Реферат: Cultural Anthropology Essay Research Paper IntroductionCultural Anthropology

McIntosh explains that as a white person she had been sheltered from the privileges that she had. I think whites are taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege, (McIntosh 135). She compiled a list of things that she encounters daily that are a privilege to white people that may not come so easily to a person of a different race. For example one item states that she can turn on the television or open the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented, (McIntosh 135). She then claims that if all these items are true that we are not living in a free country and that certain opportunities are available to whites. She concludes by stating that she hopes that social systems need to be redesigned.

My Experience:

I am a white female so I was able to place myself in the anthropologist s shoes. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood went to private school and I was still taught all about the different races. There is an entire month dedicated to Black History in schools. Thus, I experienced reverse discrimination, not a privilege for being white. When applying for scholarships upon entering college I was repeatedly turned down only to see a fellow student of a different race, with lower grades, less academic activities, and lower rank receive the scholarship because of their race. Affirmative action allows for a less qualified candidate to receive the job so that the company can have a certain number of ethnic people employed. There is a black Ms. America and a Black Ms. America, yet the former Ms. America was black. There are sororities that are specifically for particular races yet regular sororities can not discriminate on race but the race specific ones can.

Comparison:

The anthropologist and I have very different opinions on being white. She claims that it is a privilege and that other races suffer, I strongly disagree with her. Where was her research done? Did she not look into such issues as reverse discrimination, affirmative action, and the privileges that are granted to others based on their race? The article was completely absurd. What was her basis for such an article? White people have to prove themselves where as others have doors opened for them because of the way our ancestors treated them. McIntosh needs to do a lot more exploration into the topic.

Section: Economy and Business

Chapter: Strings Attached, page 143

Lee Cronk (The Sciences, 1989)

Article Summary:

Lee Cronk discusses possible cultural misunderstandings that were involved in the creation of the unfortunate (and racist) term Indian giver. These misunderstandings were offensive to both Native Americans and whites. Europeans thought that gifts should be freely given and that the gift is less valued when there are strings attached, (Cronk 143). Due to the before mentioned when anthropologists study gift giving rituals they are more interested in the relationship between the giver and the receiver than the actual item being given. The article makes several references to past situations and gives several examples of anthropologist s point of view.

Anthropologist s Experience:

The anthropologist s experiences came from first hand knowledge when trying to give gifts to the people that they were studying. One anthropologist by the name of Richard Lee, from the University of Toronto, had an experience with the !Kung hunter-gatherers. He gave the tribe an ox as a token of good will but all the !Kung did was complain about how scrawny the ox was. Only later did Lee learn, with relief, that the !Kung belittle all gifts, (Cronk 144). According to the !Kung ridiculing gifts is their way of diminishing the expected return and of enforcing humility on those who would use gifts to raise their own status within the group, (Cronk 144). Another example from an anthropologist was by Rada Dyson-Hudson, from Cornell University. Dyson-Hudson gave the Turkana s of Kenya pots, maize meal, tobacco, and other items. Much to her dismay it was less than appreciated. A typical response to a gift of a pot, for example, might be, Where is the maize meal to go in this pot? or, Don t you have a bigger one to give me? To the Turkana, these are legitimate and expected questions, (Cronk 144).

My Experience:

As a child and as an adult the whole gift giving process is different. I can remember getting a gift and never thinking anything of it. As an adult if I get a gift that is quite elaborate I always want to return a gift even better the giver. It is as if I want to one up the giver, as if it is going to make me a better person to give the better gift. As a child I remember receiving items from childhood friends and when a fight would occur the friend wanting the gift back, and this was referred to as Indian giving. Now as I get even older gift giving rituals such as Christmas has become consumer warfare. I think that gift giving is a touchy topic in all cultures.

Comparison:

The similarities between the anthropologist s experience and mine are amazing. It just goes to show that gift giving is a process that will never be fully grasped no matter how much research is done on the topic.

Section: Gender and Socialization

Chapter: society and Sex Roles, page 159

Ernestine Friedl (Human Nature, 1978)

Article Summary:

The article begins with the anthropologist giving two contrasting examples of the roles men and women play in different cultures. Following this introduction the thesis is given that the roles will never be clearly defined as long as examples from other cultures are used in the argument. The article continues to site examples about how men are the dominant sex because they are the hunter s and provide the resources. Several examples of tribes are given to support his hypothesis that as long as men provide the resources than they will have the upper hand. He concludes by stating that as women continue to gain positions in roles that allow them to provide the resources than they will be able to make demands to change the sex roles.

Anthropologist s Experience:

Friedl makes the argument that to understand society and its sex roles one must not toss examples from the world s cultures at each other like intellectual stones, (Friedl 160). He states that the differences, biologically speaking, can be clarified by looking at known examples of the earliest forms of human society and examining the relationship between the technology, social organization, environment, and sex roles, (Friedl 160). Friedl claims that the factors in a society that cause male dominance need to be researched because once these factors are understood than one can apply this knowledge to the constant changes in the sex roles due to the modern society. Through Friedl s observations he learned that The male monopoly on hunting unites men in a system of exchange and gives them power, (Friedl 161). Women do not hunt, I believe, because of four interrelated factors: variability in the supply of game; the different skills required fore hunting and gathering; the incompatibility between carrying burdens and hunting; and the small size of seminomadic foraging populations, (Friedl 161). He also believes that another reason are not the dominant sex is because it is difficult to provide resources when one is pregnant.

My Experience:

I grew up in school learning about how women s roles in society have evolved over time. I realize that women were not and still are not the dominant sex. This is partly because it is still difficult for women to be in positions of power. I once tried for a position in a spirit organization at Texas Tech University. It was a male organization thus I was declined membership. Even in dating the men pay, open the doors for the women, and play the dominant role.

Comparison:

I agree with Friedl in that the dominant sex is the one that provides the resources. His research was done by past observations and my experience came from personal experience in such areas as dating, work, and school. The times that I was unable to provide resources I was not dominant, but the times that I did provide the resources I had the upper hand. As we continue to grow as a society than women will be in such positions of power and than maybe an equality between the sexes can exist.

My Favorite Article:

My favorite article was the article titled White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack . This was because it is such a controversial topic that gets a rise out of me and makes my temper flare. I would really like to argue my point of view with the anthropologist that wrote the article. It is a topic that is extremely controversial and will be around as long as there are people and different races.