ANTH 275 1-4 VOCAB

• Agency


  The ability of humans to make choices and exercise free will even within dominating structures
• Anthropology


  The study of humanity, including its prehistoric origins, and contemporary human diversity
• Applied Anthropology


  The use of anthropological knowledge to prevent or solve problems or to shape and achieve policy goals
• Archaeology


  The study of past human cultures through their material remains
• Biological Anthropology


  The study of humans as biological organisms, including evolution and contemporary variation
• Biological Determinism


  A theory that explains human behavior and ideas shaped mainly by biological features such as genes and hormones
• Class


  A way of categorizing people on the basis of their economic position in society, usually measured in terms of income or wealth
• Cultural Anthropology


  The study of living peoples and their cultures, including variation and change
• Cultural Constructivism

  A theory that explains human behavior and ideas as shaped mainly by learning
• Cultural Materialism


  An approach to studying culture by emphasizing the material aspects of life, including peoples environment, how people make a living, and differences in wealth and power
• Cultural Relativism


  The perspective that each culture must be understood in terms of the values and ideas of that culture and not judged by the standards of another culture
• Culture


  Peoples learned and shared behaviors and beliefs
• Ethnicity


  A way of categorizing people on the basis of the shared sense of identity based on history, heritage, language, or culture
• Ethnocentrism


  Judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture rather than by the standards of that particular culture
• Functionalism


  The theory that a culture is similar to a biological organism, in which parts work to support the operation and maintenances of the whole
• Gender


  A way of categorizing people based on their culturally constructed and learned behaviors and ideas as attributed to males, females, or blended genders
• Globalization


  Increased and intensified international ties related to the movement of goods, information, and people
• Holism


  The view that one must study all aspects of a culture to understand it
• Indigenous People


  People who have a long standing connection with their home territories that predates colonial or outside societies
• Interpretive Anthropology


  Symbolic approach, seeks to understand culture by studying what people think about, their ideas, and the meanings that are important to them
• Linguistic Anthropology


  The study of human communication, including its origins, history, and contemporary variation and change
• Localization


  The transformation of global culture by local cultures into something new
• Microculture


  A distinct pattern of learned and shared behavior and thinking found within a large culture
• Race


  A way of categorizing people into groups on the basis of supposedly homogenous and largely superficial biological traits such as skin color, or hair characteristics
• Structuralism


  A theoretical position concerning human behavior and ideas that says large forces such as the economy, social and political organization, and the media shape what people do and think
• Symbol


  An object, word, or action, with culturally defined meaning that stands for something else; most symbols are arbitrary
• Collaborative Research


  An approach to learning about culture that involves anthropologists working with members of the study population as partners and participants rather than as "subjects"
• Computational Anthropology


  A research approach that uses large quantitative data sets available through google, telephone use, and other computer based sources to provide large scale information about human preferences, values, and behaviors
• Culture Shock


  Persistent feelings of uneasiness, loneliness, and anxiety that often occur when a person has shifted from one culture to a different one
• Deductive Approach


  A research method that involves posing a research question or hypothesis, gathering data related to the question, and then assessing the findings in relation to the original hypothesis
• Emic


  Insiders' perceptions and categories, and their explanations for why they do what they do
• Ethnography


  A firsthand, detailed description of a living culture, based on a personal observation
• Etic


  An analytical framework used by outside analysts in studying a culture
• Fieldwork


  Research in the field, which is any place where people and culture are found
• Inductive Approach


  A research approach that avoids hypothesis formation in advance of the research and instead takes its lead from the culture being studied
• Indigenous Knowledge


  Local understanding of the environment, climate, and other matters related to livelihood and well-being
• Informed Consent


  An aspect of fieldwork ethics requiring that the researcher inform the research participants of the intent, scope, and possible effects of the proposed study and seek their consent to be in the study
• Interview


  A research technique that involves gathering verbal data through questions or guided conversation between at least two people
• Kula


  A trading network, linking many of the Trobriand Islands, in which men have long standing partnerships for the exchange of everyday goods, such as food, as well as high valued necklaces and armlets
• Agriculture


  A mode of livelihood that involves growing crops with the use of irrigation, fertilizer and plowing