Question 1

What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior"?

Accepted Answer

A)  Features of culture such as distinctive smells, noises people make, how they cover their mouths when they eat, and how they gaze at each other are so fundamental that natives take them for granted but are there for the ethnographer to describe and make sense of. 
B)  Everyday cultural patterns are full of senseless cultural "noise," and it is the anthropologist's job to get at the truly valuable behaviors that distinguish one culture from another. 
C)  Everyday cultural patterns of native life can best be studied by asking key informants to explain them. 
D)  Features of everyday culture are, at first, imponderable, but as the ethnographer builds rapport, their logic and functional value in society become clear. 
E)  Everyday cultural patterns are important but so numerous that their detailed description should not be included in the main body of an ethnographic study. 
A)  Features of culture such as distinctive smells, noises people make, how they cover their mouths when they eat, and how they gaze at each other are so fundamental that natives take them for granted but are there for the ethnographer to describe and make sense of. 
B)  Everyday cultural patterns are full of senseless cultural "noise," and it is the anthropologist's job to get at the truly valuable behaviors that distinguish one culture from another. 
C)  Everyday cultural patterns of native life can best be studied by asking key informants to explain them. 
D)  Features of everyday culture are, at first, imponderable, but as the ethnographer builds rapport, their logic and functional value in society become clear. 
E)  Everyday cultural patterns are important but so numerous that their detailed description should not be included in the main body of an ethnographic study.

Question 2

Traditionally, ethnographers have tried to understand the whole of a particular culture.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

The actions that individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming cultural identities are referred to as

Accepted Answer

A)  psychological individualism. 
B)  dynamic structuralism. 
C)  free will. 
D)  agency. 
E)  volition. 
A)  psychological individualism. 
B)  dynamic structuralism. 
C)  free will. 
D)  agency. 
E)  volition.

Question 4

Radcliffe-Brown advocated that social anthropology be a synchronic rather than a diachronic science; that is, a study

Accepted Answer

A)  of culture in motion (synchronic) rather than as a static entity (diachronic). 
B)  that compares cultural traits within the same society and not across societies. 
C)  of societies across time (synchronic) rather than across space (diachronic). 
D)  of societies as they exist today (synchronic, one at a time) rather than across time (diachronic). 
E)  of societies as made up of individuals, not as a sum greater than its parts. 
A)  of culture in motion (synchronic) rather than as a static entity (diachronic). 
B)  that compares cultural traits within the same society and not across societies. 
C)  of societies across time (synchronic) rather than across space (diachronic). 
D)  of societies as they exist today (synchronic, one at a time) rather than across time (diachronic). 
E)  of societies as made up of individuals, not as a sum greater than its parts.

Question 5

What do you think is the relation between theory and methods in anthropology, if they relate at all?

Accepted Answer

In anthropology, theory and methods are

Question 6

Survey research is usually conducted through intensive personal contact with the study subjects.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

How have anthropologists tried to bring evolution into the study of human culture? Have these approaches succeeded, or failed? Why? Do you see any way in which evolution and culture could be united into a broad and effective explanatory paradigm?

Accepted Answer

Anthropologists have tried to bring evol

Question 8

The etic perspective refers to a non-scientific perspective.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

More recent approaches in historical anthropology, while sharing an interest in power with world-system theorists, have focused more on

Accepted Answer

A)  the structural causes of colonialism. 
B)  how anthropological theory can aid NGOs in writing an alternate history of oppressed peoples. 
C)  the role of colonial bureaucracies in shaping international culture. 
D)  local agency, the transformative actions of individuals and groups within colonized societies. 
E)  the state's role in denying some of its citizens a place in history. 
A)  the structural causes of colonialism. 
B)  how anthropological theory can aid NGOs in writing an alternate history of oppressed peoples. 
C)  the role of colonial bureaucracies in shaping international culture. 
D)  local agency, the transformative actions of individuals and groups within colonized societies. 
E)  the state's role in denying some of its citizens a place in history.

Question 10

In survey research, what is sampling?

Accepted Answer

A)  the collection of a study group from a larger population 
B)  the interviewing of a small number of key cultural consultants 
C)  a form of participant observation 
D)  the collection of life histories of every member in a community 
E)  a collection reflecting the emic perspective 
A)  the collection of a study group from a larger population 
B)  the interviewing of a small number of key cultural consultants 
C)  a form of participant observation 
D)  the collection of life histories of every member in a community 
E)  a collection reflecting the emic perspective

Question 11

What is the genealogical method, and why did it develop in anthropology?

Accepted Answer

The genealogical method is a research te

Question 12

Survey research studies a small sample of a larger population.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

As investigators who illustrated the functionalist approach in anthropology, both Malinowski's and Radcliffe-Brown's ethnographic research focused on

Accepted Answer

A)  myth and ritual and the ways that these aspects of culture created social cohesion. 
B)  the evolutionary history of present-day cultural patterns. 
C)  the role of cultural traits and practices in contemporary society. 
D)  the symbolic value that cultural traits and practices held with members of contemporary society. 
E)  the role of cultural traits and practices aimed at conflict resolution. 
A)  myth and ritual and the ways that these aspects of culture created social cohesion. 
B)  the evolutionary history of present-day cultural patterns. 
C)  the role of cultural traits and practices in contemporary society. 
D)  the symbolic value that cultural traits and practices held with members of contemporary society. 
E)  the role of cultural traits and practices aimed at conflict resolution.

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation?

Accepted Answer

A)  administering interviews according to an interview schedule over the phone 
B)  helping out at harvest time 
C)  dancing at a ceremony 
D)  buying a shroud for a village ancestor 
E)  engaging in informal chit-chat 
A)  administering interviews according to an interview schedule over the phone 
B)  helping out at harvest time 
C)  dancing at a ceremony 
D)  buying a shroud for a village ancestor 
E)  engaging in informal chit-chat

Question 15

Longitudinal research is the long-term study of a community, region, society, culture, or other unit, usually based on repeated visits.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

What advantages might a project that combines both quantitative and qualitative techniques have over one that utilizes only one or the other? What research situation might be best suited to such a combined strategy?

Accepted Answer

A project that combines both quantitativ

Question 17

In today's world in which people, images, and information move as never before, people simultaneously experience the local and the global. Explain what this means and consider its implications for methods in cultural anthropology.

Accepted Answer

In today's world, the rapid advancement

Question 18

In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact

Accepted Answer

A)  that is necessary to conduct any valuable research in the social sciences, not just anthropology. 
B)  that, if done properly, ensures the ethnographer's ability to conduct detached, unbiased research. 
C)  achieved in large part by engaging in participant observation. 
D)  and if that fails, the next option is to pay people so they will talk about their culture. 
E)  and on payment, based on local standards, for people's time spent with the researcher. 
A)  that is necessary to conduct any valuable research in the social sciences, not just anthropology. 
B)  that, if done properly, ensures the ethnographer's ability to conduct detached, unbiased research. 
C)  achieved in large part by engaging in participant observation. 
D)  and if that fails, the next option is to pay people so they will talk about their culture. 
E)  and on payment, based on local standards, for people's time spent with the researcher.

Question 19

Anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn (1944) saw a key public service role for anthropology. In his words, it could provide a "scientific basis for dealing with the crucial dilemma of the world today: how can peoples of different appearance, mutually unintelligible languages, and dissimilar ways of life get along peaceably together." Anthropologists also have made and continue to make a dramatic impact on people's welfare as they cope with crises such as the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. What are some examples of this?

Accepted Answer

Some examples of anthropologists making

Question 20

Which is the key assumption in Claude Lévi-Strauss's structuralism?

Accepted Answer

A)  All myths can be classified as either good or evil. 
B)  The human propensity to classify phenomena in certain ways is acquired through enculturation. 
C)  There is a very specific role for human agency in culture, and the structure of cultural patterns determines that role. 
D)  Cultural patterns determine the human propensity to classify things in certain ways. 
E)  Human minds have certain universal characteristics that originate in common features of the Homo sapiens brain and lead people everywhere to think similarly regardless of their society or cultural background. 
A)  All myths can be classified as either good or evil. 
B)  The human propensity to classify phenomena in certain ways is acquired through enculturation. 
C)  There is a very specific role for human agency in culture, and the structure of cultural patterns determines that role. 
D)  Cultural patterns determine the human propensity to classify things in certain ways. 
E)  Human minds have certain universal characteristics that originate in common features of the Homo sapiens brain and lead people everywhere to think similarly regardless of their society or cultural background.

What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior"?

Traditionally, ethnographers have tried to understand the whole of a particular culture.

The actions that individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming cultural identities are referred to as

Radcliffe-Brown advocated that social anthropology be a synchronic rather than a diachronic science; that is, a study

What do you think is the relation between theory and methods in anthropology, if they relate at all?

Survey research is usually conducted through intensive personal contact with the study subjects.

How have anthropologists tried to bring evolution into the study of human culture? Have these approaches succeeded, or failed? Why? Do you see any way in which evolution and culture could be united into a broad and effective explanatory paradigm?

The etic perspective refers to a non-scientific perspective.

More recent approaches in historical anthropology, while sharing an interest in power with world-system theorists, have focused more on

In survey research, what is sampling?

What is the genealogical method, and why did it develop in anthropology?

Survey research studies a small sample of a larger population.

As investigators who illustrated the functionalist approach in anthropology, both Malinowski's and Radcliffe-Brown's ethnographic research focused on

Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation?

Longitudinal research is the long-term study of a community, region, society, culture, or other unit, usually based on repeated visits.

What advantages might a project that combines both quantitative and qualitative techniques have over one that utilizes only one or the other? What research situation might be best suited to such a combined strategy?

In today's world in which people, images, and information move as never before, people simultaneously experience the local and the global. Explain what this means and consider its implications for methods in cultural anthropology.

In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact

Which is the key assumption in Claude Lévi-Strauss's structuralism?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters

Exam 3: Method and Theory in Cultural Anthropology

What did Bronislaw Malinowski mean when he referred to everyday cultural patterns as "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior"?

Traditionally, ethnographers have tried to understand the whole of a particular culture.

The actions that individuals take, both alone and in groups, in forming and transforming cultural identities are referred to as

Radcliffe-Brown advocated that social anthropology be a synchronic rather than a diachronic science; that is, a study

What do you think is the relation between theory and methods in anthropology, if they relate at all?

Survey research is usually conducted through intensive personal contact with the study subjects.

How have anthropologists tried to bring evolution into the study of human culture? Have these approaches succeeded, or failed? Why? Do you see any way in which evolution and culture could be united into a broad and effective explanatory paradigm?

The etic perspective refers to a non-scientific perspective.

More recent approaches in historical anthropology, while sharing an interest in power with world-system theorists, have focused more on

In survey research, what is sampling?

What is the genealogical method, and why did it develop in anthropology?

Survey research studies a small sample of a larger population.

As investigators who illustrated the functionalist approach in anthropology, both Malinowski's and Radcliffe-Brown's ethnographic research focused on

Which of the following is NOT an example of participant observation?

Longitudinal research is the long-term study of a community, region, society, culture, or other unit, usually based on repeated visits.

What advantages might a project that combines both quantitative and qualitative techniques have over one that utilizes only one or the other? What research situation might be best suited to such a combined strategy?

In today's world in which people, images, and information move as never before, people simultaneously experience the local and the global. Explain what this means and consider its implications for methods in cultural anthropology.

In the field, ethnographers strive to establish rapport: a good, friendly working relationship based on personal contact

Which is the key assumption in Claude Lévi-Strauss's structuralism?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Language and Communication

Ethnicity and Race

Making a Living

Political Systems

Gender

Families, Kinship, and Descent

Marriage

Religion

Arts, Media, and Sports

The World System and Colonialism

Anthropologys Role in a Globalizing World

Filters