Deck 10: Race, Ethnicity, Class and Inequality

Question 1

Kenyan runners have had remarkable success at the highest levels of elite running. This is likely not because:

A) Many rural Kenyans run every day as a matter of course.
B) Running coaches can push Kenyan runners harder, since when one runner drops out there are many possible replacements.
C) Kenyans carry a genetic advantage due to generations of running.
D) Successful elite runners have a drive to succeed.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The success of Jamacian sprinters is better explained by _______________ than by a genetic-gift hypothesis.

A) Geographic inheritance.
B) Biological inheritance.
C) Training approaches.
D) Cultural prioritization.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Despite evidence that elite athletes occur in geographic clusters, this is likely not because of genetics since:

A) Racial and ethnic groups are not genetically discrete.
B) Genetics is never related to geography.
C) Muscle fiber types tend to be highly localized within specific populations.
D) Racial and ethnic groups have long and isolated histories in particular places.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In cases where specific "athletic" genes may be identified, genetic factors may still not be the most important in determining success. This is because:

A) Genes must be activated before triggering athletic ability.
B) Genes do not cause traits; they only influence the system in a probabilistic way.
C) Personal history and culture are less important than genetic factors.
D) Genetic factors are only important within specific geographic regions.

Question 5

The development of gated communities is a strategy for:

A) Displacing, regulating, and surveilling the urban poor.
B) Strengthening Black and Latino communities.
C) Providing equal opportunities for home ownership.
D) Providing safe communities for children.

Question 6

Within gated communities, whiteness may be synonymous with:

A) Recognizing one's own privilege.
B) Having middle-class attributes.
C) Willingness to conform to group regulations.
D) A fear of other groups.

Question 7

Gated communities rely on individual's desire for social splitting. Social splitting:

A) Relies on explicit forms of racism.
B) Is less prominent during times of economic well-being.
C) Relies on oversimplifications of cultural definitions to divide self from other.
D) Is reduced once gated communities are in place.

Question 8

Within gated communities, "covenants, contracts, and restrictions" serve to:

A) Enforce "niceness," which is coded language for whiteness.
B) Create divisions within the community.
C) Ensure freedom and independence for residents.
D) Restrict the rights of non-residents.

Question 9

Subdivisions, cul-de-sacs, and gated communities all:

A) Rely on written restrictions and contracts to keep strangers out.
B) Function as forms of explicit racism.
C) Have contracts that limit personal freedoms for residents.
D) Make it easier for residents to monitor the neighborhood and spot outsiders.

Question 10

Most members of the black middle class in Harlem:

A) Are usually isolated within their own class group except for occasional parties.
B) Are rarely isolated within their own class group-most situations invite mixtures of people.
C) Spend their work time with members of the black underclass, but their free time with other members of the middle class.
D) Maintain a complicated set of connections to other class groups.

Question 11

Paul has two different birthday parties-one for his peers, one for his peops. He explains this as an attempt:

A) To make business contacts more comfortable.
B) To allow himself to reconnect with old friends.
C) To cut down on drama for everyone, especially himself.
D) To make his girlfriend more comfortable in both settings.

Question 12

What is the outcome of interactions between members of different classes?

A) Class-stratified interactions usually translate into occupational opportunities for poor friends.
B) Interactions take time away from business contacts for middle class partners.
C) Interactions always lead to unwelcome drama on both sides.
D) Interactions maintain complex social networks, including ties that cut across socioeconomic status.

Question 13

In the relationship between Cynthia and Karen, how is the term "friend" used?

A) Both Cynthia and Karen refer to their relationship as a friendship.
B) Karen is more likely to use the term "friend" to describe Cynthia.
C) Cynthia is more likely than Karen to describe their relationship as a friendship.
D) Neither partner describes their relationship as a friendship.

Question 14

According to Jackson, what is the best explanation for perpetual poverty?

A) Truncated social networks.
B) Inadequate social skills.
C) Inadequate education.
D) There is not a single easy explanation.

Question 15

The inside of Mahesh's room is decorated with:

A) Traditional Nepali art.
B) Materials from both local and regional sources.
C) Family and sports memorabilia.
D) Materials that are tied to a global market.

Question 16

The process of building body:

A) Is a type of market engagement.
B) Is culturally important for young men.
C) Reflects media representations of hyper-masculinity.
D) All of the above.

Question 17

For women who are "making face," fashion implies:

A) A set of embodied practices.
B) The most recent images from Europe.
C) Clothing that matches current Western style.
D) A fixed category of social acceptability.

Question 18

In films where the hero and heroine are "doing love," these scenes are usually:

A) Explicitly sexual.
B) Set in natural environments.
C) In a commercial setting.
D) Without music.

Question 19

For young people in Kathmandu, gender and identity are:

A) Fixed categories that are unchanged from their parents' time.
B) Strongly mediated by capitalist consumerism.
C) Based largely on East Asian martial arts.
D) Influenced the most by immigration.

Question 20

How does Dr. Codringdon employ "rapid ethnography"?

A) To build staff capacity in a museum setting.
B) To bring research to publication as quickly as possible.
C) To find out more about context, responses, and issues on the ground when racial events occur.
D) To help in the organization of conferences for social change.

Question 21

How does Dr. Codrington describe the formation of the AAA Working Group on Racialized Police Brutality and Extrajudicial Violence?

A) As an activist organization founded outside of the AAA mainstream.
B) As response to both state-sanctioned and private murders of black community members.
C) As a collaborative network of anthropologists and community members.
D) As a group dedicated to the study of police violence worldwide.

Question 22

What is whiteness? How is whiteness produced and reinforced? Refer to the text and provide at least three examples-from at least three sections of Part 10.

Question 23

How does capitalism influence constructions of ethnicity and race? Provide at least two examples to support your argument.

Question 24

Throughout the Southern U.S., there has been recent controversy over the fate of commemorative statues of racist historical figures. How might a practicing anthropologist help to understand and resolve one of these controversies, based on an anthropological understanding of race and racism?

Question 25

It is not only body image and perceptions that are culturally constructed-it is also the actual form of the physical body. How do cultural factors influence physical embodiment? Provide at least two examples from the text.

Question 26

Anthropologists have long held that biological race is an illusion, while the cultural concept of race is politically and socially important. What is meant by this statement? Use examples from the text to support your argument.