Deck 3: Fieldwork and Ethnography

Question 1

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?

A) synchronic
B) experimental
C) gender
D) public

Answer 1

public

Question 2

Margaret Mead was both controversial and renowned for her work. Which of the following statements best describes that work?

A) Mead conducted deep-immersion studies of the Trobriand Islands.
B) Mead challenged existing work done among the Nuer of Africa.
C) Mead studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D) Mead examined sexuality in Samoa.

Answer 2

Mead examined sexuality in Samoa.

Question 3

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

A) worked from his favorite armchair.
B) worked in the communities he was studying for years at a time.
C) applied statistical methods to the accounts of others.
D) had extensive conversations with travelers.

Answer 3

worked from his favorite armchair.

Question 4

What is the necessary starting point for all anthropologists conducting fieldwork, as demonstrated in the heartbreaking stories recounted by Nancy Scheper-Hughes?

A) trends
B) space
C) people
D) records

Question 5

What did Lewis Henry Morgan do that was an exception in the field of anthropology at that time?

A) He conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
B) Morgan researched social life among the Nuer of Africa.
C) He and his team studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D) Morgan became an expert on Native Americans.

Question 6

E. E. Evans-Pritchard used a synchronic approach in establishing social anthropology through a(n):

A) careful reexamination of Malinowski's work in the Trobriand Islands.
B) methodical analysis of social life among the Nuer of Africa.
C) examination of effects of British colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D) analysis of how British colonialism altered the idea of exchange in the kula ring economy.

Question 7

What is fundamental to all research conducted by contemporary cultural anthropologists?

A) participant observation
B) archival research
C) engaged anthropology
D) synchronic study

Question 8

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:

A) rapid gathering of available material and key interviews.
B) rapid assessment of local conditions and detailed interviews.
C) observing many participants over a long period of time.
D) collecting only material goods that were considered trash.

Question 9

Anthropologists conducting fieldwork may experience a particular kind of disorientation from the "strangeness" they discover. What is this often attributable to?

A) ethnographic dissonance
B) culture shock
C) critical self-examination
D) fieldwork block

Question 10

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

A) an argument that the Nacirema view the body as healthy and beautiful.
B) a clear argument that the household shrine was the most important part of Nacirema life.
C) the importance of focusing on public rituals rather than everyday mundane activities.
D) a story that makes the very familiar seem very strange.

Question 11

What did Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) encourage fellow anthropologists to do in his guidelines?

A) Clearly document the kinship system of the people being studied.
B) Take time to learn the local language of the people being studied.
C) Carefully document the geographical setting of the people being studied.
D) Conduct in-depth analysis of a culture from an armchair.

Question 12

In an age of intensifying globalization, ethnographic research continues to provide a deep understanding of informants' everyday lives and cultures, due in large part to the continued use of what specific part of the anthropologist's toolkit?

A) conducting surveys
B) drawing maps
C) participant observation
D) recording field notes

Question 13

Franz Boas is credited with developing the concept of cultural relativism. What specific perspective made cultural relativism radical at that time?

A) taking each culture as a variation of unilineal evolution
B) applying an ethnocentric perspective to studying different cultures
C) understanding each culture on its own unique merits
D) viewing cultures exclusively through comparative ethnology

Question 14

The roots of cultural anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork lie in:

A) early biological models.
B) modern philosophical debates.
C) turn-of-the-century demographic trends.
D) late nineteenth-century globalization.

Question 15

How did Annette Weiner, a feminist anthropologist, challenge preexisting theories in anthropology?

A) Weiner conducted a restudy of the Trobriand Islands and drew new conclusions about gender roles.
B) She rewrote the ethnographies of Evans-Pritchard's work on the Nuer of Africa.
C) Weiner established reflexivity as a key part of ethnography through her work in Puerto Rico.
D) She closely reexamined sexuality in Samoa and expanded the role of women in that study.

Question 16

How did early twentieth-century anthropology differ from the anthropology practiced in nineteenth-century Europe?

A) Twentieth-century anthropologists' research focused on kinship and religion, whereas nineteenth-century anthropologists were more interested in economics and politics.
B) Whereas twentieth-century anthropologists took a four-field approach to understanding culture, nineteenth-century anthropologists were mostly interested in material culture.
C) Nineteenth-century anthropologists were mostly interested in present-day cultures as they existed, but twentieth-century anthropologists were interested in the processes by which cultures changed.
D) Nineteenth-century anthropologists conducted long-term fieldwork, but twentieth-century anthropologists tended to rely on explorers' accounts.

Question 17

What aspect of life did Nancy Scheper-Hughes find particularly useful when decoding radically different cultures?

A) relationships
B) ethnocentrism
C) patterns
D) language

Question 18

E. E. Evans-Pritchard's approach to anthropology has been criticized for being ahistorical. What was one of the major shortcomings of his work?

A) The people he studied were part of a larger preexisting colonial system.
B) He had a tendency to conduct experiments on people while in the field.
C) He failed to consider the impact of his work on the tribes he studied.
D) He lacked understanding about the forces of evolution.

Question 19

What aspect of Sidney Mintz's work introduced a new approach to ethnography?

A) Mintz and a team conducted a collaborative restudy of the Trobriand Islands.
B) Mintz researched social life among the Nuer of Africa, while others in his team studied the forgotten peoples of Europe.
C) He established collaborative, multisited research as he and his team studied the effects of colonialism in Puerto Rico.
D) Mintz and others examined sexuality in Samoa through close collaborative fieldwork.

Question 20

Making the strange seem more familiar is an overarching goal of which method of conducting anthropology?

A) key interviews
B) structured surveys
C) ethnographic fieldwork
D) salvage ethnography

Question 21

It is essential that ethnographers map communities because mapping:

A) allows the anthropologist to identify key informants.
B) documents the randomness of the built environment.
C) provides a deep immersion in the rhythms of daily life.
D) illuminates how use of space influences social interactions.

Question 22

One way that anthropologists make an effort to protect informants' anonymity is by:

A) anonymizing names in publications, but continuing to use subjects' real names in research notes.
B) using the real names of communities, but not those of the people living there.
C) altering details when writing about sensitive topics within a community.
D) referring to individuals in both research notes and publications using secret codes.

Question 23

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:

A) illustrates mass ritual effectively.
B) demonstrates the tastes of a large population toward pork consumption.
C) helps to understand how ethnographic accounts are interpretations.
D) affords a window into the nature of spectacle.

Question 24

What is one of the typical steps taken during the planning stages of a fieldwork project?

A) identify key informants
B) establish rapport
C) chart kinship networks
D) conduct a literature review

Question 25

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?

A) who the most friendly people in the area are
B) a spatial awareness of where people live
C) who in the village likes to sit around drinking at night
D) how the history of the village developed over time

Question 26

One of the changes in ethnographic work that has occurred in the twenty-first century has to do with the degree to which native voices are considered. How has this changed?

A) Native voices are used a bit less today.
B) The inclusion of native voices has increased.
C) The inclusion of and emphasis on native voices has remained about the same.
D) Today, native voices are used exclusively.

Question 27

What do anthropologists call community members who guide, advise, and teach the ethnographer during fieldwork?

A) local collaborators
B) tribal elders
C) key informants
D) primary subjects

Question 28

What term describes ethnographers' awareness that they should engage in critical self-examination regarding the role they play in the research process?

A) polyvocality
B) reflexivity
C) confidentiality
D) relativity

Question 29

Ethnography written today is often read online by the very subjects who were researched, making anthropology more ________.

A) unethical
B) polyvocal
C) authoritative
D) public

Question 30

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?

A) transformation
B) social network analysis
C) mapping
D) comparison

Question 31

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:

A) it includes many voices from the people interviewed.
B) the voices of the informants are used to describe the ethnographer's personal perspective.
C) there is no actual survey data in the book.
D) it uses selective accounts of the informants to tell the whole story.

Question 32

Fieldwork is often considered a rite of passage for students because it:

A) forges a bond of collegiality with other researchers.
B) forces a special kind of mutual transformation.
C) is a key developmental stage for all social scientists.
D) develops a sense of deep empathy for others.

Question 33

An anthropologist conducts ethnographic research on the lives of illegal immigrant families. How might the anthropologist justify publishing intimate and potentially incriminating details about the subjects?

A) All of the poor must be given an equal voice, and publishing ethnographic research is the most useful way to accomplish this.
B) The researcher obtained informed consent and ensured the anonymity of the subjects.
C) The anthropologist must publish the results to help stop illegal immigration.
D) The anthropologist will violate the "do no harm" mandate unless the research is published.

Question 34

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

A) census data
B) maps
C) field notes
D) photographs

Question 35

What is one of the personal obstacles that ethnographers will likely need to overcome while conducting long-term fieldwork?

A) gaining access to observe everyday life and practices
B) establishing close rapport with community members
C) gaining a perspective on complex systems of power and meaning
D) stepping back from ethnocentric attitudes about cultural superiority

Question 36

What is the significant difference between quantitative and qualitative data?

A) Qualitative data is more difficult to obtain.
B) Qualitative data cannot be counted.
C) Quantitative data is subject to the bias of the ethnographer.
D) Quantitative data is only obtained via direct conversation.

Question 37

One recent development in ethnography includes a kind of "full disclosure," in which anthropologists can discuss the length of fieldwork and their relationships with their research subjects. This is seen as valuable because it:

A) maintains a level of impersonal reflection.
B) helps ensure ethnographic loyalty from informants.
C) is how an ethnographer builds the personal framework.
D) clarifies the nature of ethnographic authority.

Question 38

The anthropological practice of sharing ethnographic information on particular communities with nonanthropological institutions such as the military has been situated within the discipline of anthropology as a:

A) form of covert operations.
B) form of foreign aid.
C) form of economic development.
D) directive called "do no harm."

Question 39

Ethnographers must work to establish trust and friendship with their research subjects, and often build rapport. This gives them a(n) ________.

A) reflexive perspective
B) clear sense of who holds power
C) understanding of local values
D) opportunity to become an insider

Question 40

What was Nancy Scheper-Hughes's role in Alto do Cruzeiro when she first arrived there?

A) social science research assistant
B) part of Doctors without Borders
C) physician's assistant
D) Peace Corps volunteer

Question 41

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

A) a desire to further the hard sciences
B) a desire to mold the unknown world to fit anthropologists' ideas
C) intense curiosity about the nature of other unknown lands and peoples
D) a realization that documenting others would benefit the country in which they already lived

Question 42

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

Question 43

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

A) transportation
B) social media
C) economics
D) communications

Question 44

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

Question 45

How would you describe the problems pertaining to the vulnerability of research subjects involved in a study of Facebook groups?

A) The study population might be self-selecting, and therefore nonrepresentative.
B) The researcher would not be able to establish meaningful connections.
C) The population would not have the chance to say things in their own words.
D) The participants would not have anonymity.

Question 46

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?

A) ethical
B) political
C) humane
D) academic

Question 47

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?

A) an excess of funding sources for a narrow range of interests
B) the "weaponizing of anthropology"
C) the "militarization of anthropology"
D) recruitment of anthropologists as fighting soldiers

Question 48

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

A) Anti-colonialist ideas spurred a debate in the 1900s.
B) The loss of life during the Human Terrain Systems Program was made public.
C) An increasing awareness of loss of Amazonian rain forest populations evoked a worldwide outcry.
D) The ethical and moral lapses in the latter twentieth century led to changes in attitude about the role of the anthropologist.

Question 49

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

Question 50

Compare Nancy Scheper-Hughes's early ethnographic fieldwork in Alto do Cruzeiro with her current research and work with Organs Watch. How has globalization affected her fieldwork?

Question 51

Increased migration has led anthropologists to conduct ethnographic research in two or more locations. What type of ethnography is this?

A) reflexive
B) extensive
C) public
D) multisited

Question 52

Evaluate the merits of the long-term participant observation advocated by Bronislaw Malinowski relative to merits of the methods of "armchair" anthropology, discussing both these concepts in the context of today's social media networks and the Internet as avenues for conducting research.

Question 53

A multisited ethnography might be used to understand the nature of an urban legend by visiting many different countries and conducting interviews with participants. How might an anthropologist seeking a similar answer but lacking the resources to move about easily manage to conduct a multisited ethnography?

A) careful library research
B) cell phone transcripts
C) the Internet
D) tourist accounts

Question 54

An anthropologist shows a video of Mardi Gras beads being made in a factory in China to the people attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Later, the anthropologist shows workers at the factory in China a video of Mardi Gras, where the beads they make go. This demonstrates that the:

A) distinct cultures and people in New Orleans and China are not connected.
B) nature of modern imperialism is the same as that of the previous century.
C) most important part of fieldwork is participant observation.
D) power of globalization is in both what anthropologists study and how they study it.

Question 55

Anthropologists are able to collect information, select which people to highlight, and choose which facts to publish in their results. What key aspect of writing ethnography does this clearly illustrate?

A) the importance of accurate notes in the field
B) the crucial need for different types of anthropologists today
C) how the type of ethnographic writing affects the published results
D) the reality that all anthropological inquiry is a form of interpretation

Question 56

Define zeros and explain their significance for ethnographers.

Question 57

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

A) precise qualitative evaluation
B) a form of exploitation
C) an art
D) intrusive

Question 58

How does the problem of organ trafficking from the poor in Brazil, as documented by Scheper-Hughes's work, mirror the plight of poor people in different countries where she has not worked?

A) The poor are a vulnerable population to whom anything can be done.
B) The poor are a reliable source of organs.
C) The poor have many children, and are thus a rich resource.
D) The poor do not draw the attention of the local authorities.

Question 59

Sydney Mintz conducted research on sugar production in Puerto Rico in the 1970s and 1980s, examining the way local communities were affected by capitalism. What other problems did his work help to illustrate?

A) the use of small-scale communities as a subject of research
B) the changing nature of food production
C) the consequences of globalization on communities
D) banking systems as a central power in global economies

Question 60

Because she has been a community activist and an advocate for her research subjects, what kind of anthropology can we consider the work of Nancy Scheper-Hughes?

A) experimental
B) engaged
C) reflexive
D) medical

Question 61

What are the core moral and ethical concerns of anthropological research? Why are they necessary?

Question 62

Evaluate the El Dorado controversy around anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon. You must demonstrate that you know when and where the contested activities occurred, and how the population was allegedly affected. Conclude by stating why this might have been seen to violate ethical standards, and what the American Anthropological Association (AAA) ultimately found on review of the evidence presented.

Question 63

Discuss Horace Miner's article "Body Rituals among the Nacirema." What is the subject of the ethnography? What was Miner's purpose in writing it, and how did he approach his subject?