Anthropology 125 Notices
5/10
2012 Global Gender Gap Report shows rankings of countries beginning on page 8. U.S. is #22. And I don't normally recommend Wikipedia, but they have a nice little summary, map, and table with this data comparing 2012 with previous years.
5/9
The Monty Python reductio ad absurdum take on the difference between Catholic and Protestant sex, and the personhood of sperm, from the movie The Meaning of Life
Daily Show segment on Oklahoma personhood bill and Constance Johnson's amendment.
5/7
5/3
Note: As I mentioned in class, I have added two questions at the end of Week 5 on the Parikh article. I do not anticipate making any more additions or changes to the Study Questions, but if I do, I will note it on this page.
4/29
4/27
February 2013 Globalpost article: India: 'Love Commandos' fight back against honor killings
And an article about the state of gender relations in Iraq: Iraqi Women Abused Under Unchanging Laws
4/25
Note: I have added some words to a couple of the study questions to make them clearer:
For the third question for Week 3, I've added "in terms of subsistence strategies".
The last question for week 3 now reads, "Choose three cultures from the readings that have different subsistence strategies. Compare their gender relations in terms of at least 5 of Kimmel's correlations. Include in your answer what these correlations mean in terms of the degrees of gender equality or inequality in each culture. For example do the women in the culture have control of their fertility, and if so, or if not, how does it affect their status in that culture."
The second question for Week 4 now reads: "There are several reasons and ways in which women in matrilineal, matrilocal societies generally enjoy a better position than women in patrilineal, patrilocal societies. Compare the situation of women in these two systems with regard to inheritance, economic dependence, post-marital residence, sexual control, children, and relationships with natal families, and how these factors affect women's status. Name one patrilineal society and one matrilineal society."
4/24
A couple of students have asked for more information about what to expect on the midterm. So here is the information from last year's midterm and some tips about how to answer the questions. The format for the upcoming one will probably be similar.
There are THREE PARTS to the exam, totaling 100 points:
PART I: Questions 1-5. Choose 3 of these 5-point questions.
PART II: Questions 6-13. Choose 4 of these 10-point questions.
PART III: Questions 14-19. Choose 3 of these 15-point questions.
Do NOT write answers under the questions. USE THE LINED PAGES for your answers.
Read the questions carefully, and answer and label EACH PART of the question. Answer completely, but succinctly. Do not waste time repeating the question in your answer.
Be sure to indicate the NUMBERS of the questions you are answering.
Put your NAME on the front of each page, and please WRITE LEGIBLY!
Key terms: Subsistence strategy = foraging, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture, industrial
Kinship System = Descent: patrilineal, matrilineal, bilateral; Residence: patrilocal, matrilocal, neolocal, bi/ambilocal; Marriage type: arranged vs individual choice; Family: extended, nuclear, (& other)
Lined paper will be provided. You don't need scantrons or blue books.
Some questions may be slightly re-worded or combined from the Study Questions. Otherwise, they are more or less verbatim.
Answer questions directly and briefly. Don't waste time repeating the question in your answer. Here are some examples:
Question: What are the 2 mechanisms or processes by which cultures change?
Answer: Innovation and diffusion
Answer that wastes time repeating the question: The 2 mechanisms or processes by which cultures change are innovation and diffusion.
Question: Why is it difficult to determine whether differences in behavior between human male and female babies are biologically based?
Answer: Socialization begins at birth. Newborn babies are treated differently depending upon whether they are girls or boys.
Answer that wastes time repeating the question: It is difficult to determine whether differences in behavior between human male and female babies are biologically based because socialization begins at birth.
Question: A) Who are the Nacirema? B)What is the point the author is making?
Answer: A) Americans. B) That our customs are just as peculiar from an outsider's view as we may think of some other cultures' customs. It is a lesson in cultural relativism.
Question: What is meant by 'heteronormative'?
Answer: That there are 2 sexes (male and female) that correspond to 2 genders, and heterosexuality is the norm.
The points assigned for the questions in each section give a clue about how much writing is required. In general, the 5-point questions can be answered on one or two lines, 10-point questions in 3-5 lines, 15-point ones a little longer, but no more than half a page. Pace yourself in order to leave enough time for the longer questions. For this exam, you need to be prepared by having gone through the study questions. You will not have time to sit and ponder the question. Note what the question is asking - whether it says "name", "describe", or "explain." If it asks for an "ethnographic example" it means a specific culture, e.g. the Yanomamö, Chinese, American, Indian, Pakhtun, Aka, Agta, Nayar, etc. Some parts of questions may be one-word answers. Don't answer something the question does not ask. You should answer all questions as clearly and as economically as possible, labeling the parts of the question in your answers, A, B, C, etc.
Some of the mistakes that students make are: Not reading the question carefully. Answering something the question does not ask. Not answering all parts of the question. Not getting kinship terminology straight, e.g. patriarchal instead of patrilineal. Not looking at the key terms at the top of the exam to see what "subsistence strategy" or "kinship system" refers to. Only naming an example when the question asks for a description.
Some students find that forming study groups via the forum that I have set up on GauchoSpace helpful. It just takes one person to start it off. Students in the past have used Google Docs to share answers to study questions.
4/22
4/15
4/7
Regarding Zuk's point about equating natural with good, for your amusement a couple of quotes from filmmaker, Werner Herzog, on the inherent goodness of nature.
4/2
Welcome to the AN 125 Notices page. Here you will find not only links to lecture slides before class, but also helpful information, interesting articles and videos, and exam curves. You should check this Notices page a minimum of once or twice each week. If you print out both the study questions (see Study Questions page) and the lecture slides before each class, it will make taking notes and answering the questions much easier. Be aware that study questions may sometimes overlap two or three weeks, but they will all eventually be covered in lecture if they are not covered in the readings.
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