Criticism of untraditional and unfamiliar religions

The term “cult” is almost always used in criticism of untraditional and unfamiliar religions. Do you believe this is fair, based on the lecture and your reading this week? Is “brainwashing” an accurate and fair description of the influence that some charismatic religious leaders have over their followers? Why or why not? Please illustrate your answer with examples from the week’s reading.

The evolution of human behavior

Has evolution shaped our minds like it shaped our physical features? and 2) Are humans still evolving today and why?” We’ve learned a lot since the beginning of the course and hopefully, you currently have a more complete understanding of the evolution of human behavior. I want you to assess how your thoughts on this topic have changed. How would your answers to these questions be different than they were at the start of the course?

 

Explain the existence of generalized reciprocity

For thousands of years, humans have related to each other through ties of reciprocity (exchange of things or favors for mutual benefit). The textbook describes two main kinds of reciprocity: generalized reciprocity and balanced reciprocity. Describe them and the social situations in which they are likely to be practiced. At first glance, generalized reciprocity may seem like irrational behavior. However, the textbook provides logical reasons to explain the existence of generalized reciprocity. Describe these reasons. Do you find them convincing? Why? Or why not?

The proponents of traditional marriage

The proponents of traditional marriage often claim that a heterosexual and monogamous union is the most “natural” form of marriage (implying that non-conventional forms of marriage are “unnatural”). Have monogamy and heterosexual unions been the only or dominant forms of marriages worldwide? Please incorporate information from the chapters on marriage and family in your response.

The meaning and purpose of marriage

A lot of the opposition to same-sex families comes from religious people who consider these families as violating their religious beliefs (about the meaning and purpose of marriage). Do you think a multicultural society should base its definition of marriage on a religious foundation? What does anthropology tell us about the purpose and function of marriage across cultures?

Significance of the production of local cultural forms for tourist consumption

How can the concept of ’emergent authenticity’ be used, or how is it used, to understand the significance of the production of local cultural forms for tourist consumption as discussed in the Cohodas and Medina readings? In your response, you should consider: Cohodas’ discussion of the local significance of Elizabeth Hickox’s production of curio baskets; and Medina’s discussion of the production of Maya cultural forms in Belize. You should consider, where appropriate, how the concept of emergent authenticity could help us understand how meanings of ‘authenticity’ could be applied to these cultural forms by both producers (artisans) and consumers (tourists).

Discuss a specific solution to the Challenge of Surveying U.S. Latinos

Discuss a specific solution to the Challenge of Surveying U.S. Latinos, make a recommendation to address this, and discuss why your recommendation would work.

What if any demographic changes do you see in Latino/populations: where are they moving, are they moving away from traditional areas, are they living in urban or rural settings, and what other data do you find interesting? How are we to factor segregation into our analysis – by this I mean does segregation help explain any of the phenomena you’ve noted?

Study of oriental medicine

Based on your study of oriental medicine, what are the two most important cultural concepts of the worldview of patients of this system that would need to be understood by biomedical doctors if they are also treating the same patients in US hospitals? For example, some cultures do not recognize the same symptoms as treatable health problems and don’t seek biomedical care for them.

Cultural anthropology which deals with human biology

Prompt A:

This research falls under cultural anthropology which deals with human biology and behavior in the past and present, with an emphasis on the evolutionary processes that shape them. This field of study encompasses a wide range of topics such as the study of human fossils, the genetic and physiological differences between human populations, the relationship between biology and culture, and the adaptation of humans to different environments.

 

Prompt B:

This research falls under archaeology anthropology which studies past human societies by analyzing the physical remnants of those societies, including artifacts, structures, and other environmental evidence. It covers the study of human history from the earliest human origins to recent historical periods, which allows archaeologists to reconstruct and understand the diverse range of human societies. The anthropologist in question is using this method to investigate the effects of the Spanish missionization of Native Californians between 1776 and 1830, with a particular focus on how the native population navigated their cultural identity and retained traditional practices while dealing with the colonial forces.

 

Prompt C:

This research falls under cultural anthropology. Is a discipline within anthropology that studies the aspects of culture in human societies, including beliefs, customs, social organization, and material culture. As a discipline, it offers a holistic approach to understanding human society, culture, and behavior. In this research, the methods of cultural anthropology are applicable in understanding the impact of gender communication on family interactions.  Moreover, by focusing on one specific aspect of culture which is communication, and how it impacts relationships within a family, the anthropologist can gain a better insight into how gender roles and expectations may shape the communication and interactions within the family setting.

 

Prompt D:

This research falls under biological anthropology. Briefly, it explores the relationship between human biology, culture, and environment. The goal of biological anthropology is to examine and understand the patterns of human evolution and the biological and cultural factors that have shaped human populations over time. By comparing the amount of genetic variation present in Y-chromosomes from different groups of men, anthropologists can infer when and how those populations diverged from one another and can gain insight into the patterns of human migration throughout history.

 

EXAMPLE 2

Prompt A

  • The primary anthropological field of this prompt is Cultural Anthropology. The first sentence of the prompt clearly states that “Anthropologists have studied the role of soybean curd and its related by-productions in the culture of Hong Kong” By asking questions about the importance of soybeans and how they are obtained as well as their nutritional value, these anthropologists are collecting data from present and past uses of soybeans. The researchers are also comparing their cultures’ use of soybeans to a global consumption which is one of the main focuses of cultural anthropology, to focus on similarities and differences among societies.

Prompt B

  • The primary anthropological field of this prompt is Archaeology. Archeologists focus on items of the past. Not only are the anthropologists researching events of the past but they are searching for discovering artifacts of this time period to include into their research. The goal of the anthropologists of this prompt is to not only understand how Native Americans were impacted by Spanish missionization, but also to use their newfound artifacts to understand the life of the people who the items once belonged to. This means that the secondary field would be Cultural Anthropology.

Prompt C

  • The primary anthropological field of this prompt is Linguistic Anthropology. Linguistic Anthropology focuses on “the relationships between language, thought, and culture.” As stated in chapter 1.1.2 The subdisciplines of the LibreTexts text book. The prompt focuses on explaining a research done on how genders communicate differently. Studies of recorded conversations and documentary footage of interactions are being used which are all forms of language.

Prompt D

  • The primary anthropological field of this prompt is Biological Anthropology. Biological Anthropology focuses on the evolution of humans. The anthropologists in this prompt are studying the Y- Chromosome to understand the start of humans and their migration through the world. They are studying the biology of humans to conduct their research.

The words and phrasing that Lyell and Hooker used

Examine the words and phrasing that Lyell and Hooker used in their letter to the Linnean Society when describing Darwin’s and Wallace’s theory and its discovery. How were they conveying to society the importance of this theory?

2. In your analysis, who did Lyell and Hooker think should receive credit for the theory of natural selection? Were the authors being objective and balanced in their support for Wallace and Darwin? What keywords or phrasing led you to your conclusions? Read the following passage, taken from the letter coauthored by Darwin’s colleagues, Sir Charles Lyell and J. D. Hooker. The letter was read at the meeting of the Linnean Society held in London on July 1, 1858. During this meeting, the two men also presented papers written by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace.

 

London, June 30th, 1858.

MY DEAR SIR,—The accompanying papers, which we have the honor of communicating to the Linnean Society, and which all relate to the same subject, viz. [that is to say] the Laws which affect the Production of Varieties, Races, and Species, contain the results of the investigations of two indefatigable naturalists, Mr. Charles Darwin, and Mr. Alfred Wallace.
These gentlemen having, independently and unknown to one another, conceived the same very ingenious theory to account for the appearance and perpetuation of varieties and of specific forms on our planet, may both fairly claim the merit of being original thinkers in this important line of inquiry; but neither of them having published his views, though Mr. Darwin has for many years past been repeatedly urged by us to do so, and both authors having now unreservedly placed their papers in our hands, we think it would best promote the interests of science that a selection from them should be laid before the Linnean Society.

Taken in the order of their dates, they consist of:—

1. Extracts from an MS [manuscript]. Work on Species, by Mr. Darwin, was sketched in 1839, and copied in 1844, when the copy was read by Dr. Hooker, and its contents afterward communicated to Sir Charles Lyell. …

2. An abstract of a private letter addressed to Professor Asa Gray, of Boston, U.S., in October 1857, by Mr. Darwin, in which he repeats his views, and which shows that these remained unaltered from 1839 to 1857.

3. An Essay by Mr. Wallace, entitled “On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart indefinitely from the Original Type.” This was written at Ternate [an island in eastern Indonesia] in February 1858, for the perusal of his friend and correspondent Mr. Darwin, and sent to him with the expressed wish that it should be forwarded to Sir Charles Lyell if Mr. Darwin thought it sufficiently novel and interesting. So highly did Mr. Darwin appreciate the value of the views therein set forth, that he proposed, in a letter to Sir Charles Lyell, to obtain Mr. Wallace’s consent to allow the Essay to be published as soon as possible. Of this step we highly approved, provided Mr. Darwin did not withhold from the public, as he was strongly inclined to do (in favor of Mr. Wallace), the memoir which he had himself written on the same subject, and which, as before stated, one of us had perused in 1844, and the contents of which we had both of us been privy to for many years. On representing this to Mr. Darwin, he gave us permission to make what use we thought proper of his memoir, &c. [and so forth] and in adopting our present course, of presenting it to the Linnean Society, we have explained to him that we are not solely considering the relative claims to priority of himself and his friend, but the interests of science generally; for we feel it to be desirable that views founded on a wide deduction from facts, and matured by years of reflection, should constitute at once a goal from which others may start, and that, while the scientific world is waiting for the appearance of Mr. Darwin’s complete work, some of the leading results of his labors, as well as those of his able correspondent, should together be laid before the public.

We have the honor to be yours very obediently, Charles Lyell, Jos. D. Hooker.