Exam 2: Culture

Anthropologists have uncovered evidence of vast trade networks throughout the entire continent of North America that long pre-date the arrival of Europeans. This exchange of material goods and cultural traits supports which of the following concepts?

Culture as a system includes knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and:

Ifeoluwa and Grace live in different countries, practice different religions, and speak different languages. However, they both like the same clothing brands and have the same favorite TV show. Their surprising similarities demonstrate the impact of:

The notion of a culture of consumerism is distinct from the concept of culture more generally. Do you think that the culture of consumerism has effects on other aspects of human cultures? What are some benefits and drawbacks of the culture of consumerism in society today? Do you think it could affect societies and cultures in long-term ways? How?

The concept of culture is a very recent idea and was actually developed by whose work?

Clifford Geertz argued that every cultural action is more than the action itself. It also has deeper meaning, subject to interpretation. What key idea in anthropology did this important theoretical idea help promote?

Describe an example of a cultural encounter that you have experienced in your own life and discuss the ways in which it may have expanded or challenged your own ideas about cultural norms, values, symbols, and mental maps of reality. Conclude by discussing what you might have learned about culture from that encounter.

Current estimates suggest that children in the United States view almost 40,000 commercials a year. All of this is accomplished by advertising, which helps us learn how to do what?

The export of television shows worldwide and the knowledge of other cultures that is subsequently disseminated to even remote areas of the world are examples of which of the following concepts?

A global outlook is emerging in response to increasing globalization linking cultural practices, norms, and values across great distances, even to the most remote areas of the world. What do anthropologists call this?

Globalization has led to an unprecedented rate of change worldwide. Barely 100 years ago, anthropologists traveled to remote places to study other people whose lifestyles are now all but extinct. How has globalization changed ethnographic research for anthropologists? What aspects of culture within the framework of globalization might an anthropologist study to produce meaningful, useful results?

Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917) is credited with crafting the first definition of which of the following central concepts in anthropology?

What did anthropologist Eric Wolf believe to be inherent in all relationships?

What is one key aspect in how we understand the idea of culture?

The analysis of culture as a symbolic system is part of which anthropological approach?

Using an interpretivist approach, anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) argues that seemingly straightforward actions such as winking have deep cultural meanings. Describe what constitutes an interpretivist approach. Next, provide your own example of a cultural action that you think conveys deep cultural meaning. What do you believe the action symbolizes culturally? How do you know that the action conveys deep cultural meaning and how did you learn its meaning? Would an individual need to be a member of the particular society in order to understand the deep cultural meaning of the action, or would anyone be able to interpret it correctly? Discuss why or why not.

Stone tools enabled our ancestors to butcher meat more quickly and efficiently, thereby providing higher quantities of protein for the developing brain and influencing the direction of our physical adaptation. This demonstrates the intimate connection between ________.

Early anthropologists suggested that all cultures would naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages, regardless of location or historical experience. What was this concept called and who were three of its early proponents? What were the three primary stages that all cultures pass through, according to this anthropological approach? In your opinion, what are some implications that this approach would have on how societies are perceived around the world?

Many early anthropologists drew from biology to support their work. They believed that society, like the human body, was composed of interconnected parts, with each part having:

The parents of a young American couple expect them to have a traditional wedding, but the bride wants a rainbow dress and the groom wants a close female friend to be his "best man." What does this reveal about culture?