Deck 7: The Cultural Construction of Violent Conflict

Question 1

Vengeance among the men of Kohistan is:

A) strongly discouraged.
B) controlled by tribal leaders.
C) akin to a religious act.
D) motivated by jealousy.

Answer 1

akin to a religious act.

Question 2

Inuit people smile and avoid conflict because:

A) they believe that thoughts can kill
B) they must fight when conflict arises
C) they believe anger and conflict will drive away game
D) they believe anger causes physical illness

Answer 2

they believe that thoughts can kill

Question 3

The Army of God is:

A) a militant fundamentalist Christian group opposed to abortion.
B) An off-shoot of the Irish Republican Army.
C) A radical Islamic sect active in the United States.
D) A group of radical Christians that is active in contemporary Russia.

Answer 3

a militant fundamentalist Christian group opposed to abortion.

Question 4

Yanomamö men's fierceness is driven by a need to:

A) hunt in the forest.
B) protect community resources.
C) expand the size of the community gardens.
D) acquire spiritual power.

Question 5

When the Spanish killed many indigenous Carib warriors:

A) they believed they were following God's will.
B) they believed they were in danger.
C) they feared the Carib would use supernatural weapons against them.
D) they planned to end cannibalism.

Question 6

People in different peaceful societies cultivate social harmony but doing all BUT which of the following?

A) Participating in ritual and ceremony
B) Maintaining their emotions
C) Trying to satisfy the immediate needs of all members
D) Creating art to express negative emotions

Question 7

Among the Kohistani, a man who allows his wife, daughters, or sisters to speak to unrelated men or walk alone is referred to as baghrairatman, meaning he is:

A) blind.
B) an idiot.
C) a man without ghrairat.
D) poor.

Question 8

Among the Kohistani, ghrairat refers to:

A) a man's personal integrity and worth given to him by God.
B) a blood feud.
C) the seeking of vengeance.
D) an act of spiritual possession.

Question 9

Mark Juergensmeyer has suggested religious justification for violence:

A) is a way to force people into violence.
B) makes violence a battle between good and evil.
C) is fairly uncommon.
D) has declined in the contemporary era.

Question 10

Pehunan is a Semai word that means being in a state of:

A) dissatisfaction.
B) satisfaction.
C) anger.
D) helplessness.

Question 11

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes thought that human violence was:

A) humankind's natural state
B) an indication that people had lost their religion
C) the result of nation-building
D) an indication of political collapse

Question 12

A Kiowa man's status and social prestige was determined by the number of horses he owned and:

A) the number of his wives.
B) the number of cattle he owned.
C) his business acumen.
D) his performance in battle.

Question 13

The villages of the Xingu River basin in the Amazon maintain peace through:

A) formal treaties.
B) strict territorial avoidance.
C) trade monopolies.
D) sports competitions.

Question 14

The first step for a Kiowa man to rise through the ranking system was:

A) to marry.
B) to go on a private spiritual journey.
C) to acquire horses.
D) to acquire feathered headdresses.

Question 15

Among the Ju/Wasi, the term n/um refers to:

A) an ongoing feud between different kin networks.
B) an act of spirit possession.
C) a fear of violence.
D) a healing substance in the stomach.

Question 16

In his study of a Chicago street gang in the 1960s, Lincoln Keiser suggested boys often joined this gang:

A) to make money.
B) because they usually had relatives already involved.
C) for protection from being accosted.
D) to be more attractive to girls.

Question 17

According to Thomas Gregor, the task of the social scientist who studies violence is to explain:

A) the function of feuds.
B) the existence of peaceful societies.
C) the relationship between resources and warfare.
D) the benefits of war.

Question 18

Yanomamö parents socialize boys:

A) to be passive and respectful.
B) to be stealthy and quiet.
C) to be aggressive bullies.
D) to be independent and responsible.

Question 19

Approximately what percent of the men in Kiowa society would rise to the top rank of ongop?

A) 40-50%
B) 20%
C) 10%
D) Less than 1%

Question 20

According to the Yanomamö creation myth, their original ancestors were created from:

A) tree branches.
B) a jaguar.
C) the blood of the moon.
D) snakes.

Question 21

Societies that engage in war place a greater emphasis on:

A) female solidarity.
B) male solidarity.
C) childrearing.
D) male and female solidarity.

Question 22

How long does it usually take to gain access to all of the security levels in a nuclear laboratory?

A) 3 to 4 years
B) 3 to 6 months
C) 6 months to 2 years
D) 1 year

Question 23

Yanomamö men often vent anger and demonstrate their ferocity to others by beating their wives.

Question 24

In Yanomamö communities, women and children are not particularly valuable resources.

Question 25

War and violent conflict encourage sexism, but only because they serve to promote selective population control.

Question 26

The Yanomamö practice 'slash-and-burn' agriculture.

Question 27

A "clean" bomb is a technostrategic term for a:

A) fission bomb.
B) fusion bomb.
C) missile.
D) nuclear submarine.

Question 28

How do peaceful societies prevent violence?

A) Sharing resources, shunning aggressive people, and controlling their emotions
B) Centralizing power in a benevolent leader and maintaining a police force
C) Equally distributing resources, avoiding aggressive people, and being honest with their emotions and feelings
D) Acquiring goods, preventing sexism, and avoiding war

Question 29

"Strategic stability" is a technostrategic term for:

A) human deaths.
B) destruction of weapons.
C) peace
D) missile deployment

Question 30

How did Brian Ferguson explain the violence anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon reported among the Yanomamö during his fieldwork?

A) This was the normal everyday life of these people; they are uniquely violent.
B) Government and missionary outposts increased during this period, as did access to manufactured goods.
C) This was a period of extreme drought, leading to increased conflict over access to drinking water.
D) Women were leaving to migrate to small towns.

Question 31

Nuclear war strategists conceptualize nuclear war as a game, wherein the object is to possess more weapons at the end than the enemy.

Question 32

Which society best illustrates Carneiro's theory of the relationship between war and political centralization?

A) Ju/Wasi
B) Xinguano
C) Zulu
D) Yanomamö

Question 33

Kiowa men must be married before they can begin to acquire horses.

Question 34

The use of metaphors in their descriptions of nuclear destruction enables strategists to clearly understand the consequences of their planning.

Question 35

Collective violence often enhances male group solidarity.

Question 36

The Kiowa cultivate a bias toward collective violence through a caste-like religious system.

Question 37

In her research about a strategic studies institute, Carolyn Cohn used the term "technostrategic" to describe:

A) a technique used by nuclear strategists to create weapons.
B) the bombing of Iraq by U.S. forces during the Gulf War.
C) activities carried out by nuclear strategists.
D) the language used by nuclear strategists.

Question 38

William Tulio Divale and Marvin Harris propose that violence in a given society correlates to:

A) the degree of male bias present in social norms and practices.
B) the disparity in people's access to necessary resources.
C) the relative level of industrial development.
D) the level of racial diversity in a society.

Question 39

Which of the following does NOT contribute to an ideological bias toward violence?

A) An ideology of sexism
B) Private property
C) The expansion of territory
D) Lack of centralized authority

Question 40

The Kohistani belief in ghrairat creates a bias against collective violence.

Question 41

Acts of vengeance among the Kohistani may also be committed against family and friends of the man who committed the wrong.

Question 42

According to Frank Livingstone, war has had a significant effect on population growth in the last century.

Question 43

Scientists interviewed at nuclear weapons laboratories feel that the weapons they produce are designed more for deterrence than for actual destruction.

Question 44

The preference for collective violence evident among the Yanomamö is evidence of an innate tendency among men to engage in violence.

Question 45

Critics of the Human Terrain Systems project are most concerned about how cultural information is used by military forces.