Anthropology

1. According to your textbook, “Contrary to a popular misconception in the West, homosexuality is not universally stigmatized. Based on the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample of 186 societies, Crapo (1995) found that only 31% of people stigmatized homosexual behavior, while the remainder either considered homosexual experimentation to be a normal developmental phase of preadult life (38%), accepted committed adult same-sex relationships as an alternative form of marriage (18%), or even required same-sex relationships among all males during a period that preceded their being permitted to marry heterosexually (12%)” (Crapo, 2013, p.161).
In America, the historical stigmatization of homosexuality is a product of (Points : 1)

enculturation.
cultural relativism.
minimalism.
universal moral values.

Question 2. 2. Which of the following is an example of an etic statement about Americans? (Points : 1)

July 4th is a federal holiday, and I enjoy having the day off from work. I usually spend time with my family and hang out at the pool.
The Fourth of July is the day we adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring our independence from the British in 1776. This had a huge impact on the entire course of history, leading to the Revolutionary War and the creation of the best country in the world, the United States of America.
The fireworks displays are my favorite part of the Fourth of July. I also march in the local parade.
Americans celebrate the 4th of July as the day they declared independence from colonial powers in 1776. Food is often cooked outside on grills, even though most houses have electric ovens inside. It is very hot outside in the middle of summer, and although many people have electronic cooling devices called air conditioners within their homes, much of the day is spent outside. At night, explosives are set off in community gatherings to celebrate this holiday. Remarkably, very few people are hurt during these displays.

Question 3. 3. Which of the following is an example of an etic description of teen pregnancy in America? (Points : 1)

One of my friends in high school got pregnant in her sophomore year. She and the father decided to keep the baby, got married and just celebrated their 10th anniversary. They both finished college and have good jobs now. It just goes to show that people can overcome teen pregnancy and become successful parents.
Although popular opinion sometimes indicates otherwise, according to a statistical analysis from the US Department of Health and Services (2014), teen pregnancy rates have been steadily declining for the past twenty years. In America, most teenagers are not yet fully independent from their parents, as teenagers in other cultures sometimes are, so they are not ready to become parents. Since this issue has a huge impact on young women and men affected by it, this may account for the disparity between popular opinion and the statistical data on the subject.
In my opinion, anyone who gets pregnant as a teenager should have had better access to birth control and comprehensive sex education.
After polling my friends on Facebook, I’ve determined that teen pregnancy rates are not as prevalent among young people today.

Question 4. 4. Your Final Research Paper will consist of two parts, which are (Points : 1)

an etic discussion of another culture and an emic discussion of your own culture.
a reflexive discussion of another culture and an objective discussion of your own culture.
an etic discussion of your own culture and an emic discussion of another culture.
a culturally relativistic discussion of another culture and an ethnocentric discussion of your own culture.

Question 5. 5. For your Final Research Paper, you will demonstrate a perspective of cultural relativism throughout your writing. Which of the following is an example of a statement you should not include in your paper? (Points : 1)

I don’t understand why any cultures would practice infanticide. Why can’t they just apply for food stamps or put their children up for adoption if they can’t raise them?
While in our culture, killing a child seems unconscionable, in other cultures, food may become scarce enough that not all mouths can be fed, and the parents face the choice of infanticide or allowing everyone in the family to starve to death.
In what must be a heart-wrenching decision, some families are not able support two babies when twins are born and may practice infanticide. The alternative would be for both babies to die as the mother’s milk dries up because she cannot produce enough for both.
Without governmental safety nets in place, people in small-scale foraging societies may be forced to practice infanticide by circumstances outside of their control.

Question 6. 6. In remote villages in the Himalayas, the practice of polyandry, or having multiple husbands, works as a form of birth control. The land can only support a limited number of people, so from their perspective, it makes sense for women to marry multiple men in order to limit the number of children who are born. Monogamy or polygyny (men having multiple wives) would lead to an explosion in the population, but with polyandry, the wife can only have so many children, no matter how many husbands she has. (Points : 1)

This is an example of an emic statement about the practice of polyandry.
This is an example of an ethnocentric statement about the practice of polyandry.
This is an example of a false statement about the practice of polyandry.
This is an example of an etic statement about the practice of polyandry.

Question 7. 7. Which of the following is an example of an emic statement about Native Americans? (Points : 1)

When they were sent to boarding schools, Native Americans appreciated the chance to be assimilated into mainstream American culture.
Native Americans were happy to send their children to boarding schools to learn English and have better job opportunities.
For Native Americans, it was terrible when the US government forcibly took their children and sent them away to boarding schools to be “educated,” losing their native language and customs along the way.
The American government did Native Americans a great service by educating their children for them.

Question 8. 8. According to your textbook, cultural relativism is exactly the same as moral relativism (Points : 1)

True
False

Question 9. 9. When describing your own culture from an etic perspective for your Final Research Paper, you should (Points : 1)

rely solely on personal experience and opinion.
use reputable statistics and/or scholarly research to support any factual statements.
poll your friends and family on their experiences.
use opinions expressed in blog entries to support your points.

Question 10. 10. For your Final Research Paper, you will use an article by Miner entitled Body Ritual among the Nacirema. The following is a quotation from this article, “The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them. They also believe that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is a ritual ablution of the mouth for children which is supposed to improve their moral fiber” (Miner, 1956, p.504). (Points : 1)

This is an example of an emic statement about American culture.
This is an example of an ethnocentric statement about American culture.
This is not a statement about American culture.
This is an example of an etic statement about American culture.