Abstract
This paper addresses the history and the events of the Salem Witch Trials from the perspective of Semiotic Anthropology. Here, the question of the witchcraft trials is examined as a form of social control for a people, specifically women, who had no other element of control.

Tags:ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY (ANCIENT HISTORY) / RESEARCH (METHODS, THEORIES), discussion semiotic anthropology

Abstract
This paper analyzes the relationship between cultural semiotics and animation within the context of anthropology. It specifically looks at the use of animation in pop-culture devices such as advertising and marketing material. The paper also discusses the complexity of animation, as a system of communication and the use of semiology in artistic endeavors, such as communication.

From the Paper
"The level of communication taking place within contemporary animation is often equated to the subtext within semiotic constructs. Beasley and Danesi describe this sub-textual transfer of meaning as being connotative in nature and often relying on associative chains where meaning or signifier is established through storylines (104). Barthes clearly provides the theoretical foundation upon which animators, as indicated by Beasley, Danesi, and Ohmann, develop their unique language constructs that both rely on cultural associations with meaning as well as develop new cultural queues that became part of the popular folklore such as Red Bull's business man and pigeon animation. Yet, other researchers argue that contemporary animation is nothing but a retelling of existing myth that resonates culturally with the societies."

Tags:semiology, marketing, textual

Abstract
This paper examines the sociological and anthropological implications inherent in the commonplace ritual of a youth football match. Particularly, the paper describes a recent match involving two teams that coincidentally happened to have certain ethnic majorities on their roster. The paper examines why winning this match was so important to the parents and families of the children, and the paper also looks at the social organization, cultural economy, language, and semiotics of the soccer match ritual with an eye towards determining the greater truths and significances it holds.

From the Paper
"It is often said that to truly understand cultures (and human beings more generally) it is necessary to review the rituals in which they participate. The following paper will focus upon one such ritual - namely, the ritual of the local soccer or "football" game which so often takes place at the near-by park or recreational center. In so doing, the paper will explore the social organization, cultural economy, language and semiotics of the ritual with the hope that the reader will be left with a better understanding of the deeper significances and structures which turn the every-day soccer or "football" match into a rich harvest for cultural anthropologists."

Tags:soccer, ethnography, culture

Abstract
The paper discusses how anthropological holism involves looking at both the biological and social aspects of human societies; in other words, it entails looking at the genetic endowment of people as well as what they acquire from their environment. Beyond that, the paper shows how anthropology is a holistic study because it looks at every aspect of human existence: family structure; gender; marriage; conflict resolution; religious beliefs; language; art; how space is used and how homes are constructed.

From the Paper
"Question one: defining holism within the context of anthropology (one paragraph; 5 points) Answer: Anthropological holism involves looking at both the biological and social aspects of human societies; in other words, it entails looking at the genetic endowment of people as well as what they acquire from their environment. Beyond that, anthropology is a holistic study because it looks at every aspect of human existence: family structure; gender; marriage; conflict resolution; religious beliefs; language; art; how space..."

Tags:anthropology, questions, answers

Abstract
This paper discusses the topic of medical anthropology based on the folk sector. The paper reviews rites of passage, culturally based views on mental illness and treatment, as well as culturally based diseases and their treatments.

From the Paper
"The profession of medical anthropology has been around as long as mankind, but according to Janzen was initiated in the 1950's and gradually gained popularity and momentum in the 1960s and 1970s. The American Anthropological Association's journal, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, defines medical anthropology as a field of medicine which: Include[s] all inquiries into health, disease, illness, and sickness in human individuals and populations that are undertaken from the holistic and cross-cultural perspective distinctive of anthropology as a discipline--that is, with an awareness of species' biological, cultural, linguistic, and historical uniformity and variation. "

Tags:medical, anthropology, folk

Abstract
This paper examines three specific sociological theories. The author contrast each theory. The paper demonstrates their impact on the field of historical anthropology.

From the Paper
"Some critics of the field of historical anthropology have accused the field and its practitioners of being generally if not entire theoretical. In other words, the charge leveled against the field is that much of its work and research tends to proceed without the benefit of a specific theoretical lens or framework within which a particular subject event or individual group is analyzed. Many social scientists argue that theoretical underpinning for any investigation is analysis allows the researcher to assess results with respect to ..."

Tags:anthropology, globalization, culture, Iraq war

Abstract
Environmental Anthropology also known as eco-anthropology or anthropology of the environment is a relatively new field in anthropology. It focuses on the interactions between different cultures and changes in the environment. It has become particularly important as we grow more concerned about the impact of issues such as global warming or genetically engineered plants on society.

From the Paper
Anthropology and the Environment Environmental anthropology is a relatively new branch of anthropology. This paper will first define anthropology and describe its four traditional branches, explain and define this new branch of study, tell a little about the background of environmental anthropology and finally describe and illustrate its importance in helping us understand some of the major concerns facing humankind today. Branches of Anthropology Anthropology is the study of humans including especially human culture and development. It is closely related to and shares many of the same

Tags:anthropology, ecology, environmental

Abstract
This research paper details the life and works of Franz Boas, known as the "Father of Anthropology." Boas was an early anthropologist who pioneered methods such as field work and ethnography, as well as the theory of cultural relativity. This paper explores Boas' personal history and education, as well as his ground-breaking work amongst the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of the U.S. The paper concludes by citing Boas's unique and lasting contribution to anthropology, which was his insistence upon the equal treatment of all cultures and his non-racist, relativistic ideals which still stand as examples of his lasting influence.

From the Paper
"After graduation, Boas discovered that there were not many positions available in academia for a Jewish liberal, a reflection of the widespread anti-Semitism of the time (Hyatt 1990). An attempt to immigrate to the United States was unsuccessful, and in frustration Boas turned back to his interest in geography (Hyatt 1990). In 1883, Boas secured a position on an expedition to the Baffin Island region in the Arctic, the goal of which was to research the connection between seawater and migration patterns among the Eskimo (McGee 2000). At the time of the expedition, anthropology was not considered a "reputable" academic subject, and Boas's interest in the expedition was primarily as a geographical study to investigate the influence of the environment on the native peoples' behaviors, movements and cultural activities."

Tags:Anthropology, Franz Boas, father of anthropology, fieldwork, cultural relativity, ethnography, early anthropologists

Abstract
This paper gives an in-depth description of the discipline of anthropology. According to the paper, anthropology is not a static and dry field of academic study, remote from the human subjects, cultures, and power relations it explores and explains, but is actually a discipline that has historically been highly complicit in supporting and reinforcing western institutional structures of power and control. The paper further states that it is in large measure due to this legacy that anthropology in recent decades has been interrogating its own underlying theoretical and methodological assumptions in developing new disciplinary approaches to the human subjects and communities being studied.

From the Paper
"The discipline of anthropology is not a static and dry field of academic study, remote from the human subjects, cultures, and power relations it explores and explains, but is actually a discipline that has historically been highly complicit in supporting and reinforcing western institutional structures of power and control. It is in large measure due to this legacy that anthropology in recent decades has been interrogating its own..."

Tags:anthropology, advocacy, rights

Abstract
This paper examines cultural anthropology, which has traditionally been a transnational endeavor. According to the paper, this has become increasingly true in recent years with the expansion of transnational feminism. Cultural anthropology has also inevitably been an arena of research beset by power challenges, given the traditional practice of there being an observer, who has the power, and an observed, who does not.

From the Paper
"Cultural anthropology has traditionally been a transnational endeavor, and this has become increasingly true in recent years with the expansion of transnational feminism (despite a recent recognition that cultural anthropology does not always have to be about "other" people, somewhere overseas, in the non-Western world). Cultural anthropology has also inevitably been an arena of research beset by power challenges, given the traditional practice of there being an observer (who has the power) and an observed (who does not). In recent decades, an increasing amount of self-reflexivity and self-analysis has been evident in the field, as..."

Tags:cultural, anthropology, transnational