Cultural Anthropology Ch 1-7 exam with complete solutions.
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Module
Cultural Anthropology
Institution
Cultural Anthropology
What is anthropology?
A comparative study of humankind. The study of human societies and cultures and their development
What does it mean to say that anthropology is holistic?
Anthropologists study the entire range of humans' biological, social, political, economic, and religious behavior ...
Cultural Anthropology Ch 1-7 exam with
complete solutions
What is anthropology? - ANSWER-A comparative study of humankind. The study of
human societies and cultures and their development
What does it mean to say that anthropology is holistic? - ANSWER-Anthropologists
study the entire range of humans' biological, social, political, economic, and religious
behavior as well as the relationships among the different aspects of human behavior in
the past and present.
What are the main subfields of anthropology? - ANSWER-Cultural anthropology,
linguistic anthropology, archaeology, biological (physical) anthropology, and applied
anthropology.
How did anthropology begin? - ANSWER-During the nineteenth century, the rise of
industrialization, the influence of evolutionary theory, and colonial contact with less-
industrialized cultures led to the discipline of understanding how cultures operate and
interact
What is the anthropological position on race? - ANSWER-Race is not a valid scientific
category but rather is a social and cultural construct.
Give a definition of culture. - ANSWER-The learned, symbolic, at least partially
adaptive, and ever-changing patterns of behavior and meaning shared by members of a
group. Human are vitally dependent on culture for their existence.
Describe the importance of symbols in culture. - ANSWER-Humans understand the
world by classifying it and using symbols to give it meaning. Different cultures use
different systems of classification. People use symbols to give meaning to their lives.
, Anthropologists analyze and interpret symbols and rituals to understand cultural
meanings.
In what ways are cultures like biological organisms, and what are the problems with this
organic analogy? - ANSWER-Cultures are systems of related elements working
together. However, unlike biological organisms, cultural systems include contradictions
that lead to conflict.
What are norms and values? Do people within a culture agrees on them? - ANSWER-
Shared ideas about the way things ought to be done. Values are shared ideas about
what is true, right, and beautiful. Typically, people within a culture do not fully agree on
norms and values. Some amount of conflict is the rule, not the exception.
Are cultures typically static, or do they change? - ANSWER-All cultures change. Many
factors determine the acceptance or rejection of a culture change.
What role does anthropology play in coping with cultural differences? - ANSWER-
Culture makes humans unique, but the vast differences between human cultures make
cultural understandings a challenge. Anthropology supplies tools to meet that challenge.
Ethnocentrism - ANSWER-Judging other cultures from the perspective on one's own
culture. The notion that one's own culture is more beautiful, rational, and nearer to
perfection than any other.
Racism - ANSWER-The belief that some human populations are superior to others
because of inherited, genetically transmitted characteristics.
Cultural Realitivsm - ANSWER-The idea that cultures should be analysed with
reference to their own histories and values rather than according to the values of
another culture.
Ethnography - ANSWER-The major research tools of cultural anthropology, including
both fieldwork among people in a society and the written results of such fieldwork.
Participant Observations - ANSWER-The fieldwork technique that involves gathering
cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives.
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