Shakespeare in the Bush
LAURA BOHANNAN
Summary This article illustrates the concept of naive realism, the idea that members of
one group believe that everyone else sees the world they way they do, and shows how
this belief leads to cross-cultural misunderstanding. Convinced that people everywhere
can understand the basic theme of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Bohannan tries to tell the
story to Tiv elders during fieldwork in West Africa. From the beginning, she finds that
the Tiv translate the story into their own cultural categories. Because the Tiv have no
category for spirits of the dead who can talk, they believe Hamlet’s father’s ghost must
really be an omen sent by a witch, or a zombie. And for the Tiv, instead of committing
an impropriety, Hamlet’s mother did well to marry her dead husband’s brother within a
month of her spouse’s death. The Tiv employ the custom of levirate on such occasions,
so it is expected for a woman to marry her dead husband’s brother. The Tiv think
Polonius should be pleased that Hamlet is attracted to his daughter Ophelia. If they
cannot marry, she can at least become his mistress, and sons of chiefs give large gifts to
the fathers of their mistresses among the Tiv. At each turn in the story, the Tiv view
events as they would in their own society, identifying facts according to their own
cultural map and reinterpreting motives. The result is a very different Hamlet than
Shakespeare wrote, and an excellent example of how culture defines a people’s social
world.
The Tiv example demonstrates that naive realism is a human condition that occurs when
people hold mistaken ideas about their own nature of their social and natural
environment.
Navigating Nigerian Bureaucracies
ELIZABETH A. EAMES
Summary In this article, Elizabeth A. Eames describes her experiences in Nigeria both
from the perspective of an anthropologist and as an individual raised in the U.S.
bureaucratic system. She shares the lessons she learned as she tried to decipher the rules
of proper behavior, and concludes with a discussion of Max Weber’s concept of
patrimonial authority.
Eames’ experiences and frustrations with the Nigerian social system stemmed in part
from her “American-ness,” her belief in equal and efficient treatment for all. Much to
her surprise, the social system in Nigeria operated on different principles: in Nigeria,
rights are negotiable, bribery is a legitimate way of doing business, and power comes
from being in a position to grant favors to others.
The author’s introduction to the intricacies of Nigerian society and how much it depends
on interpersonal relations began before she ever set foot on Nigerian soil: a personal
connection rescued her visa from the maze of paperwork at the New York consulate. At
the time she had no idea how important the currency of favors and gratitude was to the
social system, but quickly came to understand that these, along with hospitality and
strong greeting skills, were the only way to accomplish anything in the patrimonial
bureaucracy that operates in Nigeria today. Seemingly simple undertakings, such as
getting immigration forms signed, registering as a graduate student, and extending her
visatasks that were typically routine, impersonal, and efficient in a legally dominated
bureaucracy such as in the United Stateswere time-consuming, confusing, and nowhere
near routine. For some of these tasks, the simple act of describing the problem led from
one contact to another, and eventually a resolution presented itself. As her network of
contacts grew, so did her ability to get things done. Eames also learned the hard way
that not allowing acquaintances to assist her had significant consequences; it was seen
as a betrayal or a denial of a relationship. Everything in Nigeria, the author came to
understand, was personal.
The author describes Max Weber’s ideals of legal and patrimonial domination, and
articulates the six principles of patrimonial administration that Weber believed would
eventually be replaced by bureaucracy. Eames disputes this claim. Because an
individual’s understanding of hierarchy is based on the relationship of infant and
caretaker, Eames believes this creates a psychological need for personalized treatment
when interacting with authority figures. This tendency causes individualseven in legal
bureaucraciesto hope for personal treatment and resent impersonal, cold interactions.
According to Eames in “Negotiating Nigerian Bureaucracies,” patrimonial authority is
one that is organized as an extension of a noble household, where officials act as
household servants and are dependents of the ruler.
According to Fish in “Mixed Blood,” an avocado is classed as a in the United States and
a ____ in Brazil.
a. fruit, seed
b. seed, nut
c. vegetable, nut
d. vegetable, fruit
Lee acquired the ox he intended to slaughter for the !Kung Christmas feast
a. from Herero pastoralists living nearby.
b. from a South African cattle rancher.
c. by catching it in the wild.
d. from a friend.
Advice for Developers: Peace Corps Problems in Botswana
HOYT S. ALVERSON
Summary This classic article by Hoyt Alverson provides an excellent example of how
anthropology can be applied to the solution of practical problems. Although written
years ago, its message is equally relevant today as Peace Corps volunteers, USAID
workers, military personnel, and NGO (non-governmental organization) employees
engage in nation building around the world. Alverson’s conclusion is clear:
development work in foreign (and even in some domestic) settings requires
cross-cultural understanding.
Alverson was asked by a program director to investigate problems with the Peace
Corps’ development efforts in Botswana. Volunteers, he was told, were to introduce
development projects to Tswana farmers but found it difficult to so. The Tswana often
resisted the volunteers’ efforts. They would seem to cooperate but eventually nothing
happened. Frustrated, volunteers tended to isolate themselves, failed to learn the local
language, and hung out with other Americans or Europeans. Some gave up. Others
failed to complete their two-year contracts. Many felt spiteful toward the Tswana and
some even experienced nervous breakdowns.
Alverson approached his task by looking at both the culture and perspective of the
Peace Corps volunteers, and the culture and responses of the Tswana. (Alverson had
already spent 15 months doing ethnographic research in a Tswana community.) He
discovered that volunteers had many unstated assumptions, based on culture. Often, for
example, volunteers wished to be respected for their superior knowledge and their ways
of doing things, which they believed were better. Volunteers also believed that the
Tswana had asked them to help impart their Western cultural knowledge and that they,
the volunteers, were different from colonial authorities because they did not force
people to change. The conclusion to draw from this information is simple: the
volunteers’ self-perception made it harder for them to learn about the people they were
there to engage.
The remainder of Alverson’s paper deals with areas of cross-cultural misunderstandings
between volunteers and the Tswana. One example is the concept of time. The American
volunteer’s concept of time is lineal: the Tswana concept sees time as bounded by
events. Volunteers became frustrated when the Tswana did not show up on time.
Another example is that volunteers appreciate candor as they talk. The Tswana like
smooth, non-confrontational discourse. As a result, a Tswana may lie about something
to avoid conflict.
In sum, Alverson sees the discomfort displayed by American Peace Corps volunteers in
Botswana as a consequence of life in a very different, culturally defined Tswana world.
The implied solution is to inform volunteers about their own cultural and
self-perceptions, and teach volunteers as much as possible about the culture of those
with whom they intend to work.
As Alverson notes in “Advice for Developers,” Americans reveal intimate information
about themselves to friends. The Tswana feel revealing secrets is dangerous.
Shakespeare in the Bush
LAURA BOHANNAN
Summary This article illustrates the concept of naive realism, the idea that members of
one group believe that everyone else sees the world they way they do, and shows how
this belief leads to cross-cultural misunderstanding. Convinced that people everywhere
can understand the basic theme of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Bohannan tries to tell the
story to Tiv elders during fieldwork in West Africa. From the beginning, she finds that
the Tiv translate the story into their own cultural categories. Because the Tiv have no
category for spirits of the dead who can talk, they believe Hamlet’s father’s ghost must
really be an omen sent by a witch, or a zombie. And for the Tiv, instead of committing
an impropriety, Hamlet’s mother did well to marry her dead husband’s brother within a
month of her spouse’s death. The Tiv employ the custom of levirate on such occasions,
so it is expected for a woman to marry her dead husband’s brother. The Tiv think
Polonius should be pleased that Hamlet is attracted to his daughter Ophelia. If they
cannot marry, she can at least become his mistress, and sons of chiefs give large gifts to
the fathers of their mistresses among the Tiv. At each turn in the story, the Tiv view
events as they would in their own society, identifying facts according to their own
cultural map and reinterpreting motives. The result is a very different Hamlet than
Shakespeare wrote, and an excellent example of how culture defines a people’s social
world.
The Tiv approved of Hamlet’s mother’s marriage to her husband’s brother within a
month of her husband’s death.
The cross-cultural misunderstanding experienced between Lee and the !Kung occurred
over
a. the cultural meaning of the gift of an ox.
b. the way Lee gave them the ox.
c. the cultural meaning of oxen.
d. the poor condition of the ox.
Navigating Nigerian Bureaucracies
ELIZABETH A. EAMES
Summary In this article, Elizabeth A. Eames describes her experiences in Nigeria both
from the perspective of an anthropologist and as an individual raised in the U.S.
bureaucratic system. She shares the lessons she learned as she tried to decipher the rules
of proper behavior, and concludes with a discussion of Max Weber’s concept of
patrimonial authority.
Eames’ experiences and frustrations with the Nigerian social system stemmed in part
from her “American-ness,” her belief in equal and efficient treatment for all. Much to
her surprise, the social system in Nigeria operated on different principles: in Nigeria,
rights are negotiable, bribery is a legitimate way of doing business, and power comes
from being in a position to grant favors to others.
The author’s introduction to the intricacies of Nigerian society and how much it depends
on interpersonal relations began before she ever set foot on Nigerian soil: a personal
connection rescued her visa from the maze of paperwork at the New York consulate. At
the time she had no idea how important the currency of favors and gratitude was to the
social system, but quickly came to understand that these, along with hospitality and
strong greeting skills, were the only way to accomplish anything in the patrimonial
bureaucracy that operates in Nigeria today. Seemingly simple undertakings, such as
getting immigration forms signed, registering as a graduate student, and extending her
visatasks that were typically routine, impersonal, and efficient in a legally dominated
bureaucracy such as in the United Stateswere time-consuming, confusing, and nowhere
near routine. For some of these tasks, the simple act of describing the problem led from
one contact to another, and eventually a resolution presented itself. As her network of
contacts grew, so did her ability to get things done. Eames also learned the hard way
that not allowing acquaintances to assist her had significant consequences; it was seen
as a betrayal or a denial of a relationship. Everything in Nigeria, the author came to
understand, was personal.
The author describes Max Weber’s ideals of legal and patrimonial domination, and
articulates the six principles of patrimonial administration that Weber believed would
eventually be replaced by bureaucracy. Eames disputes this claim. Because an
individual’s understanding of hierarchy is based on the relationship of infant and
caretaker, Eames believes this creates a psychological need for personalized treatment
when interacting with authority figures. This tendency causes individualseven in legal
bureaucraciesto hope for personal treatment and resent impersonal, cold interactions.
Some of the most important aspects of a patrimonial authority are the speed
and precision with which it operates and the lack of personalized relationships and
irrational considerations that it incorporates.
Descent from a common ancestor through males only is called
a. patrilineal descent.
b. matrilineal descent.
c. bilateral descent.
d. endogamy.
The typical wedding celebration in the Fouta Djallon lasts for two or three days and
includes great quantities of rice, gifts of money or cloth, and
a. a sum of money paid by the bride’s family to the groom.
b. a sum of money paid by the groom’s family to the bride.
c. a sum of money paid by the groom to the bride’s parents.
d. several suitcases of cloth for the mother of the bride.
In “Conversation Style: Talking on the Job,” Tannen argues that one negative
consequence for women who ask questions is
that they may seem
a. uninformed and less intelligent.
b. uninterested in the subject matter.
c. less politically savvy.
d. unwilling to learn.
When Eames was finally able to obtain her visa, it came through due to
a. a Nigerian custom called dash.
b. intervention by the American consulate.
c. intervention by the Nigerian government.
d. a Nigerian custom known as Long-Leg.
A relationship between two people that is socially recognized and which confers
birth-status rights on children is called
a. kinship.
b. a family.
c. marriage.
d. a rite of passage.
In “Village Walks,” Guneratne and Bjork note that tour companies have characterized
the Tharu as
a. successful forest horticulturalists.
b. primitive forest aboriginals.
c. the remnants of a lost Nepalese tribe.
d. refugees from central Nepal.
A society in which there is unequal access to prestige but equal access to economic
resources is called a(n)
a. egalitarian society.
b. socially stratified society.
c. rank society.
d. class society.
Men in the Fouta Djallon are expected to make enough money to marry; support their
parents, future children, and other relatives; and build a house. In order to do this, most
men
a. travel abroad to Europe and North America to find work and save money.
b. travel to nearby West African countries such as Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra
Leone, Mali, and Cte d”Ivoire.
c. open their own small businesses.
d. live with their parents until they have saved enough money to marry.
According to Patten in “Malawi Versus the World Bank,” Malawians responded to the
lower maize yields that occurred when fertilizer was no longer subsidized by
a. skipping meals.
b. eating nsima three times a day.
c. using a government voucher to purchase food.
d. emigrating to other African countries.
In “Reciprocity and the Power of Giving,” Cronk notes that three of the following are
good examples of reciprocal gift giving. Which one is not?
a. shoes bought at a local mall
b. concessions made between U.S. and Russian negotiators during peace negotiations a
few years ago
c. shell necklaces and arm bands traded in ritual fashion in the Trobriand Island
exchange system called the kula
d. “swapping” reported by Carol Stack by African Americans living in a place in Illinois
called the flats
As reported by Spradley and McCurdy in “Law and Order,” anthropologist Laura Nader
feels that in Ralu”a, there is a strong value on_________, which underlies the
community’s substantive and procedural law.
a. private property
b. religious piety
c. personal success
d. maintaining equilibrium
One would expect to find the least job specialization in a
a. hunting and gathering society.
b. horticultural society.
c. industrial society.
d. pastoral society.
Mixed Blood
JEFFERSON M. FISH
Summary This article illustrates how the American concept of race is a cultural
construction, not a biological reality. Fish explains how there are no races among
humans, because the concept of race relates to individuals who mate but can bear no
fertile offspring. Clearly, this is not true of present-day humans. Human beings form a
single species.
Our evident variations in physical appearance around the globe has occurred through
the processes of random mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift (accidental
selection). Most traits that Americans think of as racial, such as skin color, are adaptive
to differences in environmental conditions.
If races are not biologically distinguishable groups, what are they? They are what are
known as “folk classifications” of people based on culturally selected criteria. People
everywhere classify things in folk taxonomies, but classifications of the same things
may vary from society to society. For example, Americans classify avocados as
vegetables and eat them in salads. Brazilians classify avocados as fruits and eat them
with lemon and sugar for dessert.
Although there are many ways in which people could classify each other, such as by
body shape for example, many Americans learn to group each other into “races” based
primarily on skin color (largely “white,” “Asian,” “black,” or “Latino”) and that these
groups are rooted in biological reality. Yet at the same time, there is a history of
classifying people according to hypo-descent, another social construction that is more
about perceived ancestry. Many Americans still tend to rank races; white is highest,
followed by Asian, Hispanic (Latino), and black. Children are allocated the racial
classification of their lowest- (hypo) ranking parent. If your mother is classified as
black and your father white, you might still be classified as black no matter what you
look like.
This is in stark contrast to Brazilians, for example, who classify people into tipos
(types) on the basis of what they look like. Examples include loura (completely blond),
preta (dark skin, broader nose), sarar (tight curly blond or red hair, blue eyes, broad
nose, and thick lips), and cabo verde (straight black hair, dark skin, brown eyes, narrow
nose, and thin lips). The children of a Brazilian couple could be classified into different
tipos if each child looks different.
The American conception of race is beginning to change as more people of different
“races” intermarry and immigrants whose racial identities are difficult to classify by the
American system enter the country. “Other” is a fast-growing category of racial identity.
According to Fish in “Mixed Blood,” Brazilians classify people into tipos such as loura,
branca, morena, mulata, and preta on the basis of how they look.
The world that people can experience with their senses is called
a. ecology.
b. cultural ecology.
c. physical environment.
d. cultural environment.
Planchones are
a. a natural resource that Chimanes use for trade.
b. a type of vegetable that grows in the Chimanes forest.
c. the name for the stretch of trail that each member of the team is assigned.
d. slabs of the mahogany tree cut down to six and one-half inches thick.
Navigating Nigerian Bureaucracies
ELIZABETH A. EAMES
Summary In this article, Elizabeth A. Eames describes her experiences in Nigeria both
from the perspective of an anthropologist and as an individual raised in the U.S.
bureaucratic system. She shares the lessons she learned as she tried to decipher the rules
of proper behavior, and concludes with a discussion of Max Weber’s concept of
patrimonial authority.
Eames’ experiences and frustrations with the Nigerian social system stemmed in part
from her “American-ness,” her belief in equal and efficient treatment for all. Much to
her surprise, the social system in Nigeria operated on different principles: in Nigeria,
rights are negotiable, bribery is a legitimate way of doing business, and power comes
from being in a position to grant favors to others.
The author’s introduction to the intricacies of Nigerian society and how much it depends
on interpersonal relations began before she ever set foot on Nigerian soil: a personal
connection rescued her visa from the maze of paperwork at the New York consulate. At
the time she had no idea how important the currency of favors and gratitude was to the
social system, but quickly came to understand that these, along with hospitality and
strong greeting skills, were the only way to accomplish anything in the patrimonial
bureaucracy that operates in Nigeria today. Seemingly simple undertakings, such as
getting immigration forms signed, registering as a graduate student, and extending her
visatasks that were typically routine, impersonal, and efficient in a legally dominated
bureaucracy such as in the United Stateswere time-consuming, confusing, and nowhere
near routine. For some of these tasks, the simple act of describing the problem led from
one contact to another, and eventually a resolution presented itself. As her network of
contacts grew, so did her ability to get things done. Eames also learned the hard way
that not allowing acquaintances to assist her had significant consequences; it was seen
as a betrayal or a denial of a relationship. Everything in Nigeria, the author came to
understand, was personal.
The author describes Max Weber’s ideals of legal and patrimonial domination, and
articulates the six principles of patrimonial administration that Weber believed would
eventually be replaced by bureaucracy. Eames disputes this claim. Because an
individual’s understanding of hierarchy is based on the relationship of infant and
caretaker, Eames believes this creates a psychological need for personalized treatment
when interacting with authority figures. This tendency causes individualseven in legal
bureaucraciesto hope for personal treatment and resent impersonal, cold interactions.
In Nigerian society, the term begging refers to the act of asking strangers for money
or food.
In “Family and Kinship in Village India,” McCurdy observes that
a. despite the dispersal of relatives as a result of migration to cities for work, Indians
maintain a high degree of loyalty to and support of their kin.
b. work in cities has destroyed the Indian family and kinship system.
c. cash labor has led to personal independence and the end of family-arranged
marriages in India.
d. Ratakote’s increase in population has led to a thriving agrarian economy.
Alverson has seen the Tswana’s belief that being alone is
a. a time to think.
b. a way to experience a religious experience.
c. a necessary part of resting.
d. a time for secrets.
A magical practice in baseball that is culturally learned rather than personal is
a. the wearing of the lucky number 77.
b. wearing a pair of shoes that bring luck.
c. tugging the hat before each pitch.
d. mentioning a no-hitter while the game is in progress.
When linguistic anthropologists search for minimal pairs of words from informants,
they are most likely to be looking for
a. morphemes.
b. metaphors.
c. phonemes.
d. sociolinguistic rules.
If a person believes that some rocks lying in a yam field contribute to the rapid growth
of the plants, we might suspect a belief in mana.
When people feel that a policy is wrong, but accept it because they value the
government that makes the policy, they are giving a kind of support called
a. legitimacy.
b. coercion.
c. authority.
d. leadership.
According to Gmelch’s article, “Nice Girls Don”t Talk to Rastas,” when his students do
fieldwork in rural Barbadian communities
a. they fail to recognize that such communities are homogeneous.
b. they ignore the fact that class distinctions may be present in such communities.
c. they should expect to be looked down on by villagers.
d. they will be embraced warmly by the villagers.
In “Nuer Refugees in America,” Shandy defines transnationalism as
a. the nationalistic fervor of one people that causes them to go to war with another.
b. the shifting of national loyalties from one nation state to another.
c. another word for global markets.
d. the cross-cutting ties that span the borders of nation-states.
In her article “The Military Name Game,” Boxer argues that at the time she wrote the
article, naming military operations involved using
a. a two-word verb-noun phrase that is positive but that is almost meaningless.
b. mythology and religion because of their positive moral overtones.
c. words that are intended to remain secret.
d. aggressive terms such as “Masher,” “Thunderbolt,” and “Ripper.”
We Are Going Underwater
SUSAN A. CRATE
Summary The Viliui Sakha, a horse- and cattle-breeding people of northeastern
Siberia, live in an extreme, subarctic climate that has continuous permafrost and annual
temperature swings of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This place-based community has
adapted to many different changes over hundreds of yearsbeginning with Russian
imperial expansion in the 1600s and as recently as a result of the breakup of the Soviet
Union in the 1990s. More recently, their adaptations have been in response to local,
physical changes brought about by global climate change. In her essay, Susan Crate
outlines the most notable ways global climate change has impacted life for the Sakha,
and details their remarkable capacity to adapt to these changes.
Crate conducted surveys and interviewed elders of the community who had the
advantage of witnessing many decades of change, offering a perspective that not many
other community members could. Crate’s research identified nine ways in which global
climate change has impacted the Sakha, including increased water on the land, late and
lagging seasons, a decline in certain game species, and temperature fluctuations. These
changes cannot be attributed solely to climate change; many of them have multiple
stressors. Regardless, the Sakha have had to make psychological, social, and physical
adaptations to accommodate the new reality of their physical world. Interestingly, very
few of the Sakha attribute the changes to global climate change, and instead point to
other local causes such as a hydroelectric reservoir or the overabundance of technology
and mechanization. Despite this, the Sakha will continue to adapt as they have for
hundreds of years, figuring out how to negotiate the additional water on their land,
learning how to adjust their practices to have enough hay for their cows and horses, and
purchasing electric freezers to replace the traditional buluus (underground freezers) that
are now increasingly flooded out. The Sakha and their adaptations are offered by Crate
as an example of how communities and scientists might benefit from sharing
information. Scientists have much to learn about how climate change is affecting local
environments and culture, and communities can learn from scientists how to adapt in
ways to address these local changes.
While many think of geologists and chemists as those best equipped to help the world
adapt to the effects of global climate change, Crate believes that anthropologists can
help communities weather these changes by fostering a greater understanding of how
people like the Sakha have adapted and continue to do so successfully. By identifying
and learning about those communities that are the most flexible in their responses to
local changes, communities will have a model to follow when global climate change
begins to have a greater impact on the more temperate zones of the planet.
In the world of the Viliui Sakha, black shamans travel from the middle world where
humans live to interact with sky spirits during the Sakha summer festival, thereby
ensuring a plentiful harvest.
Public Interest Ethnography: Women’s Prisons and Health Care in California
RACHAEL STRYKER
Summary In this article, Rachael Stryker describes how ethnography can be used to
affect public policy. With government sponsorship, she and a group of her
undergraduate students interviewed a number of inmates incarcerated in two California
state prisons for women. Their goal was to learn about the provision of health care from
the prisoner’s perspective. Armed with the “insider’s” point of view, they produced
recommendations for changes, some of which were adopted by prison authorities.
Public interest ethnography (a branch of applied anthropology) involves ethnographic
research among people who are affected by policy. It brings a human face to the impact
of policy and often seeks to empower those affected by it. The study of health care
provided in California’s women’s prisons is a good example. The researchers discovered
that to receive care, an inmate had to fill out a request, pay a five-dollar copay, receive a
ducat (something like a hall pass), and then see one of three people: an MTA (medically
trained correctional guard), a nurse, or a doctor. The process could take weeks and was
complicated by the fact that inmates had little money, were often treated by unqualified
health providers, and were frustrated by an inability to speak English (many inmates
spoke only Spanish). Inmates often feared medical procedures and felt that doctors
treated them with disrespect. They also told about instances of sexual harassment. Other
factors related to inmate health included poor sanitation caused by overcrowded cells,
and lack of cleaning and personal hygiene supplies. AIDS patients were housed in the
general inmate population. Food was also a problem, especially for diabetics and those
with food allergies. Finally, inmates did not get enough exercise. Inmates often
responded to these problems by treating themselves or ignoring symptoms.
The ethnographic study produced a list of recommendations. It advised the state to
simplify the process required of inmates to receive health care, reduce or eliminate the
copay because inmates had little money, eliminate the MTA position, hire more
qualified nurses and doctors, provide translators, reduce overcrowding, and improve
nutrition and sanitation. In response to these recommendations the state increased
translation services, eliminated the MTA position, and started a process to reduce
overcrowding. Other recommendations were taken under advisement.
In “Ethnography in the Public Interest,” Stryker notes that public interest ethnography
involves fieldwork among policy makers.
According to Gmelch in “Baseball Magic,” magical ritual in baseball is most often
associated with hitting and pitching.
Ethnography and Culture
JAMES P. SPRADLEY
Summary In this introductory chapter from his book Participant Observation, Spradley
defines and emphasizes the importance of ethnographic fieldwork and the concept of
culture. Ethnography is the work of describing a culture. It requires the discovery of the
native or insider’s point of view.
Cultural behavior consists of the actions generated by cultural knowledge. Cultural
artifacts, based on cultural behavior and cultural knowledge, are the things people make
or shape from natural resources. Culture, itself, is the socially acquired knowledge that
people use to generate behavior and interpret experience. Different cross-cultural
interpretations of the same event easily cause misunderstandings.
Culture may also be explicit (part of our conscious awareness) or tacit (outside
awareness). The meaning of things for members of a group is at the heart of the culture
concept, a point related to Blumer’s notion of symbolic interactionism. The concept of
culture as acquired knowledge has much in common with symbolic interactionism, a
theory that seeks to explain human behavior in terms of meanings. Blumer’s theory rests
on three premises. The first is that “human beings act toward things on the basis of the
meanings that the things have for them.” The second is that the “meaning of such things
is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one’s fellows.”
The third is that “meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive
process used by the person dealing with the things he encounters.” Spradley concludes
by characterizing culture as a map, a guide to action and interpretation.
Spradley defines culture as behavior, artifacts, and knowledge.
Poverty at Work: Office Employment and the Crack Alternative
PHILIPPE BOURGOIS
Summary The transition from a manufacturing economy to one based on office work is
more culturally disruptive to poorly educated working class city dwellers than one
might suspect. This is the conclusion drawn by Philippe Bourgois based on his three
and one-half year ethnographic study of Puerto-Rican crack cocaine dealers in New
Your City’s Spanish Harlem.
When Puerto Ricans first moved to New York City, men with little education were able
to find factory work that enabled them to support their families with dignity. As time
went by, sons followed in their fathers’ footsteps, quitting school in their middle teens to
take manufacturing jobs that required little formal education but provided a decent
living and a respected place in surrounding Puerto Rican working class society.
Protected by unions, their macho urban street culture could be openly expressed on the
production line without serious consequences.
All this changed, however, between 1963 and 1983 when over half the factories in New
York City either closed or moved to less expensive areas. Toughness and male swagger
that worked well on the factory production line now intimidated the better-educated
largely Anglo people who worked above them. The poor workers were often unable to
read even the simplest directions. Worse, they often found themselves supervised by
women, a rare occurrence in Puerto Rican society. Even the way they walked and
looked intimidated Anglo co-workers. Above all, they felt “dissed” (disrespected) by
office Anglos, who would often comment openly about their lack of education and
ability. Working at the minimum wage, most lasted on the job for only a few days.
Unemployed once again, many turned to selling crack in a lucrative underground
economy, which placed them on a self-destructive track of drug addiction, violence, and
arrest. Even becoming bicultural, adopting Anglo office culture at work and street
culture at home, did not work well. Friends and family members accused them of
selling out their heritage.
In an epilogue, Bourgois notes that four things changed this bleak underground work
environment in Spanish Harlem during the late 1990s: the economy grew at a high and
sustained rate providing more jobs even for the poor; the size of the Mexican immigrant
population increased significantly in Spanish Harlem; the war on drugs criminalized
many of the poor; and marijuana, not crack, became the drug of choice. As a result,
more men found work in the regular economy. But despite this turn of events, Bourgois
concludes that there is little hope in the long run for New York’s inner city poor.
In “Poverty at Work: Office Work and the Crack Alternative,” Bourgois claims that only
15 percent of second generation Puerto Ricans living in New York’s Spanish Harlem
have ever held a job in the formal economy.
Refugees are people who flee their country of origin because they share a
well-foundednfear of persecution.
Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS
CLAIRE E. STERK
Summary This article discusses ethnographic fieldwork as a processentering the field,
making contact, and developing rapport, as well as ethical dilemmas and stress.
Undertaking fieldwork in a Western microculture (in this case the culture of prostitute
life), illustrates how participant observation, originally developed to discover the
content of non-Western cultures, can be adapted for use at home. Sterk’s goal was to
learn about the lives of prostitutes from the women themselves. Her subjects comprised
180 “low end” prostitutes–those who worked on the streets and in the crack houses of
Atlanta and New York in the 1980s and 1990s.
Sterk learned that gatekeepers (initial contacts who give you access to other informants)
can become less important with time. Some self-nominated key informants had access
to only part of a cultural scene. Encouraging women to have some control over the
research process enhanced rapport; this meant letting informants tell their own stories
and refraining from judgement. Interviews were conducted in private and required
consent forms, which perhaps surprisingly Sterk was able to obtain. Abusive figures
who controlled prostitutespimpssometimes presented an impediment to research.
Fieldwork involved stress, which was partially relieved by being able to leave the field.
Leaving the field, however, led to feelings of guilt.
The article ends with six observations about prostitutes and their culture. Prostitutes
often blame past experiences for their current status and alienation from “normal”
people. There are different kinds of prostitutesstreetwalkers, women who became
hooked on drugs after they started in the profession, women who entered the life
already addicted to drugs, and women who turned tricks as payment for drugs.
Contracting AIDS was a great risk for prostitutes, but condom use was often rejected by
their customers and pimps. Men are often violent toward prostitutes. Finally, women
did sometimes leave this microculture, but their past often followed them.
According to Sterk, “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS,” the greatest
impediment to developing rapport in the field is the requirement, imposed by her
university, that informants sign consent forms.
Marriage and Adulthood in West Africa
SUSANNA FIORATTA
Summary
Across cultures, marriage is a rite of passage that confers statusboth legal and socialon
those who participate in it. Marriage often increases social status and, in some societies
such as the United States, affords participants legal protections not available through
other means. However, it is not generally thought of as something that affects an
individual’s status as an adult. Individuals in the United States and other countries have
every reason to believe that they will be successful whether they marry or not. In her
article, “Marriage and Adulthood in West Africa,” Susanna Fioratta describes a society
in Guinea where marriage is the only way to be considered a responsible adult.
For both men and women in the Fouta Djallon, marriage is not a choice. It is vitally
important that an individual be married in order to be considered a responsible adult
worthy of offering advice, taking on roles in the community, and being trusted with
money. Even potential leaderssuch as 72-year-old presidential candidatesmust have a
wife, children, and a home; otherwise, they are considered incapable of being
responsible, not worthy of offering advice, and unable to show sympathy or pity. In the
local Pular language, there is not even a word to describe an unmarried adult woman.
There are only words for girl or virgin (jiwo) and woman (debbo). A state of being an
adult unmarried woman is incomprehensible.
Achieving and maintaining a marriage in the Fouta Djallon is very difficult. Men must
make enough money to support a wife and family, build a house, and care for extended
family. This requires migrating to nearby countries to find work and save money.
Women, for their part, must endure painful excision to be considered eligible for
marriage. As wives, they must submit to their husbands at all times, cook and clean for
a dozen or more individuals, bear and take care of children, maintain a garden of
vegetables, and do so with inadequate funds. To make ends meet, wives often earn
supplemental income selling snacks, cloth, or other items in the village. Divorce and
premature death are not uncommon. When women are divorced or their husbands die
prematurely, their parents quickly arrange new marriages; some widows are inherited as
wives of their deceased husband’s brothers.
Fioratta argues that the challenges associated with marriage are what allow both men
and women to demonstrate that they are responsible, trustworthy adults. Despite these
challenges, particularly for women, marriage is a highly sought-after status and is
necessary to becoming a respected elder in the community.
It is ideal that newlyweds have children soon after they marry so that the husband
may establish himself as the head of the household.
Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS
CLAIRE E. STERK
Summary This article discusses ethnographic fieldwork as a processentering the field,
making contact, and developing rapport, as well as ethical dilemmas and stress.
Undertaking fieldwork in a Western microculture (in this case the culture of prostitute
life), illustrates how participant observation, originally developed to discover the
content of non-Western cultures, can be adapted for use at home. Sterk’s goal was to
learn about the lives of prostitutes from the women themselves. Her subjects comprised
180 “low end” prostitutes–those who worked on the streets and in the crack houses of
Atlanta and New York in the 1980s and 1990s.
Sterk learned that gatekeepers (initial contacts who give you access to other informants)
can become less important with time. Some self-nominated key informants had access
to only part of a cultural scene. Encouraging women to have some control over the
research process enhanced rapport; this meant letting informants tell their own stories
and refraining from judgement. Interviews were conducted in private and required
consent forms, which perhaps surprisingly Sterk was able to obtain. Abusive figures
who controlled prostitutespimpssometimes presented an impediment to research.
Fieldwork involved stress, which was partially relieved by being able to leave the field.
Leaving the field, however, led to feelings of guilt.
The article ends with six observations about prostitutes and their culture. Prostitutes
often blame past experiences for their current status and alienation from “normal”
people. There are different kinds of prostitutesstreetwalkers, women who became
hooked on drugs after they started in the profession, women who entered the life
already addicted to drugs, and women who turned tricks as payment for drugs.
Contracting AIDS was a great risk for prostitutes, but condom use was often rejected by
their customers and pimps. Men are often violent toward prostitutes. Finally, women
did sometimes leave this microculture, but their past often followed them.
In “Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS,” Sterk found that AIDS affects the
lives of prostitutes but that customers often refuse to use condoms.
Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage
JILL DUBISCH
Summary Starting in 1996, sociologist Raymond Michalowski and anthropologist Jill
Dubisch joined a group of motorcyclists riding on a trip called the Run for the Wall, a
pilgrimage (ritual passage) from California to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington, DC.
The Run for the Wall was started by a group of Vietnam veterans in 1989 and has
occurred every year since. It requires its participants to ride motorcycles from
California to Washington, DC, although many join or drop out along the way. The run
takes 10 days and includes stops for rest and ceremonies. Communities along the run’s
route welcome run members and often feed and house them for free. Riders see the run
as a pilgrimage that helps heal wounds caused by the war, and serves to honor the dead
and “those left behind” (POWs and the missing in action).
Dubisch introduces the concept of pilgrimage as a journey that has a purpose, with a
destination that has special meaning. The destination may get its emotional power from
its location or symbolic meaning. Pilgrimages are rituals, defined (in Davis-Floyd’s
words) as “patterned, repetitive, and symbolic enactments of a cultural belief or value.”
Personal transformation is a key result. Rituals often reenact social myths. They,
according to anthropologist Victor Turner, have two poles the ideological and the
sensory that can be changed and modified regularly. Pilgrimages are a kind of ritual.
They create what Victor and Edith Turner call a liminal state, which is a special period
of time between normal routines. Travel is one way to mark such a liminal period.
The Run for the Wall began as a way for veterans to deal with the physical and mental
wounds caused by their participation in the Vietnam War, and the indifference and
hostility that greeted them when they arrived home. Motorcycles have been associated
with veterans’ groups since World War II. They symbolize freedom, self-reliance,
patriotism, and individualism. Patriotism is especially important to those who make the
run and is symbolized by the U.S. flags and eagles that adorn their motorcycles. Riding
motorcycles gives a feeling of political power to participants. The machines are not an
ordinary way to travel. Riding them also involves danger and hardship; suffering for the
cause increases openness to personal change and an eventual feeling of
accomplishment.
Dubisch describes several ceremonial events along the run that evoke strong emotions.
The wall itself has special power, meaning, and emotional impact. It causes outbursts of
grief and recognizes both the individual dead and the departed as a whole. Some riders
say they hear the spirits of the dead talking at the wall when they are there at night. This
pilgrimage has a lasting, transformational effect on its participants, and illustrates the
importance of feelings and emotion associated with religion and ritual.
According to Dubisch in “Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage,” pilgrimages are
journeys with a purpose, taken to a place with meaning. They can be religious, secular,
or personal.
Women in the Mine
JESSICA SMITH ROLSTON
Summary This article details the unique and complex gender roles that have developed
in the coal mines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Typically thought of as full of
stereotypically ultra macho men, the coal mines in Wyoming disprove this assumption.
In addition to being comprised mostly of family men, women work alongside men as
equalsin numbers greater than in the industry as a wholein nearly every capacity.
Women miners have developed ways to build rapport with male coworkers that ensure
that they are treated with respect. This article details this complex system.
The Powder River Basin is home to a dozen coal mines that were opened in response to
the energy crisis of the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Many women in the area had grown
up riding horses, fishing, hunting, or working on farms and ranches, and were quite
comfortable getting dirty and doing manual labor. Mining seemed a natural fit, and
offered high pay for those without a college education. Females employed by the mines
can make between $65,000 and $100,000, depending on experience and overtime.
In addition to having to learn the ins and outs of a new industry, women had to learn
how to succeed in a traditionally male environment. They have done so by adjusting
their identities and taking on personas at work in order to gain respect and craft
camaraderie with male coworkers. Common labels like tomboy, lady, girly girl, and
bitch have developed very specific connotations; these personas represent specific
gender identities that bring a range of emotionsfrom respect to disdain to
disapprovalfrom coworkers. Smith Rolston details how the persona a woman chooses at
the mine can have far reaching implications and how adopting a single persona is not
enough; women in the mines must constantly and strategically adjust their personas to
fit the situation, potentially changing identity mid-conversation, mid-shift, or at any
time to respond appropriately to their male coworkers’ notions of femininity.
In the coal mining industry overall, women represent from 6 to 8 percent of the
workers.
Cross-Cultural Law:The Case of an American Gypsy
ANNE SUTHERLAND
Summary This article by Anne Sutherland looks at what happens when members of
one culture live under the legal jurisdiction of another. The article describes the case of
a young Gypsy man accused of using someone else’s Social Security number, and the
role played by an anthropologist in his court defense.
The young Gypsy male used the Social Security number of a five-year-old nephew to
apply for a car loan. Gypsies believe that their vitsa (clan) has rights over property such
as names and Social Security numbers, and that vitsa members can share in these
things. Although he had no intention of stealing the car or defrauding anyone, the man
was charged under a law that makes it a felony to use someone else’s Social Security
number. The police also concluded that he was part of a car theft ring.
Sutherland became involved in the case as an expert witness for the defense. Her first
act was to discover whether the young man was a Gypsy and what his name was.
Gypsies take on many “American” names, which they change often. Their identities are
more typically associated with their vitsa, or clan, and a larger grouping of clans called
a natsia. During the trial she testified that the young man had no intention of defrauding
or stealing from anyone. She noted that it was usual for members of vitsas to share
American names, Social Security numbers, and other marks of identity. Despite her
testimony, however, the defendant was convicted.
Sutherland concludes her article with three points. First, Gypsies, who are a nomadic
group, do not stress individual identities, which are so important to settled Americans.
For hundreds of years the people and governments of the countries in which they live
have persecuted Gypsies. She cites ample evidence that American police also consider
them a criminal society. Hiding their identities has been their response to this
persecution. Second, Gypsies suffer in jail to an unusual extent because they believe
they are polluted there. Gypsies avoid long contact with non-Gypsies and their food
because the latter pollute (marime) them. Their own relatives shun them if this happens,
and they must go through a period of purification before reintegration into their own
society. Third, there is a clash between the Gypsy view of membership in a corporate
kin group and the usual American view of individual rights.
In “The Case of an American Gypsy,” Anne Sutherland describes a legal case in which a
19-year-old Gypsy man was convicted of using someone else’s Social Security number,
despite the fact that he had no intention of defrauding anyone.
Things other than vocal sounds that can stand for other things are part of language.
Poverty at Work: Office Employment and the Crack Alternative
PHILIPPE BOURGOIS
Summary The transition from a manufacturing economy to one based on office work is
more culturally disruptive to poorly educated working class city dwellers than one
might suspect. This is the conclusion drawn by Philippe Bourgois based on his three
and one-half year ethnographic study of Puerto-Rican crack cocaine dealers in New
Your City’s Spanish Harlem.
When Puerto Ricans first moved to New York City, men with little education were able
to find factory work that enabled them to support their families with dignity. As time
went by, sons followed in their fathers’ footsteps, quitting school in their middle teens to
take manufacturing jobs that required little formal education but provided a decent
living and a respected place in surrounding Puerto Rican working class society.
Protected by unions, their macho urban street culture could be openly expressed on the
production line without serious consequences.
All this changed, however, between 1963 and 1983 when over half the factories in New
York City either closed or moved to less expensive areas. Toughness and male swagger
that worked well on the factory production line now intimidated the better-educated
largely Anglo people who worked above them. The poor workers were often unable to
read even the simplest directions. Worse, they often found themselves supervised by
women, a rare occurrence in Puerto Rican society. Even the way they walked and
looked intimidated Anglo co-workers. Above all, they felt “dissed” (disrespected) by
office Anglos, who would often comment openly about their lack of education and
ability. Working at the minimum wage, most lasted on the job for only a few days.
Unemployed once again, many turned to selling crack in a lucrative underground
economy, which placed them on a self-destructive track of drug addiction, violence, and
arrest. Even becoming bicultural, adopting Anglo office culture at work and street
culture at home, did not work well. Friends and family members accused them of
selling out their heritage.
In an epilogue, Bourgois notes that four things changed this bleak underground work
environment in Spanish Harlem during the late 1990s: the economy grew at a high and
sustained rate providing more jobs even for the poor; the size of the Mexican immigrant
population increased significantly in Spanish Harlem; the war on drugs criminalized
many of the poor; and marijuana, not crack, became the drug of choice. As a result,
more men found work in the regular economy. But despite this turn of events, Bourgois
concludes that there is little hope in the long run for New York’s inner city poor.
In “Poverty at Work: Office Work and the Crack Alternative,” Bourgois notes that many
Puerto Rican men living in Spanish Harlem have at one time or another held normal
(not underground) jobs in New York City’s service economy.
An anthropologist attempts to influence the way people treat tramps by publishing a
book on tramp culture, thus making tramps more predictable to those who must deal
with them. Such an anthropologist would be doing adjustment anthropology.
Baseball Magic
GEORGE GMELCH
Summary This updated selection by George Gmelch shows how Americans use
magical ritual to reduce the anxiety associated with uncertainty. Gmelch focuses on
baseball players but cites the work of Bronislaw Malinowski on magic in the Trobriand
Islands, where islanders use magic when braving dangerous marine trips. In both cases,
so different at first glance, magic is used to reduce anxiety and increase a sense of
control.
Ritual in baseball involves those prescribed behaviors in which there is no connection
between the behavior (e.g., tapping home plate three times) and the desired end (e.g.,
getting a base hit). Gmelch describes how ritual surrounds two of the three main
activities associated with the gamehitting and pitching. This is because both involve
great uncertainty. Fielding, the other main activity, is relatively error-free and therefore
receives little magical attention.
Baseball players display most varieties of magic. They use personal magic, such as a
regular cap adjustment before each pitch. Fetishes are also used; these are
charmsusually small objects believed to embody supernatural power (luck) that can aid
or protect the owner. Baseball fetishes are sometimes lucky pennies. Magic practices
also include special diets, special clothing, and a host of other devices they feel are
associated with successful play. They also observe taboos (things that should not be
done, and that can bring bad luck), including one against crossing bats.
At the root of such behavior is this notion: people associate things with each other that
have no functional relationship. If a pitcher eats pancakes for breakfast and wins a game
that day, he may continue to eat them each time he plays because the act is now
associated with success on the field. Citing research on rats and pigeons, Gmelch notes
that once an association is established, it only takes sporadic success to perpetuate the
relationship. Gmelch concludes that although baseball players do not attribute their acts
to any special, supernatural power, they nonetheless follow ritual practices carefully to
influence luck and guard against failure.
In “Baseball Magic,” George Gmelch argues that magic is most often associated with
fielding in American baseball.
Poverty at Work: Office Employment and the Crack Alternative
PHILIPPE BOURGOIS
Summary The transition from a manufacturing economy to one based on office work is
more culturally disruptive to poorly educated working class city dwellers than one
might suspect. This is the conclusion drawn by Philippe Bourgois based on his three
and one-half year ethnographic study of Puerto-Rican crack cocaine dealers in New
Your City’s Spanish Harlem.
When Puerto Ricans first moved to New York City, men with little education were able
to find factory work that enabled them to support their families with dignity. As time
went by, sons followed in their fathers’ footsteps, quitting school in their middle teens to
take manufacturing jobs that required little formal education but provided a decent
living and a respected place in surrounding Puerto Rican working class society.
Protected by unions, their macho urban street culture could be openly expressed on the
production line without serious consequences.
All this changed, however, between 1963 and 1983 when over half the factories in New
York City either closed or moved to less expensive areas. Toughness and male swagger
that worked well on the factory production line now intimidated the better-educated
largely Anglo people who worked above them. The poor workers were often unable to
read even the simplest directions. Worse, they often found themselves supervised by
women, a rare occurrence in Puerto Rican society. Even the way they walked and
looked intimidated Anglo co-workers. Above all, they felt “dissed” (disrespected) by
office Anglos, who would often comment openly about their lack of education and
ability. Working at the minimum wage, most lasted on the job for only a few days.
Unemployed once again, many turned to selling crack in a lucrative underground
economy, which placed them on a self-destructive track of drug addiction, violence, and
arrest. Even becoming bicultural, adopting Anglo office culture at work and street
culture at home, did not work well. Friends and family members accused them of
selling out their heritage.
In an epilogue, Bourgois notes that four things changed this bleak underground work
environment in Spanish Harlem during the late 1990s: the economy grew at a high and
sustained rate providing more jobs even for the poor; the size of the Mexican immigrant
population increased significantly in Spanish Harlem; the war on drugs criminalized
many of the poor; and marijuana, not crack, became the drug of choice. As a result,
more men found work in the regular economy. But despite this turn of events, Bourgois
concludes that there is little hope in the long run for New York’s inner city poor.
According to Bourgois in “Poverty at Work: Office Work and the Crack Alternative,”
the New York underground economy in which many Puerto Rican men work largely
consists of dirty sweatshop manufacturing jobs.
Cultural ecology is the most important form of subsistence strategy.
People can communicate using nonlinguistic symbols.
Manipulating Meaning: The Military Name Game
SARAH BOXER
Summary Today, several linguists (See work by George Lakoff, for example) have
looked at the way metaphor is used to frame a particular view of an event or policy.
This selection by Sarah Boxer provides an excellent example of the framing process.
Using information drawn from an article entitled “The Art of Naming Operations” by
Lt. Col. Gregory C. Sieminski, she shows how the names for military operations have
shifted in purpose from an inside code to a public symbol meant to shape public
perception. She concludes that the process is more difficult than one might think.
The naming of operations began during World War II by the Germans who initiated the
process as an inside secret code. The British did the same but with rules laid down by
Winston Churchill, who felt operations’ names should not be boastful, despondent, or
frivolous.
After World War II, the U.S. Pentagon started to name military operations for public
consumption, which inevitably led to controversies about what names should convey.
During the Korean conflict, for example, General MacArthur used aggressive names
such as “thunderbolt” and “ripper” for operations. The Vietnam War saw Lyndon
Johnson veto aggressive names; for him, the suggested operations name “masher”
sounded too aggressive and he replaced it with “white wing.” Following Vietnam, the
Pentagon bureaucracy codified the process. Each area command was given two-letter
sequences that would start two-word operations names. Further, the Pentagon
developed a computer program entitled “Code Word, Nickname, and Exercise Term
System” (called “NICKA” for short).
More recent operations naming involves a verb-noun sequence such as “promote
liberty” and “restore hope.” Because almost any choice of words seems to offend
someone, Boxer concludes that the new game is to find words without meaning.
Readers should note that today the first word of the two-word phrase does not need to
be a verb. “Iraqi Freedom,” is a case in point.
In “The Military Name Game,”Boxer shows how a modern computer program entitled
“Code Word, Nickname, and Exercise Term System,” or NICKA for short, has solved
most of the problems encountered by the Pentagon as it generates code names for
military operations.