Deck 18: Applied Anthropology

Question 1

When an anthropologist becomes the spokesperson for the particular group that he or she is studying, the anthropologist is assuming the role of informant.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Vicos Project was a miserable failure for applied anthropologists because the people actively resisted the forced change and eventually rebelled, throwing the anthropologists out of the country.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Applied anthropologists can serve as consultants to government organizations, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID).

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Some applied medical anthropologists study the relationship and interactions between western medical practices and folk medicine or indigenous medical practices.

Question 5

Since applied anthropologists always work with or for governments or other agencies that are attempting to promote change, they can never work for the people who may be affected by the change.

Question 6

Applied anthropologists often act as consultants for farmers in underdeveloped areas such as rural India.

Question 7

Researchers estimate that pot hunters may destroy up to 98% of sites predating the year 2000 by the middle of this century.

Question 8

Since archaeological sites are nonrenewable resources, it is very disturbing that many sites are looted and destroyed by pot hunters only interested in making money.

Question 9

As a facilitator, the anthropologist actively helps to bring about change in the community being researched.

Question 10

Clyde Snow, the forensic anthropologist, is quite a good criminal psychologist.

Question 11

Most of the development work in the 1950s and 1960s sponsored by AID and researched by applied anthropologists, focused on large-scale projects such as hydroelectric dams, industrialization, and mechanized agriculture.

Question 12

Cultural relativism is the principle that cultures must be understood from the perspective of their own cultural norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors.

Question 13

Applied studies in medical anthropology can often help health providers design more effective means of delivering health care to a group of people.

Question 14

Forensic anthropology is the discipline that trains anthropologists to be good academic debaters.

Question 15

The use of anthropology to offer practical solutions to problems faced by a society is known as basic anthropology.

Question 16

Michael Agar's study of heroin addicts and methadone treatment was a total failure and showed the limitations of the participant observation methodology in applied anthropology.

Question 17

When an archaeological site is destroyed, it can often be replaced or renewed.

Question 18

Ethical relativism is the idea that we cannot impose the values of one society on other societies.

Question 19

An example of an applied project in which the anthropologists played the role of analyst was the Vicos Project in the Andes.

Question 20

Universal human rights have been spread through the process of globalization and are mostly based on the United States Declaration of Independence.

Question 21

Whereas most archaeologists have traditionally found employment in universities or museums, many are now working as applied archaeologists specializing in what is known as:

A) application archaeology
B) cultural resource management
C) excavation archaeology
D) exhumation regulation

Question 22

Which of the following is a way to resolve the philosophical and moral dilemmas posed by a strict adherence to the doctrine of ethical relativism?

A) acknowledging that the standards of Western culture are always superior to those of non-Western cultures
B) formulating a universal standard of humanitarian ethics, such as the protection of individuals from bodily harm
C) adhering to a policy of strict non-intervention in any decisions that would affect behavior in pre-state societies of the Third World
D) acceptance of any behavior as long as it is practiced by individuals within the context of their own society

Question 23

An applied anthropologist, rather than just providing data about a culture to an organization or government, who engages in the actual development of policy is performing the role of:

A) facilitator
B) analyst
C) informant
D) mediator

Question 24

A social-impact study conducted by Thayer Scudder and Elizabeth Colson in Zambia found that:

A) Nuer tribesmen could not give up herding and switch to plow agriculture without totally abandoning their religion, values, norms, mores, and political structure.
B) The medical innovations proposed by the health clinic would probably fail unless the shamans were involved in administering to the patients at the same time.
C) The forced relocation of the rural community would create extreme stress and result in people clinging to familiar traditions and institutions during the change.
D) The new highway would benefit only the elite and rich of the community, leaving the peasants in worse condition than before.

Question 25

Anthropologist Robert Redfield has suggested that there are general standards of judgment that can be applied to most societies.

Question 26

Sometimes, applied anthropologists become engaged in policy development. This type of applied anthropology occurred when Allan Holmberg of Cornell University became the new patron to a group of Peruvian Indians who lived on a hacienda. This undertaking was called the:

A) Peruvian Project
B) Vicos Project
C) Hacienda Project
D) Applied Patron Project

Question 27

In order to tolerate practices such as racism, child abuse, spouse abuse, homicide, torture, human sacrifice, and the mass murder (genocide) of Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals by the Nazis, one would have to abide strictly by the principle of:

A) lost causes
B) misplaced perceptions
C) ethical relativism
D) moral turpitude
E) immoral tolerance

Question 28

The anthropologist who studied heroin addicts in U.S. society is:

A) Margaret Mead
B) Clifford Geertz
C) Michael Agar
D) Louis Leakey

Question 29

Cultural and applied anthropologists have a role in helping to define universal standards for human rights in all societies.
Multiple Choice Questions

Question 30

Private agencies and governments often employ anthropologists to provide them with an indication of the possible consequences of planned change they are about to implement. This is called a(n):

A) blue print for the future
B) social-impact study
C) ethical relativism statement
D) culture-change document
E) clandestine assessment

Question 31

Early twentieth century anthropologists argued that since there are no universal moral values, each society's values are valid with respect to the specific circumstances and conditions of that society. Hence, no society can claim to be in a superior position in regard to morals or ethics. The view that we cannot impose the values of one society on other societies is called:

A) ethical relativism
B) moral dilemma
C) social morality
D) social ethics
E) racial esteem

Question 32

The first of the many federal acts to protect archaeological sites was:

A) the Historic Sites Act.
B) the National Environmental Policy Act.
C) the Convention on Cultural Property
D) the Antiquities Act

Question 33

When patients in Thailand used a combination of ritual, magic, and modern scientific medicine to treat an illness, Louis Golomb referred to this behavior as:

A) the multi-mix cure
B) being maladaptive and potentially dangerous
C) therapeutic pluralism
D) the multiple treatment scenario

Question 34

When an applied anthropologist provides cultural information that he or she gleaned while doing ethnological research to an agency or government that wants to implement change, the anthropologist is playing the role of:

A) facilitator
B) analyst
C) informant
D) representative

Question 35

While studying the use of crack cocaine in Spanish Harlem, anthropologist Philippe Bourgois found that:

A) Crack dealers viewed their clients as "lost souls" ripe for exploitation and manipulation.
B) Crack dealing was viewed as the most realistic route to upward mobility and the achievement of the American Dream.
C) Crack users could be effectively treated by administering high doses of heroin combined with methadone.
D) Children under the age of five were often used to manufacture and distribute crack when police activities increased in an area.

Question 36

Even though there are numerous pieces of legislation aimed at curtailing pot hunting, this practice still persists. The text example of the looting of the __________ is an excellent illustration of the problems that exist.

A) left bank of the Seine
B) Slack farm site in Kentucky
C) southern banks of the Nile
D) Big Dog Site in Idaho
E) Calico Gardens site in Chico, California

Question 37

One can understand the values and worldviews of another people and not accept all of their practices or standards.

Question 38

Problems sometimes arise between applied anthropologists and private developers or government officials. Many agencies want to implement changes immediately, without consideration for the people who will be impacted. Anthropologists often recommend against these rapidly planned innovations and, as a consequence, the agencies ignore recommendations. In these circumstances, applied anthropologists have often been forced to take an advocacy approach, or the:

A) representative role
B) analyst role
C) facilitator role
D) informant role

Question 39

The study of disease, health care systems, and theories and methods of curing in cross-cultural perspective is known as:

A) epidemiology
B) medical anthropology
C) ethnoscience
D) metamedicine
E) healer anthropology

Question 40

The study of disease patterns in different societies is called:

A) ethnodisease
B) medical mapping
C) epidemiology
D) lepidopterology
E) xenophobia

Question 41

Why do you think the advocacy role in anthropology is so difficult, requiring great sensitivity and complex moral and political judgment? Can you give an example of this type of applied anthropology?

Question 42

Examine the concepts of cultural relativism and ethical relativism. Can an anthropologist be involved in applied anthropology and adhere to either of these principles or views? Are there any problems associated with an ethical relativist perspective?

Question 43

What is medical anthropology? What are some of the things that medical anthropologists do?

Question 44

Is there such a thing as universal human rights?

Question 45

Which of the following was NOT among Van Willigen and Channa's recommendations for decreasing the incidence of dowry death in India?

A) strengthening legislation that prohibits the institution of dowry
B) establishing a gender-neutral inheritance law in which women and men receive equal shares
C) passing a requirement for universal marriage registration and licensing
D) working towards the achievement of gender equality in India

Question 46

Is it possible to understand the values and worldview of another culture and not accept all of their practices and standards? In other words, can one be a cultural relativist and not an ethical relativist at the same time?

Question 47

What is applied anthropology? Erve Chambers suggests that there are five roles that applied anthropologists play. Discuss each of these roles as they apply to present-day applied anthropological studies.

Question 48

Do you think it is possible to adopt a humanitarian standard that would be accepted by everyone in the world? What might this view entail?

Question 49

Anthropologists John Van Willigen and V. C. Channa found that the increase in dowry deaths was partially the result of:

A) rapid price increases for consumer goods
B) decrease in the average age of the bride
C) increase in the practice of bridewealth among rural families
D) the repeal of national laws that made the institution of dowry illegal

Question 50

The word "metaculture" is used by anthropologists to refer to a:

A) culture within a culture, such as the culture of African Americans
B) culture that has become extinct, but about which enough is known to revive it
C) culture that seeks to dominate others, such as the culture of Nazi Germany
D) culture that is worldwide and pluralistic, sharing universal values Essay Questions

Question 51

What is cultural resource management?