Qualitative Methods

Can't be measured

Quantitative Methods

CAN be measured

Subfields of Anthropology

1.) Physical

2.) Archaelogical

3.) Cultural

4.) Linguistic

Culture

People's beliefs, values, practices, and styles of living.

Nationalism

Political identity

Functionalism

(Malinowski)

The meaning (function) behind what's going on

(Ex: The purpose of Kula: peace-keeping, heroicness, social networking)

Ethnography

The extensive, first-hand study of a particular study

Structuralism

Looking for overall patterns within society

(how things fit together)

Interpretivism

Search for meaning of a culture

(what it means to them, to the society)

Emic

Personal, culture-specific account

(basically being an active participant; participant observation and whatnot)

Etic

Account made by an observer (not culture-specific; culture-neutral)

Reciprocity

An exchange; gift-giving

(in this case, in return for participating in one's study)

Participant Observation

Observing social interactions with people, and participate in them as well

Semi-structured interviewing

Use an interview guide and often ask open-ended questions to solicite a good response

Interview Guide

List of questions that guides the interview

(some anthro's just write down topics)

Mapping

Participatory mapping

(Ex: have them draw a map of their neighborhood growing up, and ask them to explain it)

Cultural Domains

How people think about things together

(People naturally group things together in their minds, so this shows observer how that particular person groups things)

Kinship

A category of analysis, created to talk about certain kinds of relationships

Descent

A shared common heritage based on ancestry and kinship

Unilineal Descent

Only recognize descent from one particular ancestor

Bilateral Descent

Recognize descent from both mother and father's line

 Lineage

A group of kin, whose members trace descent from a known common ancestor

Clan

Unilineal group who think of themselves as descended from a common ancestor, but they can't trace the link specifically/directly

Ethnic boundary markers

Public identifiers of a group

(Ex: clothing styles, housing styles, food, language, etc.)

Origin Myths

A story about either the origin of the earth, or a story about the origin of that group

Ethnic cleansing

The deliberate, systematic attempt by a dominate group to eliminate a rival ethnic group within a geographic region

Sociocide

Destroying the ethnic identity of a people to assimilate them into the dominant society

(Ex: The beginning of the Holocaust; slaves; Ellis Island)

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy an ethnic population

(Ex: Rwanda, Darfur, the Holocaust)

Relocation

Forced resettlement of a group into a new geographic location

(Ex: Trail of Tears; Japanese-Americans during WWII; Jews during WWII; Native Americans in general)

State

A form of social and political organization that has a formal, central government

Empires

Broad, controlled territories

(Ex: The British Empire; The Roman Empire)

Nation-state

An imagined political community

Pluralism

Any combo of identities within a particular region

Flexible accumulation

The capital is mobile; shifts around the world

Faster communication

Exploits cheaper larbor centers

Alliances shift

Digital Divide

Some people have access to technology, some people do not

Migration

Movement from one place to another

Diasporic community

A displaced population

(Ex: Refugees; Palestine)

Ethnomusicology

Study of ethnic/cultural music

Applies cultural theory to music

Scapes

How Appadurai saw the world connected together

Race

A social construct

Holistic approach

Looking at the part in context of the whole

Cultural Relativism

Culture has to be studied in the bigger context of the culture

Inequality

The extent to which culturally valued material and social rewards are allocated disproportinately

Hegemony

Control that's so pervasive, that you can't even recognize it

(Ex: Civil Rights; it was natural and logical to them to segregate [but the ideas came from higher up])

Dominance

Rule that is recognized, but we also recognize our creativity (what we can and can't do), but there's a level of things we can control (like career control)

Social Rewards

 1.) Wealth

-Accumulated stuff of value

2.) Power

-The ability to make other people do

what you want

3.) Prestige

-The respect, esteem, or overt approval given to individuals

Class

Born into certain rank, but you have the option to move and down

Caste

Born into rank, can't really move out of

Homeland

A geographic area, defined by history, that a group believes belongs to them