ANTH 1120 Midterm Exam Review - 2818 Words

Exam Review: TERMS Culture: The system of meanings about the nature of experience that are shared by a people and passed on from one generation to another, including the meanings that people give to things, events, activities, and people. Ethnocentrism: The tendency to judge the beliefs and behaviours of others from the perspective of one’s own culture. Ethnocentric Fallacy: The mistaken notion that the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures can be judged from the perspective of one’s own culture. Relativism: The attempt to understand the beliefs and behaviours of other cultures in terms of the culture in which they are found. Relativistic Fallacy: The idea that it is impossible to make moral judgements about the beliefs and†¦show more content†¦The egocentric self takes on the idea that each individual, as an aware and distinct person, is responsible for their actions. As such, the individual possesses intrinsic qualities such as generosity, integrity, or beauty. However, for the sociocentric self, no individual possesses the intrinsic qualities; generosity, integrity, or beauty can only apply to social situations (i.e. rather than â€Å"the man is generous,† for the egocentric self, the sociocentric self would see â€Å"he gives money to his friends†). Provide one reason why anthropologists prefer to use the ethnographic method. To avoid bias that can emerge from an armchair approach, anthropologists can conduct their own research through the ethnographic method and collect vital information through surveys and questionnaires themselves in the ethnographic method. Participant observation allows for in-depth immersion in the lives of the particular group to understand the meanings these people ascribe to their existence, allowing the anthropologist to see others from their point of view. Identify and briefly explain two challenges in doing fieldwork. Fieldwork requires funding and permission; anthropologists require sponsorship from the government or other external benefactors. The application process to receive funding from the government is also highly competitive, meaning that anthropologists