Deck 2: Culture

Question 1

Edward Burnett Tylor (1832-1917) is credited with crafting the first definition of which of the following central concepts in anthropology?

A) ethnography
B) hegemony
C) agency
D) culture

Answer 1

culture

Question 2

The concept of culture is a very recent idea and was actually developed by whose work?

A) Franz Boas's work in the Pacific Northwest
B) Edward Burnett Tylor's work in his home
C) Charles Darwin's work in the Galapagos Islands
D) Bronislaw Malinowski's work in the Trobriand Islands

Answer 2

Edward Burnett Tylor's work in his home

Question 3

Anthropologist Margaret Mead is best known for her research on sexual freedom and experimentation by young people in Samoa. Mead contrasted this aspect of Samoan culture with which aspect of culture among American people?

A) the practice of cockfights
B) repressed sexuality
C) stratification
D) wearing head coverings

Answer 3

repressed sexuality

Question 4

Sitting in your anthropology class helps you learn about culture through formal instruction. What informal learning process helps you learn culture from family, friends, and the media?

A) hegemony
B) the interpretivist approach
C) structural functionalism
D) enculturation

Question 5

Which of the following is one of the four elements that an anthropologist considers in attempting to understand the complex workings of a culture?

A) symbols
B) individualism
C) ethnicity
D) the human microbiome

Question 6

Anthropologists attempting to understand humans and their interactions engage with what concept as both a definition and theoretical framework?

A) culture
B) ethnography
C) stratification
D) epigenetics

Question 7

Margaret Mead's fieldwork in Samoa was controversial in part because she examined sexual freedom, and considered sexual behavior to be a matter of ________.

A) stratification
B) enculturation
C) unilineal culture evolution
D) structural functionalism

Question 8

The analysis of culture as a symbolic system is part of which anthropological approach?

A) structural functionalism
B) historical particularism
C) unilineal cultural evolution
D) interpretivist approach

Question 9

Humans learn culture from the people and cultural institutions that surround them. When does this learning occur?

A) in early childhood
B) throughout their entire lives
C) primarily when in cultural institutions such as schools
D) generally from infancy through early adulthood

Question 10

Which student of Franz Boas explored the unique patterns and integration of cultural traits and entire cultures?

A) Margaret Mead
B) Bronislaw Malinowski
C) E.E. Evans-Pritchard
D) Ruth Benedict

Question 11

What concept, inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, proposes that the diversity of human cultures represent different stages of development, from simple to complex?

A) historical particularism
B) structural functionalism
C) unilineal cultural evolution
D) enculturation

Question 12

When studying abroad, Shelby talks about the racial categories in the United States. Her new friends from other countries are surprised and say that racial categories based on expressed differences such as skin color are different in their countries. Shelby remembers from her anthropology class that racial categories are determined by:

A) biological differences between groups.
B) genetic variations between groups.
C) cultural symbols.
D) mental maps of reality.

Question 13

Ten-year-old Davi is getting dressed to go to a wedding at a synagogue. When his parents see that he's wearing jeans and a t-shirt, they tell him that he needs to wear a suit instead. What are Davi's parents teaching him?

A) religious beliefs
B) norms
C) Jewish symbols
D) ethnicity

Question 14

Ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people are considered ________.

A) beliefs
B) meanings
C) norms
D) values

Question 15

________was an early anthropologist who sought to organize vast quantities of data about the diversity of world cultures that were being accumulated through colonial and missionary enterprises.

A) Lewis Henry Morgan
B) Franz Boas
C) Bronislaw Malinowski
D) Margaret Mead

Question 16

In many European and Latin American cultures, people commonly greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. In the United States, people may be more likely to greet one another with a hug or a handshake. An anthropologist would call these ________ actions.

A) symbolic
B) agency
C) value
D) power

Question 17

The parents of a young American couple expect them to have a traditional wedding, but the bride wants a rainbow dress and the groom wants a close female friend to be his "best man." What does this reveal about culture?

A) It is static in that it remains identical, consistent, and uncontested over time.
B) It is constantly contested, negotiated, and changing.
C) It is genetically inherited.
D) It is unique to humans.

Question 18

Franz Boas (1858-1942) rejected unilineal cultural evolution, instead suggesting that different cultures arise as the result of very different causes, and will vary widely. What do we call his approach?

A) structural functionalism
B) hegemony
C) historical particularism
D) unilineal cultural evolution

Question 19

What is one key aspect in how we understand the idea of culture?

A) Humans inherit culture genetically from their parents.
B) The process of social learning is unique to humans.
C) Humans learn culture during their childhoods.
D) Humans learn culture throughout their lives.

Question 20

Culture as a system includes knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and:

A) institutions.
B) genes.
C) a written language.
D) elite art forms such as operas.

Question 21

What did anthropologist Eric Wolf believe to be inherent in all relationships?

A) belief system
B) power dynamics
C) stratification
D) human agency

Question 22

In his research conducted in the Trobriand Islands, Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942) employed an early form of what type of anthropological theory?

A) structural functionalism
B) unilineal cultural evolutionism
C) epigenetics
D) historical particularism

Question 23

Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) urged anthropologists to explore culture primarily as:

A) a symbolic system.
B) a sequence of stages from simple to complex.
C) a structure of interconnected, functional parts
D) an uneven distribution of resources.

Question 24

Which of the following is defined as the ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence?

A) stratification
B) hegemony
C) coercion
D) power

Question 25

What do anthropologists call the uneven distribution of resources and privileges, often along lines of gender, racial or ethnic group, class, age, family, religion, sexuality, or legal status?

A) racism
B) stratification
C) coercion
D) hegemony

Question 26

Clifford Geertz argued that every cultural action is more than the action itself. It also has deeper meaning, subject to interpretation. What key idea in anthropology did this important theoretical idea help promote?

A) Cultures arise from different causes, not uniform processes.
B) Symbols are a crucial means of understanding other cultures.
C) Balinese culture holds the key to how we might understand all other cultures.
D) Enculturation shapes sexual behavior.

Question 27

Which anthropologist advocated most explicitly for thick description?

A) Clifford Geertz
B) Bronislaw Malinowski
C) Ruth Benedict
D) Margaret Mead

Question 28

You are an anthropologist investigating the ways that malnutrition in pregnant women can affect the genetic development of their children. What field are you engaging with?

A) epigenetics
B) structural functionalism
C) unilineal cultural evolution
D) mental maps of reality

Question 29

In 1989, a large number of people in China protested the lack of democratic process through demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. From an anthropological perspective, what is this called?

A) structural functionalism
B) rioting
C) hegemony
D) expressing agency

Question 30

Early British anthropological researchers believed they could isolate and scientifically study the structure and specific details of what?

A) agency
B) gender
C) ethnicity
D) society

Question 31

In her book Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street, Karen Ho combines a detailed description of cultural activity with an analysis of the layers of deep cultural meaning in which those activities are embedded. Her research is an example of ________.

A) thick description
B) enculturation
C) structural functionalism
D) historical particularism

Question 32

Stone tools enabled our ancestors to butcher meat more quickly and efficiently, thereby providing higher quantities of protein for the developing brain and influencing the direction of our physical adaptation. This demonstrates the intimate connection between ________.

A) unilineal cultural evolution and technology
B) norms and values
C) nature and nurture
D) biology and hegemony

Question 33

What is one field you may explore if you want to study the complex relationship between culture and biology?

A) epigenetics
B) unilineal cultural evolution
C) structural functionalism
D) early evolutionary frameworks

Question 34

What approach might you employ if you want to study the specific role that religion plays in maintaining societal well-being in a particular group of people?

A) structural functionalism
B) interpretivist approach
C) power analysis
D) historical particularism

Question 35

Many early anthropologists drew from biology to support their work. They believed that society, like the human body, was composed of interconnected parts, with each part having:

A) many symbolic meanings.
B) stratification.
C) a particular function.
D) a biological basis.

Question 36

Which of the following is defined as the ability to create consent and agreement within a population, sometimes unconsciously, by shaping what people think is normal, natural, and possible?

A) the culture of consumerism
B) coercion
C) enculturation
D) hegemony

Question 37

Culture is more than a set of ideas or patterns of behavior shared by a group of people. It also includes general mechanisms created by people to promote and maintain their core values. The recent changes in same-sex marriage laws in the United States reflects the influence of which of these types of mechanisms?

A) religious preferences
B) powerful institutions
C) a justice system
D) coercive powers

Question 38

We often find ourselves seeing something as a "natural truth" and viewing any alternative as unthinkable. What is this an expression of?

A) the hegemony of ideas
B) the power of institutions
C) stratification
D) human agency

Question 39

Anthropologists have uncovered evidence of vast trade networks throughout the entire continent of North America that long pre-date the arrival of Europeans. This exchange of material goods and cultural traits supports which of the following concepts?

A) stratification
B) diffusion
C) evolution
D) enculturation

Question 40

Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) described two aspects of power. One was material power. What characterized the other aspect described by Gramsci?

A) the ability to create consent and agreement
B) the stratification of wealth and power
C) societal influence and status
D) the existence of prestige and class

Question 41

What do we call the process that diminishes the diversity of the world's cultures as a result of foreign influences that inundate local practices, products, and ways of thinking?

A) hegemony
B) agency
C) homogenization
D) historical particularism

Question 42

The export of television shows worldwide and the knowledge of other cultures that is subsequently disseminated to even remote areas of the world are examples of which of the following concepts?

A) advertising
B) nationalism
C) cosmopolitanism
D) historical particularism

Question 43

Cultures are influenced by many different factors, including a constant flow of ideas, goods, and people. What is one of the major ways that people influence culture?

A) through migration
B) through epigenetics
C) through expressing agency
D) through learning values and norms

Question 44

Using an interpretivist approach, anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1926-2006) argues that seemingly straightforward actions such as winking have deep cultural meanings. Describe what constitutes an interpretivist approach. Next, provide your own example of a cultural action that you think conveys deep cultural meaning. What do you believe the action symbolizes culturally? How do you know that the action conveys deep cultural meaning and how did you learn its meaning? Would an individual need to be a member of the particular society in order to understand the deep cultural meaning of the action, or would anyone be able to interpret it correctly? Discuss why or why not.

Question 45

Popular American discourse often assigns biology-and usually genes-the primary role in determining who we are. What do anthropologists argue regarding the nature versus nurture debate surrounding who we are and how we behave? What evidence do anthropologists have to substantiate their argument?

Question 46

Current estimates suggest that children in the United States view almost 40,000 commercials a year. All of this is accomplished by advertising, which helps us learn how to do what?

A) be successful in our roles as consumers
B) best manage our personal finances
C) have more friends through socialization
D) manage and reduce our material desires

Question 47

Mental maps of reality constitute one of the four elements that anthropologists often consider when conducting cross-cultural research. Define mental maps of reality and discuss the two important functions that mental maps of reality play regarding culture. Provide a concrete example for each of the two functions. Conclude by discussing why anthropologists should consider a group of people's mental maps of reality when trying to understand their culture.

Question 48

Define human agency and how it relates to culture and power. Provide examples of how individuals engage in human agency. Next, discuss how human agency may be used to challenge various aspects of culture and power, providing a minimum of two examples for each. What are some of the implications of this relationship between agency and culture/power?

Question 49

A global outlook is emerging in response to increasing globalization linking cultural practices, norms, and values across great distances, even to the most remote areas of the world. What do anthropologists call this?

A) capitalism
B) cosmopolitanism
C) homogenization
D) migration

Question 50

How do scientists describe the independent microorganisms (comprised of about 90% of our 100 trillion cells) in the human body?

A) epigenetics
B) human microbiome
C) a symbolic system
D) a cultural norm

Question 51

Define and distinguish between the approaches of historical particularism and structural functionalism in early anthropology. Who developed each of these approaches, and what do these approaches examine when working to learn about other cultures? How did these two approaches differ from the preceding approach of unilineal cultural evolution?

Question 52

Early anthropologists suggested that all cultures would naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages, regardless of location or historical experience. What was this concept called and who were three of its early proponents? What were the three primary stages that all cultures pass through, according to this anthropological approach? In your opinion, what are some implications that this approach would have on how societies are perceived around the world?

Question 53

Which of the primary effects of globalization would you focus on if you were interested in how communities in Mexico were influenced by workers in New York City?

A) cosmopolitanism
B) homogenization
C) migration
D) hegemony

Question 54

Which of the following industries has the primary goal of creating a desire for goods and services?

A) banking
B) manufacturing
C) advertising
D) higher education

Question 55

Ifeoluwa and Grace live in different countries, practice different religions, and speak different languages. However, they both like the same clothing brands and have the same favorite TV show. Their surprising similarities demonstrate the impact of:

A) cultural norms
B) stratification
C) unilineal cultural evolution
D) globalization

Question 56

Which of the following processes is intensifying the exchange and diffusion of people, ideas, and goods worldwide, creating more interaction and engagement among cultures?

A) historical particularism
B) stratification
C) epigenetics
D) globalization

Question 57

Former Harvard University president and economist Lawrence Summers commented in a 2005 speech that his school and others similar to it likely had more men in science and math faculties than women because men's brains were better suited for success in these areas. Does Summers's statement reflect a nature or nurture perspective of human experience? Based on what you have read in Chapter 2, what may be some of the reasons why there is a gender discrepancy in science and math faculties in U.S. colleges and universities? What role does culture play in such discrepancies?

Question 58

Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) described hegemony as one of two primary aspects of power. Define hegemony and provide at least two concrete examples of how it serves as a form of power. What is the second aspect of power that Gramsci described and how does it differ from hegemony? Which of the two aspects of power do you believe is likely to be more effective and why?

Question 59

The differences in menu items in McDonald's restaurants around the world is a counterexample to what potential consequence of globalization?

A) hegemony
B) consumer culture
C) coercion
D) homogenization

Question 60

Describe an example of a cultural encounter that you have experienced in your own life and discuss the ways in which it may have expanded or challenged your own ideas about cultural norms, values, symbols, and mental maps of reality. Conclude by discussing what you might have learned about culture from that encounter.

Question 61

The culture of consumerism in the United States and globally has intensified, especially during the last 50 years. What constitutes a culture of consumerism and how does it relate to the concept of culture more generally? What are three examples of how the culture of consumerism affects culture in general in the United States? Does it affect other cultures worldwide, and if so, how?

Question 62

The notion of a culture of consumerism is distinct from the concept of culture more generally. Do you think that the culture of consumerism has effects on other aspects of human cultures? What are some benefits and drawbacks of the culture of consumerism in society today? Do you think it could affect societies and cultures in long-term ways? How?

Question 63

Homogenization is just one of the effects of globalization on cultures around the world. Define homogenization and give at least three examples of it. Are there aspects from other cultures that you now see as part of your own culture? If so, please provide at least two examples. Do you think that globalization will indeed cause the homogenization of world cultures in the future? Why or why not?

Question 64

Globalization has led to an unprecedented rate of change worldwide. Barely 100 years ago, anthropologists traveled to remote places to study other people whose lifestyles are now all but extinct. How has globalization changed ethnographic research for anthropologists? What aspects of culture within the framework of globalization might an anthropologist study to produce meaningful, useful results?

Question 65

The advertising industry is key in igniting human desires for goods and services, which fuels the culture of consumerism. How does the power of advertising compare to the power of hegemony in influencing what people consider to be the "norm" in their cultural experiences? Are there any interconnections between the culture of consumerism and political organization in society today? Is there any evidence that suggests advertising is also used as a tool in politics to support and to institute hegemonic ideologies of certain groups who hold power within societies? Please provide concrete examples with each of your answers.