for Monday 10/20

Cultural Vocabulary

We all know words, and we all know we don’t know every word. Furthermore! We don’t always know the right word to use.

Since we are writing the scary-word papers called “ethnographies” it is important that we begin to accumulate a vocabulary which would be useful when writing said paper. We all want to sound brilliant, but we also want to understand what we’re writing. We want music, and we want meaning.

The words you will be asked to define should enable you to think of your own projects more intellectually. You will be defining cultural concepts and the like. Words to label some of the behavior and stratigraphy of the culture you end up actively observing and participating in, to a degree.

And?

So, in your journals that I asked you to have solely for this class, I would like you to seek out the definitions of anthropologically-relevant terms from time to time. You may find these terms in a dictionary, but more than likely the fuller definitions will come from encyclopedias or anthropological reference material (ATH school websites, etc.).

Once you find these words and their definitions, do the following in your journals:

1) Define the word and give credence to the source. Rather than just quote the definition verbatim (word for word), try summarizing and paraphrasing, instead.

2) Write a short paragraph where you reflect on the meaning of the word. How familiar are
you with the word, its concepts? Unfamiliar? How can you make the word relevant to “the real world” beyond it being a concept; a definition? You are being asked for an example that shows you understand the word and its relevance to our course.

Be ready to share and discuss these with the class each time you are given new words to add to your Cultural Vocabulary.


First?
1. etymology
2. ethnocentrism
3. acculturation
4. adaptive mechanism
5. cultural relativism
6. locus

Due: Monday, October 20, 2008 in your journals for class discussion