Full Description
Addressing important and timely topics, including global climate change and the #MeToo movement, Through the Lens of Cultural Anthropology is a fresh and contemporary textbook designed to engage students in the world surrounding them. The book offers a sustained focus on language, food, and sustainability in an inclusive format that is sensitive to issues of gender, sexuality, and race. Integrating personal stories from her own fieldwork, the author brings her passion for transformative learning to students in a way that is both timely and thought-provoking.Beautifully illustrated with over sixty full-color images, including comics and maps, the text brings concepts to life in a way sure to resonate with undergraduate readers. Through the Lens of Cultural Anthropology is supplemented by a full suite of instructor and student supports that can be accessed at lensofculturalanthropology.com.
Contents
List of IllustrationsList of Boxes Acknowledgments About the AuthorPrefaceNote to InstructorsNote to Students 1. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Learning ObjectivesIntroduction: The Lens of Cultural Anthropology?The Culture Concept The Field of AnthropologyFrameworks A Brief History of Anthropological ThoughtAnthropology and ColonialismThe Importance of Cultural Anthropology Today SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 2. Studying Contemporary Culture Learning ObjectivesIntroduction: Studying CultureWhat Are the Parts of Culture? Ethnocentrism and Cultural RelativismCultural Adaptation and MaladaptationThe Functions of CultureChild Rearing Fieldwork Methods and EthicsApplied Anthropology SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 3. Race and EthnicityLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Is Race Real?Human Race Is Not Biological Biocultural Connections: Prejudice and Health History of the Race Concept Defining EthnicityThe Privilege of Fair Skin Discrimination Based on Caste SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 4. LanguageLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Language and CultureDefinition of Language Language OriginsLanguage and Communication: Signs and Symbols What Does a Linguistic Anthropologist Do? Communication beyond Words EthnolinguisticsLanguage Use in the Digital AgeLanguage LossSummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 5. FoodLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Food-Getting PracticesAdaptive Strategies: Food Foragers and Food ProducersFood ForagersFood Producers: Horticulturalists Food Producers: Pastoralists Food Producers: Industrialism Globalization of Food The Human DietSummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 6. Economic ResourcesLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Who Gets What and How?What Drives Economic Decisions? Production: Making the Things People Need and Want Distribution: How People Get the Things They Need and Want Consumption: How People Use the Things They Need and Want SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 7. Marriage and FamilyLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Marriage and FamilyDefining MarriageSpouses: How Many and Who Is Eligible?Family Residence PatternsMarriage as Economic ExchangeKinship SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 8. Gender and SexualityLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Social Roles Based on Sex and Gender Defining Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Sexual Identity Masculine and Feminine Gender Identity Gendered Body Modifications Gendered Speech Gender InequalityGendered Occupations SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 9. Politics and PowerLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Politics and Power Power, Authority, and Prestige Social Controls and Conflict ResolutionTypes of Political OrganizationSocial InequalityViolence and WarSummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 10. SupernaturalismLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Religion as a Symbolic System Defining Religion Reasons for Supernatural Belief Systems Sacred RolesReligious PractitionersReligious ResistanceSupernatural Beliefs and Cultural ExpressionSummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 11. Illness and HealingLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Studying Concepts of Illness and Healing Understanding Illness Cultural Concepts of Healing Health Inequality Disability SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions 12. Anthropology and SustainabilityLearning ObjectivesIntroduction: Anthropology and SustainabilityHistory of Human-Environment IssuesDefining SustainabilityAnthropological Approaches to Sustainability StudiesIssues in Sustainability StudiesHow Can Anthropologists Help?SummaryReview QuestionsDiscussion Questions GlossaryReferences Index
