Annual Editions Anthropology 03/04

Map. World Map UNIT 1. Anthropological Perspectives Part A. 1. Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo, Napoleon A. Chagnon, from Yanomamo: The Fierce People , Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1992 Although an anthropologist's first field experience may involve culture shock, Napoleon Chagnon reports that the long process of participant observation may transform personal hardship and frustration into confident understanding of exotic cultural patterns. 2. Spin-Doctoring the Yanomamo, Michael Shermer, Skeptic , Volume 9, Number 1, 2001 After reviewing the controversy surrounding Napoleon Chagnon's fieldwork among the Yanomano, the author concludes that the latest battle in the anthropology wars is journalistic spin-doctoring of what is, for the most part, solid science. 3. Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief, Richard Kurin, Natural History , November 1980 In transforming an anthropologist into one of their own, villagers of Punjab say, "You never really know who a man is until you know who his grandfather and his ancestors were." In this way, Richard Kurin finds, selecting a village for fieldwork is a matter of mutual acceptance and mutual economic benefit. 4. Eating Christmas in the Kalahari, Richard Borshay Lee, Natural History , December 1969 Anthropologist Richard Borshay Lee gives an account of the misunderstanding and confusion that often accompany the cross-cultural experience. In this case, he violated a basic principle of the !Kung Bushmen's social relations food sharing. 5. Battle of the Bones, Robson Bonnichsen and Alan L. Schneider, The Sciences , July/August 2000 Recent archaeological findings have led to revolutionary new theories about the first Americans and to a tug-of-war between scientists and contemporary Native Americans. UNIT 2. Culture and Communication 6. Language, Appearance, and Reality: Doublespeak in 1984, William D. Lutz, Et Cetera , Winter 1987 When language is used to alter our perception of reality, its main functionthat of communication between people and social groupsis in grave danger. 7. Why Don't You Say What You Mean?, Deborah Tannen, New York Times Magazine , August 28, 1994 As fundamental elements in human communication, directness is not necessarily logical or effective, and indirectness is not necessarily manipulative or insecure. Each has its place in the broader scheme of things, depending upon the culture and the relationship between the speakers. 8. "I Can't Even Open My Mouth", Deborah Tannen, from I Only Say This Because I Love You , Random House, Inc., 2001 Since family members have a long, shared history, what they say in conversationthe messages combine with meanings gleaned from past memoriesthe metamessages. The metamessages are formed from context the way something is said, who is saying it, or the very fact that it is said at all. 9. Shakespeare in the Bush, Laura Bohannan, Natural History , August/September 1966 It is often claimed that great literature has cross-cultural significance. In this classic article, Laura Bohannan describes the difficulties she encountered and the lessons she learned as she attempted to relate the story of Hamlet to the Tiv of West Africa in their own language. UNIT 3. The Organization of Society and Culture 10. Understanding Eskimo Science, Richard Nelson, Audubon , September/October 1993 The traditional hunters' insights into the world of nature may be different, but they are as extensive and profound as those of modern science. 11. Mystique of the Masai, Ettagale Blauer, The World & I , March 1987 Living in the midst of tourist traffic and straddling two nations struggling to modernize, the Masai have retained their traditional culture longer than virtually any other group of people in East Africa. 12. Too Many Bananas, Not Enough Pineapples, and No Watermelon at All: Three Object Lessons in Living With Reciprocity, David Counts, from The Humbled Anthropologist: Tales From the Pacific , Wadsworth Publishing, 1990 Among the lessons to be learned regarding reciprocity is that one may not demand a gift or refuse it. Yet, even without a system of record-keeping or money being involved, there is a long-term balance of mutual benefit. 13. Life Without Chiefs, Marvin Harris, New Age Journal , November/December 1989 Modern-day egalitarian bands of hunters share their foodand their political power as did their forebears. But when agriculture was invented, people settled down, produced surpluses, and began to accumulate private property. As control of a group's resources fell to select individuals, big men, chiefs, and, eventually, presidents emerged. UNIT 4. Other Families, Other Ways 14. When Brothers Share a Wife, Melvyn C. Goldstein, Natural History , March 1987 While the custom of fraternal polyandry relegates many Tibetan women to spinsterhood, this unusual marriage form promotes personal security and economic well-being for its participants. 15. The Visit, Clifford Geertz, The New York Review of Books , October 18, 2001 Anthropologists have long contended that the functions of marriage include the creation of the nuclear family, the continuation of the extended family over time, and the binding of otherwise separate kinship groups into a unified social network. But what happens in the institution of marriage does not even exist, even in the ritualistic sense ? The Na of China show us. 16. Death Without Weeping, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Natural History , October 1989 In the shantytowns of Brazil, the seeming indifference of mothers who allow some of their children to die is a survival strategy geared to circumstances in which only a few may live. 17. Our Babies, Ourselves, Meredith F. Small, Natural History , October 1997 Cross-cultural research in child development shows that parents readily accept their society's prevailing ideology on how babies should be treated, usually because it makes sense in their environmental or social circumstances. 18. Parallel Brides, Mustafa Turker Ersen, Natural History , May 2002 When a brother and a sister marry a sister and a brother, there is more than just the convenience of forgoing the [read more]