Anthropology

Q: Thousands of Palestinians cross from the West Bank to Israel every day. This has resulted in increased militarization of the border and heightened tensions.

Q: One source of conflict between Croats and Serbs is that Croats are Christians and Serbs are Muslims.

Q: Most ethnic conflicts today reflect an uninterrupted history of ethnic hatred.

Q: Unlike the concept of race with always involves perceived physical differences, ethnicity refers to perceived cultural differences.

Q: Because they maintain great coercive and hegemonic power, states are generally peaceful and stable.

Q: Political authority in the Asante state was symbolized by the golden stool.

Q: Under which type of subsistence system would you expect more gender equality and why?

Q: How is the hijab a symbol of the complexity of gender relations cross-culturally?

Q: What is a hijab?

Q: How have gender relations frequently been affected by foreign aid and development programs in agricultural societies?

Q: What is a dagongmei?

Q: Compare and contrast gender relations in horticultural and pastoral societies.

Q: Describe gender relations in foraging societies.

Q: Many anthropologists agreed that women's lower status in society was caused by the private/public dichotomy. Ernestine Friedl disagreed. What were her arguments against this position?

Q: What is meant by the concept of "gender hierarchy"?

Q: Among foragers such the Ju"/hoansi the idea of maleness is associated with prestige in a different way. Describe how ridicule and shaming are used to diminish prestige in this society.

Q: What widespread characteristics might we expect to find associated with the idea of maleness cross-culturally?

Q: What do anthropologists explain as the primary importance of male initiation rites?

Q: In most societies, how did European colonialism impact alternative genders?

Q: What is the primary role of hijras in Indian society?

Q: How is sexual behavior also a cross-cultural value?

Q: What was the primary role of the two-spirit in most Native American societies?

Q: In what types of societies do we frequently find sex/gender alternatives?

Q: What do anthropologists mean by saying that there is a "cultural construction of gender"?

Q: Distinguish between sex and gender.

Q: Describe theoretical contributions of Margaret Mead in the area of gender studies in anthropology.

Q: In recent years, women in Iran have moved away from wearing the burka in public.

Q: In some Muslim countries, such as Tunisia, the wearing of the veil is discouraged.

Q: Historically, when agricultural societies have entered the cash economy, the position of women has improved.

Q: As the cultivation of taro among the Nukumanu has declined, women have become more dependent on men.

Q: The solidarity of women in horticultural societies is mainly based on their participation in religious cults and associations.

Q: The public/private dichotomy is particularly important in foraging societies.

Q: There are many different ways of showing maleness cross-culturally, but there is no culture in which prestige is not part of it.

Q: Female initiation rites in New Guinea stress the powers that women have over men.

Q: One anthropological perspective understands male initiation as a type of fertility cult.

Q: Anthropological research shows that psychic conflict and rebellion are characteristic of adolescence in all societies.

Q: "Inis Beag," a community near Galway in Ireland, is known as one of the most sexually nave of all the world's societies.

Q: Politics is a traditional role for hijras.

Q: Hijras are born as men but undergo a surgical procedure to remove their genitals.

Q: Some sexual interactions, such as kissing, are practiced universally, while others are not.

Q: Men in "San Blas," Spain assert that all women are "seductresses and whores."

Q: The Native American "two spirit" is best described as an effeminate homosexual.

Q: Alternative, or multiple sexes and genders have been found only in Native North America.

Q: Gender is the social, cultural, and psychological constructs that are imposed on the biological differences of sex.

Q: The cultural differences between males and females are due entirely to biology, although they are sometimes understood differently from one culture to another.

Q: Margaret Mead was an important early cultural anthropologist who emphasized the importance of culture in gender behavior.

Q: In France, the growing number of Muslim immigrants has led to: a. Greater tolerance of religion throughout French society. b. A requirement that all students be taught Christianity in public schools. c. A series of terror attacks aimed at forcing French authorities to officially recognize Islam. d. The outlawing of headscarves in public schools. e. Legislation that supported equal rights for men and women.

Q: For Muslims, wearing the hijab: a. Varies substantially from culture to culture. b. Is the same in all Muslim cultures since the Qur"an is the same sacred text. c. Is generally required only of married women. d. Is far more common in rural areas than in cities. e. Is a practice that is rapidly disappearing.

Q: Increased globalization and the movement from rural agriculture to urban industrial employment: a. Almost always benefits men at the expense of women. b. Offers the promise of a better life for children, particularly girls. c. Benefits men and women equally. d. May benefit women more than men. e. Almost always results in a decrease in the quality of life for women.

Q: Frequently, the effect of development projects has been to: a. Improve the lives of women and children relative to men. b. Decrease the quality of life for all members of a community. c. Increase the disparity between men and women in a community. d. Increase the availability of government jobs to women. e. Allow women to access positions of prestige and power previously denied to them.

Q: The rise of plow agriculture has generally: a. Not affected women's status. b. Lowered women's status. c. Raised women's status. d. Resulted in lower birth rates. e. Increased women's longevity.

Q: Despite the many difficulties they face, dagongmai continue to work in factories because: a. They rarely have any other choices. b. Their parents or husbands demand that they do so. c. The life of a dagongmai is often better than it would be if the person had remained in their village. d. They usually have large debts that they must pay off. e. They believe that such work is their best way of finding a mate.

Q: All of the following are common attributes of gender relations in pastoral societies except: a. Frequent warfare. b. Male-centered kinship systems. c. Joint male-female ownership of herds. d. Male dominance overall. e. Male-female control over the distribution of herds.

Q: Chinese factories hire dagongmei because: a. They are a cheap source of labor. b. They are likely to be better trained than other workers. c. Since they are orphans, they are easily exploited. d. The government provides extra cash incentives for companies that hire them. e. They need to provide entertainment for their male workers.

Q: With the introduction of wage labor into Nukumanu, in the 19th century, women's status has: a. Gone up economically, but down socially. b. Declined economically and socially. c. Increased in cultural and ritual importance. d. Remained the same as prior to Western contact. e. Increased as a result of their participation in the church.

Q: An important source of status for women in Nukumanu was: a. Drinking kareve. b. Controlling swamp taro lands. c. Weaving. d. Fishing. e. Wage labor.

Q: Which of the following is common in horticultural societies? a. Men's cults are closed to women. b. Women earn their living by market trading. c. Women control the cash crops, but men control subsistence crops. d. Men are likely to adopt innovations rapidly, but women are not. e. Women are key religious leaders.

Q: Women's hunting among the Agata illustrates that: a. Women are just as strong and fast as men. b. Child rearing is really best done by the child's biological parents. c. Women, in some situations, can bring home larger quantities of game than men. d. The demands of child rearing can be adapted to economic needs. e. Young girls are better hunters than young boys but after puberty, boys are better.

Q: According to anthropologist Laura Klein, Tlingit men: a. Resent women's power. b. Are supportive of women taking leadership roles in the community. c. Blame women for the break-up of Tlingit families. d. Share equally in domestic chores so women can work. e. Initiate a high degree of domestic violence.

Q: Tlingit women generally consider men to be: a. The only ones who can hold political office. b. Physically weaker than women. c. Irresponsible with money. d. Unable to conduct ceremonies accurately. e. The only ones who can properly accumulate wealth and handle money.

Q: In gender studies, the idea of the public/private dichotomy refers to the notion that: a. Behavior of both men and women is different in the public sphere than in the private sphere. b. Men act differently toward women in public than they do in private. c. Women are able to maintain more power over men if their actions are public than if they are private. d. Private relationships between men and women are threatened by public disclosure. e. Societies are divided into a private world dominated by women and a public world dominated by men.

Q: All of the following are arguments commonly used to explain the existence of a gender hierarchy except: a. Women's lowered status is due to the private/public dichotomy. b. Women's status is higher in societies where they do not have any domestic duties and work, instead, outside of the home. c. Women and men have differential status based on their distribution and exchange of resources. d. The expansion of capitalism and colonialism has had enormous impact on non-Western gender hierarchies. e. Male dominance correlates with the existence of ecological stress and warfare.

Q: According to David Gilmore, similar ideas of manhood are almost a universal aspect of male behavior because: a. Those who possess it are likely to be more successful in the search for mates. b. Those who possess it are likely to be more economically successful. c. It helps to assure that men fill their roles as procreators, protectors, and providers. d. The need to establish hierarchy is a fundamental aspect of all human societies. e. Women universally harass men who do not demonstrate machismo.

Q: What does a Manam (a group in New Guinea) girl display at the time of her initiation? a. Jewelry that she has made. b. Food that she has prepared. c. Wealth her parents and clan have contributed for the event. d. Pigs that she and her sisters have raised. e. New dances that she has developed to display her personality.

Q: Research on female initiation rites in New Guinea suggests that the principal idea expressed in such rites is: a. The duty of women to serve their husbands. b. The secret ritual dominance of women over men in these societies. c. The fact that even though they marry, their primary obligations are to their own families, not their husbands'. d. The principle of patrilineality. e. The complementarity of male and female.

Q: Judith Brown found that initiation rites for girls are more likely to occur in: a. Societies in which women hold roles of political importance. b. Societies in which religion involves female priests. c. Societies in which women are deeply oppressed by men. d. Societies in which women continue to live in their mothers' houses after marriage. e. Societies in which the avunculate is practiced.

Q: One piece of evidence that supports a Freudian interpretation for male rites of passage is that: a. They occur in all societies. b. They are more common in cultures in which boys have strong identification with their mothers. c. The imagery used in them seems to be closely associated with dreams. d. They involve elements of repression and reaction formation. e. Many of the themes they express seem closely tied to the id.

Q: The important contribution of Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa was: a. To introduce American readers to Pacific Island lifestyles. b. To support the notion that you could have a socially conservative society with sexually permissive lifestyles. c. To prove that homosexuality was one variety of normal sexual behavior. d. To show that American ideas of adolescence were not universal. e. To demonstrate the value of rites of passage in maintaining social solidarity.

Q: Sexual relations in Mangaia: a. Don"t begin until men and women are in their thirties. b. Are as common between men as between men and women. c. Are a very serious and private matter, generally kept secret until the birth of children. d. Take place in private, but with much public joking. e. Frequently take place in public.

Q: Which of the following beliefs is typical of the Sambia? a. Homosexuals should be punished by stoning. b. Only men can make men. c. Women should endure but not enjoy sex. d. One of the sexiest things you can do is eat your partner's hair lice. e. Boys who are effeminate should not have sexual relations with girls.

Q: One of the world's most sexually repressed societies is the: a. Inuit. b. Irish of Inis Beag. c. Peasant villages of Southern Spain. d. Arapesh of New Guinea. e. United States of America.

Q: One area of recent success for hijras in India is: a. Music. b. Painting. c. Film making. d. Publishing. e. Politics.

Q: The power of the hijras in Indian culture comes through their: a. Practice of prostitution. b. High entertainment standards of dancing and singing. c. Attempts to completely identify with the goddess Bahuchara Mata. d. Ownership of land and property. e. Patronage by the British during colonial days.

Q: The hijra subculture: a. Has no connection to the rest of Indian society. b. Is ignored by Indian society. c. Was introduced by the British into Indian society. d. Has disappeared from Indian society. e. Has a ritual role in Indian society.

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