Cultural Anthropology Article Questions

Activity 1: Article Questions

1. Define: ‘cultural anthropology’.

2. In your own words, define ‘culture’.

3. Examine the categories of material and non-material culture used by anthropologists. List two examples
of non-material and two examples of material culture patterns in our society.

4. Explain the difference between ethnographers and ethnologists.

5. How has the focus of ethnographic studies changed since Mead’s time?

6. Create your own definition of the term ‘subculture’. Give two new examples of subcultures in our society.

7. Explain the difference between ethnocentrism & cultural relativism with examples if possible.

8. a) In your opinion, can a person avoid being ethnocentric? How?

b) Should cultural relativism mean that everything that people do in a culture should be considered
reasonable as long as they think it’s right? Or should anthropologists be able to judge or correct some
behaviours based on universal laws that should apply to all of humanity?

Activity #2: Cultural Universals

9. What is a ‘cultural universal’? Examine the list of ‘cultural universals’ from the article and record a few
examples. Can you think of one or two other categories of universal behaviour? Explain your choice.

10. Exploring Cultural Universals  complete the following activities that relate to some of the cultural
universals learned in the article:

VALUES: The table below contains a list of objects or concepts that people tend to value. First, rank the items individually. After
you have done this, compare your results with a partner. Create a group ranking from 1 to 10 (1 being most important).

Object / Concept My Ranking Group Ranking

Family
Health
Love (Belonging)
Safety
Intelligence
Money
Education
Self-Awareness
Empathy
Physical Needs
(Food, Shelter, Clothing)
How did you decide which items got the highest ranking, or had the most value?

SYMBOLS: Def.n: “Anything that meaningfully represents something else”. All cultures use symbols.
They represent shared meaning among people and help communicate feelings and ideas. Symbols
express abstract concepts with visible objects. But the same symbol can have different meanings
depending on the culture………

Question: How does COLOUR as a symbol change in meaning depending on the culture?

Your Task: Choose a colour and research what it symbolizes in different cultures.
The example below explores the colour RED and how its meaning changes depending on the culture:

Colour: RED

Colour you will research:____________________________ (don’t choose red!)

Your notes about what your chosen colour symbolizes in different cultures:

NORMS:
Think of examples of of Folkways, Mores and Taboos that exist in North American culture and list below.

Do you know any Folkways, Mores and Taboos from a different culture? List as many as you can.