Exam 3: Fieldwork and Ethnography

Two different anthropologists write about the same people. The first makes detailed field notes and conducts surveys. The second does not conduct surveys, but talks to many people in the field and takes good notes. When they publish their results, the first anthropologist's book has every single detail of the research, and the second anthropologist's book has many of the raw interviews as part of the text. We might consider the second book to be polyvocal because:

When we utilize many anthropological studies to examine activities, trends, and patterns of power across cultures, it is called ethnology. What do we rely on to make ethnology successful?

What is the significant difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

It is essential that ethnographers map communities because mapping:

Henry Lewis Morgan and Edward Burnett Tylor, two early anthropologists, had notably different approaches to anthropological research. In conducting his research, Tylor:

In his study of everyday "Body Rituals among the Nacirema," anthropologist Horace Miner presents us with:

Imagine thousands of people, all screaming, yelling, and drinking, while a smaller group in the center area fight over the remains of a dead pig. If it were part of the research described in Horace Miner's interpretations of Nacirema culture, this might be seen as significant in anthropological terms because it:

Fieldwork is considered a scientific approach to understanding human societies. At the same time, however, fieldwork is considered to be what?

Explain why ethnography is considered both a science and an art.

Franz Boas's attempts to document Native American cultures that were devastated by the westward expansion of settlers is called salvage ethnography. Boas's method involved:

The roots of today's anthropology emerged from very early accounts of travelers in previous centuries. What about these accounts helped fuel anthropological inquiry?

How did the American Anthropological Association's "do no harm" mandate come into existence?

Sometimes anthropologists use a novel ethnographic approach, which might include a fictionalized account. The inclusion of ________ would distinguish such a work from a novel.

If the decision to bomb a particular village hinges on the knowledge of culture provided by an anthropologist, what kind of dilemma does the anthropologist face in deciding how much data to collect and report?

The Minerva Initiative offers funding to anthropologists whose work can benefit defense planning. Many in anthropology see this as a problem for the discipline. What do they find problematic?

Once arriving at a new site for ethnographic research, your curiosity leads you to spend large amounts of time walking through the small village complex where you live. What useful ethnographic information do you discover in doing this?

What changed and expanded in the late twentieth century that has allowed anthropologists to continue research even after leaving the field?

Define three fieldwork strategies anthropologists use to research their ethnographies, and describe the context in which each is used.

Margaret Mead's talent for blending fieldwork with dynamic writing about gender roles provided her with the authority and opportunity to become what kind of anthropologist?

Explain how ethnographers can explore global phenomena by conducting fieldwork at the local level.