An analysis of the book "From Longhouse to Village" by anthropologist and missionary R. Daniel Shaw, regarding the study of mixing Christianity and native cultures together.
850 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 30.95
Abstract This paper examines Shaw's study and shows how he focuses specifically on the Samoan culture and its familial, organizational, and political structure. Shaw suggests that the introduction of Christianity profoundly changed the course of Samoan life through the process of ?syncretism,? or a blending of new cultural life with the old, a result of introducing outside religious structure in combination with indigenous social structures.
From the Paper "Can a person worship Christ on Sunday and visit a witch doctor on Monday morning for a healing remedy?? This question forms the central thesis of the book, From Longhouse to Village by anthropologist and missionary R. Daniel Shaw. (Shaw, p. 17) In his text on Samoan social and religious life from its inception to the present, Shaw puts forth a radical thesis viewed through a Christian, missionary lese. He suggests the anthropological thesis that apparently minor changes in the level of technological and philosophical religious development and the social and political organizational structure of a culture can have a profound effects on the way that culture changes and develops."
Abstract This paper discusses two different socio-cultural groups who have immigrated to the United States in the last century. It compares the Hmong (Asian) group with the Latino population and shows how their cultures have conflicted with the modern American society. It examines how they have preserved their cultures despite the American "melting pot phenomenon".
From the Paper "When America went to war in Vietnam, there were many victims. Among the most tragic were the Hmong people. Thousands fought and died for the Americans, taking orders and duties that were often the worst in the army, with little or no compensation. (Hmong FAQ: Immigration) When the Americans left, the veterans of their campaign in Laos underwent systematic extermination at the hands of the people they had been convinced to fight for the Americans, tens of thousands died. (Oroville Mercury Register) Many of these veterans and their families attempted to go to America, where they were not welcomed by those who did not know of their sacrifices: "many Americans do not welcome refugees who do not speak English. They know that many are unaware of how the Hmong took orders from Americans, cooked food for them, guarded them, carried them when they were wounded, wrapped their bodies when they were killed.""
Tags: immigration, demography, united, states, culture, society, hispanic, asia, vietnam
Abstract This paper examines and compares the basic elements, theories, and methods of cultural ecology and human behavioral ecology and discusses how the articles fit in their respective paradigms and within cultural ecology at large.
From the Paper "In any field of study, researchers operate under paradigms: often unnoticed scientific world-views that shape which data the researcher collects, how he/she collects it, and what conclusions he/she draws from that data. Two paradigms in the field of cultural ecology include classificatory cultural ecology, exemplified by Tappers and trappers: parallel process in acculturation (Murphy & Steward) and human behavioral ecology, as in Optimal diet breadth theory as a model to explain variability in Amazonian hunting (Hames and Vickers). Both of these articles study indigenous Amazonian populations, but each from a different paradigm and thus with different methods and results. Through a comparison of these two articles, this paper will explore the differences and similarities of these two paradigms and how the paradigms the researchers worked under shaped their studies."
Abstract This paper looks at the literature of writers analyzing the trend of companies who are moving toward uniform work ethics, standards and practices. This move is seen as essential for large international corporations wishing to fit into an ever-globalizing economy.
From the Paper "Many corporations fail to realize the type of profits and results from the promised "Holy Grail" of globalization because they have not paid enough ongoing attention to the process. Without greater effectiveness in their efforts to globalize, firms waste precious executive resources or decide to standardize their operations to limit the complexity of their international strategies. Businesses of all types are finding that it is important to standardize business procedures and policies as they build the foundations of growth and the demands that doing business on a global basis will entail (Morrison & Beck, 2000)."
Abstract A paper which introduces and discusses the burial practices of ancient Egyptians. Specifically, it looks at burial practices for rulers, common people and their belief in the afterlife. It also shows the practice of mummification and entertainment at burial feasts.
From the Paper "After the funeral ceremony, participants would enjoy a great feast in celebration of the dead, with entertainment provided by singers and dancers. During the banquet, the body would be placed inside the final resting place in the tomb, and the footprints of the participants would all be wiped away from the sand. Now, the deceased's soul could finally return to the body, and the deceased could go on to the afterlife. A "Book of the Dead" was also buried with the mummy, to instruct the deceased how to cope with various conditions during the afterlife."
Tags: tombs, Nile, 'opening, of, the, mouth', funeral
Abstract An examination of the evolution of man from the earliest Australopithecus through to the three branches of the "family tree" to the dead end species of neanderthalensis and finally to modern homo sapiens. Anatomically modern man did not just spring up from nowhere, he comes from a long line of hominids that extends back many millions of years. The author discusses evidence such as tool types including social structures and the development of language.
From the Paper "Other diverse aspects that mark differences between the Australopithecines and Homo habilis are possible social organizations and the aspect of communication through language, however these diverse changes were still beginning and therefore were not as organized or developed as compared to those of Homo sapiens.
The Homo Erectus followed the Handy man it can be seen by the later too types and development of this hominid that new ideas and understandings were being developed which leads archaeologists to realise that as with the evolutionary changes to physiology and skeletal frames the brain case was changing and developing the human mind."
Abstract This paper explores the problems involved in the use of film by anthropologists as a means of portraying the social customs and experiences of a people. A discussion of fictional film versus scientific documentary is presented. Three ethnological films are examined to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of this method. The conclusion is drawn that a filmmaker must make a choice between "telling a story" and conducting true scientific research.
From the Paper "One of the first considerations for the anthropological filmmaker is who their audience will be. In general, an anthropological writer will have their work published in a professional journal or book, which is intended to be read by other professionals. With the film, however, they can be released for a general audience who is not familiar with the terms and techniques of anthropology. The presentation of the information must therefore be in a format that the lay person will understand. It must also hold their attention, therefore some consideration must be given to character development and plot, yet at the same time, this must be done without losing accuracy.
Often, films about "exotic" people are made by people with no anthropological background. In the film "Dead Birds" shot among the Dani tribe of New Guinea, its maker Robert Gardner hinges on becoming a scientific fantasy (Ruby, 1991). The film was shot in a very artistic manner, which at times tended to sway the opinion of the viewer about what the persons were doing. The filmmaker can choose to show or not show certain elements, which skew the impressions of the viewer. This same problem exists in written anthropological works. The writer can choose to include or not include certain elements, which are key to understanding the actions of the people presented, therefore the work becomes an interpretation of how the anthropologist feels about the people and not a true work of scientific documentation."
Background; role of science & Darwin's theories. Ethical issues & negative aspects of using genetics to produce "better people." Dangers of manipulating human genes. Nazi experiments. Human Genome Project.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 8 sources, 2001, $ 71.95
From the Paper "The eugenics movement started at the end of the nineteenth century with the application of scientific methods to human behavior and even to then human organism itself. Eugenics is the study of human genetics and of methods to improve inherited characteristics, physical both and mental, of the race. Eugenicists analyze human beings to see what characteristics are to be promoted and what characteristics are to be eliminated and then encourage breeding accordingly. In terms of the evolution of society at large, social Darwinism refers to a kind of social eugenics. Critics from the first insist that human beings cannot be treated as animals and that neither human behavior nor human evolution can be reduced to such simplistic ideas about improving the stock. While eugenics in its early forms has..."
How the creation of images of the Cold War shaped the culture of its time. Cold War rhetoric in politics & culture. Geopolitical stakes. Propaganda "war." Shifting U.S. priorities.
3,150 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 23 sources, 2001, $ 111.95
From the Paper "This research examines Cold War culture, in which the issue of public image, or perception, of geopolitical rivals and allies and their adherents surfaced as a recurring theme throughout the last half of the 20th century. The research will consider ways in which commentators and artists, via public statements, the public discourse, and such media as television and film, treated the question of image in that period, with a view toward identifying reasons that perception was so important to so many as well as evaluating the weight that Cold War-context presentation carried in shaping the culture of the time.
The generation that witnessed and participated in World War II was shocked to learn afterward that some 12 million people--6 million of them Jews--had been murdered, not collaterally but before and in parallel with the shooting war in Europe, as a ..."
From the Paper "The most important facts about modern Germany seem to have been connected to wars. Both World War I and World War II were disasters for Germany, with the latter leading to a divided Germany that was just recently reunified. In the following pages, the focus is on an overview of German history and culture.
Themes of German History
One of the major themes of German history, according to William Spencer (1994) is division. The division of Germany after World War II does not represent a departure from German..."
From the Paper "One of the major achievements of Maya culture was its system of hieroglyphic writing which was "the most highly developed script in pre-Columbian America." The Classic Period of Maya civilization extended roughly from A.D. 250 to A.D. 900. The writing system flourished in that era as one facet of a new, complex hierarchical order that was apparent from the civilization's remains but whose history was relatively inaccessible because the script could not be read. This writing was found on a variety of media. It was carved on freestanding stone monuments, on masonry architecture, on portable objects of bone or shell, and it was painted on pottery and in screenfold books, or codices, of bark paper. The content of the hieroglyphic codices was "primarily astronomical and divinatory" and for some time scholars believed that all Maya writing dealt..."
From the Paper Anasazi is one of the most important early cultures in North America and left a legacy for many of the tribes of the Southwest, including the Pueblo Indians of today. The Anasazi developed a widespread culture with roads, commerce, trade, and a number of industries.
The Anasazi culture was the social order of the people who occupied the Four Corners area of the American southwest during the area between approximately 200 B.C. and 1300 A.D. These people were designated the Anasazi by archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder in 1936, a word taken from the Navajo language. it is taken to mean "the old ones" or "the ancient ones" and is clearly not the term these people used for themselves. A more recent interpretation of the word is that it means "enemy ancestors," a reasonable point of view given the cultural aversion of the..."
From the Paper "E. E. Evans-Pritchard, in Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande, poses essential questions about human thought in his examination of the central role of witchcraft and magic among these Southern Sudanese people. Primarily, Evans-Pritchard's study brings into question the nature of reality itself, and the relationship of reality and the human mind. Examining this book, the Western reader might be tempted to dismiss the Azande as an absurdly superstitious people with little or no connection to the real and scientific world of cause and effect which that reader is convinced is the one and only reality. However, the reader would be more wise if he considered the often less than rational nature of his own culture and its belief systems.
For example, in San Diego, California, recently, in the.."
Abstract There is currently a great debate over the nature of culture, and by extension, whether aspects of behavior shown by nonhuman primates can be called evidence of culture. There are two basic schools of thought on the topic.
From the Paper "The Study of Culture and The Importance of Definitions
Introduction
There is currently a great debate over the nature of culture, and by extension, whether aspects of behavior shown by nonhuman primates can be called evidence of culture. There are two basic schools of thought on the topic. One group argues that culture is by definition human,, while a second group believes that examples of social learning by apes and monkeys are proof of distinct simian cultures. The gulf between these two camps is caused by problematic definitions. Definitions are crucial to language and reasoning, but also to science (Babbie, 1986, p. 93). The debate over ape culture will not be resolved until a unified definition of culture is accepted within the scientific community. "
An examination of the legal and cultural background, the issues, outcome and impact of trial of the instructor for teaching evolution in Tennessee school.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 5 sources, 2000, $ 55.95
From the Paper "In 1925, science instructor John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution in his classroom, a violation of Tennessee law. Scopes' case has become known as the "Monkey Trial," where the many facets of American cultural life collided in a steamy courtroom in Dayton, Tennessee. This paper will examine the Scopes trial and why it is the trial of the century.
The theory of evolution, first proposed by Charles Darwin in 1858, gained increasing acceptance in American textbooks beginning in the 1880s. By 1920, the teaching of evolution had become widespread. Meanwhile, America's public schools experienced an explosion of students, as the nation became more urbanized and secondary school education became mandatory (Larson 15-27).
This expansion coincided with the Progressive Era..."
