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Which one of the following is not true about Tibetan polyandry?
a. Polyandry eliminates sexual competition among brothers.
b. Polyandry lowers the birth rate.
c. Polyandry enables wealthier farmers to maintain their higher standard of living.
d. Polyandry is often preferred by Tibetans.
Spaniards who convert to Islam
a. are required to legally change their status as a Spanish citizen to reflect this
conversion.
b. face little discrimination and are accepted throughout the country.
c. endanger their social standing as recognized and respected members of Spanish
society.
d. are welcomed with open arms by Muslims who have immigrated to Spain from
Muslim countries.
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, a personal relationship is required to begin a business transaction.
In "Conversation Style: Talking on the Job," Tannen notes that of all the examples of
conversational-style differences between men and women that lead to troublesome
outcomes, __________ has attracted the most attention of her readers.
a. men's tendency to interrupt women in normal conversation
b. women's tendency to criticize men when they talk with other women
c. women's tendency to be indirect when they talk with men
d. men's tendency to avoid asking directions of other people
In "Global Women in the New Economy,"Ehrenreich and Hochschild report that one of
the greatest problems faced by women who migrate from Third World countries for
work in the First World is
a. finding enough money to travel to jobs outside their home country.
b. lack of sufficient education to hold jobs in the First World.
c. resentment of the kinds of jobs they are forced to take in the First World.
d. long separation from their children and family members.
Negotiating Work and Family in America DIANNA SHANDY AND KARINE MOE
Summary In this article, Dianna Shandy and Karine Moe explore the complexities of
the latest research on how generations of women have handled the challenges of
negotiating work and family in America. By combining labor statistics, interviews with
more than 100 women, focus groups, and surveys of nearly 1000 college graduates, the
authors explore the advances of women in the workforce, their experiences juggling
families and careers outside of the home, and the subsequent choices new generations
of women are making in this area.
Anthropologists used to view the gender relationship between men and women as one
of inherent male domination. Ernestine Friedl, however, argued that control of publicly
distributed resources was key to women's power. Among the Hadza of Tanzania for
example, men and women gather food equally, and subsequently relate to one another
with relative gender equality. In contrast, when men supply virtually all of the food,
such as among the Inuit of the Arctic, there is significant gender inequality.
Similar cultural ranking exists in the United States. In the United States one's
occupation determines relative rank. Today, women hold positions previously reserved
for men onlypositions that include leadership, management, and business ownership.
Women make up half of the workforce on all U.S. payrolls, and own one third of the
businesses in the United States. Additionally, women now account for more than 50
percent of all college students and are the majority of those enrolled in graduate or
professional schools. Women have made great strides toward gender equality in the
workplace over the last few decades, but many are still opting out when they have
children.
Many gender-related factors both push women out of the workforce and pull them
toward family and home, such as a woman's "second shift" or experiencing a "glass
ceiling" (the proverbial barrier preventing advancement to a higher position). Unlike
other industrialized nations, women in the United States of at least three generations
have experienced and continue to experience significant structural barriers to flexible
and affordable childcare.
Given the low cultural ranking given of the occupation of "full-time motherhood,"
women often struggle to maintain a sense of gender equality, prestige, and power while
at home. Some do so by forming strong social groups. Still others describe themselves
as career women taking time off to stay home with kids.
According to Shandy and Moe in "Negotiating Work and Family in America,"
anthropologist Ernestine Friedl argues that control of publicly shared resources, such as
animal proteins, in hunter-gatherer societies determines the degree to which females are
equal to males.
In "Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage," Dubisch notes that the carnival period
preceding Lent meets the criteria of a ritual because it
a. protects individuals.
b. moves individuals from one social status to another.
c. maintains order in the world.
d. designates a period of time when special activities are permitted.
According to Scheper-Hughes in "Mother's Love: Death Without Weeping," three of the
following statements are true about how the death of poor babies were treated in Alto
do Cruzeiro and Bom Jesus de Mata, Brazil. Which one is not?
a. Babies were buried without headstones or markers.
b. Infant graves were reused for other infant burials later.
c. Midwives encouraged mothers of dead babies to grieve.
d. Civil authorities only required a two-paragraph report when a baby died.
A central point that Dubisch makes about the men who participate in the Run for the
Wall is that
a. they wish to repair the emotional wounds caused by their Vietnam war experiences
and unpleasant homecomings.
b. they are motivated by a desire to embarrass those who opposed the war.
c. they enjoy showing off their expensive motorcycles to onlookers.
d. they seek to increase veterans appropriations by publicly pressuring Congress.
In Nigeria, power and authority derive from
a. ownership of landed property.
b. the ability to grant favors to loyal dependents.
c. a person's wealth.
d. a person's social class.
According to Sutherland in "The Case of an American Gypsy," a young Gypsy man was
indicted by the government for
a. hiding his identity from authorities.
b. stealing cars.
c. using a relative's Social Security number.
d. lying to authorities about his real American name.
Of the many stereotypical personas active in the coal mining industry, __________
comprise only a minority of the workforce.
a. ultra macho men
b. bitches
c. ladies
d. tomboys
According to McCurdy in "Motorcycles, Membership, and Belonging," because the
GWRRA is organized around couples and not individuals, the GWRRA has
unintentionally
a. diminished the role of women within the organization; women hold very few
positions of authority and make up a minority at all organized events.
b. offended women, causing them to form their own Gold Wing riding association.
c. created an important role for women in the organization; women hold high-level
positions and make up a majority of volunteers at rallies and fund-raisers.
d. largely ignored women who ride motorcycles in the United States and Canada.
Family and Kinship in Village India
DAVID W. McCURDY
Summary In this article, David McCurdy describes the importance of kinship among
rural Bhil tribal peoples living in Ratakote, a hill village located in the southern part of
Rajasthan near Udaipur, India. He argues that an elaborate and extended kinship system
is not only a useful way for peasants to organize their labor, land holdings, and broader
social connections, but that it is also a system that can be adapted to the
market-dominated economic system currently emerging in India.
Americans find it difficult to comprehend the importance of extended kinship, but for
the Bhils, the significance of kinship seems elementary. A wedding arranged by a
villager for his daughter in 1985 illustrates the point nicely. To begin the arrangement,
the father must consult the members of his patrilineage, who must later provide money
and labor for the wedding. He will send out word to his feminal kinthe relatives of the
women who have married into his line and the relatives of the men that women of his
line have marriedin other villages. When prospective grooms are found, the first
consideration is clan membership. Clans are large and consist of local lineages living in
many villages over a wide territory. Bhils cannot marry into their own, their mother's, or
their father's mother's clans; this constitutes incest.
Once a suitable spouse is found, negotiations commence to set a dapa (bride price), the
money and prestige goods given by the groom's family to that of the bride. Bride price
is part of an exchange for the labor and loyalty of the bride. Marriage becomes an
alliance between the two families but involves potential conflict. To clearly state that
rights to her loyalty, labor, and children shift to her husband's family at marriage, the
wedding ceremony symbolizes the bride's removal from her natal group. After
marriage, a relationship built on formal respect keeps the bride's family at a proper
distance.
Extended kinship systems seem well suited to agrarian peasant life where families best
control landholding and economic production. Today, India is industrializing and the
market economy is attracting many rural peasants to cities as well as restructuring
economic relationships in rural villages. The market economy can easily weaken
kinship systems by providing individuals with salaries and independence, causing
people to move to find work, and creating jobs that compete for time with family
obligations. Despite expansion of the market, Indians, including the Bhils described in
this article, have adapted kinship relationships to provide support as they scatter across
their country and around the world.
In "Family and Kinship in Village India," McCurdy notes that clans are localized
organizations of relatives, made up of a person's close male relatives who are all
descended from a known common ancestor.
The cultural rule that prohibits sexual intercourse among defined classes of relatives is
called
a. the incest taboo.
b. polygamy.
c. endogamy.
d. hypergamy.
In "Reciprocity and the Power of Giving," Cronk, citing work by sociologist Warren
Hagstrom, argues that __________ represent gifts in a system of reciprocal exchange.
a. citations in academic articles
b. business lunches
c. alcoholic drinks
d. blankets, coppers, and arm shells
According to Miner in "Body Ritual among the Nacirema," the Nacirema often undergo
_________ procedures in order to care for their bodies.
a. month-long
b. painful
c. ineffective
d. sophisticated
Which one of the following subsistence strategies would most typically be found to
support permanent settlements containing between 50 and 250 people?
a. hunting and gathering
b. horticulture
c. agriculture
d. pastoral
In the Western system of legal domination, an official's authority is based on
a. a given office, not the person who holds that office.
b. a combination of tradition and arbitrary decisions by the individual in charge.
c. who the officeholder knows in power above him or her.
d. how many individuals are indebted to him or her for past favors.
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," Sutherland describes a case in which a young
Gypsy man was accused of fraud by police in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Anything that contributes to the adoption of public policy and its enforcement is called
a. authority.
b. coercion.
c. legitimacy.
d. support.
How Sushi Went Global
THEODORE C. BESTOR
Summary This article by Theodore Bestor reveals the complex network of
relationships that define a global economic system. Focusing on sushi, a traditional
Japanese cuisine, Bestor shows how the international adoption of the culinary custom,
and especially its centerpiece, raw bluefin tuna, has created a global system that
involves Atlantic fishing and fish farming, national and environmental regulations,
realignments of labor and capital, and shifting markets.
The article begins with a description of a bluefin auction at a fishing pier near Bath
main. About 20 buyers evaluate and bid on three large bluefins, consulting buyers in the
Tsukiui fish market in Japan by cell phone to establish prices. Once bought, the fish are
packed in ice and flown to Japan. Japanese have a long-term affection for the bluefin, a
fish that was originally caught only for sport in the United States. The Japanese had
turned to international tuna suppliers in the past, when the world adopted a rule that
restricted fishing boats from one nation from fishing within 200 miles of the coast of
another country. Jumbo jets brought fresh New England bluefin into easy reach of
Japan, and U.S. fishermen began to catch and export the large tuna. The 1980s were
prosperous for Japan, which sustained the market for bluefin, but the economic bubble
burst in the early "90s. Just in time, North Americans developed a taste for sushi,
creating a strong market for the fish. As sushi became more and more popular in the
United States, and later Europe, the expanded market increased fishing activity all
across the Atlantic, and gave rise to fish farming, especially in Spanish and Croatian
waters. But markets rely on supply and demand; in 1999 the Japanese managed to catch
a year's supply of tuna in three days, reducing demand and prices. Prices also fell when
environmental conditions in the Mediterranean resulted in reduced oxygen in the water.
About 800 tuna in a Spanish fish trap suffocated and were caught and processed
immediately, causing an oversupply that lowered tuna prices around the world.
Today, the market for tuna continues to thrive. The best bluefin still go to Japan where
the market is still strongest, but the rest satisfy palates in many other parts of the world.
Now fishermen often come in conflict with customers, governments, regulators, and
environmentalists around the world as they catch or farm tuna. Because tuna fishing is a
local industry, local economies based on fishing may be affected instantly by changes in
world prices for the fish.
Bestor also points out that a global market does not necessarily mean cultural
homogenization. Sushi, he argues, is considered a Japanese delicacy no matter where in
the world it is eaten.
In "How Sushi Went Global," Bestor notes that bluefin tuna are now raised in Spanish
waters near Gibraltar, where they are fed by hand.
Law and Order
JAMES P. SPRADLEY AND DAVID W. McCURDY
Summary In this article, Spradley and McCurdy present law in the context of dispute
resolution, using cases drawn from anthropologist Laura Nader's work in Ralu"a, a
Zapotec Indian village located in southern Mexico.
The article deals with several concepts: the structure of legal culture, including
substantive law and procedural law, legal levels, legal principles, and cultural values.
Substantive law consists of the legal statutes that define right and wrong. This is
illustrated by the flirtation of a married man with an unmarried woman, which the
Zapotec treat as a crime. Similarly, the case of a son who harvested coffee from his
father's land without permission is also defined as a crime to be dealt with by the
community's legal system.
Legal levels refer to the ways in which disputes are settled by different kinds of
authority agents. Among the Zapotec, several levels for settling disputes exist. Disputes
can be settled by family elders, witches, local officials, the priest, supernatural beings,
or officials in the municipio. If all else fails, the dispute can be taken to the district court
in Villa Alta.
Procedural law refers to the agreed-upon ways to settle disputes, which are often
unwritten, and therefore implicit in nature. In Ralu"a, for example, it is generally
agreed that one should not take family disputes to court, and disputes between villagers
(such as an argument over the washing stone) should be taken to court only if they
cannot be settled between the disputing individuals beforehand. In this case, the dispute
was settled when the presidente (village chairman who also presides over the village
court) and other elected village officials formed a work force, improved the washing
facilities at the well, and declared that washing stones would no longer be owned by
individuals.
Legal systems reflect legal principles and cultural values. Legal principles are based
on the fundamental values of a culture; a legal principle is a broad conception of some
desirable state of affairs that gives rise to many substantive and procedural rules.
Americans put great emphasis on establishing truth, while for the Zapotec, a major legal
principle is to "make the balance." This means to encourage compromise and settlement
so that disputes disappear and disputants get along with each other in the future. This in
turn is based on the Zapotec cultural value of maintaining social equilibrium. A direct
confrontation between individuals where one loses and another wins is unsettling to
community members.
According to Spradley and McCurdy in "Law and Order," there is no substantive law
that prohibits a man from beating his wife in the Zapotec village of Ralu"a.
During one season when Gmelch was playing baseball, he refrained from eating
pancakes. This is an example of what anthropologists call
a. a taboo.
b. mana.
c. charms.
d. a ritual.
Medical Anthropology: Improving Nutrition in Malawi
SONIA PATTEN
Summary In this article, anthropologist Sonia Patten describes her experience as an
anthropologist on a team of researchers working to improve infant and child nutrition in
rural Malawi, a small nation in Africa. She and colleagues from two American
universities, under the auspices of the University Development Linkages Program,
worked with faculty from a college in the University of Malawi system to develop and
implement a program addressing the mortality rate for children, a rate that at the time
was very nearly one in four.
Patten and her team members developed a plan to provide milk-producing goats to the
women of the villages, teach them how to care for and raise the animals, and show them
how to incorporate the protein- and calorie-rich milk into recipes that they could feed
their malnourished children. The team met with village leaders and elders to convince
them to allow women to own the goats, explain how the plan would work, and ensure
them that this was a worthwhile effort to help combat the malnutrition their children
faced. Once convinced, researchers identified villages that would be the best candidates
for this social researchthose with an animal-theft problem were considered too
problematic to include in the project.
A baseline survey of households that included children under five was conducted, while
scientists from the research team crossbred goats with the necessary characteristics on a
local Malawi farm. Eventually women were provided with a goat and the basic toolsa
bucket, a measuring cup, and a panto get started. Local members of the research team
taught the women how to incorporate the goat's milk into their children's food and made
weekly visits to villages to weigh and measure the children. The children, even those
who were receiving even small amounts of goat's milk, all showed steady height and
weight gains, at least for a time.
The project continued to address food insecurity problems and issues that arose from
the goat-raising efforts. The researchers taught the women how to plant, grow, and
process soybeans into flour that they could use when no goat's milk was available. All
of their efforts were sustainablewomen were asked to return their first baby goat to the
researchers and 5 kg of seed after the first harvest. The research team's efforts worked
within the culture of the Malawi, incorporated indigenous resources, and were
conducted in the native language of the villagers.
The author concludes that the project was highly valued by rural women, as evidenced
by the number who wanted to participate. It proved that the addition of goat's milk to a
child's diet was valuable, and the success of the project is noted by similar projects that
were introduced by Malawi nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, Patten
elaborates on the importance of having an anthropologist on a research team, and
identifies her role and responsibilities. Her expertise proved valuable to the acceptance
of the project and the high level of participation by the Malawian villagers.
In Malawi, babies are breastfed for only six months before mothers begin to wean them
onto a gruel made from water and rice flour.
The phrase "tax burden" is a good example of the use of
a. hyperbole.
b. metaphor.
c. non-linguistic symbols.
d. linguistic crossover.
The passage of a cultural idea, culturally defined behavior, or culturally produced
artifact from one society to another through borrowing is called
a. cultural diffusion.
b. multiculturalism.
c. cultural hybridization.
d. globalization.
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 felt that Laertes bewitched his sister, Ophelia, so that he could sell her body to
raise money to repay gambling debts.
Lee feels that the key to successful subsistence for many hunter-gatherers, such as the !
Kung, is
a. adequate defense against the encroachment of other hunting and gathering groups.
b. dietary selectivity.
c. dependence largely on a diet of edible plants.
d. band loyalty and membership stability.
In "Advice for Developers," Alverson observes that the Tswana see time as
a. lineal.
b. connected to events. Time happens when events happen.
c. a non-concept. The Tswana do not think in terms of time.
d. measured by a cycle of ritual occasions.
Like the women in hunter-gatherer societies who share the responsibility for food
supply, Shandy and Moe argue in "Negotiating Work and Family in America" that U.S.
women
a. now hold jobs traditionally reserved for men but have not gained the power and
equality that comes with these jobs.
b. still do not have access to education, jobs, and income as men do.
c. have increasingly gained power and equality as they hold jobs once reserved for men.
d. have gained access to education, but have not made inroads in equality in the area
of corporate and government jobs.
The situation where more than one different culture is part of a larger social aggregate is
called
a. multicultural.
b. cultural diffusion.
c. cultural hybridization.
d. globalization.
According to Spradley and McCurdy in "Law and Order," in the Zapotec village of
Ralu"a two casesa flirtation of a married man and a son who took coffee from his father
without permissionillustrate
a. substantive law.
b. procedural law.
c. a legal principle.
d. infralegal law.
Melissa, one of the subjects of Jessica Smith Rolston's essay "Women in the Mine,"
identifies herself as a
a. tomboy.
b. bitch.
c. lady.
d. girly girl.
According to Patten in "Malawi Versus the World Bank," officials of the World Bank
thought that __________ were the reason why Malawi experienced a balance of
payments problem in the 1980s.
a. government corruption
b. lack of a manufacturing sector in the economy
c. fertilizer subsidies
d. military expenditures
When people buy and sell goods and services on the basis of price, supply, and demand,
we call the process redistributive exchange.
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a kind of horticulture.
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 asserts that the original World War II purpose of
naming military operations was to generate public approval for them.
Conversation Style: Talking on the Job
DEBORAH TANNEN
Summary In this selection excerpted from her book Talking from 9 to 5, Deborah
Tannen describes misunderstandings in the work place based on the different speaking
styles of men and women. Tannen notes that most people blame miscommunication on
the intentions, different abilities, and character of others, or on their own failure or the
failure of the relationship. Miscommunication in the work place, however, often occurs
between men and women because gender is a basic indicator of identity and because
men and women learn different styles of speaking.
Tannen introduces an example of gender-based misunderstanding in which a female
manager first uses praise then follows with suggestions to improve a male employee's
substandard report. The manager thinks she is diplomatic; the employee mistakes her
comments solely as praise and miscommunication occurs. When the revised report is
submitted, few of the suggested changes appear, and the employee thinks the manager
has been dishonest by first praising and now criticizing the report. The differences,
argues Tanner, have to do with different styles of speaking. Men avoid being put in a
one-down position by using oppositions such as banter, joking, teasing, and playful
put-downs. Women seek the appearance of equality and try to avoid flexing their
muscles to get jobs done. The misunderstandings occur when actors take each other's
speaking styles literally.
The remainder of the selection deals with a particular male speaking style, the
reluctance to ask directions. Women ask directions because it seems to be the fastest
way to get things done. Men hesitate to ask questions, claiming that they develop their
navigation skills by going at things independently. Tannen argues that men avoid asking
questions because it puts them in a one- down position. Each style has its pitfalls. Male
pilots or doctors who fail to ask questions may endanger their own or other people's
lives. Female doctors and managers who ask too many questions may risk signaling that
they are tentative or unsure of themselves.
Tannen concludes by saying that neither style is inherently wrong, just different, and
that speakers should be aware of gender-based speaking styles and flexible in their own
use of them.
In "Conversation Style: Talking on the Job," Tannen claims that men's failure to ask for
directions is a serious flaw in communications between the sexes in the workplace and
should be changed.
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.
Herbert Blumer developed a theory of symbolic interactionism.
Reciprocity and the Power of Giving
LEE CRONK
Summary Cronk argues that everywhere in the world, gifts are used positively to
establish and maintain social relationships, but also negatively to intimidate and fight
others. These characteristics apply just as fully to gift exchange in industrial societies as
they do for other peoples.
Anthropologists learned about the complexities of gift giving through first-hand
experience during fieldwork. Richard Lee's !Kung informants criticized his gift of an
ox, saying the ox was thin and inadequate when clearly it was not. (See article 2 in
Conformity and Conflict). Rada Dyson-Hudson met with a similar reaction when she
attempted to give pots to her Turkana informants. Cronk also experienced the same
reaction when he gave clothing to the Mukogodo, who elaborate the act of gift
exchange more than do most people. In every case, informants attached different
meanings to gift giving than did the anthropologists..
Gift giving has several dimensions, including how the gift is received and how it is
reciprocated. Often "to reciprocate at once indicates a desire to end the relationship,"
Cronk points out. He also notes that some gift giving arrangements, such as hxaro
among the !Kung, are designed solely to maintain a friendly relationship. In addition,
the worth of gifts may not be taken into account. The Trobriand kula ring, involving
shell necklaces and armbands, represents one of the most elaborate gift exchanges ever
described by anthropologists.
Gift giving may not always be benevolent. The Kwakiutl potlatch, where rivals tried to
"flatten" each other with gifts, is a good example. Potlatching actually became a
substitute for war after the Canadian government suppressed real fighting.
Reciprocal gift giving is also important in U.S. society. Examples include a form of
benevolent gift giving, called swapping among African Americans living in an area of
Illinois called the flats. Scientific papers, usually referred to as contributions, are really
gifts and have higher value than those papers written for money. Even the citations of
other people's work so liberally scattered throughout academic papers may be viewed as
a form of gift exchange.
Gifts may also be used to manipulate people, as Grace Goodell documents for a World
Bank-funded project in Iran. The gift of an irrigation project crushed local level
political organizations and shifted control to the central government. International
relations often involve gift giving. The "concessions" made between the U.S. and Soviet
governments during disarmament negotiations several years ago are a good example.
Cronk concludes by pointing out that American Indians understood the gift's power to
unify, antagonize, or subjugate and that all of us would do well to learn the same lesson.
According to Cronk in "Reciprocity and the Power of Giving," the phrase "Indian
giver" arose because North American Indians misunderstood European customs and
wanted gifts they gave to colonists to be returned promptly and with interest.
The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari
RICHARD BORSHAY LEE
With an update by Richard Lee and Megan Biesele
Summary Basing his conclusions on an extensive study of !Kung subsistence activity
and nutrition in 1963, Richard Lee challenges the notion that hunters and gatherers
lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Despite residence in the Kalahari Desert, where there
is an average yearly rainfall of only six to nine inches, !Kung managed to lead a
remarkably stable, relaxed existence. They resided in camps located at permanent water
holes. They frequently visited relatives in other camps but rarely moved long distances
to hunt and gather.
Overall, hunter gathering provided over 85% of subsistence needs. A key to assured
subsistence was the availability of vegetable foods, particularly the mongongo nut. !
Kung could subsist entirely on such foods although they preferred meat. Vegetable
foods made up 60 to 80 percent of their diet. The abundance of their sparse environment
was revealed by the fact that !Kung ate selectively, consuming only some of the edible
plant and animal species found around them. A significant number of !Kung lived
beyond the age of 60, and approximately 40 percent of the population did no productive
work. !Kung spent only about two and one-half days a week in productive activity,
using the remainder of their time for leisure activities. Lee concluded that for many
hunting and gathering groups, a dependence on plant foods produced a stable, effective
way of life.
The way of life described for 1963 has changed, however. By 1994, most Ju/"Hoansi !
Kung were living in permanent settlements, eking out a living by herding, farming, and
craft production. Hunting and gathering now only supply about 30 percent of their
subsistence needs. The spread of commercial ranching on the areas in which they
traditionally foraged may soon reduce this figure to zero.
One reason the study of !Kung subsistence patterns is so important is the rarity of the
case; the !Kung had had no contact with other people until the study began in 1963.
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.
According to Sutherland in "The Case of an American Gypsy," the largest group to
which Gypsies belong is called the vitsa.
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.
In the Fouta Djallon highlands of Guinea in West Africa, an individual's marital status
has no bearing on his or her standing within the community.
Nuer Refugees in America
DIANNA SHANDY
Summary In this article updated in 2015, Dianna Shandy, who has conducted
ethnographic research among Nuer refugees in the upper Midwest since 1997, looks at
what their status as refugees means, how they managed to come to the United States,
why they were located in more than 30 different U.S. states, how a people raised as
cattle herders survive and adapt to life in a U.S. urban setting, and what this tells us
about "the interconnectedness of a globalizing world and anthropology's role in it."
Although no special categories were assigned to people who first migrated to the United
States (they were all simply called immigrants), today there are at least two categories ,
migrants and refugees based on their reasons for coming here. The United Nations (UN)
defines refugees as people who have left a country because of a well-founded fear of
persecution based on race; religion; nationality; membership in a particular social
group; or political opinion. They are not merely IDPs (internally displaced persons)
who have left home but are willing to return. To manage the refugee "problem" (by
2014 there were 60 million refugees in the world), there is a UN agency headed by a
high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR). The UN and many countries see three
solutions for refugee placement: voluntary repatriation, integration into a country of
asylum, or rarely, third-country resettlement. Typically, refugees are first housed in
camps, and then certified for resettlement. The United States takes in a limited number
of refugees and employs the UN criteria for refugee certification. But decisions about
who is eligible vary, based on officials' interpretations of the criteria and ever shifting
resettlement policies. Officials also must deal with cross-cultural differences and
language barriers as they decide who is a refugee and who is an "economic refugee"
(someone whose main motive to move is for economic advantage).
The Nuer who live in the United States have made it through this bureaucratic process.
Thok Ding, who is mentioned in the article, was brought up herding cattle in a Nuer
pastoral village, experienced the death of his father when northerners attacked his
village, moved with his family to a camp in Ethiopia, attended and excelled at a
Christian mission school there, moved to another camp for further schooling, moved
back to the Sudan with his family when fighting broke out in Ethiopia, traveled back to
Addis Ababa where he joined friends, moved to a camp in Kenya, applied for refugee
status with the UN there, and was eventually accepted for refugee resettlement by the
United States. His arrival and settlement in the United States was facilitated by
Lutheran Social Services, a volunteer organization ("volag" to insiders) contracted by
the United States. Helped by the organization, he was placed in Minneapolis, settled in
an apartment, and guided toward a job. Later he left Minneapolis for Des Moines and a
job in the meat packing industry, where he hopes to continue his education, save money,
marry a woman from the South Sudan, and bring his family, with whom he corresponds
frequently and to whom he sends money, to the United States.
The case illustrates several points. Refugee issues are complex and varied, and involve
endless bureaucratic hurdles. Refugees who manage to gain resettlement (many do not)
must be tenacious, ambitious, clever, and opportunistic. The Nuer make successful
refugees because many possess these characteristics.
According to Shandy in "Nuer Refugees in America," the first anthropologist to conduct
and publish extensive ethnography about the Nuer was Sir E. E. Evans-Pritchard.
For most people, language uses the channel of sight for communication.
A family is a kin group made up of at least one married couple sharing the same
residence with their children and performing sexual, reproductive, economic, and
educational functions.
Cultural hybridization is the economic incorporation of different parts of the world
into a system based on capitalism, not politics.
According to Dubisch in "Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage," motorcycles are
associated with _____________in American culture.
a cooperation
b. freedom
c. veterans
d. criminal behavior
Anthropologists usually recognize two kinds of social stratification: egalitarian and
rank.
The Hunters: Scarce Resources in the Kalahari
RICHARD BORSHAY LEE
With an update by Richard Lee and Megan Biesele
Summary Basing his conclusions on an extensive study of !Kung subsistence activity
and nutrition in 1963, Richard Lee challenges the notion that hunters and gatherers
lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Despite residence in the Kalahari Desert, where there
is an average yearly rainfall of only six to nine inches, !Kung managed to lead a
remarkably stable, relaxed existence. They resided in camps located at permanent water
holes. They frequently visited relatives in other camps but rarely moved long distances
to hunt and gather.
Overall, hunter gathering provided over 85% of subsistence needs. A key to assured
subsistence was the availability of vegetable foods, particularly the mongongo nut. !
Kung could subsist entirely on such foods although they preferred meat. Vegetable
foods made up 60 to 80 percent of their diet. The abundance of their sparse environment
was revealed by the fact that !Kung ate selectively, consuming only some of the edible
plant and animal species found around them. A significant number of !Kung lived
beyond the age of 60, and approximately 40 percent of the population did no productive
work. !Kung spent only about two and one-half days a week in productive activity,
using the remainder of their time for leisure activities. Lee concluded that for many
hunting and gathering groups, a dependence on plant foods produced a stable, effective
way of life.
The way of life described for 1963 has changed, however. By 1994, most Ju/"Hoansi !
Kung were living in permanent settlements, eking out a living by herding, farming, and
craft production. Hunting and gathering now only supply about 30 percent of their
subsistence needs. The spread of commercial ranching on the areas in which they
traditionally foraged may soon reduce this figure to zero.
According to Lee, in 1963 the !Kung had more leisure time than average Americans.
