Q&A Hero

Q: An example of a legend would be: a. the voyage of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower b. the story of Little Red Riding Hood c. the story of Noah and the ark d. all of the above

Q: The Snow White story is an example of a: a. myth b. folktale c. legend d. urban legend

Q: All of the following statements about the story of Snow White are correct except: a. many of the places and objects of the story are sacred b. the story conveys a moral lesson about the evils of envy and jealousy c. there are many supernatural elements in the story d. the story contains an example of ritual cannibalism

Q: In the story of Snow White, the queen's looking glass is an example of: a. magic b. divination c. witchcraft d. a worldview

Q: An example of a supernatural element in the narrative of Snow White is: a. the queen's looking glass b. Snow White returning to life after death c. the queen eating the heart of Snow White to obtain her qualities of beauty d. all of the above

Q: The Navaho phrase to "walk in beauty" and the Euro-American phrase "Thou makest him to have dominion of the works of thy hands" point out major differences in: a. the supernatural b. subsistence activities c. worldview d. the sacred

Q: In every society there are particular ways in which people perceive and interpret their reality. This is what is meant by the concept of: a. supernatural b. worldview c. culture d. sacred

Q: The idea that visions and other religious experiences are the product of brain function is what is meant by theory of mind.

Q: Gods and ghosts are examples of anthropomorphic supernatural beings.

Q: Sigmund Freud applied some of his concepts to the analysis of religious phenomena.

Q: mile Durkheim and Alfred Radcliff-Brown are associated with the evolutionary approach to the study of religion.

Q: Animatism refers to the idea of an impersonal supernatural force.

Q: All societies have clearly understood terms to label the domain of culture we call religion.

Q: The essentialist definition of religion emphasizes that region is the domain of the extraordinary.

Q: An analytic definition focuses on the way that religion manifests itself or is expressed in a culture.

Q: Culture is based upon the use of symbols or shared understanding about the meaning of things.

Q: Robert Edgerton believes that all cultural practices are valid and must be accepted in the context of the society's culture.

Q: Postmodernism highlights the scientific method and rationality in the discovery of knowledge.

Q: Human universals refer to biological characteristics of human beings that reflect a common biology.

Q: A person who judges another society in terms of his or her own culture is said to be ethnocentric.

Q: An outsider who applies his or her own cultural orientation to the analysis of another culture is performing an emic analysis.

Q: The Fore of New Guinea believe that the disease kuru is caused by evil forest spirits.

Q: The Fore of New Guinea practice mortuary cannibalism, that is, they eat the body of their deceased relatives.

Q: Foragers practice simple farming with hand tools, are seminomadic, and lack full-time specialists.

Q: Northwest Coast, East African Cattle, and Melanesia are names of culture areas.

Q: Karen McCarthy Brown's study of vodou in New York City is an example of an ethnography.

Q: Anthropologists frequently apply the term primitive to small-scale societies.

Q: An important method of field study in anthropology is participant observation.

Q: The study of religious art excavated from now extinct cultures is a part of the field of archaeology.

Q: An agnostic: a. has not made up his mind about the existence of the supernatural b. believes that there is no supernatural c. says that it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural d. none of the above

Q: The term cognition refers to: a. unconsciousness b. the totality of all perceptions c. conscious intellectual activities including perception, reasoning, and feeling d. a form of psychotherapy

Q: Theory of mind refers to the idea that: a. children are born with "blank slates" and slowly develop a mind through observation and trial and error b. people are not capable of seeing events as the result of randomness or coincidence c. people know, or think they know, what is going on in another people's minds d. the evolution of a large brain was largely responsible for the development of the human mind

Q: Some neuroscientists conclude that the brain is capable of creating religious experiences. Which of the following is evidence for this conclusion? a. People suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy often report intense religious experiences as part of their attacks. b. People who report having intense religious experiences often report having had brain trauma or brain injury in childhood. c. Brain scans of people in deep meditation show a decreased activity in the parietal lobe of the brain, in an area responsible for giving us a sense of our orientation in space and time. d. All of the above.

Q: The approach to the study of religion that is concerned with the relationship between culture and personality and the connection between society and the individual is the: a. psychosocial approach b. the functional approach c. the analytic approach d. the Marxist approach

Q: The interpretative approach, in which religion is described as a cluster of symbols that together make up a whole, was developed by: a. Sigmund Freud b. Melford Spiro c. Clifford Geertz d. James Frazer

Q: Ethnographic fieldwork among the Trobriand Islanders was carried out by:a. E. Evans-Pritchardb. Bronislaw Malinowskic. Karen McCarthy Brownd. Alfred R. Radcliffe-Brown

Q: Which of the following anthropologists is most closely associated with the functionalist approach? a. Melford Spiro b. Edward Tyler c. Alfred Radcliff-Brown d. Bronislaw Malinowski

Q: There are many approaches to the study of religion in anthropology. One approach is to ask the question: What does religion do? What roles does religion play in human societies? This approach is referred to as the: a. functional approach b. psychosocial approach c. evolutionary approach d. cognitive approach

Q: Who wrote, "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature"? a. Edward Tylor b. Bronislaw Malinowski c. Karl Marx d. Sigmund Freud

Q: Late nineteenth century anthropologists who saw "primitive" societies as presenting an early stage in the development of religion were using the: a. functional approach b. essentialist approach c. evolutionary approach d. psychoanalytic approach

Q: The concept of animatism refers to a belief: a. in spirit beings b. that it is impossible to prove the existence of a supernatural power c. that humans are set off from the animal world d. in an impersonal supernatural power

Q: The operant definition of religion proposed in this textbook includes the following characteristics: a. a belief in anthropomorphic supernatural beings b. a focus on the sacred supernatural c. an articulation of a worldview and moral code through narratives d. all of the above

Q: The term supernatural refers to: a. an attitude of reverence and respect b. a belief in spirit beings such as spirits and gods c. belief in a general supernatural force d. things that are above the natural and not subject to the laws of nature

Q: A belief in spirit beings is termed: a. animatism b. animism c. agnosticism d. anthropocentrism

Q: A definition of religion that is concerned with the role that religion plays in a society is a(n): a. analytic definition b. functional definition c. essentialist definition d. psychosocial definition

Q: In an analytic definition of religion, the study of the organization and leadership of a religious system represents the: a. social dimension b. ritual dimension c. institutional dimension d. narrative dimension

Q: Defining terms so they are observable and measurable is called a(n): a. analytic definition b. functional definition c. anthropological definition d. operant definition

Q: The first use of the term culture in anthropology appeared in 1871 in a book written by: a. James Frazer b. Robert Edgerton c. Edward Tylor d. Melford Spiro

Q: Culture consists of: a. innate behavioral patterns that humans share with the apes b. an appreciation of the fine arts and literature c. nutrients upon which bacteria can grow d. learned and traditional patterns of behavior

Q: The point of view that all knowledge is a human "construction," that there are multiple viewpoints and truths, and that we must be aware of our own viewpoints and biases, is referred to as: a. modernity b. essentialism c. postmodernism d. Marxism

Q: The Wogeo of New Guinea believe that Wogeo traditions are the only valid traditions in the world and that Wogeo speech is uniquely pure. They refuse to speak the languages of the communities with which they trade because their neighbors make the sounds of dogs. This attitude is an example of: a. cultural relativism b. ethnocentrism c. morality d. righteousness

Q: After cremating their dead, the Yanomam grind the ashes and later add the ashes to a banana stew to be consumed. Most Americans might feel that drinking the ashes of the dead to be disgusting. On the other hand, anthropology tells us that we should not judge the customs of others by our own standards. This latter attitude towards other cultures is called: a. holism b. ethnocentrism c. cultural relativism d. participant observation

Q: Anthropologists attempt to see the world through the eyes of the people in the community they are studying. This is: a. emic analysis b. functional analysis c. etic analysis d. psychosocial analysis

Q: From the etic perspective, Western medicine sees kuru as an infectious disease. From the emic perspective, the Fore believe that kuru is caused by the: a. breaking of a tabu b. displeasure of an ancestral spirit c. transmission of a microorganism d. activities of a sorcerer doing evil magic

Q: The Fore believe that kuru is caused by the: a. breaking of a taboo b. displeasure of an ancestral spirit c. transmission of a microorganism d. activities of a sorcerer doing evil magic

Q: Kuru, a disease found among the Fore, is caused by: a. microscopic particles transmitted through cannibalism b. a parasite transmitted through poorly-cooked pork c. a hereditary factor passed on through the mother to her children d. toxins introduced by Indonesian mining operations

Q: Societies characterized by low population density, no full-time specialists or social stratification, whose food is obtained primarily from gathering, hunting, and fishing are: a. foragers b. pastoralists c. horticulturalists d. intensive agriculturalists

Q: Two main ways that anthropologists organize societies are by: a. culture area and food getting strategies b. level of religious complexity and gender stratification c. gender ratio and child rearing strategies d. kinship system and language spoken

Q: Geographical areas wherein are found societies that share a great many characteristics are known as: a. culture areas b. ethnographic zones c. ecological regions d. societal areas

Q: Which of the following might also be referred to as an ethnographer? a. a physical anthropologist b. an archaeologist c. a cultural anthropologist d. a linguistic anthropologist

Q: An anthropologist travels to the Fore of New Guinea and produces an ethnography. This ethnography is a(n): a. comparison of Fore society with other New Guinea societies b. a description of Fore society and culture c. analysis of the Fore language d. analysis of the biological and genetic characteristics of the Fore people

Q: An example of an ethnography is: a. Goodall's study of chimpanzee behavior b. Herskovits's study of economic anthropology c. Johanson's study of the fossil hominids from Hadar d. Malinowski's study of the Trobriand Islanders

Q: An ethnography is a: a. comparative study of the social systems of many societies b. study of the physical characteristics of a human population c. analysis of a nonhuman primate species d. descriptive study of a society or culture

Q: A method of studying communities that is unique to anthropology is: a. questionnaires b. participant observation c. psychological tests d. recording of oral literature and songs

Q: Anthropologists study societies as systematic sums of their parts, a concept known as: a. relativism b. ethnology c. holism d. postmodernism

Q: A study of a people's religious beliefs and rituals would be a part of the study of: a. cultural anthropology b. linguistics c. archaeology d. physical anthropology

Q: Which of the following would not be an appropriate task for an anthropologist? a. translating a religious text in the Navaho language b. excavating the ruins of a Mayan temple c. filming an American religious ceremony d. studying the chimpanzees of the Gombe National Park e. all of the above would be appropriate tasks

Q: What is anthropology's most important role in meeting the challenges of globalization in our world today?

Q: Discuss the reactions that have occurred to counterbalance the forces of globalization.

Q: Discuss structural violence and its variable impact on populations across the globe.

Q: What is the relationship between overpopulation and poverty? Why should this be a significant concern to all countries?

Q: Identify and discuss the problems of structural violence.

Q: What is structural violence? Explain and discuss at least four examples of structural violence in our world today.

Q: What is the importance of economic indicators such as the "Gini Index"? Do you believe that these types of measurements contribute to any changes in standards of living globally? Explain.

Q: How does soft power work globally? Consider more recent examples of political unrest, especially in Arab countries, and explain the role that soft power played in these changes.

Q: Why is it important to understand the structural power of a country?

Q: Describe the new form of expansive capitalism that has emerged since the mid-20th century.

Q: Cultural pluralism: is it a good idea or a source of continuing conflict? Discuss the merits of melting pot versus cultural pluralism as a policy for the U.S., Canada, or the world.

Q: Explain the connection between global megacorporations, soft economic power, and politically-based governments in countries, both large and small, around the world today.

Q: Western-style clothing, computers, e-mail, Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, McDonald's hamburgers, etc., have spread to virtually all parts of the world, and many countries have come a long way toward becoming "Westernized." Because of this trend, some people predict that the world will, in the not too distant future, become politically unified. What is wrong with the prediction? Explain, using examples.