- Anthro 4
- Prof. Varisco
- Spring 2001
-
- STUDY GUIDE FOR A4
CONCEPTS
- EXAM #1 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE (to be held
on 2/28/01)
- EXAM #2 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE (to be held
on 3/19/01)
- EXAM #3 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE (to be held
on 5/18/01)
- Suggestions for Studying
- Sample Concept Study Notes
- EXTRA CREDIT
EXAM #1 CONCEPT STUDY
GUIDE
- (to be held on 2/28/01)
-
-
- The short-answer questions on Exam #1 will be based on key
concepts, ideas, and approaches covered in class through 2/26/01.
I indicate the main reading for the concept, but you are also
responsible for what is said in class lectures. It is important to
know not only the "definition," but also be able to provide an
example from the course or apply the idea to something new. I will
choose questions from the following key issues for this exam.
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- • how anthropologists view the biology of "race" (Jurmain
et al.)
- • how anthropologist define culture (Goodenough)
- • relevance of ethnography for understanding what it
means to be human (Bohannan/Elst)
- • major contribution of Edward Tylor (Bohannan/Elst)
- • importance of "participant observation" as research
method (Bohannan/Elst)
- • main finding from Evans-Pritchard's research on the
Azande (Bohannan/Elst)
- • lessons to be learned from "cultural relativism"
- • Kelantan attitudes toward time (Raybeck)
- • basic features of kinship code (Stone, pp. 7-8)
- • basic forms of descent (Stone)
- • culture shock faced by Raybeck in field and back in USA
(Raybeck)
- • traditional Kelantan values, as explained by Raybeck
(Raybeck)
- • field methods used by Raybeck as psychological
anthropologist (Raybeck)
- • role of women in Kelantan society (Raybeck)
- • ethical guidelines for ethnographic study of people (as
defined by the AAA)
-
EXAM #2 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE
- (to be held on 3/19/01)
-
- The short-answer questions on Exam #2 will be based on key
concepts, ideas, and approaches covered in class through 3/19/01.
I indicate the main reading for the concept, but you are also
responsible for what is said in class lectures. It is important to
know not only the "definition," but also be able to provide an
example from the course or apply the idea to something new. I will
choose questions from the following key issues for this exam.
-
- • main features of Yemeni tribalism (Varisco 1988)
- • social role of "qat" (Catha edulis) in Yemeni
society (Varisco 1988)
- • social function of cousin marriage in Yemen
(Stevenson)
- • social aspects of brother-in-law relationship in Yemen
(Stevenson)
- • reactions in Yemen to screening of Borelli's film
(Borelli)
- • social factors in Tonga leading to emigration by
Tongans to America (Small)
- • specific problems and pulls in being a "Tongan
American"(Small)
- • Experience of Atu in adjusting to American life
(Small)
- • impact of "remittances" on Tonga in 1990s (Small)
- • key aspects of the "Tongan Way" of acting (Small)
- • Cathy Small's changing views on "cultural relativism"
(Small)
- • concept of "transnational family" (Small)
EXAM #3 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE
- (to be held on 5/18/01)
-
- The short-answer questions on Exam #3 will be based on key
concepts, ideas, and approaches covered in class through 5/18/01.
I indicate the main reading for the concept, but you are also
responsible for what is said in class lectures. It is important to
know not only the "definition," but also be able to provide an
example from the course or apply the idea to something new. I will
choose questions from the following key issues for this exam.
-
- • cultural variation in attitudes towards premarital sex
(Gray and Wolfe)
- • cultural explanation for Sambian homosexual behavior
(Gray and Wolfe)
- • Boddy's explanation as to why Sudanese women perform
"zar" (Boddy)
- • Western cultural explanations for "circumcision" before
the medical argument (Riner)
- • Why clitoridectomy was practiced in Victorian England
(Anees)
- • Cultural meaning of "mass rape" as argued by
Hayden
- • Why "cultural relativism" does not work as a public
policy (Bohannan/Elst)
- • How does "Lords of the Garden" valorize cannibalism as
a film? (Morris)
- • How do tabloids portray anthropologists differently
than the mainstream press (Peterson)
- • Major cultural issues dealt with in "Kisses in the
Nederends" according to Hereniko (Editor's Note)
- • Hau'ofa's view on what was most valuable in Tongan
culture in dealing with his own pain (that led to his novel).
- • Cerroni-Long's view of her own classroom experience on
fostering student views about anthropology (Cerroni-Long)
- • Cerroni-Long's interpretation of "anthropological
holism" (Cerroni-Long)
- • Why Jefferson Fish thinks "psychology" is ethnocentric
(Fish)
- • Impact of "ethnocentrism" in the emerging global
culture (Bohannan/Elst)
Sample Concept Study Notes
-
- In order to provide an example of what I would consider
"comprehensive" study notes for a concept, consider the notes you
could take for the concept:
-
- CONCEPT: Kelantan attitudes about privacy
- [Note: Raybeck's main discussion of this issue is on pp.
25 and 36-40]
- • absence of privacy was most difficult problem facing
Raybecks in field (p. 25)
- • had to adjust in order to gain villager's trust (p.
26)
- • embarrased because he had dysentery and had to run to
the toilet a lot (p. 39)
- • Kel. do not value "privacy" as such; don't even have
word for it (p. 25)
- • people suspicious of those who keep to themselves,
because it is a small, close-knit society where everybody knows
everybody (p. 25)
- • my question: will this change at the village
modernizes and more people move in and out?
- • lots of gossip here
- • co-villagers need to respect each other and not hide
things (p. 36)
- • not easy to find privacy in village, even doors left
open for guests (p. 37)
- • my question: don't they worry about people
stealing things?
- • way houses are built means anyone can hear loud
arguments (p. 37)
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-
Suggestions for Studying:
-
- • Keep notes on the issues listed above as you read about
them or hear about them in class lectures. One way to do this is
to write each issue at the top of a file card or sheet of paper
and jot down notes as you read and study that will serve as a
study guide for the concept exam.
- • I will be glad to look over your notes to make
suggestions (except at the last minute before the exam!). The best
way to do this is to make an appointment and come to my office,
where we can go over them together.
- • If you do not understand the idea from the reading or
as it is discussed in the relevant class, you need to ask for
clarification in that class, email me or come and see me in my
office.
-
-
Extra Credit:
-
- Each student in the class has an opportunity to earn
extra-credit points while at the same point properly preparing for
the first two exams. Students who hand in their study notes (these
can be hand-written) at the time of the exam can earn up to 3
extra credit points, according to the following criteria:
-
- 3 points (comprehensive and concise notes for each
concept)
- 2 points (adequate notes for each concept)
- 1 point (adequate notes for at least half of the
concepts)
-
- NOTE: If you choose not to prepare seriously for the exam,
you will probably not do well on it.
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