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

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  detailed work with key consultants. 
B)  direct, firsthand observation of behavior, including participant observation. 
C)  in-depth interviewing, often leading to the collection of life histories. 
D)  problem-oriented research. 
E)  longitudinal analysis of data sets gathered from state-sponsored statistical agencies. 
A)  detailed work with key consultants. 
B)  direct, firsthand observation of behavior, including participant observation. 
C)  in-depth interviewing, often leading to the collection of life histories. 
D)  problem-oriented research. 
E)  longitudinal analysis of data sets gathered from state-sponsored statistical agencies.

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer?

Accepted Answer

A)  structured interviewing 
B)  life histories 
C)  random sampling 
D)  working with well-informed informants 
E)  the genealogical method 
A)  structured interviewing 
B)  life histories 
C)  random sampling 
D)  working with well-informed informants 
E)  the genealogical method

Question 5

This chapter's overview of the history of anthropological theory suggests that the discipline has made no important contributions to social theory in general.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Manchester anthropologists Max Gluckman and Victor Turner made conflict an important part of their analysis, distancing themselves somewhat from Panglossian functionalism, the tendency to see things as functioning not just to maintain the system but to do so in the most optimal way possible.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

Ethnography is increasingly multi-timed and multi-sited, the result of a shift toward a recognition of the ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information that characterizes much of the world today.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Despite the variety of research techniques that the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains

Accepted Answer

A)  collaborating with the community to construct a cohesive image of local culture. 
B)  entering the community and getting to know its people. 
C)  gathering large quantities of data on a limited budget. 
D)  defining the local culture in such a way as to highlight what makes the particular culture so unlike any other. 
E)  providing detailed descriptions of "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior." 
A)  collaborating with the community to construct a cohesive image of local culture. 
B)  entering the community and getting to know its people. 
C)  gathering large quantities of data on a limited budget. 
D)  defining the local culture in such a way as to highlight what makes the particular culture so unlike any other. 
E)  providing detailed descriptions of "the imponderabilia of native life and of typical behavior."

Question 9

Which of the following terms refers to the theoretical paradigm that holds that customs (social practices) function to preserve the social structure?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Manchester school 
B)  synchronic functionalism 
C)  configurationalism, as illustrated in the works of Benedict and Mead 
D)  Panglossian structuralism 
E)  structural functionalism, as illustrated in the work of Radcliffe-Brown and Evans-Pritchard 
A)  the Manchester school 
B)  synchronic functionalism 
C)  configurationalism, as illustrated in the works of Benedict and Mead 
D)  Panglossian structuralism 
E)  structural functionalism, as illustrated in the work of Radcliffe-Brown and Evans-Pritchard

Question 10

Pentagon programs, including Project Minerva, draw on social science research to learn about national security threats. Why do social scientists object to the military determining which research projects are worth funding?

Accepted Answer

A)  because the military budget is already overextended 
B)  because the military has higher ethical standards than anthropologists 
C)  because scholars favor a peer review system of choosing funded projects 
D)  because the military might surpass anthropologists in cultural knowledge 
E)  because government spending has no business overlapping with science 
A)  because the military budget is already overextended 
B)  because the military has higher ethical standards than anthropologists 
C)  because scholars favor a peer review system of choosing funded projects 
D)  because the military might surpass anthropologists in cultural knowledge 
E)  because government spending has no business overlapping with science

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

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

All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer?

This chapter's overview of the history of anthropological theory suggests that the discipline has made no important contributions to social theory in general.

Manchester anthropologists Max Gluckman and Victor Turner made conflict an important part of their analysis, distancing themselves somewhat from Panglossian functionalism, the tendency to see things as functioning not just to maintain the system but to do so in the most optimal way possible.

Ethnography is increasingly multi-timed and multi-sited, the result of a shift toward a recognition of the ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information that characterizes much of the world today.

Despite the variety of research techniques that the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains

Which of the following terms refers to the theoretical paradigm that holds that customs (social practices) function to preserve the social structure?

Pentagon programs, including Project Minerva, draw on social science research to learn about national security threats. Why do social scientists object to the military determining which research projects are worth funding?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

Human Variation and Adaptation

The Primates

Early Hominins

Archaic Homo

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

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 13: 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"?

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

All of the following are characteristic field techniques of the ethnographer EXCEPT

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic field technique of the ethnographer?

This chapter's overview of the history of anthropological theory suggests that the discipline has made no important contributions to social theory in general.

Manchester anthropologists Max Gluckman and Victor Turner made conflict an important part of their analysis, distancing themselves somewhat from Panglossian functionalism, the tendency to see things as functioning not just to maintain the system but to do so in the most optimal way possible.

Ethnography is increasingly multi-timed and multi-sited, the result of a shift toward a recognition of the ongoing and inescapable flows of people, technology, images, and information that characterizes much of the world today.

Despite the variety of research techniques that the ethnographer may utilize in the field, in the best studies the hallmark of ethnography remains

Which of the following terms refers to the theoretical paradigm that holds that customs (social practices) function to preserve the social structure?

Pentagon programs, including Project Minerva, draw on social science research to learn about national security threats. Why do social scientists object to the military determining which research projects are worth funding?

What Is Anthropology

Culture

Applying Anthropology

Doing Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

Evolution and Genetics

Human Variation and Adaptation

The Primates

Early Hominins

Archaic Homo

The Origin and Spread of Modern Humans

The First Farmers

The First Cities and States

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