Cultural Anthro Readings – Flashcards

How can we explain human differences? Early Theorists - Degenerationism: we were all once civilized, but after dispersing (Tower of Babel incident) some degenerated while others remained civilized. - Progressivism: human history is characterized by advances from primitive to civilized. Differences emerge from different experiences. - Diffusion: Cultural traits originate in one area and then spread to other areas. - Heliocentric Diffusion: All cultural traits originate from a single source (e.g., ancient Egypt). - Culture Circles: Cultural traits originated at multiple sources.

Boas' Critique of Unilineal Social Evolution - Unsubstantiated Hypothesis: Historical changes in cultural life follow definite laws which apply to every society. Cultural similarities can arise through diffusion, adaptation to similar environments, and/or historical accident. Boas' Critique of Diffusionism - Unsubstantiated Hypothesis: historical changes in cultural life are the result of contact between more and less "civilized" peoples. - Must assume migration/contact over enormous geographical areas (e.g., Egypt and Mexico 2,500 years ago). Ignores possibility of independent invention. Boas' Historical Particularism - Cultures can only be understood with reference to their particular historical developments. - No general theories (e.g., evolution, diffusion) can explain processes of culture change. - Every culture is unique and must be studied in terms of its uniqueness (precursor to cultural relativism). Racial Theories and Anthropometrics - Cranial dimensions reflect racial differences. - Assumption that such traits are biologically determined, hence, races are "fixed" categories. - Assumed connections between "race" and intelligence, aptitude, etc. Boas' Rejection of Racial Theories - 1908 Study: Cranial dimensions in immigrants and their kids. - Evidence: Immigrant kids had different skull shapes than parents—result of different diets, habits, environment, etc. Therefore, cranial morphology is not an immutable marker of "race"; it can vary through time and according to environment.

- Values Orientation Theory: cross-cultural understanding and communication can be facilitated by analyzing a given culture's orientation to Human Nature, Man-Nature Relationship, Time, Activity, and Social Relations. Why Do People Differ? - Destined by God or fate to different habits? Because of climate differences? Because of biological differences? - "because they were brought up that way." Kluckhohn on Culture - "The total life way of a people, the social legacy the individual acquires from his group." - A way of thinking, feeling, and believing acquired by the individual as a member of a group. - Every human being is imbued with culture ("to be human is to be cultured"). - Culture "constitutes a kind of blueprint for all of life's activities." - One cannot see culture. One can see regularities in behavior that arise from a group's culture.

- Naïve Realism: Is "human nature" the same everywhere? - Can a story written in one cultural context be interpreted the same way across cultures? - How do different interpretations of the afterlife, leadership roles, kinship and marriage influence cross-cultural understandings of Hamlet? Points - Culture is shared (by members of a group). - Culture shapes how we interpret experiences and events (including stories). - Therefore, people interpret a story like Hamlet within the context of their own cultural norms and beliefs.

Critiques superficial accounts of other people that were subsequently used to generate early theories about human differences. Provides rational for why it is important to carefully and systematically study other people. - Develops the concept of ethnocentrism. - Argues that close study of other societies reveals: All groups of people have definite religious ideas and traditions, make inventions, have customary laws that govern behavior. - "If we attempt to interpret the actions of our remote ancestors by our rational and emotional attitudes, we cannot reach truthful results, for their feeling and thinking was different from ours." Ethnocentrism - The tendency to view one's own culture as superior. - The tendency to apply one's own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of people in other cultures. - Ethnocentrism is an obstacle to cross-cultural understanding. Cultural Relativism - Behavior in one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture. Dilemma: - Should we accept all cultural practices on grounds that we should not judge others according to own standards? - Does cultural relativism compromise one's ability to make moral judgments?

- How do you respond to the relativist position, "It's their culture, who are we to judge it?" - Accept female genital mutilation because "it's part of their culture"? - Do cultural explanations = moral justifications? What Type of Cultural Relativism? - Moral Relativism: ethical standards and morality are culturally based and therefore subject to a person's individual choice. Thus, the moral and ethical rules of all cultures deserve equal respect. We should refrain from passing moral judgment on cultures other than our own. - Methodological Relativism: "To understand another culture fully, you must try to see how the people in that culture see things." Cultural explanation /= moral justification.

Studying Culture - Reject "Naïve Realism" (ethnocentrism without value judgment, see Bohannan). - The idea that all people define the world of objects, events, and concepts the same way. Does "love" have the same meaning in all societies? Does "death" have the same meaning in all societies? - Understand three aspects of human experience: What people do (cultural behavior). What people know (cultural knowledge). Things people make and use (cultural artifacts). For Spradley culture = cultural knowledge. "the acquired knowledge [thru enculturation] people use to interpret experience and generate behavior." Cultural Knowledge Explicit (clearly expressed) Culture - Cultural knowledge that people can talk about or communicate with ease. - e.g., items such as clothing, actions such as playing, emotional states such as sadness. Tacit (implied, understood) Culture - Cultural knowledge that people lack words for or that lies outside our explicit awareness. - e.g., speaking distances, social space.

Purpose of Article: Document unusual magical beliefs and practices of poorly understood group with a highly developed market economy. Focus of ritual activity is the body. Belief System: The body is ugly. Tendency to debilitate and decay. Ritual behavior to combat ugliness and decay. purpose: to show how cultural conceptions of the body shape our everyday behaviors shrine rooms: sites of private body rituals - more shrine rooms = higher social status holy mouth man: oral fetish - mouth = social relationships and moral characteristics

gym is a modern arena for body constructing processes Barland's Agenda - Focus on the gym as an arena where the modern body takes shape. - How are training, dieting, and doping used by individuals to create a "modern body"? - What social process are associated with training, dieting, and doping to generate a meaningful way of life? The Study - Participant Observation at bodybuilder gyms and public competitions. - In-depth Interviews - With key informants, i.e., top-ranked bodybuilders in the gyms. Gym Culture is Shared (have to gain acceptance into particular culture - as gain more knowledge can climb social hierarchy) - Acceptance contingent on being active partner in the training, dieting, and doping regime. - Climbing social hierarchy contingent on commitment, knowledge acquisition, and participation in competitions. - Self-discipline as core value: success contingent on balancing training, resting, dieting, and hormone intake. Three Interrelated Elements - Training: Systematic to develop all muscle groups. Expression of character, will, and self-discipline. - Dieting: Strategic, thorough planning. Dual intent to build muscle and reduce fat during "defining" period. - Doping: Enhancement rather than a substitute for training. Perceived as positive application of scientific knowledge (disregarding health consequences) - steroids are looked upon favorably - don't attribute success to steroids - just enhancement Mirror a medium for: - communication - evaluation - social acceptance Insights - Constructing self-identity through methodical, meticulous self-discipline of the body.

Food and Culture - "Food habits communicate symbolic messages." - Hierarchy - Inclusion/Exclusion (Commensality) - How you eat conveys messages about your gender, age, social status, etc. Symbolic Gestures: Indicate interest by accepting rice bowl with both hands, bring bowl to mouth while eating. Express deference by allowing elders to eat first, offer to others before serving self, share common foods. - "...the degree to which a Chinese practices the rules of etiquette marks his class position ..." - fish and surplus are homophones - serving entire fish symbolizes surplus (good fortune) - formal seating arrangements vary cross culturally - individual/shared dishes - explicit cultural knowledge transmitted through direct transmission (in most cases) - table manners reflect social class

Evans-Pritchard: Major figure in British anthropology. Research focus on kinship as a basis for political organization. Fieldwork in Africa during height of British colonialism. Contrasting Views of "Primitive Man" - Animal: Poverty, violence, fear, individualistic, lawless, lacks religion/morality. (earlier view) - Gentle Person: Plenty, peace, security, communalistic, custom, dominated by religious beliefs and rituals. Shifting Portrayals (later view) -Exploration (1600s). Travelers' tales: fanciful, uninformed, accentuated the exotic. Rationale for conquest and civilizing missions. - Colonialism (1800s). Missionaries and Administrators: more detailed studies, but still with an agenda. Basis for early studies of social evolution (Morgan, Tylor). Scholarly Shift - Historians ; Philosophers. No need to make first-hand observations (Morgan as exception). - thought their data was adequate (Tylor, Morgan, etc) - Natural Sciences. Inclination to make first-hand observations to test hypotheses and generate new theories. - (Boas, etc) Previous Methods - "Armchair" Scholars. Derived theories by reading accounts of missionaries and colonial officials. Such accounts biased and unreliable. Early "Fieldworkers" journeyed to societies that they studied but brought informants to own camp for interviews in non-native languages ("interviewing on the veranda") - tendency not to live in communities, but to live in base, and bring in natives - Key Developments: anthropology becomes full-time profession, fieldwork becomes essential - Weaknesses: superficial observations, language barriers The Origins of Fieldwork - Franz Boas to Baffin Island (1883-1884). Alfred Haddon to Torres Strait (1898-1899). Malinowski's New Standard - Must spend sufficient time "in the field" (one year minimum, preferably two). Must live among subjects of study. Must communicate in their language. Must study entire culture and social life. - (this pt not emphasized anymore - usually more specialized) - Everything changing - sets new standard - must spend sufficient time (1 yr at least) - live in society - communicate in their language

Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942): Polish by birth. Trained & taught at London School of Economics. "Exiled" to Melanesia during WWI. Argonauts of the Western Pacific as landmark that established participant observation as key method, and major contribution to economic anthropology. - Library-based study of Australian Aborigines --> led him to want to develop a new way study ppl bc he saw this way of anthropology was very biased - Trobriand Islands (1914-1918) - longer fieldwork than any predecessor Problems - Western residents (colonial administrators, missionaries) ignorant of native culture. Ethnocentric attitudes, highly biased accounts. Pidgin English insufficient for expressing or understanding cultural perspectives. - Need for unbiased scientific perspective - need for linguistic competence to get native point of view The Ethnographer's Magic: Foundations - Live with the natives. Get to know them as companions and informants. Get to know daily routines (observe the "imponderables of everyday life"). Acquire "the feeling" for proper behavior. Establish trust and rapport. Become part of the landscape (less reflexivity). Develop empathic understanding of native life. Look for, and document, order and structure where others see disorder and chaos. - systematic sketch: look for, and document, order and structure where others see disorder and chaos Malinowski on the Kula Ring - Ceremonial gift exchange network. Items continually passed along. Items tie people into enduring trade relationships. Possessing items enhances individual's status. Demonstrated function of what appeared to outsiders as irrational exchange of "worthless items". - trade network of different island - shells and necklaces would rotate between islands (ceremonial gift exchange) - symbols that tied people together Malinowski's Impact - shift in methodology - Trobriand Islands 1914-1918 (longer fieldwork that any predecessor). First to conduct research using local language. First to conduct research while living in the community under study. London School of Economics: trained a generation of anthropologists (e.g. Evans-Pritchard) and instilled new methodological rigor. - --> influenced the next generation of scholars

- Anthropology and Colonialism: British conquest of Sudan. Nuer unknown and antagonistic. Govt. commissions study by anthropologist. Goal: to reveal Nuer system of governance so they can be better controlled. - Research Obstacles: Servants from other groups hesitant to work among their former enemies. Communication (lacked interpreter; had to learn difficult language). Treated with suspicion (British colonial rep.). Major Finding - Used genealogical method to reveal kinship basis of Nuer political organization. - segmentary lineage political organization - focus on political institutions

Clifford Geertz: Major proponent of Interpretive Anthropology. Goals: to demonstrate how seemingly irrational institutions and practices actually have a cultural logic; to provide reader with an "empathic understanding" of another society. Empathy: The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. In anthropology, empathic understanding is gained through first-hand fieldwork. - Transitory Experience vs Lived Reality - do i really know what it is like to be a villager in a remote valley of nepal? - nevertheless a basis for understanding Entering the Field - Upon entering the village, "we were nonpersons, specters, invisible men." How do you cross the "moral or metaphysical shadow line" between being ignored (a non-person) and accepted (a member of society)? Acceptance - Dramatic event allowed Geertz to establish the "mysterious necessity of anthropological field work" - rapport. - Rapport = relation, especially one that is harmonious or sympathetic. - Geertz' case: being teased = marker of rapport and acceptance into Balinese society Impact of Geertz's Narrative - Self-reflexive style of ethnographic writing was uncommon at the time. - Henceforth, the "ethnographic vignette" (ex: the Balinese Cockfight) becomes standard formula for starting an ethnographic account.

Social Roles and Fieldwork - Acceptance, rapport, access to information, etc. can be facilitated or inhibited by the social role an ethnographer adopts in the field. What social role will you assume in fieldwork? How will that role affect rapport? Access to information? Nature of interactions with subjects? Some Criteria to Consider - Freedom of social movement. Type of informant relations. Type of information that can be accessed. Information reliability. Degree of power and autonomy associated with a particular role. Jeffrey Johnson: Study of migratory commercial fishermen. What social position in the camp maximizes chances to collect data from all sectors of the community? Jack Weatherford: Study of urban red-light district. Pornography store: site of legal activities (adult novelty sales) and illegal activities (prostitution, gambling, drug sales). What position maximizes access to diverse people and knowledge of diverse activities? Christine Avenarius: How do you study a "community" of immigrants that lives dispersed across a major metropolitan area? What social position maximizes ability to study such a community? The Point - Participant observation involves strategic choices to occupy specific social roles. Good choices facilitate rapport, neutrality, access to information, data reliability, etc. Bad choices compromise validity of a study.

Participant Observation - Does not mean one participates and observes all aspects of subjects' lives. Sterk did not become a prostitute to understand the lives of prostitutes. The anthropologist doesn't have to "go native" to study another society . Relationships and Trust (Rapport) - Sterk adopts a stance of cultural relativism. Does not "judge" the actions of the women. Tries to understand the lives of prostitutes through their own eyes. Expresses genuine interest in their lives. Passes tests to see if she keeps information confidential (what is said in confidential interviews remains confidential). Empathic Understanding - By hanging out with and interviewing prostitutes (participant observation), Sterk gains empathic understanding of their lives. Giving Back (Reciprocity) - Provided Services: childcare, car rides, groceries. Provided Information: how to protect oneself from HIV. Provided Goods: condoms, gels, feminine products.

Entering the Field/Establishing Rapport - Maneuver through media relations director (the "gatekeeper") for permission. Learning how to "fit in". Key figures (baseball stars). Baseball terms ('the show', 'going yard', 'cheese'). Proper speech pattern (blue collar, not academic). Proper attire (news media, not player). Systematic Data Collection - Participant Observation. Long bus trips, locker rooms, batting practice. Role: researcher/reporter (press credentials). Facilitated access to variety of people: Players, coaches, reporters, wives, groupies. Insider/Outsider - Insider's perspective from previous experience (empathic understanding). Yet analytical detachment.

What kind of research lies behind the writing of this brief (4 page) episode? - Structured Interview. Demographic survey to provide empirical perspective on infant mortality. - Participant Observation. First-hand witness to demographic events (births, deaths) as they unfold. - In-Depth Interviews. Explore cultural perspectives on what demographic events (death) mean in the eyes of the actors themselves. - Genealogical Method. Reveals the importance of Shiri Ngadag lineage; helps explain social importance of ill son. - Archival Research. Studying the ritual text provides insights into local conceptions of illness and healing. Summarizing Ethnographic Fieldwork - Participant Observation is the defining methodology of cultural anthropology. - Participant Observation is not the only methodology used by cultural anthropologists. - Any place where humans live and interact with each other is a viable site for fieldwork.

- Study of gender and masculinity in elite male network (businessmen, underground, politicians). - Fieldwork in places where elite males socialize and solidify relationships to facilitate business. "Studying Up" (Hugh Gusterson) - Ethnography traditionally involves power asymmetry between researcher and subjects. (researcher (more powerful) subjects (less power)) - What happens when the ethnographer is in the less powerful position? - Key Question: How can anthropologists study processes of economic and political domination? How can anthropologists study elites? - anthropologists are good at studying inequality, resistance, and social movements - not good at studying systems of power, domination, and inequality from the perspective of those who hold power Accessing Elites: Issues - Gatekeepers: livelihood on the line if the wrong person gets through. - Time: elites are busy, reluctant to devote adequate time to researcher. - Secrecy: more disincentives than incentives for elite to allow outsider into the inner sanctum. Participant Observation - Defining methodology of anthropology "does not travel well up the social ladder." - Participant observation works well in some contexts (village society, ritual activity, etc). - How to use participant observation when studying corporate/political elites? What are you observing? Where? How do you gain access? Ethnographic Seduction - The allure of acceptance; the thrill of becoming accepted. - The Dilemma: risk of becoming too close to and sympathetic with subjects. - Problematic when studying groups that engage in violent or illegal activities. Risk legitimizing such activities at the expense of more critical perspective. Marginal or Powerful? - How to portray Fatty? An ex-peasant struggling against unjust system (the "righteous bandit")? An integral part of the violent side of state domination and accumulation? Does a stance of empathic understanding (or cultural relativism) risk humanizing and rationalizing violence and corruption?

- studying nogales (mexico) based in tuscan (usa) - commuting research (hr drive) The Research and a Dilemma - Document experiences of migrants who had crossed through the border, been caught by U.S. authorities and returned to Mexico. - Problem: cartel drug violence erupts; researchers in close proximity to shootings. - "We were faced not only with the dilemma of cutting our research short, but also of failing to record how drug violence affected migration." Practical and Ethical Questions - How much danger can a researcher accept? When violence is raging and it directly affects research subjects, do scholars have a responsibility to document it? When is it ethically acceptable to abandon a project for "safety" reasons? Who should make the call? The researchers themselves? The university? The government? Daniel Martinez (Principle Investigator) As PI felt personally responsible for safety of team members. Carried on until violence came too close. Terminated research on advice from mentor. "My position is that no research is worth losing one's life. . . . [Scholars] must stop and consider that their endeavors may have consequences not only for themselves, but also for the people in their lives who care about them." Jeremy Slack Felt research should continue based on risk assessment (foreigners not targeted). Did not agree with decision to terminate. "Despite the pretext of attempting to make the decision as a group in our meeting it came down to an executive decision based on the opinions of external faculty." Carried on with other projects; demonstrated commitment to friends and research subjects in Mexico. Prescott Vandervoet Recognized that cartel's "rules of engagement" minimized danger to foreigners. Yet sense of insecurity heightened by continual exposure to violence and risk. Agreed with decision to terminate: risk was considerable and unnecessary. A Cautionary Tale - Scholars, not university administrators, should be the ones to determine when to suspend research due to safety issues. The ethnographer's ethical obligation? "As immigration and border scholars we need to make sure that we do not let our academic pursuits blind us from the truly relevant and pertinent issues that are taking place, and failing to forewarn the possibility of darker things to come."

Nonverbal Communication - nonverbal gestures vary cross-culturally (body language is not uniform among humans) - ex: hand gestures - The only language for most of human history. - we don't know exactly when we learned how to communicate through language - but for the vast majority we didn't have a language - The first form of communication you learn (enculturation through observation). - A form of communication that you use constantly in everyday life. - Something used to communicate what kind of person you are, how you feel about others, whether you are anxious or confident, etc. - Something we monitor constantly and that prompts us to adjust behavior. - Tacit cultural knowledge -; generating behavior: move away to reestablish space Categorizing Speaking Distances - Public, Intimate, social, etc - Depending on circumstances, you intuitively know how close to be to another person when talking (tacit knowledge). - How does a person react when the cultural norm is violated? Lip Reading: Connecting verbal and non-verbal - When speaking we rely on visual cues to enhance understanding Monitoring and Modifying behavior - using nonverbal means to demonstrate if they are "tuned in" to a speaker Nonverbal Communications in Political Performance - Context: performing to potential voters via live audience, television audience, print media. - Movement: forward toward the audience. - Gestures and Expressions: Clapping (positive attitude), Smiling (friendly), Pointing (personal connections). Clothing as Nonverbal Communication - How do we convey messages about our personal identities through the clothing we wear? - clothing and accessories mark one's status - t-shirts mark social identity(causes, music, etc.)

Naked Ape Anthropology blog point: any cultural domain will have an associated focal vocabulary Beer: Suds, swill, barely pop, cold one, brew, liquid bread State of Inebriation (Australia): blotto, faceless, zonked, pickled, stonkered, stunned, sizzled, shickered -indicates drinking is an important part of Australian (youth) culture What do we call it when you fall while skiing? wipe out (most common term) - alternate terms: crunch, face plant, screamer, yard sale, runner, butt burner, endo (wipe-out hierarchy)

- married couples - Why do men talk more in public and less at home? Rapport Talk (used generally by women) - Lean in, touch, eye contact, intimate postures. - Women use language and body movements to build rapport (social connections) with each other. Report Talk (used generally by men) - Distance, no touching, look elsewhere, defensive postures. - Men make reports (recite information) to establish a hierarchy and relative ranks among themselves. Insights from Tannen (Different conversation styles can be a source of marital friction) - Men use talking to get and hold attention and to establish a hierarchy. - Women use talking to establish rapport and build social relations. - Outcome: men more quiet in domestic domain (with wife), more talkative in public domain (at party).

How Does New Media Transform Social Relationships? - Most scholars focus on connections (e.g., formation of social networks). - Gershon centers on how people use new technologies to sever intimate relationships - in the not so distant past there were only 3 ways to break up with ppl but only one way was acceptable - telephone - letter - face to face (only this way was acceptable) Media as Mutually Constitutive - Old media shapes how we use and think about new media. - New media changes peoples' ideologies and uses of old media. - breaking up by phone used to be a serious breach of etiquette - now some ppl consider phone almost equivalent to face to face Evaluating Break-Up Options - Face-to-face = best option. Other options evaluated in relation to face-to-face communication. - More impersonal options (email, Facebook) make phone more desirable than alternatives. Technology and Behavioral change - 55% of all women have, or would, break up by mobile technology - easy way out - level of safety, removal Determining Intentions - In break-ups determining intentions is foremost concern. - Media evaluated in terms of how easy one can discern intentions. - Conversational turn taking facilitates exploration of intentions. - No media can rival face-to-face in this regard.

Code-Switching (Hill's usage) - The use of more than one language concurrently in a conversation. - Pattern of linguistic usage typical among multilingual people. - ex: ngatso supermarket la dro (tibetan/english/tibetan) Language, Race, and White Public Space - Inner Sphere: blurred boundaries (Spanish/English). Speakers engage in extensive "code-switching" (mixing English and Spanish). - interacting with each other (spanish americans with spanish americans) - Outer Sphere: pressure to keep languages "in order." "Failure" of linguistic order (e.g., engaging in code-switching) becomes marker of "race". - Using Spanish (Hispanic Americans): "outer sphere" as site of racialization. Spanish with non-peers marks one as different and dangerous. - Using Mock Spanish (White Americans): "inner sphere" as site of racialization. Spanish with peers marks one as congenial and worldly. Mock Spanish - Semantic Pejoration (a change of meaning for the worse: adiós, hasta la vista). - Obscene words for euphemisms (Casa de Pee-Pee, Caca de Toro). - Suffixes and modifiers to create pejorative forms (el cheap o, el presidente). - Hyperanglicized representations of words (grassy-ass, Fleas Navidad) - How does saying "manana" differ from saying i'll do it tomorrow"? "Racial" Dimensions of Mock Spanish - Direct Indexicality: indexes that are understood (e.g. "I'll do it mañana" signals you as congenial, down-to-earth, folksy person.). - Indirect Indexicality: reliance on stereotypes (typically negative) to make sense. - "I'll do it manana" reliant on stereotypes of Hispanics as lazy procrastinators - Hill's Argument: Mock Spanish is racial discourse by directly indexing congeniality of speaker while indirectly indexing negative stereotypes. - idexicality: connection between a linguistic form and its social significance thought the recognition of their repeated junction - an utterance that points to, and helps to create, a social identity Mock Yiddish - many Yiddish terms commonly used in American vernacular - not seen as offensive - popularized from Jewish comedians

Marshall Sahlins - Fieldwork in the Pacific. Important contributions to economic anthropology. Renown for using ethnographic data to critique mainstream theories about "rational" economic behavior. Stone Age Economics (1972), a classic. Nasty, Short, and Brutish Lives? - "Subsistence" characterized as brink of starvation existence. - "Limited leisure", "incessant quest for food", "absence of surplus", "meager resources". - Relegated to nature, not culture: "A man who spends his whole life following animals just to kill them to eat, or moving from one berry patch to another, is really living just like an animal himself." (Braidwood 1957) Fulfilling Wants and Desires - Scarcity is a "relationship between means and ends." - How does one satisfy "wants"? By producing a lot? (necessary if desires are numerous) By desiring little? (requires little if any excess production) - Forager Economics - sufficient food and water - had material plenty (weapons, and stuff to make structures) - so they were fulfilling their wants - actually have more than they need - context = low standard of living Why Be Content with So Little? - Is it because they spend so much time hunting and foraging that no time remains for the provision of other comforts? NOOOO - Is it because goods are a burden in a mobile community ("mobility and property are in contradiction")? Is it because they simply have few desires? YESSS - foragers - only have to work 2-3 hrs/day to make a living vs agriculturalists who have to work 8-10 hrs a day Why do foragers eat rapidly through food supplies? - Lack of foresight to cache supplies for future time? NOO - Driven by hunger to gorge themselves? NOO - Or, because they are confident of their ability to continually procure food? YESS Diminishing Returns - Why make substantial houses if you will soon abandon them? Why collect goods and materials when it is a burden to transport them to next camp? Mobility - not productivity - influences material acquisitions. - Rational Economic Behavior: Diminishing Returns (not starvation) Explains Mobility - when spending too much time finding food, know its time to move A Point to Ponder - Ethnographic descriptions limited to foragers in marginal landscapes (e.g., Kalahari Desert). 20th century foragers pushed to margins by agricultural and industrial societies. How would their livelihoods look if they lived in more suitable environments? Descriptions of poverty: aboriginal condition or "colonial duress"? - Sahlin's answer: foragers have just curbed their interest for material things

!Kung Bushmen - Subsistence Strategy: foraging (hunting & gathering). Low population density living in small bands. Egalitarian society (little social stratification). Trade relations with herders (source of Lee's ox). - Knowledge of Christmas is "third-hand". Main importance: ritual slaughter of ox. (missionaries --> neighboring pastoralists --> Kung!) Reciprocity - Anthropologist studying subsistence economy (hunting and gathering). Did not want to "taint" data by providing food. But wanted to reciprocate: gift of "huge" ox to say "thank you". Meat Distribution - Part of hunter-gatherer reciprocity. All get equal share (ex: Netsulik video). Can lead to fights (e.g., Christmas ox distributed among feuding groups). The Point - Anthropologist in position of relative power (sole source of tobacco). Cultural Template: belittle the hunter's results. Arrogance is dangerous in an egalitarian society. "We cool his heart and make him gentle." - Agency: Criticizing ox = opportunity to humble Lee's potential arrogance attained by giving. - Using culture to diminish social hierarchy.

- redistribution society The context: competition for prestige among leaders in order to attract more followers - would make more food and invite other village over for a potluck and then give it all away --> that leader now has prestige Kwakiutl Potlatch as Conspicuous Redistribution? - Kwakiutl leader collects food stocks, redistributes to people in own and other communities. Early Interpretations - Thorstein Veblen (economist): Economically irrational drive for prestige. In some societies people value prestige over well-being. - Andrew Vayda (ecological anthropologist): Cultural adaptation to alternating periods of local abundance and shortage. - Ruth Benedict (anthropologist): Potlatch displayed "megalomania" of the chiefs. Object: to "show oneself superior to one's rivals." Divergent Views - Ruth Benedict: The Kwakiutl economic system was bent to the service of status rivalry. - Marvin Harris: Kwakiutl status rivalry was bent to the service of the economic system. - Benedict: the Kwakiutl economic system was bent to the curving of status rivalry culture --> mode of production - Harris says opposite: mode of production is driving culture Potlatch Functions: Harris' Perspective - To ensure surplus production, economic cooperation, and the distribution of wealth in a non-centralized political system. - Leader's craving for status spurs others to work harder and produce more than required for subsistence level, brings several villages together in economic exchange network, redistributes food through feasts. Exchange in Evolutionary Perspective: Cultural Materialist (Harris') Perspective - Egalitarian Societies (e.g., hunters and gatherers): balanced reciprocity as the norm. - Competitive hunting/feasting would be detrimental to their survival (deplete resources). - More Complex Societies: redistribution as the norm (leader works hardest, consumes least). Made possible by domesticating plants and animals. Labor not purchased, but given as social obligation to leader (everyone benefits). - Even More Complex Societies: accumulation becomes the basis of prestige. - Conspicuous consumption - prestige linked to goods we accumulate and display - intent to impress others by accumulating money and material goods - Philanthropy as redistribution (prestige) - is there a connection between conspicuous giving ad prestige in our society? - charity fundraisers and social status - giving away money --> prestige - similarity with potlatch

Working Conditions in El Barrio - Substance abuse, unhealthy environment, anxieties related to violence and legal risks, social antagonism and racism. Why are poor people poor? Why do some poor people stay poor? Cultural Reproduction Theory - Schools socialize minority children into dominant ideology (e.g., social norms, vernacular) of majority (i.e., white America). Resistance to assimilation leads to economic failure (poverty, crime, drug abuse). Economic success contingent upon rejecting ethnic identity and cultural dignity. - Does Bourgois agree? No, answer is not this simple Inner-City Street Culture - Rebellious practices opposed to mainstream society. Violence, substance abuse, anger. Personal search for dignity. Rejection of racism and marginalization. Models of masculinity premised on earning "respect". - underground economy as culture of resistance - safe, low wage status job or risky, high wage status job Culture of Terror - "High powered tool for domination and a principle medium for political practice." (Taussig) Violence as a means to maintain credibility, prevent rip-offs. Upward mobility requires regular displays of violence. Violence as "public relations", "advertising", "rapport building". Ruthlessness = security. - violence has a purpose as an economic perspective - to prevent from being ripped off - gain respect "Irrational" Cultural Logic? - Pursuing the American Dream: "Rugged individualists", "private entrepreneurs" seeking a "piece of the pie." - Underground economy as most available route to upward mobility. - Choosing dignity and autonomy over humiliation and dependence on others.

seminal article by a political scientist theoretical framework for studying class relations and resistance major impact on anthropology "Real Resistance": Organized, systematic, and cooperative. Principled or selfless. Has revolutionary consequences. "Incidental Activities": Unorganized, unsystematic and individual. Opportunistic and 'self-indulgent.' Have no revolutionary consequences Marx: focus on class as a basis of social stratification - direct confrontation - risky bc state can squash it (more dramatic, less effective) Gramsci: insights on ideologies to support social stratification Scott: Ways that ppl resist social stratification - everyday resistance (less dramatic, more effective) Shifting the Focus - Most analysis of peasant/proletariat resistance centered on rebellions ("real resistance"). - Everyday resistance ("incidental activities") more pervasive and significant. Requires little or no coordination and planning. Avoids direct symbolic confrontation w/authority. Extended campaigns of attrition; constant testing of production relations between the classes. "The way the peasantry makes their political presence felt." - Resisting power secretly and individually preserves "the onstage theater of power which dominates public life." Public Transcript: Public interactions between powerful and subordinate - act with deference and conformity (public posture) to leaders - visible display of subordination Hidden Transcript: Critique of power by the subordinate group that occurs in domains hidden from the eyes of the dominant group. - at night might be stealing crops, or not paying taxes, etc Weapons of the Weak: - Footdragging, dissimulation, false-compliance, pilfering, feigned ignorance, slander, sabotage. Includes "symbolic or ideological resistance (for example, gossip, slander, rejecting imposed categories, the withdrawal of deference) as an integral part of class-based resistance." - Intentions: Individual or Collective Actions? Survival strategies that "deny or mitigate claims from appropriating classes" are acts of resistance - ex: going AWOL from military --> denies military cannon fodder not paying taxes --> denies gov't money - cumulative effect can lead to increased coercion or systematic change

Schools as Institutions for Enculturation Jules Henry - PhD Anthropology, Columbia. - Student of Franz Boas and Margaret Mead. - Wash U Sociology 1947-1969. - Later work "questioned the authority of, and rationale behind, cultural institutions" (e.g., the school system). Schools as Institutions for Enculturation - "American classrooms . . . express the values, preoccupations, and fears found in the culture as a whole." - "Drilling" (rote learning) replaced by less rigid forms of teaching. - Function of education is not to foster creativity, but to instill conformity (i.e., social control!) - "The function of education has never been to free the mind and spirit of man, but to bind them." Classroom Management - Lessons learned in name of "classroom management" instill conformity outside of the classroom. - Classroom management thus has tremendous impact on children's enculturation (more than parents?) Question - Are you primarily motivated to study for an exam because of a desire to succeed or a fear of failure?

Mechanisms for social control built into park. "Private corporate policing." "Control strategies are embedded in both environmental features and structural relations." Control becomes consensual. - Inducing coercion by "depriving visitors of a resource they value." - Argument: "people today are seduced to conform by the pleasures of consuming the goods that corporate power has to offer."

Biometrics: Recognizing humans on basis of traits. - Physical Traits: Face, fingerprints, iris, hand geometry, DNA, body odor. - Behavioral Traits: Handwriting, voice pattern, gait. Biometric Security - Record a characteristic (e.g., "mug shot", fingerprint) and enter it into a database. Disseminating the database creates a method for tracking individuals. Maguire's Research Agenda - Biosecurity research dominated by technical fields (e.g., encryption). Move beyond debates on efficacy of technology by focusing on historical and cultural dimensions of biometrics. Explore genealogy of biometric security to show it as "an invisible chain that held past populations in strikingly contemporary ways." What are the social ramifications of widely deploying such technologies?