?