Exam Review Questions
From: Derick Fay
Date: Weds, 14 Nov 2007
I'm a little unclear about bilateral kin. In my notes it says that it is people who keep track of family on both sides. What do you mean by that?
Bilateral Kinship is used by most Americans and Canadians & in much of Europe. It's a system where kinship is traced through both male and female lines. Kin links through males and females are perceived as being similar or equivalent. i.e. there generally isn't any emphasis in American society (beyond the naming convention of passing on the father's surname) on the relatives on either side of the family.
- - - - -I don't understand what the historical political economy approach is. Could you clarify this?
Historical political economy is an approach that responds to the critique of earlier ethnography (especially structural-functionalist ethnographies) as "present[ing] the community in a kind of temporal and spatial isolation" (VSI, p. 25). The historical political economy approach involves examining large-scale regional political/economic systems, combined with traditional fieldwork in communities (e.g. Weis's article which links the impact of neoliberal policies in Jamaica to the experience of rural farmers in St. Mary Parish). The approach gives attention to the impact of external forces over time, especially the state and the capitalist world economy, and on the ways in which societies change in adaptation to such impact.
- - - - -Could you help me to understand post modernism? I don't entirely understand what it is and it's significance.
and a related question: can you explain Orientalism?
Postmodernism is a term that's used in a lot of different ways in different academic disciplines. In anthropology, it pertains to a set of questions around representation (which we discussed earlier in the course, without using the label postmodernism) -- how do attributes of the author affect ethnography (i.e. the issue of positionality)? How do representations of other cultures work to establish or maintain the identity of the author and the audience (as in Lutz and Collins' analysis of National Geographic, and Ortner's discussion of Orientalism (see below) in the Sahib writings about the Sherpas)?
Orientalism is a term that derives from a book entitled Orientalism by Edward Said, published in 1978. Said was writing about British and French writings about the Middle East in the 19th century, and focused on the way these works described a divide between "East and West," emphasizing cultural differences, and situated the West as superior. He went on to argue that these views were politically useful in justifying European colonialism in the region. This work was one of the important precursors of anthropological thinking about postmodernism and the politics of representation (discussed above). Ortner is following Said's approach, for example, on page 45 when she talks about the relationship between Sahib representations of the Sherpas and the power relations in the Sahib/Sherpa relationship. See also Ortner p. 19 & 21, as well as the other refs. to Orientalism cited in the index of her book.
- - - - -Do we have to know the 4 aspects of family cross culturally? The principals of descent, Affinity, Circumscription, and Rules of Adaption? Also the Savishinsky article, the popular culture and spread of Rastafarian movement- should that be reviewed?
Re: aspects of the family - yes, you should understand these -- each is related to a central question anthropologists would ask in trying to understand a kinship system: for a given society, 1) how do they keep track of descent (if at all)? 2) what are the rules / norms / expectations governing marriage? 3) out of all of the people who could be considered "relatives," who are the ones who are generally considered significant or important? 4) when there are family situations (i.e. a husband dies young, a woman is childless, etc.) that don't fit cultural expectations, how do they adapt to the situation?
We didn't talk a lot about Savishinsky's article, but there are several ways you could situate it in relation to the course material: as an example of a focus on non-economic aspects of globalization (347), & more specifically as an example that contradicts the typical flow of popular culture from the US/Europe (349), and as an example grounded in an a comparative analysis of historical political economy -- one of his main explanations of the spread of R. is that the societies and populations where it is found worldwide share a common experience of colonial subjugation and racism (e.g. 349-350, 357-358, 360-361).
- - - - -will we have to know the theories proposed by westermarck wolf and tylor?
Yes -- these are two of the ways anthropologists have explained the universality of incest taboos in human societies. Westermarck's argument (tested by Wolf with his data on marriages between brothers and adopted sisters in rural Taiwan in the 1950s) is that familiarity / proximity in childhood leads people raised in the same household not to be sexually interested in each other later in life; Tylor's argument is that the incest taboo exists to prevent social isolation, by insuring that people participate in social units beyond the immediate family.
- - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Weds, 14 Nov 2007
I am a little confused about what I should know about tourism.
to review the material on tourism, I would start with the article you read from MacClancy, which gives an overview of the anthropology of tourism & examine his arguments and examples in the light of the relevant case material (Life & Debt / Weis on Jamaica, Ortner's book, and Bruner's article on the Maasai). Some of the central questions he raises in the article, & which I've raised in class over the last three weeks, are what are the negative consequences of tourism on the populations being visited (418-421), can tourism be considered a "new imperialism" (421), how can tourism "boost or even revitalize local ways" (422), how does tourism cause a revaluation and/or changes in the representation of culture (425), and what are the implications of tourism for the concept of culture (427)?
- - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Weds, 13 Jun 2007
Should we be familiar with the distinction between the Hawaiian and Eskimo naming systems?
No, not at all -- we didn't cover kinship terminologies at all besides noting the distinction between descriptive terms (which define relationships precisely -- e.g. the terms for male and female parallel and cross-cousins in Arabic that appear in the glossary of Guests of the Sheik) and classificatory terms (which lump relatives together -- e.g. the English term "cousin" which lumps all cousins together regardless of their gender & who their parents are).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007
What is Seymour Parker's relevance, and a brief explanation/example for neoliberalism.
You don't need to know Parker's name -- he's significant as one of the theorists who came up with a possible explanation for the universality of incest taboos -- that they're biological (b/c found among all higher vertebrates) but subject to social elaboration (b/c human groups that married out recognized the value of broader social networks).
Neoliberalism refers to the set of development policies that has become dominant globally since the early 1980s, and which were being enacted in Jamaica in the film Life and Debt at the demand of the International Monetary Fund & the World Bank (as conditions required in order to get access to loans): opening of markets, elimination of tariffs and agricultural subsidies, reducing government spending, elimination of govt. intervention in currency exchange rates, and promotion of direct foreign investment (along with keeping wages down) as a strategy for development. These contrast to 1950s-1970s Keynesian models of development, which promoted protecting markets to allow the development of domestic industries, state intervention / support of local businesses, controls on currency exchange to support local production, and restrictions on foreign investment. Schneider's article and Stoller's discussion of global economic restructuring touch on some of these points. See also the summary of the film on its web site: http://www.lifeanddebt.org/about.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007
what is the difference between levirate marriage and ghost marriage? they seem pretty similar but i feel like i might be missing something.
They're similar in many ways. Both the levirate and ghost marriage are "rules of adaptation" to deal with family situations that don't fit the cultural ideal, and both are commonly found in patrilineal societies (the ghost marriage example came from the Nuer in E. Africa, who practice the levirate as well).
Here's what they are:
In the levirate, when a woman's husband dies, she will marry one of his brothers -- as a result she will remain married to a man from her husband's patrilineage and her children (if any) from her prior marriage will continue to be raised among members of their patrilineage.
In ghost marriage, if a man has died before marrying, his kin may pay bridewealth for a woman who will "marry" his ghost -- any children she has are considered (socially) to be his children: they're members of his patrilineage, they can inherit his name and property etc., irregardless of who the biological father might be.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007
I still don't feel confident as to the amount of detail required for the essays. I understand the main themes and a few specific happenings related to those themes (such as from the three books), but I don't know if that would be enough.
One of the main things I look for in the essays is students' ability to use their knowledge to illustrate broader points (as opposed to making generalizations without evidence). I've never taken points off an exam essay because it was too detailed, but I've seen plenty that are too vague and unsupported.
For example, in a question on the distinction vs. gift and market exchange and the ways gifts are used to create and maintain relationships, you could talk about 1) the negotiations between Don Corleone and Bonasera (you don't need to know these names, just describe the incident) at the start of the Godfather, 2) the Kula ring and the contrast Trobrianders draw between that and gimwali (again you don't need the exact term) the secondary trade in commodities that goes on alongside the kula, .... 4) the example of Naples cited by Schneider (p. 67 in ENM -- we didn't discuss this in class but it's relevant), and/or 5) the native American potlatch discussed in VSI p. 111 & in class. If you cited all of these, that would be great. Realistically I would give full credit for a discussion of two or three of them depending on the quality of the presentation / comparison / analysis.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007
Prof. Fay, the reason I am e-mailing you is b/c in one of your > emails you wrote that a topic for an essay might be "how people > strategically represent their culture in cross-cultural encounters?" > I don't quite understand the question! What do you mean by that?
This question refers to the ways people take advantage or manipulate others' perceptions of cultural difference. Some examples: the Kayapo, deliberately cultivating an image as ferocious warriors; African traders in NYC "both catering to and resisting a stereotypical image of themselves...that both benefits them economically and denies their cultural specificity" (Stoller 2002: 82 - see also the following pages and the whole chapter on Afrocentric marketing; or the various ways in which Sherpas represented their culture to Sahibs as a way to gain sway over the relationship (e.g the base camp pujas & the discussion of religion on p. 144ff.). There are two broader points here -- first that cultural differences are not timeless or fixed, but can be amplified through cross- cultural encounters, and second, that exoticism and other forms of stereotyping can be a resource for those who are stereotyped (again, think of the example of the Italian guy in the North End of Boston in the movie American Tongues).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Subject: Re: quick question
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:45:44
I just had a quick question. A Patrilateral parallel cousin marriage would be a FBD (father's brother's daughter), as you discuss in the notes. However, if it were a patrilateral cross cousin marriage it would be a FSD (Father's Sister's Daughter). Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct. This is the pattern found in the Trobriand Islands, which parallels the pattern of delayed balanced reciprocity in the Kula ring -- only here lineages are exchanging women in alternating generations, rather than kula partners exchanging necklaces and armbands on a shorter time-frame. Here's the diagram again (presented in generic form but the Trobrianders have four exogamous clans so the example fits):
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/tutor/marriage/patxcuz.html
From: Derick Fay
Subject: Re: ANT 110 - kinship, exam format
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:14:27 -0400
> The first section (multiple choice) will only be related to the diagrams and material on kinship?
Yes, that's right.
> For the second section (ID's) - will the ID's be related to the various terms you have mentioned in class since the first midterm?
Yes, it's only material since the midterm. I pointed out in class that these may be specifically related to the main sections of the ethnographies e.g. "local attitudes towards polygamy in El Nahra (the site of Fernea's Guests of the Sheik)" or "the effects of the state on the lives of West African traders in NYC (in Stoller's Money Has No Smell)."
> In the essays, is there any more information you can provide relating to potential topics, or will the essays just be any topic related to the course? If there are any specific texts or sections that would be useful to study please let me know if possible.
The texts I recommended focusing on are the ethnographies and the case study articles (e.g. Malinowski on the Kula in the Trobriand Islands....). For the articles from Exotic No More (e.g. Schneider on economic anthro, MacClancy on tourism) I won't expect you to know details of the particular cases discussed there, but you should know the main concepts / points from the articles & you may want to bring up examples in your essays.
The essays will most likely be comparative questions, asking you to analyze material from several of the ethnographic texts. For example, there might be a question related to how people strategically represent their culture in cross-cultural encounters -- e.g. in the film In and Out of Africa, Stoller's Money Has No Smell, the Bruner reading, and Ortner's Life and Death on Mt. Everest.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -From: Derick Fay
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:37:58
On Jun 10, 2007, at 11:09 PM, - - - wrote:
I had a question about globalization and the redistribution vs. market exchange. What do we need to know about them for the exam? I'm not really sure that I fully understand how globalization relates to an anthropological approach?
Let me start with redistribution since that's the simpler question -- basically it refers to a from of exchange where a central social institution (govt., chief, feudal lord etc.) collects wealth from its subjects and redistributes it -- see p. 68 in Schneider (ENM) where she's discussion Polanyi. We didn't look in any detail at societies where redistribution is the primary form of economic activity -- the classic example is feudal Europe but there are redistributive institutions in contemporary US society as well -- the whole system of taxation and govt. spending is a form of redistribution, as is the economy of Union College, where the administration collects tuition payments and reallocates it to various expenditures (one can contrast it to a pure market system, where every night's accommodation, every meal, every class, every book etc. would be paid for separately).
On globalization, I'd say that there are at least three dimensions to anthropological approaches to globalization. The first is expanding the definition of globalization beyond a narrow concern with its economic consequences -- the framework I gave in class drew attention to cultural dimensions of globalization by defining it as a process involving increased movement and circulation of 1) capital 2) people 3) commodities 4) images 5) ideologies -- obviously some of these are economic, some more cultural, & you can find examples of each in the readings from the 2nd half of the course. The second is that, in part b/c of their historic interest in the "non-western' world and commitments to ethnographic fieldwork (understanding globalization through engagement with people who are affected, rather than abstract economic models etc.), anthropologists are in a particularly good position to document the effects of globalization -- e.g. in rural Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire etc. & often to draw attention to negative consequences that are ignored or unknown to advocates for increased globalization. Finally, anthropologists point out the way many discussions of globalization are basically ethnocentric and based on the faulty view that globalization = westernization -- you can see counter-examples in the Kayapo, in Stoller's book, and in Nepal, where peoples affected by globalization have deliberately rejected "western" influence, reinforced and elaborated elements of local culture, and been affected by internal forces of change (e.g. the buddhist monasteries in Nepal) that work counter to the influences of the "west."
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