Be prepared to answer these questions for the final.....

I will ask you to answer some, or all, of the following questions using your readings, class discussions, and experiences:

1) Why is it important to protect the cultural heritages of tribal peoples? Why is it of concern to anthropologists? Is there anything that we can take away from studies of such peoples?

2) Linguists estimate that there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. Nearly half are in danger of becoming extinct in this century. Is it important to preserve such languages? Can we learn anything from these languages?

3) Discuss the Trobriand interpretation of cricket? Explain how the game changed Trobriand society. How is this form of cricket different from the cricket played by the British?

4) What is globalization? Is it something new? Is there anything unique about globalization today? For instance, is culture becoming homogenized? If so, then how? Is it becoming more heterogeneous? If so, then how?

5) What does it mean to say that “time is a gift”? How different is “time is a gift” from “time as money”? How might such a view change our lives? Can you think of any negative aspects to this view of time?

6) Bronislaw Malinowski, in his classic essay Magic, Science and Religion, claimed that each of these was a viable mode of cognition and that most societies exhibit all of them in variable proportions. In what ways does magical thinking persist in contemporary America? Is it likely to persist into the future?

7) In the essay “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”, Clifford Geertz tries to read Balinese ritual and actions like a text in order to decode the symbols in their society. Leni Reifenstahl, the director of the film “Triumph of the Will”, argued throughout her life that this film was not a Nazi propaganda film, but a documentary. How might a symbolic anthropologist, like Geertz, approach the question of whether this film was a form of Nazi propaganda or a documentary? That is, what do the scenes, colors, and images in the film tell you?

8) What do different origin stories tell people about who they are? Can origin stories coexist in the world?

Reminder: Next Monday is the final for this class. Don't miss this final!

Please email me if you have any questions.