Here are some sample questions to help you to prepare for the mid-term test. You will notice that I have not included questions for all of the readings and videos, this does NOT mean that those readings/videos will not be included on the test. Also, the questions that are here will appear on the mid-term, but not necessarily in the same format. For example, I will not include all of the short essay questions, but the topics included there will probably appear on the test as multiple choice questions. Finally, I have decided that I will give you a list of short essay questions ahead of time.
Sample Questions:
1. According to Barrett, anthropologists were >unleashed= at a particular period in history:
a) The Renaissance
b) The age of exploration
c) The Enlightenment
d) The Dark Ages
2. According to Barrett, it is customary to trace the origin of the fieldwork orientation in anthropology to:
a) Sir James Frazer
b) E.B. Tylor
c) Bronislaw Malinowski
d) Emile Durkheim
3. One of the key figures associated with evolutionism in anthropology is:
a) Bronislaw Malinowski
b) Clifford Geertz
c) A. R. Radcliffe Brown
d) E. B. Tylor
4. One of the basic features of structural functionalism is/was:
a) A focus on social change
b) A focus on conflict
c) A fieldwork orientation
d) A reductionist viewpoint
5. A key proponent of functionalism in anthropology was:
a) Sir James Frazer
b) E.B. Tylor
c) Bronislaw Malinowski
d) Emile Durkheim
6. According to Tsing, a key source of authority and prestige for Meratus men is:
a) They are larger and stronger than Meratus women.
b) Meratus cultural values hold that men are inherently superior to women.
c) Meratus men have greater mobility than do Meratus women.
d) Meratus men are more intelligent than Meratus women.
7. Anna Tsing=s ethnographic description of Meratus ethnicity supports:
a) The view that ethnicity is a primoridal or essential feature of identity.
b) The view that ethnicity is a social construction.
c) The view that ethnicity is a product of colonial intervention.
d) The view that ethnicity is a Atribal hangover@ and has no place in the contemporary world.
8. AEthnicity@ refers to:
a) perceived differences in culture, national origin and historical experience by which groups of people are distinguished from others in the same social environment.
b) natural, biological differences in ability, character and appearance by which groups of people are distinguished from others in the same social environment.
c) the separation, voluntary or forces, of diverse groups of people that serve to distinguish groups of people from others in the same social environment.
d) the formation of a new national culture based on elements from diverse groups that serves to unite groups of people in the same social environment.
9. Modernization theory
a) is shaped by structural functionalist theory and notions of progress.
b) is shaped by historical particularism and notions of progress.
c) is shaped by evolutionism and notions of progress.
d) is the only way to improve the lives of less civilized populations.
10. Which of the following statements is true of an egalitarian society?
a) there is no recognition of individuals with special skills or abilities.
b) there is recognition of individuals with special skills or abilities, however, these do not translate into special status or differential access to valued resources
c) leadership positions are non-existent
d) leadership positions are inherited through the male-line
11. The kula ring is:
a) a ceremonial ring worn by high ranking chiefs in Polynesia
b) a term for the sound of a ceremonial bell that marks the death of a prominent chief in the Trobriand Islands
c) an exchange system that involves the circulation of prestigious arm-bands and necklaces
d) an exchange system that involves the circulation of grass skirts made by women and is restricted to female participants
Short Essay:
1. General Anthropology includes four sub-fields. Name them and briefly describe the subject focus of each.
2. Define ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
3. What are the four basic features of evolutionism in anthropology as described by Barrett?
4. What is the kula ring? Which anthropologist introduced this ethnographic example to the discipline?
5. List three features of feminist OR postmodernist thought in anthropology as described by Barrett. How do these features connect to wider political or stylistic trends outside of academic circles?
6. Define ethnicity. What are the two major theoretical frameworks used (in anthropology) to understand or analyze ethnicity? Briefly describe each.
7. According to Tsing, the Indonesian state views the Meratus people as disorderly and primitive and so the government has taken measures to Acivilize@ Meratus groups. What are these measures? What are some of the measures that Meratus groups take to resist or accommodate state efforts to assimilate them?
8. The San peoples in Namibia and Botswana have experienced rapid social change over the past 4 decades. Discuss some of these changes and the ways that San peoples have dealt/are dealing with them