Study Questions

Anthropology V02 - Spring 2013
Monday & Wednesday 9:30 & 11:30

Study Questions Weeks 12-17

Political organization: band, tribe, (big-man), chiefdom, state
Society type/stratification: egalitarian, rank, stratified
Exchange: reciprocity, redistribution, market

Complexity refers basically to 2 things: division of labor and social stratification. Define division of labor. What is meant by social stratification?

Describe the development of political organization from the least to the most complex in terms of the changes in subsistence, the division of labor, and stratification.

What is the difference between ascribed and achieved status? Give one example of each.

Define egalitarian, rank, and stratified societies, and name one culture for each type of society.

What are the two types of subsistence most often associated with tribal-level societies? Name one ethnographic example of each.

What are 3 similarities between bands and tribes? Describe 4 differences between bands and tribes.

From a materialist theoretical perspective, why are band societies egalitarian? What enables stratification to begin to take place?

Describe segmentary lineage organization. What is the advantage of this type of organization in terms of warfare?

Power, wealth, and prestige are the primary dimensions of stratification or inequality. Give one example of how these may be interrelated. Give one example of how they may vary independently. In other words, one example of how an individual may possesses all three, and one example of an individual who may possess only one or two.

Compare bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and sates in terms social stratification, division of labor, leadership, and exchange systems. Name one ethnographic example of each of these four types of political organization.

What are 3 ways in which chiefs are different from tribal headmen? How are chiefs different from big men? Use the terms 'achieved' and 'ascribed' in your descriptions.

Describe one ethnographic example - remember, this means a specific culture - of how colonialism changed the status of women, for example societies where women were in positions of power such as chiefs, or big women, or where they were involved in production and exchange activities.

Describe the big-man type of society in terms of society type, leadership, subsistence, achieved or ascribed status, and exchange system. Provide an ethnographic example.

When did states first appear? What form of subsistence enabled states to arise? Name 2 areas where states first arose.

Two general categories of theories about why state systems developed are voluntaristic theories and coercive theories. Describe a voluntaristic theory of state formation.

Explain Carneiro's coercive theory of state formation using the term "geographical circumscription."

Describe two ways in which states manipulate information in order to protect the state and its leaders. Give one example.

Give one example in recent years of how the internet can counteract government control of information by making information difficult to control.

Four of the general factors thought to contribute to warfare are: social problems, perceived threats, political motivations, and moral objectives. Apply 3 of these to the U.S. war in Iraq.

The two primary ways in which the state maintains its authority are the exclusive right to the use of force and ideology. Give an example of each in the U.S.

Give one example of how a particular ethnic group has been viewed as a threat to a nation-state, and how that nation-state has responded.

Define and compare formal and informal social control. Provide examples of sanctions that apply to each of these two types of social control.

Give one example of informal social control, and one example of formal social control in the U.S.

What type of social control (formal or informal) is most prevalent in band-level societies? Why?

There are several means of formal social control found in band and tribal societies: Inuit song duels, Tiwi spear duels, and mediation, oaths, and ordeals in various cultures. Describe one of these forms of social control.

Give one example of how supernatural beliefs function as a means of social control in a particular society. Is this formal or informal?

With regard to formal and informal social control, how does the type of social control change as populations urbanize? Why?

Hypergamy, Sanskritization, and religious conversion are three forms of social mobility in the caste system of India. Explain each of these methods.

What is a patron-client relationship? Describe either the compadrazgo system in Latin American culture, or the jajmani system in India.

In the Hindu caste system, there are four varnas and thousands of jatis. What is the difference between these two? Upon what are these hierarchies based?

What is a Dalit? In which country do you find them? What kinds of work did they traditionally do?

Jatis in India have traditionally been associated with occupations. How and why has this traditional association of jatis with occupations been diminishing with modernization and urbanization?

Using the terms ‘reincarnation', ‘karma', and ‘dharma', describe the ideological justification for both caste and gender inequality in India. How does this exemplify Marx's ideas about ideology? Describe one example of how a particular ideology (common beliefs or assumptions) may justify inequality in the U.S.

Two primary ways in which caste in India continues to be important today are in marriage and politics. Explain.

The decades since WWII can be divided into two periods (1945-1975, and 1975-present) with regard to the differentiation between the upper and lower classes in the U.S. What was the general trend in each of these two periods? Ferraro describes 3 major factors in the second trend: the change to a postindustrial society, change in labor union influence, and changes in taxation. Describe how each of these has contributed to the present trend.

True or false: In the U.S., most people remain in the class into which they are born.

According to lecture, 3 of the major reasons that inequality continues to increse are: 1) control of the means of production by the capitalist class, 2) ownership of mass media by the capitalist class, and 3) the prominent role that the wealthy play in political decision-making processes. Explain and give an example of how each of these factors contributes to the persistence of inequality.

The organization of power in the U.S. today has been described variously as, 1) a form of oligarchy, 2) as 'crony capitalism,' or 3) a 'corporatocracy.' Choose one of these and explain what it means and why the current state of affairs in the U.S. might be described in this way.

According to Thomas Frank, there has been an effort by some politicians and their media spokespersons to change the basis of class consciousness in the U.S. Among many of the middle and working classes, economics is no longer the defining factor in class identity. Upon what, according to Frank, do they now base their class identity? How does this benefit the capitalist class?

The social category of race is a relatively recent invention. Explain when, how, and why it happened.

A key feature of racial thinking is essentialism. Explain what this means. In other words, how is it tied to perceived behavioral differences?

There are many factors other than physiological that can go into determination of race. Name two of them.

In some Latin American and Caribbean cultures, a person's 'race' can change. Describe one way this can happen.

In terms of employment, how is racial discrimination linked to class relations in industrial capitalism? In other words, how is it beneficial for employers to have a certain amount of unemployment and low-paid workers? Give one example.

Is the U.S. a 'post-racial' society? Why or why not? Give two examples to support your argument.

In the global context, the continued world domination by societies whose ruling groups trace their origins to Europe has sustained a global hierarchy in which light skin is valued over dark skin. Give two examples of this.

Give one example of an ethnic group. What are three ethnic markers for this group?

How can the overlap of race and ethnicity affect immigration laws, attitudes, and assimilation?

Describe one (specific) example of how immigrants from diverse regions consolidated their identities into a new ethnic group in the new country. Why do they do this?

IQ tests were long thought to measure innate intelligence. What do they actually measure?

Population transfer (forced relocation, refugees), long-term subjugation, and genocide are three forms of intergroup relations. Give one historical example of each of these.

Ferraro explains two radically opposed theories regarding the pros and cons of social inequality: Functionalist theory (argues that stratification benefits society as a whole) and conflict theory (stratification is unjust and dysfunctional for society). What are the respective government policy implications of these two different positions?

According to Peggy McIntosh in "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," what is the invisible knapsack? Describe two of its contents that either McIntosh lists or that you experience.

From the film, Dead Birds, who are the Dani? In other words, where do they live, what kind of subsistence do they practice, and what kind of political organization do they have?

In the film, Dead Birds, how does the Dani supernatural belief system influence warfare? In other words, explain why they must kill someone from the other group.

In the film, Dead Birds, why do some women and girls have parts of their fingers missing?

Describe one example of how religion may affect social policy in the U.S. or elsewhere.

What is animism? Give one example of animism from the cultures studied in the course.

Religion and magic have several things in common. What is one of them? What are two of the differences between magic and religion?

Why might someone be accused of being a witch or a sorcerer, even if that person does not consider him- or herself to be one?

Describe one example of how Christianity functions as a means of social control.

One function of religion is that it is psychologically comforting. Describe one reason for this, or one example of this aspect of religion.

The praying mantis in Ju/'hoansi myths is an example of a trickster character. What role do trickster characters play in myths?

What is a rite of passage? Describe one example of the process of separation, transition, and incorporation.

Name three ecclesiastical cults. Which ecclesiastical cult has the most adherents worldwide? Which has the second-most adherents?

What kind of situation gives rise to revitalization movements? Give one ethnographic example of a revitalization movement.

According to the Gmelch article, why do pitchers and hitters use more magic than fielders? How is this related to Malinowski's theory about the function of magic for ocean fishing vs. lagoon fishing among the Trobrianders?

Explain how the //gangwasi (ghosts of the recently deceased) function as social control among the Ju/'hoansi. Is this formal or informal social control? Are the //gangwasi an example of animism or animatism?

Describe two ways in which the Ju/'hoansi healing and belief system has changed in recent decades.

How do the animal counterparts, the noreshi , among the Yanomamö reflect gender inequality?

Explain how the Yanomamö creation myths for men and women (Moon blood and wabu fruit) reflect two fundamental themes of their culture: fierceness and sexuality.

Choose 2 ethnographic cases from the readings and/or films, (Dani, Ju/'hoansi, and Yanomamö). Describe and compare their respective beliefs in spirits and ghosts. Who are these spirits and ghosts, what are they like, what do they do and why, how are they dealt with, what are their positive and/or negative social functions?

Describe and compare the Ju/'hoansi and the Yanomamö with regard to shamanistic practices and roles. Who can become a shaman, and what is their primary function? How do they conceive of, obtain, and use n/um and herkura?

The film, The Business of Hunger, showed the effects of development capitalism on local economies and people in various parts of the developing world. Describe 3 of these effects. Why do many governments in developing countries welcome foreign agribusiness and multinationals in their countries? In what ways do these governments help agribusinesses?

What is wrong with the modernization approach to development? What alternative development strategy do the makers of the film, The Business of Hunger advocate?

Describe traditional Ju/'hoansi culture in terms of subsistence, political organization, society type, exchange system including hxaro, religious beliefs, kinship system, and marriage patterns.

Why has settling in one place with cattle created the possibility for a change in women's status among the Ju/'hoansi?

According to Lee, who are the 'Blacks'? Describe 3 changes that resulted from the encounter between the Ju/'hoansi and these groups.

Two major theories that attempt to explain global economic disparities are modernization theory and world systems theory. How does each of these theories explain economic differences between developed and less-developed nations? Which of these approaches do Lappé and Collins ("Why Can't People Feed Themselves?") use in their analysis?

In the article, "Why Can't People Feed Themselves?", Lappé and Collins describe how indigenous farming systems in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and West Indies were systematically undermined for the profit of European colonizers. Describe one example of the effect of colonization on the farming system of a colonized nation in one of these areas.

Describe the role that colonialism has played in the current disparities between wealthy Western countries and least developed countries (LDCs).

Sharp describes several consequences of the introduction of steel axes into Yir Yoront culture. Who are the Yir Yoront and where do they live? What did the steel axe replace? Describe three effects of its introduction into Yir Yoront culture. In other words, what aspects of their social organization that were tied to the previous implement did the steel axe disrupt and why? Describe the Yir Yoront culture in terms of social relations, exchange system, gender and age hierarchies, and belief system before and after the introduction of steel axes. How does the idea of holism apply? What lesson do we learn from this that can be applied to development projects carried out in the 'Third World'?

Describe one example of an encounter between economic development and an indigenous group. What were the results of the encounter?

Why are indigenous groups the ones most endangered by global warming? Describe two effects of global warming on small-scale societies.

Who are the Kayapo and where do they live? What is their traditional subsistence? How did it become threatened?

Describe two elements of traditional Kayapo culture that they were able to utilize in their fight with the government at Altamira. What was the fight about?

Define cultural relativism. Describe one aspect of Yanomamö, Dani, or Ju/'hoansi culture from an ethnocentric viewpoint. Describe the same aspect from a culturally relative one