Essentials of Cultural Anthropology 2nd Edition by Kenneth J. Guest - Test Bank

Essentials of Cultural Anthropology 2nd Edition by Kenneth J. Guest – Test Bank

 

Instant Download – Complete Test Bank With Answers

 

 

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

 

CHAPTER 1: Anthropology in a Global Age

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

 

1. The chapter opens with a discussion about the effect that a Coca-Cola plant has had on women living in what region?

a.	India	c.	Panama
b.	Peru	d.	Malaysia

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Easy                    REF:     1.0 Anthropology in a global age

MSC:   Remembering

 

2. Audrey Richards conducted a detailed ethnography of the coming-of-age rituals of the Bemba, and is often credited with opening the door to the study of health and nutrition among women and children. Which of the four fields of anthropology was Richards working in?

a.	archaeology	c.	linguistic anthropology
b.	physical anthropology	d.	cultural anthropology

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate            REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

3. Which concept refers to anthropology’s commitment to looking at the full scope of human diversity and experience, including the cultural, biological, historical, and linguistic?

a.	ethnology	c.	holism
b.	fieldwork	d.	globalization

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

4. Recently, anthropological research has begun to look at the upper segments of society, such as financial institutions, aid and development agencies, medical laboratories, and doctors. What is this process called?

a.	studying up	c.	ethnographic fieldwork
b.	marginalization	d.	flexible accumulation

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate            REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

5. Maria is a cultural anthropologist who wants to better understand the lives of women in coffee farming communities in Brazil. What primary research strategy will she likely use to gain a holistic perspective in order to answer her research questions?

a.	in-depth analysis of historical texts about coffee farmers
b.	interviews with other researchers who have been to Brazil
c.	first-hand ethnographic fieldwork
d.	controlled social experiments

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Moderate            REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

6. Archaeology, the study of cultures in the human past, focuses on what?

a.	how humans adapted biologically to their environments
b.	the fossil record and genetic evidence
c.	any human material remains
d.	only human burial sites

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

7. What type of anthropologist studies people from a perspective that considers how humans have adapted to their environments over time?

a.	physical anthropologist	c.	paleoanthropologist
b.	linguistic anthropologist	d.	cultural anthropologist

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

8. Anthropology looks at the complete diversity of human life across space and time. This kind of study requires a(n)

a.	belief that other cultures are normal.
b.	belief that one’s own culture is superior.
c.	ability to view human cultures as isolated and disconnected.
d.	ability to evaluate others on the basis of one’s own beliefs.

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Easy                    REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

9. Which subfield of anthropology traces the history of human evolution in fossils?

a.	prehistoric archaeology	c.	cultural anthropology
b.	primatology	d.	paleoanthropology

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

10. Both historic archaeologists and prehistoric archaeologists study the past through the analysis of artifacts. What do historic archeologists have access to that prehistoric archaeologists do not?

a.	larger numbers of artifacts	c.	works of art
b.	written records	d.	burial sites

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

11. What is considered the most distinctive feature of being human?

a.	tool use	c.	bipedal locomotion
b.	an opposable thumb	d.	language

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

12. Cultural anthropologists employ the process of ethnology to

a.	study the evolution of human language.
b.	fight the impact of globalization.
c.	ethnographically document a small group of people.
d.	compare cultures.

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

13. Which kind of anthropologist might use pottery, fossilized remains, and jewelry as the primary clues in their research?

a.	physical anthropologist	c.	cultural anthropologist
b.	prehistoric archaeologist	d.	paleoanthropologist

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

14. Material remains help prehistoric archaeologists reconstruct

a.	human behavior.	c.	garbage dumps.
b.	written records.	d.	burial sites.

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

15. What do garbage dumps offer to both anthropologists and archaeologists?

a.	understanding of burial practices
b.	analysis of nutritional intake
c.	a deeper understanding of climate change
d.	understanding of cultural practices

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

16. The so-called “N-word” would be most likely studied for its origins, uses, and meaning by a(n):

a.	descriptive linguist.	c.	biological linguist.
b.	historic linguist.	d.	sociolinguist.

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

17. People are biological creatures as well as rational human beings. In order to gain a complete understanding of any aspect of human behavior, the field of anthropology adopts what strategy?

a.	four-field approach	c.	physical anthropology
b.	cultural evolution	d.	ethnobiology

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

18. In late nineteenth-century debates on American immigration, many scholars and government officials privileged immigrants from northern Europe over those from southern Europe, such as Italians and Greeks, because the officials felt these southern people were a separate and inferior biological race with primitive ways. This is an example of:

a.	holism.	c.	genocide.
b.	ethnocentrism.	d.	ethnocide.

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Difficult              REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

19. Pablo is an anthropologist studying the Japanese tea ceremony. He considers Japanese religion and history, as well as social relations, the politics of gender, and the language used to talk about the tea ceremony. Pablo’s approach to studying the Japanese tea ceremony is an example of what aspect of anthropology?

a.	participant observation	c.	four-field approach
b.	physical anthropology	d.	holism

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

20. The sequencing of mitochondrial DNA to trace changes in human ancestors over time involves which specialization of anthropology?

a.	prehistoric archaeology	c.	paleoanthropology
b.	cultural anthropology	d.	historic archaeology

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

21. Understanding miscommunications between men and women resulting from their differing use of language would demand a close examination of the cultural context of language. This would be the work of what type of anthropologist?

a.	physical anthropologist	c.	historic linguist
b.	sociolinguist	d.	descriptive linguist

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

22. An anthropologist looking to understand the impact humans have had on the environment by studying rock formations, polar ice caps and glaciers is most likely practicing what kind of anthropology?

a.	cultural anthropology	c.	linguistic anthropology
b.	paleoanthropology	d.	archaeology

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

23. What do we call the belief that one’s own culture or way of life is normal and natural and the practices of other people are abnormal and unnatural?

a.	holism	c.	“walking in their shoes”
b.	relativism	d.	ethnocentrism

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Easy                    REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

24. Cultural anthropologists often spend a great deal of time in the communities where they conduct research and they ask lots of questions as people work, celebrate, dance, or play games. What is the term used for this process?

a.	ethnology	c.	linguistic anthropology
b.	participant observation	d.	four-field approach

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

25. An anthropologist who has conducted fieldwork on Mormon fundamentalists and their marriage patterns wants to now compare those patterns to those of Muslim tradition. What would this require?

a.	conducting ethnological analysis
b.	studying how humans have evolved over time
c.	carrying out new long-term ethnographic fieldwork
d.	analyzing language used in religious ceremonies around the world

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

26. The Latin language of ancient Rome is no longer spoken routinely. What kind of work is needed to examine how Latin changed into the Romance languages of today (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Italian)?

a.	descriptive linguistics	c.	archaeology
b.	sociolinguistics	d.	historic linguistics

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

27. Participant observation as a research strategy is an essential part of which subfield of anthropology?

a.	ethnological analysis	c.	primatology
b.	cultural anthropology	d.	descriptive linguistics

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

28. What type of anthropologists explore any and all aspects of living human culture—from war and violence to love, sexuality, and child rearing—and look at the meanings that people from all over the world place on these things?

a.	archaeologists	c.	physical anthropologists
b.	sociolinguists	d.	cultural anthropologists

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

29. Anthropologists take a comprehensive approach to understanding human beings. They accomplish this task by:

a.	exploring the past.
b.	using the four-field approach.
c.	focusing mainly on biology.
d.	focusing mainly on participant observation.

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Understanding

 

30. The scientific discipline that looks at genetics, evolution, the fossil record, and our closest relatives in the animal kingdom in order to gain a greater understanding of humans is known as:

a.	prehistoric archeology.	c.	primatology.
b.	physical anthropology.	d.	cultural anthropology.

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

31. What would we call an anthropologist working alongside a Native American group to map their spoken language into a written form?

a.	descriptive linguist	c.	sociolinguist
b.	cultural anthropologist	d.	historic linguist

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

32. What kind of researchers work to record languages that are disappearing by finding the last speakers and making recordings and dictionaries to preserve them for the future?

a.	descriptive linguists	c.	cultural anthropologists
b.	historic linguists	d.	sociolinguists

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

33. Ancient rift valleys and deep caves often contain human fossils that can provide clues about human evolution and the lives of our ancestors. What do we call an anthropologist who examines just the human evolutionary aspect of fossils?

a.	prehistoric archaeologist	c.	paleoanthropologist
b.	cultural anthropologist	d.	primatologist

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

34. What field of anthropology studies monkeys and apes, but not human beings?

a.	physical anthropology	c.	prehistoric archaeology
b.	paleoanthropology	d.	primatology

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

35. There is a huge inflow of refugees from the wars in the Middle East to parts of Europe and Scandinavia. What kind of anthropologist would probably offer the most useful input to the politicians making decisions about resettlement programs?

a.	physical anthropologist	c.	paleoanthropologist
b.	cultural anthropologist	d.	sociolinguist

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

36. Which discipline of anthropology studies human beings in the present and from the past through the excavation and analysis of human material artifacts?

a.	archaeology	c.	physical anthropology
b.	cultural anthropology	d.	ethnology

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Remembering

 

37. Marcus is studying developments in Chinese dialects over time, and how those dialects have evolved as migration has increased over the last two centuries. What kind of anthropological lens is Marcus using?

a.	historic linguistics	c.	cultural anthropology
b.	descriptive linguistics	d.	sociolinguistics

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Applying

 

38. What do many scientists and experts call our current historical era, defined by the ways in which human activity is permanently reshaping our planet?

a.	the Global Village	c.	the Anthropocene
b.	climate change	d.	time-space compression

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

39. Human beings have long been migrant, moving themselves, their material goods, and even ideas from one part of the world to another. What makes this process, which is now called globalization, seem so different today than in the past?

a.	four-field approach	c.	intensification
b.	holism	d.	ethnocentrism

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

40. The theory of time-space compression suggests that the way we think about time and space has been transformed. What do anthropologists think might be the underlying reason for this?

a.	decreased ethnocentrism
b.	even economic growth
c.	the Anthropocene
d.	rapid innovation of communication and transportation

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

41. When companies move their production facilities around the world to take advantage of cheaper labor and lower taxes, what do anthropologists call this?

a.	ethnology	c.	time-space compression
b.	increasing migration	d.	flexible accumulation

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

42. Global poverty has risen dramatically over the past twenty years, and is generally considered a sign of what by anthropologists?

a.	holism	c.	time-space compression
b.	uneven development	d.	ethnographic fieldwork

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

43. Many large corporations—Walmart, General Motors, and others— routinely operate larger numbers of factories in places like China to take advantage of very cheap wages, putting workers in their home country out of a job. This is an example of:

a.	paleoanthropology	c.	flexible accumulation
b.	increasing migration	d.	holism

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

44. Changes in communication technology that have allowed military spouses to switch from mailing letters to their partners in Afghanistan to chatting with them on Skype are an example of what dynamic of globalization?

a.	uneven development	c.	flexible accumulation
b.	technological adaptation	d.	time-space compression

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

45. Nepali workers building roads in India, Filipino maids in Saudi Arabia, and Turkish street repairmen in Germany are examples of which global dynamic?

a.	time-space compression	c.	the Anthropocene
b.	uneven development	d.	increasing migration

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

46. The intensification of globalization is often attributed to what kinds of changes?

a.	the accelerated movement of people within and between countries
b.	the reconstruction of human behavior before written records
c.	increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases
d.	breakthroughs in transportation and communication technologies

 

 

ANS:    D                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

47. What key dynamic of globalization is characterized by the movement of people, not only between countries but also within the individual countries themselves?

a.	four-field approach	c.	increasing migration
b.	flexible accumulation	d.	uneven development

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

48. The Chinese government counts nearly 230 million internal migrants floating in China’s cities. What draws most of these internal migrants?

a.	work opportunities	c.	higher education
b.	more affordable housing	d.	social movements

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

49. What is one possible consequence of oil spills and other forms of mass water pollution?

a.	It will kill off edible sea life completely by 2048.
b.	Offshore drilling will become illegal in most countries.
c.	Killer whales will alter their migration routes to avoid the garbage.
d.	It will kill off all fish in the Gulf of Mexico by 2030.

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Remembering

 

50. In 2010, the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon disaster poured 210 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of two months. What is the British Petroleum oil spill characteristic of?

a.	holism
b.	time-space compression
c.	the impacts of increasing globalization
d.	ethnology

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Easy

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Applying

 

51. Which of the following primarily contributes to climate change and global warming?

a.	the strategies that corporations use to accumulate profits
b.	overpopulation, which leads to increased consumption
c.	increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases created by the burning of fossil fuels
d.	natural changes in the earth’s atmosphere, soil, and oceans

 

 

ANS:    C                           DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Understanding

 

52. Dr. Ken Guest’s research compares a community in New York’s Chinatown with another community in Fuzhou, China. The two communities are linked by migration. What best describes his research?

a.	ethnology	c.	historic archeology
b.	multi-sited ethnography	d.	physical anthropology

 

 

ANS:    B                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.4 How is globalization transforming anthropology?                     MSC:   Remembering

 

53. Global forces are expanding rapidly and moving into local communities everywhere. According to the author, people in local communities respond to these global forces by:

a.	working to reshape encounters with these forces to their own benefit.
b.	strengthening and renewing traditional religious practices.
c.	overturning immigration restrictions.
d.	acting with violence and rebellion to destroy these forces.

 

 

ANS:    A                           DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.4 How is globalization transforming anthropology?                     MSC:   Understanding

 

ESSAY

 

1. Describe how changes in transportation technology in the nineteenth century led to the development of anthropology.

 

ANS:

Advances in transportation technology rapidly transformed long-distance movement of people and goods. This allowed regular travel, trade, and colonization in new and varied places. Merchants, missionaries, and government officials came back with tales and artifacts of the incredible diversity of human cultures and “exotic” appearances they had encountered. Anthropology developed as people began to try to understand this diversity.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.1 What is anthropology?                         MSC:   Analyzing

 

2. Explain why anthropologists study nonhuman primates like apes and monkeys.

 

ANS:

In order to understand which aspects of human physiology and behavior are uniquely human and which attributes are legacies of our primate heritage, it is necessary to study our closest living relatives. The study of nonhuman primates gives us clues about our human behavior and the shared behavior of all primates. Careful observation of primates in their natural habitats and captivity has offered significant insights into sexuality, parenting, male and female differences, cooperation, intergroup conflict, and aggression. These insights can also help us understand what the behavior of human ancestors may have been like.

 

DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

3. Compare and contrast how historic and prehistoric archaeologists investigate past human life and explain what insights can be gained from each perspective.

 

ANS:

Both prehistoric and historic archaeologists locate, excavate, and analyze material remains or artifacts of past human activity. Prehistoric archaeologists use the remains of everyday activities to reconstruct family life and work life, such as what kinds of foods they ate and what types of tools they used. Burial sites provide information on how they treated their elders and the dead. Evidence can also suggest trade patterns, consumption habits, gender roles, and power stratification. Historic archaeology adds written or oral records to the interpretation of artifacts and physical remains. These allow a much wider array of investigations and much deeper analysis because they have records such as deeds, census forms, personal letters, diaries, and other accounts to add insight into topics such as the lives of enslaved African men and women in the American South and global warming and climate change.

 

DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

4. Explain the difference between a descriptive linguist and a sociolinguist. If you knew the last living speaker of a language and wanted to preserve that language, who would you call and why?

 

ANS:

Descriptive linguists describe and record spoken languages and save them as written languages, while sociolinguists study language in its social and cultural context. Trying to save the language would be the domain of the descriptive linguist, who records and describes languages in order to construct a written language. Once you have a written language, you can preserve dictionaries, poetry, and stories of all sorts by simply writing them down. This makes it possible to save them for posterity. Languages have been brought back from the dead to millions of speakers. An example would be the Hebrew language of Israel.

 

DIF:      Difficult

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

5. Bronislaw Malinowski spent two years doing participant observation among the people of the Trobriand Islands in the early 1900s, and there he learned about the islanders’ beliefs and customs regarding trade, warfare, marriage, sex, and death. What kind of anthropologist was Malinowski? Explain how participant observation works and what kind of information it provides. Name another topic you could study this way and how you would do it.

 

ANS:

Malinowski was a cultural anthropologist. Participant observation works by living and working with a group of people for an extended period of time and asking lots of questions. It gives you information about the complex systems of power and meaning that all people construct. You can study almost any topic using this approach, so any reasonable example of a topic and strategy that involves working closely with people would be good. For example, studying religious practices of a particular belief community or sect, or researching drinking beliefs/behavior on a college campus.

 

DIF:      Moderate

REF:     1.2 Through what lenses do anthropologists gain a comprehensive view of human cultures?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

6. Time-space compression is one of the key dynamics of globalization. Explain what time-space compression is, how it works, and give an example.

 

ANS:

Time-space compression is the result of rapid innovation in transportation and communication technology, and it has transformed how we think about space and time. Jet travel, superhighways, telephones, fax machines, computers, and the Internet have changed our sense of how long things take and how far away things are. For example, at the turn of the twentieth century, it took weeks to get from San Francisco to Paris, but today it takes less than a day. Where once a letter sent from the United States might take ten days or longer to reach its addressee overseas in Europe or Africa, we can now send a text message, including photographs, to that same individual in under 30 seconds. With cell phones and satellites, it is possible to talk to a person in any part of the world at any time, even if they are on the opposite side of the planet.

 

DIF:      Moderate            REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

7. The text notes that increasing migration is one of the key dynamics of globalization. Explain where people are moving and why. What effect is this having on people around the world?

 

ANS:

People are moving in vast numbers within and between countries, and they are usually moving from rural to urban areas in search of work. In general, they are looking for jobs to improve their lives and the lives of people back home. In China, 230 million people—internal migrants—are moving to cities, looking for work on construction projects, in service jobs, and in export-oriented factories. This stretches human relationships across time and space. Migration is building connections between different parts of the world, replacing face-to-face interactions with more remote encounters, and potentially reducing the hold of the local environment over people’s lives and imaginations.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

8. Explain how globalization has enabled flexible accumulation, and how it works. Provide an example from class.

 

ANS:

Flexible accumulation reflects the fact that advances in transportation and communication have enabled companies to move their production facilities around the world in search of cheaper labor, lower taxes, and fewer environmental regulations—in other words, to be completely flexible in how they accumulate profits. Companies in developed countries move factories to other countries in the developing world. Lower labor and transportation costs along with fewer regulations mean they can then export their goods back to the United States at a much greater profit than if they produced them locally. One good example is Walmart, which went from advertising “Made in America” to having seven thousand factories in China, and the members of the Walton family are billionaires because of it.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

9. One aspect of globalization is uneven development. Explain what this means and how it affects the world. Provide an example.

 

ANS:

Many people associate globalization with rapid economic development and progress, but globalization has not brought equal development to the world’s people. The distribution of Internet access is very uneven. Europe, North America, and Asia account for the vast majority of high-tech consumption, while whole areas of Africa are completely marginalized and excluded from the globalization process. Globalization is creating extreme wealth for some people, but it is also creating extreme poverty for others. Even in the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, some full-time workers who earn the minimum wage make so little money that they must rely on state welfare programs for food stamps and medical care for themselves and their children.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

10. Globalization is also affecting the world’s environment. What do scientists call our current historical era, marked by human influence on the planet? Identify three effects of human activity on the environment, and then choose one and discuss its consequences.

 

ANS:

Scientists refer to our current era as the Anthropocene. Possible effects of human activity on the environment include overfishing, population growth, limited access to water, pollution, and global warming. The consequences are frequently very bad and threaten the world’s ecological balance.  A good answer can discuss, for example, global warming and a rise in global temperatures, changing weather patterns, and the rapid melting of polar ice and glaciers.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.3 What is globalization, and why is it important for anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

11. Discuss the ways in which local communities react to the potential influence of global forces. Support your description with an example from the class.

 

ANS:

In part because of the forces of globalization, people in local communities may be driven to redefine many aspects of their personal lives. Sometimes they embrace new opportunities, and they frequently and actively resist changes they see as having a negative effect on their lives. In the example discussed at the beginning of the chapter about the Coca-Cola plant in India, the company drained and contaminated the primary water aquifer, so local people began to protest and the local village council withdrew the plant’s license. When the company got support from local government, the local people gained international support and eventually took the case to the highest state court, which ruled that the factory had to cease illegal extraction of groundwater.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.4 How is globalization transforming anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing

 

12. Explain how anthropologists have had to adapt to the impact of global forces on the communities they study. What tools or new approaches have they developed to help them do their work in a globalized world?

 

ANS:

The author states that it is no longer possible to study any community without studying the global forces that affect it. One way that anthropologists have adapted is by studying local communities and following the effects of global forces through multi-sited ethnographies. This allows anthropologists to get a comprehensive view of the community and its unique situation. The author found that in order to study the Chinese community in New York, it was necessary to go to China to get a complete understanding of Chinese communities and population movement.

 

DIF:      Difficult               REF:     1.4 How is globalization transforming anthropology?

MSC:   Analyzing