- How is the way we traditionally define marriage in the United States "ethnocentric"?
- what are the assumptions and values which underlie this definition?
- Why is it difficult to define marriage according to anthropologists?
- what functions/characteristics does marriage USUALLY confer?
- legitimizing children
- granting sexual access
- establishes procreation roles between opposite sexes
- defining familial roles
- establishes 'families" who form households
- uniting alliances between kin groups*
- how does same sex marriage challenge ideas of marriage in American culture?
- what are examples of marriage forms across culture which also challenge marriage in American culture?
- how have American marriages and family structures changed over time?
- why have these changes occurred?
- How might you as an anthropologist make a case for the adaptive qualities of same sex and other nontraditional marriage forms in American culture?
"Fraternal polyandry, Polygyny and Monogamy: Tibetan Marriage forms"
- Why are there various forms of marriage in Tibetan culture, and how are each of these understood as logical adaptations to a variety of needs in each family?
- what values and beliefs in American culture does fraternal polyandry question?
- why does fraternal polyandry offer an economic advantage and familial stability that monogamy does not?
- what are potential sources of discord in fraternal polyandry?
- what are the proposed etic explanations for the practice of fraternal polyandry?
- female infanticide
- starvation due to harsh climate/land/herd shortage (inhertitence)
- reduces birth rate creating unmarried reproductive females
- what are the emic explanations for fraternal polyandry? (younger brothers)
- attainment and maintenance of a good life/higher standard of living
- less work pressure and greater security
- more resources/social prestige
- available basic resources, land, house, livestock
"Human population genetics: cultural myth of relationships"
- why is population genetics so powerful as a marker of "identity" in American culture?
- what is the difference between biological relatedness and meaningful relatedness?
- what is KINSHIP?
- What is Mitochondrial DNA, and what meaning does it have in western science and culture?
- why are 75% of your ancestors "invisible" to MtDNA? How MIGHT this impact our understanding of "relatedness"?
- what are the weaknesses of using MtDNA as a test for relatedness?
- Why is the "constructedness" of human kinship "problematic" in understanding ultimate "relatedness"?
- why isnt this your grandmother's genetics???
No comments:
Post a Comment