Deck 8: The Cultural Construction of Conflict and Violence

Question 1

What is the "primal paradigm" in relation to violence?

A)Societies without centralized control have an inability to stop violence once it has begun,and therefore primal aggression is more predominant in their cultural practices.
B)When a society lacks mechanisms for sharing resources equally,that society will have an increased propensity for violence.
C)Once violence is allowed as a means of domination against one group,it can serve as a model for dominance and violence against other groups.
D)Primal instincts for violence are always under the surface and are more likely to be present in societies when there is a preference for aggressive sports as a replacement for warfare.

Answer 1

Once violence is allowed as a means of domination against one group,it can serve as a model for dominance and violence against other groups.

Question 2

Brian Ferguson found that warfare and aggression among the Yanomamo was not simply a part of their existence or nature,as Napoleon Chagnon famously described in The Fierce People.Which of the following is NOT one of Ferguson's conclusions?

A)Villages located near outposts did not want to move away from their access to manufactured goods.This lead to an exhaustion of game resources and the ending of sharing patterns which helped to maintain peaceful relations.
B)New Western outposts trading manufactured goods drew nearby Yanomamo settlements and these settlements monopolized the goods,creating tensions with other groups.
C)Government agents provided weapons to Yanomamo who were favourable to state development of the Amazon.
D)Western goods increased the likelihood of raids,and to discourage raids it became advantageous to cultivate reputations for violence.

Answer 2

Government agents provided weapons to Yanomamo who were favourable to state development of the Amazon.

Question 3

What is the primary agent that Robert Carneiro believes has transformed human societies from small-scale,autonomous communities into vast,complex nation-states?

A)the development of human rights
B)the practice of warfare
C)the containment of violence
D)the development of agriculture

Answer 3

the practice of warfare

Question 4

What do village monopolies for the production of certain goods in the Xingu river basin help to do?

A)increase tendencies towards aggression
B)reinforce ceremonial distinctions
C)encourage village raiding
D)maintain harmony

Question 5

What did Hobbes believe about human nature?

A)that humans have a natural inclination to be peaceful
B)that humans have a natural inclination to command
C)that humans have a natural inclination to be independent
D)that humans have a natural inclination to be violent

Question 6

What is a "Kaikusi-yuma"?

A)a Carib tiger spirit
B)a neighbouring tribe of the Carib
C)a Spanish invader of the Carib
D)a Carib marriage ritual

Question 7

"Pehunan" is a Semai word.What does it mean?

A)being in a state of dissatisfaction
B)being in a state of satisfaction
C)being in a state of anger
D)being in a state of helplessness

Question 8

Robert Carneiro argues that war may have begun as an effort to oust a rival from a territory,but later evolved into something else.What does he claim it evolved into?

A)an effort to control inter-tribal trade
B)an effort to promote religious domination
C)an effort to initiate the formation of alliances and co-operative efforts
D)an effort to subjugate and control an enemy

Question 9

Which of the following statements best summarizes a way of creating a bias against violence discovered among the Ju/'hoansi by anthropologist Richard Lee when he bought an ox for them?

A)engaging in collective behaviours that promote harmony
B)a strong emphasis on sharing and co-operation
C)a valuation on non-aggressive behaviour
D)condemning those who boast or who make claims

Question 10

Within the Aum Shinrikyo movement of Japan,killing ordinary people in the subway was seen as justified because the members saw Japanese society as evil and hierarchical.Why was the killing not seen as wrong by the people in the movement?

A)because the Japanese state really is evil and hierarchical
B)because they believed that death freed the victims from accumulating any more negative karmic debt incurred by living in a sinful society
C)because they believed that anyone who spent time underground accumulated sin
D)because they viewed themselves as heroic,and thought the killing was justified as the only way to oppose the Japanese government

Question 11

To the Ju/'hoansi,what is "n/um"?

A)a healing substance in the stomach
B)the threat of fear of violence
C)an act of spirit possession
D)the threat of a blood feud

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement about violence?

A)The roots of violence lie in the human mind,not in the genes.
B)It is difficult to find societies that do not sanction violence for one reason or another.
C)Acts of collective violence can be rationalized as purposeful,noble,or inevitable.
D)Violent conflict is natural and in many cases inevitable.

Question 13

What kind of societies have a higher intensity of collective violence?

A)societies with a strong female bias
B)societies with a strong male bias
C)societies with an emphasis on child-rearing
D)societies with an emphasis on male and female solidarity

Question 14

What is the best explanation for why Yanomamo men feel they must be fierce?

A)because they need to protect themselves and their resources
B)because their primitive lifestyles bring out this natural human impulse more strongly
C)because the Yanomamo men want to impress women
D)because the Yanomamo are socialized to feel aggressive and hostile

Question 15

What is one reason that the Yanomamo may raid other villages?

A)to exert their power and control over territory
B)to conquer and settle another village
C)to avenge the death of a fellow villager
D)to collect objects of worth and power

Question 16

For the Kiowa before the twentieth century,what did the ranking system and honouring of bravery in war help to create in their society?

A)a shared understanding of who is most deserving of resources in that society
B)a bias towards collective violence
C)effective opposition to the oppression inflicted on them by American society
D)a shared understanding of effective conflict resolution

Question 17

Which statement best describes what Canadians could do to follow the example of the Xinguanos of the Amazon in terms of how they create a bias against violence and conflict?

A)We would make it the obligation of all citizens to help and give nurturance to others.
B)We would not elevate or honour those who fight on our behalf.
C)We would hold ceremonies of healing and harmony when we gather together in groups.
D)We would condemn those who boast or who make claims that they are better than others.

Question 18

Which of the following statements best describes Lincoln Keiser's finding about why people joined the Vice Lords,a Chicago street gang?

A)They joined because it was the best way to protect themselves from shakedowns.
B)They joined because they were naturally violent as children and gang life was an available outlet.
C)They joined because they were attracted by the high incomes possible from illegal activity and drug selling.
D)They joined because they were from the same ethnic group.

Question 19

Which of these groups is NOT characterized as a relatively peaceful group?

A)the Yanomamo
B)the Ju/'hoansi
C)the Semai of Malaysia
D)the Xinguano of the Amazon

Question 20

Which of the following is a key characteristic of peaceful societies?

A)Conflict over material resources is avoided.
B)There is a strong emphasis on individual property rights.
C)Sharing and co-operation among children is discouraged by parents.
D)Violence is a viable option for settling disputes.

Question 21

Which of the following is one of the assumptions made by critics of nuclear weapons and by those who argue for nuclear disarmament?

A)There are few rules and norms that control aggression.
B)The power of the military-industrial complex is too great.
C)International relations are less anarchistic than they are made out to be.
D)Feminist notions of power dominate the pro-nuclear perspective.

Question 22

Peaceful societies minimize violence and conflict by avoiding large gatherings.

Question 23

What is the historical significance of Hiroshima?

A)It is a Japanese city that was bombed by nuclear weapons.
B)It was the site of Japanese prisoner of war camps.
C)It was an important battle in the Korean War.
D)It is a fishing village whose residents suffer from mercury poisoning.

Question 24

The Xinguanos of South America maintain harmony between villages by discouraging the creation of village monopolies on the production of a certain type of trade item.

Question 25

What did Cohn use the label "technostrategic" to describe?

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

Question 26

The Yanomamo create a bias in favour of collective violence by using that violence as a means to protect resources.

Question 27

If violence is already present in a society,anxieties about protecting oneself,one's family,and one's resources can create a strong bias toward collective violence.

Question 28

For the Yanomamo,women and children are not particularly valuable resources.

Question 29

What proportion of the East Timorese population were killed or died of deprivations brought about by the campaign of terror directed by the Indonesian nation-state?

A)approximately 10 percent of the population
B)approximately one-quarter of the population
C)approximately one-third of the population
D)approximately half of the population

Question 30

People without centralized states go to great lengths to avoid violence,in part because there is no authority to help stop it once it begins.

Question 31

What is the best definition of diaspora?

A)a ceremony of ritualized violence or a mock battle among the Yanomamo
B)a term for a Yanomamo settlement or camp that has been moved
C)a term for a population whose members are living outside of their homeland
D)the term for the violence in societies that lack mechanisms for sharing resources

Question 32

The anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon contributed to the inequalities driving violence and aggression by providing particular Yanomamo with machetes and other gifts that enhanced their power.

Question 33

In the nuclear weapons laboratory in Livermore,California,what plays a major role in drawing the scientists together and forging individual and collective identities?

A)high incomes
B)participating in warfare
C)secrecy
D)visits from officials like the president or vice-president

Question 34

Those who justify nuclear weapons make assumptions about the world.Which of these is NOT one of these assumptions,as outlined by Hugh Gusterson?

A)the assumption that anarchy characterizes international relations
B)the assumption that nuclear weapons are the ultimate form of self-help
C)The assumption that little can be done to change the nature of the international system.
D)the assumption that disarmament is still the best course of action

Question 35

Given the nation building practices of most nation-states,which of the following does anthropologist Pierre van den Berghe believe most resembles the nation-state?

A)a corporation
B)a mafia
C)a nanny
D)an advertising agency

Question 36

Yanomamo boys are socialized to be aggressive.

Question 37

Carol Cohn studied the culture of a think tank for government defence analysts.What was the primary answer to her question of "How are people whose job it is to plan nuclear destruction able to do it?"

A)The analysts depended heavily on prescription medications,the use of alcohol,and illegal drugs to dull their feelings.
B)The analysts were carefully selected,using psychological tests to determine their mental stability and ability to work in high-stress situations.
C)The analysts believed that they were not accountable for the acts they were contemplating and believed these decisions were in the hands of others.
D)The analysts used language to distance themselves from the consequences of the actions they were planning.

Question 38

Because humans construct systems of meaning to justify violence,it can be suggested that violence is directly linked to a natural aggressive impulse.

Question 39

The CORDS program,implemented during the Vietnam War,was designed to gather cultural knowledge in order to win "hearts and minds." What happened in that program that concerned anthropologists the most?

A)Unlike with the Human Terrain Teams in Iraq,anthropologists were not invited to participate in the collection of cultural knowledge in Vietnam.
B)When the information collected was provided to the South Vietnamese government,it was used to target political opponents and dissidents.
C)Information collected by anthropologists under the CORDS program was disregarded and not used by the military or intelligence services.
D)The program was not properly funded,so anthropologists participating were not adequately paid and were not able in many cases to buy essential research equipment.

Question 40

People are likely to use religious justifications for violence because it elevates the importance of the conflict from local concerns to a cosmic struggle between good and evil.

Question 41

Being religious always makes one favour peace.

Question 42

Violence among the Yanomamo was the normal state of affairs before colonial governments suppressed it.

Question 43

Peggy Sanday states that scarce resources encourage gender equality.