ANTHROPOLOGY EXAM TWO

• interest in culture
• interest in society

they are different ways of seeing the same complex thing

• Broinslaw Malinowski
• Radcliffe-Brown
• 1920s-1950s, social organization was a key focus of British Anthropologists
• sought to understand how groups are formed in society and what governs them
• social structure

social relationships are patterned and predictable

• participant observation
• interested in the individual
• functionalism
• other "primitive" societies have institutions: law, complex economics, marriage
• "others" are not slaves to custom, but rational actors
• London School of Economics (trainer)

• social life -> organized
• functions performed by a custom or institution are not restricted to the official purpose given to them
• powerful but problematic
• always ask "why?"

• Malinowski: doctrine of needs (individual)
• operation and perpetuation of institutions
• Levi-Straus: give and take. to organize the flow of marriage 
• Marx: production. organized to produce the technologies society is dependent upon

• structural functionalim
• influenced by Durkheim
• student of Malinowski
• understood society as a thing in itself
• interested in social structure: the rules governing relationships within a society

when patters of behaviour and ideology become relatively discrete, enduring, autonomous. (ex. family, marriage, occupations, church, market)

when people are cut off from the wider community for a considerable time (ex. military, prisons, boarding schools, communes, psychiatric hospitals, cults, monastery, etc.)

• Tradition -> Contract
• status -> contract
• blood relations -> common territory
• mechanical solidarity -> organic solidarity

• rationalization
• German sociologist and philosopher
• bureaucracy (rules, paperwork, licences, SIN cards)

• modern institutions are organized around the tasks they perform, not the social relations within them
• explicit rules and procedures, not about custom and meaning

there are societies that fit in the overlap between any division of traditional and modern

• information flows instead of production
• relativist rather than positivist
• pluralism is celebrated/sought rather than holism
• trans/-national communities rather than the nation state

• impersonal institutions
• meritocracy (power based on ability and talent)
• division of labour

• father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparents, cousins, aunts/uncles
• blood relation or adoption
• really good friends (aunt for mom's bff)

a socially approved sexual and economic union between partners

• not universally tied to the nuclear family scenario (ex. mom, dad, brother and sister)
• not universally tied with faith (ex. sacred union under the eye of god(s))
• not universally between two individuals (or entirely about those individuals)
• often but not always between two members of the opposite sex
• generally talked of as long-term but some form of divorce often exists

• gender division of labour
• prolonged infant/child dependency
• sexual competition
• transfer of wealth
• other mammals and birds: postpartum requirements

perhaps the most rigid regulation specifying whom one may/may not marry

• Childhood-Familiarity Theory: already know them, broaden your horizons
• Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: sexual maturity when you're young isn't appropriate
• Family-Disruption Theory: fighting and stuff
• Cooperation Theory: it's good to have relationships with other families
• Inbreeding Theory: unhealthy traits will come up more often

• a cross-cultural study of 87 societies revealed that incest occurred in several...
• unclear if controlled for the social construction of incest
• ethnographies rarely report incest, but it is mentioned
• can occur in socially un-sanctioned ways

• legal father and mother of offspring
• monopoly in the sexuality of other spouse
• rights to labour of the other spouse
• rights over property of the other spouse
• joint fund of property and resources for benefit of children
• socially significant relationship of affinity between spouses and kin

• gift from groom's family -> bride's family
• brides-wealth

groom needs to work for bride's family before/after marriage

female family of groom goes to bride's family to do work

equal exchange of gifts

• direct gift
• substantial goods go to the bride's family/bride/couple

• general gift
• gifts to everyone

• marriages as political alliances between groups are harder to break up than marriages that are more individual affairs
• substantial wedding gift discourages divorce
• replacement marriages (levirate and sororate) help to preserve group alliances
• divorce is more common in matrilineal and matrilocal societies

• outside industrial societies, marriage is often more a relationship between groups than between individuals
• romantic love can exist, but marriage is a group concern
• people don't just take a spouse; they assume obligations to a group of in-laws

planned

• seeking a spouse outside one's group 
• forces people to create and maintain a wider social network

• marriage within the group to which one belongs (1st class marries 1st class)
• most cultures are endogamous units 
• classes and ethnic groups within society may be quasi-endogamous

• cannot marry adopted siblings or anyone related lineally (ex. bro, sis, half)
• 1st cousin marriage is ok if you're cross cousins. (mother's brother's son/father's sister's daughter)
• you cannot marry your first cousin if you're parallel cousins. (mom's sister's son/dad's brother's daughter)

• sister
• when the guy marries his dead wife's sister
• purpose is for support, it's an expectation

• brother
• when the girl marries her dead husband's brother
• purpose is for support, it's and expectation

• men have multiple wives
• sororal polygyny: wives are sisters 
• non-sororal polygyny: wives are not sisters

• woman has multiple husbands
• fraternal polyandry: husbands are brothers
• non-fraternal polyandry: husbands are not brothers

a social and economic unit consisting minimally of one or more parents (or parent substitutes) and their children

• relatives have a large impact on how family functions and how individuals fit into a society
• kinship affects things like where we live, how relatives are classified, who you can marry, who you can expect help and support from, how we view the world
• it also affects gender roles, how many children you have, what happens as one ages, what faith/religion you practice

• related by blood
• family of orientation

• related by marriage
• family of procreation

couple lives with/near the husband's family/parents

couple lives with/near the wife's family/parents

couple alternates living arrangements between the wife's group and the husband's group

• the married couple traditionally lives with the man's mother's eldest brother 
• (his uncle on his mother's side)

the couple lives away from both the husband's and wife's parents/family

• traces members through either the male or female line only
• membership is assigned at birth and varies with the culture
• matrilineal descent: 15% of all cultures, through the female line only. the mother's brother is in charge of the kids. husband's family doesn't matter.
• patrilineal descent: 45% of all cultures, through the male line only. mother's family doesn't matter.

• kin is determined according to men OR women
• some people in a society affiliate with their mother's kin group, some with their father's

affiliation with mothers and fathers line depends on circumstance (ex for some things the father's side, for some things the mother's side)

• a person can have more than one biological mother, through the sharing of blood and/or breast milk
• ex. Nuyoo (text)

• a woman has sex with numerous men leading up to pregnancy to (to reach critical mass of semen)
• has consequences for inheritance, marriage etc.

• tracing of family groups over time through the men/women.
• a set of kin who's members trace descent from a common ancestor through known links
• Patrilineages: through the man
• Matrilineages: through the woman

• a set of kin whose members believe themselves to be descended from a common ancestor, but the links back to that ancestor are not specified
• it might be unknown, or relate back to a mythical or spiritual character

unilineal descent group composed of supposedly related clans, though the links can be unspecified

a whole society that is divided into two unlineal descent groups

• a special benefit not available to everyone
• advantages and opportunities given, without having to work hard for them
• advantage gained by birth, social position, effort or concession

Stratified societies: societies in which there is a permanent hierarchy that accords some members privileged access to wealth, power and prestige

• class
• caste
• race
• ethnicity
• nationality

these categories are all cultural constructs

Factors: resources, power, prestige (gaining respect/honour. it's given. ex. Olympians)

• Foragers, horticulturalists (ex. !Kung, Inuit)
• does NOT mean all individuals are the same
• status is not transferable or inherited
• equal access to status positions
• prestige is not limited to certain number of positions
• recognition of achievement is not accompanied by privilege

aim is equality

• Agriculture or herding societies
• unequal access to prestige or status, but not necessarily to resources
• often head positions are at least partly hereditary (position of chief is common)
• theoretically, reciprocity and generosity even out the privileges of leaders

ex. Kwakiutle on the BC west coast (Boas worked with them)

• Characterised by groups that have substantially less or more than others (economic access, prestige and power)
• class is a group of people with about the same opportunities in a society

• open class systems: are able to move around in them and change ranks
• closed class systems: you are where you are, cannot change ranks (don't marry outside your class system. caste.

• race 
• ethnicity
• nationality
• wealth
• family origin/history
• work
• etc.

a sense of identity with others: kinship, nation, totem, belief

• Durkheim (1858-1917):
• collective effervescence
• organic solidarity

• Collective Effervescence: enthusiastic ritual expressions of solidarity often set against the other (clans, sports teams... emphasize difference)
• Organic Solidarity: emphasize homogeneity in a space of heterogeneity (ex. flags, anthems, national pride)
• Race: social fact, socially constructed

Sociopolitical: exercise of power and regulation of relations among groups and representatives 

"Political organization comprises those portions of social organization that specifically relate to the individuals or groups that manage the affairs of public policy or seek to control the appointment or activities of those individuals or groups."

branches of government, political parties, dispute resolution, dispute prevention, resource distribution, police force, military, penal system, nation to nation relations (group/group relations) etc.

the largest territorial group on whose behalf political activities are organized

• local groups or community is the largest group that acts as a political unit
• typically small, less than 100 people
• often kin-based
• informal leadership
• food collecting
• egalitarian, equal
• ex. Inuit

• villages, kin-groups based on common descent, no formal government
• some multilocal integration
• small communities
• informal leadership
• extensive agriculture or herding
• egalitarian, equal
• non-intensive food production common

Yanomami: the "Big Man" is equal to the village head. a man with severely limited authority. Pantribal sodalities are groups extending across the whole tribe, spanning several villages

• formal structure, integrates more than one community, social relations are based on descent/kinship
• multilocal group
• large communities
• chief has higher rank than others
• extensive/intensive agriculture or herding
• rank society

political and economic systems

Polynesian chiefdoms: chiefs regulated production, distribution and consumption

• Chiefly redistribution: products moved up the hierarchy to central office, then were distributed during feasts sponsored by the chief
• made products available to entire society
• helped stimulate production beyond basic subsistence 
• provided central storehouse for goods

• autonomous, many cultures, centralized government 
• multilocal group
• cities and towns
• much specialization among political officials
• intensive agriculture and herding, industrialism
• class and caste societies 
• NOT a nation-state

the deliberate representation of particular identities (ex. caste, class, race, ethnicity, and nation) as if they were a result of biology or nature, rather than history or culture, making them appear eternal and unchanging

an ideal political unit in which national identity and political territory coincide

the attempt made by government officials to instil a sense of nationality into the citizen of a state

• nations are entitled to a state
• heterogeneous states could gain in being made into a nation

• Heredity: it's in your genes, descent
• Chosen or general agreement: based on skill, age, experience, charisma
• Can involve accumulation of traits
• Can be competitive
• Force? Need agreement among some (charisma, connections etc.)

• social institutions: there needs to be a "we" in order for there to be a "them"
• social solidarity: groups together (ex. hunters)
• kinship: family. who belongs/doesn't belong
• political integration: was in which communities are brought together
• ethnicity: based on shared descent, national origin, language etc.
• race: divides people into categories (ex. phenotype/physical appearance, intelligence, beauty, capacity for ethical behaviour etc.)

• is NOT biology, it is ASCRIBED to biology
• genetically, more difference within 'races' than between
• physical variation tends to be gradual (continuous variation)
• continues to be redefined, has a history

"Race is a concept that was invented to categorize the perceived biological, cultural and social differences between human groups"

• taxonomy
• an evolutionist
• made the class system of animals and did the same with people
• thought race was unstable and unchanging

• worked with Native skulls to try and prove intelligence
• Natives are less intelligent, biologically

• developed eugenics -> mandatory sterilizations
• use race to manipulate humans in society
• selective breeding, get rid of the bad, make room for the good
• built upon Darwin's ideas

• measuring physical features such as skull size (bigger skulls = smarter people)
• intelligence testing: education disparity 
• -> WWI: army alpha (written) army beta (oral)
• IQ testing shows that you're good at writing tests. it doesn't actually show if you're smarter than another person

takes cultural traits and integrates them into biology

• integrated component of how society views itself:
• language, politics, media
• imbedded in world views, ideologies
• way used to organize societies and peoples, created categories (making sense of the world)
• physical characteristics coupled with mental/emotional capacity
• inequality: race, ethnicity, class, caste, nationality

• NOT A THING
• racism = prejudice + power 
• "when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."