Deck 2: Doing Cultural Anthropology

Question 1

Early anthropologists who relied on travelers and missionaries for their fieldwork data were called:

A)Armchair anthropologists.
B)Novices.
C)Native anthropologists.
D)Secondhand anthropologists.
E)Early scholars.

Answer 1

Armchair anthropologists.

Question 2

The fieldwork technique that involves gathering cultural data by observing people's behavior and participating in their lives is called:

A)Cross-cultural survey.
B)Participant observation.
C)Laboratory experimentation.
D)Structured interview.
E)Stratified random sampling.

Answer 2

Participant observation.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes an etic perspective in research?

A)Studying agricultural techniques by measuring the fertility of the soil in laboratory samples.
B)Studying religion by interviewing people about their belief systems.
C)Collecting recipes from informants in order to track culinary traditions.
D)Interviewing respondents about their thoughts on the political organization of their community.
E)Following herders and writing down their life histories.

Answer 3

Studying agricultural techniques by measuring the fertility of the soil in laboratory samples.

Question 4

Anthropological interview techniques:

A)Are always the same from field project to field project.
B)Always involve the same processes and same steps of procedure.
C)Are no longer used in contemporary fieldwork.
D)Have been adapted from philosophy.
E)Are highly varied and are situation-specific.

Question 5

The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)is:

A)A database that provides cross-cultural data on a limited number of societies.
B)A database on all cultures involved in global warfare.
C)An institution that specializes in anthropological fieldwork.
D)A group of anthropologists that works in more than a single culture.
E)A database that provides cross-cultural data on all complex societies.

Question 6

What is the primary goal of emic research?

A)Help insiders make more effective changes to their culture over time.
B)Help governments better manage minority populations.
C)Help outsiders determine which cultures are more effective in particular environments.
D)Help insiders gain a better understanding of their own culture.
E)Help outsiders understand what it means to be a member of another culture.

Question 7

Individuals who serve as guides and teachers for anthropologists in the culture in which they do fieldwork are called by all of the following terms except:

A)Consultants.
B)Managers.
C)Interlocutors.
D)Informants.
E)Respondents.

Question 8

All of the following are associated with Franz Boas,except:

A)He was a critic of evolution.
B)He was the first professor of anthropology at Columbia University.
C)He was a champion of human rights.
D)He did his fieldwork in the Trobriand Islands.
E)He trained a generation of U.S.fieldworkers.

Question 9

How is Malinowski's approach to the study of cultures different from Boas'?

A)Malinowski was an evolutionist and Boas was a critic of evolutionism.
B)Their approaches are similar,except that Franz Boas did not actually carry out fieldwork.
C)Boas focused on the study of child-rearing,while Malinowski focused on the study of history and body measurements.
D)Malinowski emphasized the notion of function in society,while Boas focused on the study of history and adaptation of culture.
E)Boas focused on the study of history and adaptation,and Malinowski focused on the study of child-rearing.

Question 10

What do anthropologists call the feelings of alienation and helplessness that result from rapid immersion in a new and different culture?

A)Cross-cultural shock.
B)Culture shock.
C)Cultural entropy.
D)Alienation orientation.
E)Psychological solipsism.

Question 11

Malinowski's and Boas' practices of anthropology were alike in many ways as well.All of the following are things that they shared except:

A)Both were committed fieldworkers.
B)Both saw other cultures/societies as fully rational.
C)Both valued the study of history as essential to a deeper understand of societies.
D)Both were scholars who opposed racism.
E)Both innovated the approach to fieldwork in anthropology.

Question 12

Which of the following has been a hallmark of American anthropology?

A)Ethnocentrism.
B)Ethnology.
C)Participant observation.
D)Multiculturalism.
E)Holism.

Question 13

The function of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)is to:

A)Certify and approve departments of anthropology.
B)Suggest disciplinary actions against researchers who violate ethical standards.
C)Approve,monitor,and review all university research involving human subjects.
D)Review articles submitted to academic journals prior to publication.
E)Fund anthropological research.

Question 14

Applying one's own cultural standards of value,worth,and morality to another culture is called:

A)Ethnocentrism.
B)Participant observation.
C)Cultural relativism.
D)Ethnography.
E)Postmodernism.

Question 15

In place of the artificially controlled laboratory,anthropologists rely primarily on:

A)Ethnography and collaborative research.
B)Cross-cultural comparison and life histories.
C)Ethnology and mapping.
D)Ethnography and cross-cultural comparison.
E)Life histories and mapping.

Question 16

The Human Relations Area Files:

A)Does not allow for cross-cultural comparison.
B)Represents multiple researchers using a single perspective.
C)Involves multiple perspectives and indexed data.
D)Is no longer active today.
E)Is not available in computer searchable formats.

Question 17

Lewis Henry Morgan and Edward Tylor were influenced deeply by the evolutionary theories of:

A)Franz Boas.
B)Charles Darwin.
C)Bronislaw Malinowski.
D)Margaret Mead.
E)Carolus Linnaeus.

Question 18

Lewis Henry Morgan and Edward Tylor classified small-scale societies as:

A)Savage.
B)Barbarian.
C)Primitive.
D)Childlike.
E)Civilized.

Question 19

Boas insisted that anthropologists must value a culture on its own terms.This idea is called:

A)Logical positivism.
B)Postmodernism.
C)Phenomenology.
D)Cultural relativism.
E)Dualism.

Question 20

How would you describe Lewis Henry Morgan's and Edward Tylor's evolutionary theories?

A)It is the study of how humans have changed from simple to complex communication and transportation systems.
B)It is the study of how societies have harnessed more energy for production over time.
C)It is the study of how the human body has changed physically from earlier to later forms,sometimes even changing species.
D)It is the study of the history of human society from simple technology and social institutions to complex ones.
E)It is the study of how native people classify their natural world.

Question 21

In anthropology,the issue of human rights:

A)Is not relevant,because anthropologists believe in cultural relativism.
B)Can be difficult,as different cultures define rights differently.
C)Is at the forefront of doing anthropological research,as researchers are not allowed to work in countries where there is warfare.
D)Is not important,because there are no inalienable human rights.
E)Prevents anthropologists from doing research overseas.

Question 22

A major point of the ethnography "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is to:

A)Show how foolish people's rituals are.
B)Help us look at our own culture from a different perspective.
C)Promote practices of preventive medicine.
D)Increase our respect for primitive cultures.
E)Put a little laughter into our dreary lives.

Question 23

The gathering and interpretation of information based on intensive,firsthand study is called ethnography.

Question 24

Franz Boas spent most of his professional career at the University of Berlin in Germany.

Question 25

Vincent Lyon-Callo works with homeless people.His style of anthropology is best described as:

A)Symbolic and interpretive.
B)Functionalism.
C)Psychological.
D)Engaged.
E)Ecological.

Question 26

Which of the following was primarily known as a native anthropologist?

A)Zora Neale Hurston
B)Franz Boas
C)Bronislaw Malinowski
D)Vincent Lyon-Callo
E)James Spradley

Question 27

For the academic community,a critical problem with secret research is:

A)It may endanger the lives of the anthropologists who pursue it.
B)The scientific community has no way to assess its validity.
C)It is almost always used for illegal or immoral purposes.
D)It is unlikely to provide benefits to either anthropologists or the people who are the subjects of such research.
E)It can rarely be used to support the tenure and promotion of anthropology professors.

Question 28

Delmos Jones' study of voluntary organizations among an African-American community in the United States showed him that:

A)No one worked consistently for the organizations unless they were paid for their work.
B)Voluntary organizations are highly successful when founded by minority leaders.
C)His work as a native anthropologist was at the center of the success the African-American community experienced in cultural identity.
D)There was considerable dissent between leadership of the organizations and the members.
E)Native anthropology has little or no value in the discipline.

Question 29

What is the "gray zone" that Philippe Bourgois describes in his work among the homeless and drug addicts in San Francisco?

A)It is a geographical area in which drug exchanges take place.
B)It is a term used to refer to homeless shelters and parks where these individuals interact.
C)It is a morally ambiguous space that blurs the lines between victims and perpetrators.
D)It is a term used to describe under-employment because it leads to the destruction of their lives.
E)It is a judicial term to describe exchanges that are morally wrong,but not illegal.

Question 30

Why did anthropology pay little attention to women prior to the 1970s? All of the following are correct except:

A)Anthropologists assumed that men's activities were political and more important than women's activities,which were domestic.
B)Many anthropologists assumed that men represented women as well and there was no need to study these as separate genders.
C)The majority of practicing anthropologists was male and had little access to working with women in other societies.
D)Anthropologists were all male and there were no women available to study other women.
E)Men's roles were much more public and were more easily studied.

Question 31

Which theoretical approach argues that no knowledge is objective and all knowledge is influenced by the observer's own culture,social position,and gender?

A)Native anthropology.
B)Feminist anthropology.
C)Postmodernism.
D)Transcendental ethnography.
E)Collaborative ethnography.

Question 32

Anthropologists have become more sensitive to issues of voice and of power and have begun to reflect more critically on their role as observer in another culture primarily as a result of:

A)Reflectionist ethnology.
B)Franz Boas.
C)Feminist anthropology.
D)Collaborative ethnography.
E)Postmodernism.

Question 33

Anthropologists and activists have argued that female genital operations are all of the following except:

A)Are grave violations of human rights.
B)Are affirmations of the value of women.
C)Should be legal in European nations.
D)Should be banned in European nations.
E)Should not be studied because they are not important.

Question 34

You Owe Yourself a Drunk (1970)by James Spradley is an example of a(n)__________ ethnography.

A)Critical
B)Postmodernist
C)Collaborative and engaged
D)Ethnological
E)Reflectionist

Question 35

Informed consent involves all of the following except:

A)Anthropologists must be involved in a dynamic discussion with participants in order to explain the significance of informed consent.
B)Individuals should understand the risks and benefits inherent in the research.
C)Participants must sign a witnessed contract with the anthropologist indicating that they approve of the research study.
D)Participants must understand how the research data is likely to affect them.
E)Individuals must be free to decide if they want to participate.

Question 36

The attitude toward magic and ritual among the Nacirema indicates that:

A)Technologically advanced societies do not use magic and ritual.
B)Too much magic and ritual will destroy a society.
C)Magic and ritual can be found in a wide variety of cultures.
D)North American society contains very little magic and ritual.
E)Only the weakest individuals in a society are likely to make use of magic and ritual.

Question 37

Which sentence best describes the primary anthropological value of research among the homeless and drug addicts,such as that produced by Philippe Bourgois?

A)This research provides accurate information that can help the lives of these individuals by providing more effective recovery programs.
B)The commercial success of research such as this raises awareness of the plight of these individuals and can provide a great deal of money to improve their communities.
C)This research allows families to identify and reconnect with their loved ones and intervene to help them.
D)Through research such as this,the United States is able to provide much more foreign aid to countries that provide the drugs to these addicts.
E)By providing accurate information,research such as this allows us to chronicle the problems with state societies and new models for the future.

Question 38

All of the following are ethical concerns raised by anthropologists who work in military projects such as Human Terrain Systems (HTS)except:

A)Inability to obtain informed consent.
B)Inability to keep the confidentiality of informants.
C)Secretive nature of so much of the research data.
D)Safety of informants.
E)Inability to pay the informants adequately.

Question 39

Vincent Lyon-Callo's work with homeless people stresses:

A)The structural causes of homelessness.
B)Incorrect beliefs about the homeless among members of the middle class.
C)The stories and life histories of homeless people.
D)The techniques the homeless use to survive in urban areas.
E)Drug and alcohol use among homeless.

Question 40

What is the name of the organization that maintains a statement of ethical guidelines for anthropologists?

A)Association for American Anthropologists.
B)American Anthropological Institute.
C)American Anthropological Association.
D)Anthropological Ethics Institute.
E)American Association of Anthropologists.

Question 41

It is common for anthropologists to feel confused and disoriented when they first arrive to their field sites.

Question 42

The most important ethical responsibility in anthropological fieldwork is to protect the interests of the people whom you are studying.

Question 43

Today,virtually all anthropologists rely on Boas' basic and fundamental insights into the discipline.

Question 44

Engaged anthropologists refrain from choosing sides in political contests.

Question 45

In the late 19ᵗʰ century,Haddon led a team of scientists to do research on the Torres Straits.This lay the basis for anthropology in the United States.

Question 46

The Human Terrain Systems was a successful project that allowed anthropologists to work alongside soldiers during war so that cultural sensitivity in the ranks could be maintained.

Question 47

Anthropologists working for government and industry often conduct secret research and this poses no ethical challenges to the discipline.

Question 48

The HRAF is an attempt to facilitate cross cultural analysis.

Question 49

What do anthropologists use as the basis for cross-cultural comparisons?

Question 50

Bronislaw Malinowski spent only 6 months on the Trobriand Islands.

Question 51

Postmodernism has been accepted now by all anthropologists.

Question 52

Phillip Bourgois' work with the homeless and drug addicts in San Francisco has led to a better understanding of issues of economic change,cultural structures,and the effects on individual lives.

Question 53

Allison Truitt's work on motorcycles in Vietnam had no formal research hypothesis.

Question 54

Once Franz Boas began teaching women and producing female PhDs,the bias against women in anthropology began to diminish rapidly.

Question 55

Most anthropological data comes in the form of extensive field notes,audio recordings,and photographs.

Question 56

Anthropologists rarely work with groups of more than 50 individuals.

Question 57

What did early 19ᵗʰ century evolutionists mean by the concept of societies as "living fossils"?

Question 58

Anthropologists generally agree that they should defend Western notions of human rights.

Question 59

Project Camelot was a great example of collaborative success between anthropology and the U.S.military.

Question 60

Cross-cultural comparisons began formally in social science with the publication of Herbert Spencer's Descriptive Sociology.

Question 61

What are the ethical responsibilities for anthropologists in the field?

Question 62

What is the "gray zone" that Philippe Bourgopis describes as part of his work with the homeless and drug addicts in San Francisco?

Question 63

Who are the Nacirema,and why is this study important in anthropology?

Question 64

What was "Project Camelot"?

Question 65

Name at least 3 challenges associated with collaborative ethnography.

Question 66

What is FGO,and why is it important in anthropology?

Question 67

The research of Bronislaw Malinowski focuses on the concept of __________.

Question 68

What are two criticisms associated with the Human Relations Area Files database?

Question 69

What changes did postmodernism bring to anthropological fieldwork?

Question 70

What is cross-cultural comparison,and why is this important in our study of humans and culture? What can we learn through cross-cultural comparisons?

Question 71

Today,how have ethnographers' roles changed in the field?

Question 72

Culture shock is a phenomenon that can occur to anyone who faces a new environment where the rules and behaviors are different from what they know.What is the role of culture shock in anthropological fieldwork? When does it occur,and why does it happen? Give examples in your own life when you have faced culture shock.

Question 73

What is participant observation?

Question 74

How would you best describe culture shock?

Question 75

What is a "native" anthropologist?

Question 76

Compare and contrast the emic and etic perspectives.What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

Question 77

Boas' style of fieldwork was known as __________ __________.

Question 78

What is an "IRB"?

Question 79

Why is informed consent an important part of doing ethical research?

Question 80

What are the primary reasons that anthropological research has had such a bias against women during its history?