Author Question: Name three microcultures that the textbook mentions as affecting fieldwork and describe the effects ... (Read 69 times)

pane00 · **on:** Jul 10, 2018

Name three microcultures that the textbook mentions as affecting fieldwork and describe the effects of one of them on an anthropologist's experience.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What is a life history and why is this method controversial?

What will be an ideal response?

Anonymous · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 10, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: The ideal answer will include:
1. Class: In many cases the relative wealth of the anthropologist is clear to the people studied, based on his or her equipment and ability to travel internationally.
2. Race/Ethnicity: The impact of a researcher from a different background may have many different effects.
3. Gender: A young, unmarried woman is likely to face difficulty because that is a rarity in many cultures.
4. Age: Researchers are typically adults, and may have difficulty gaining rapport with youths.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: The ideal answer will include:
1. A life history is an in-depth description of an individual's life.
2. Early efforts with this method sought out typical or representative individuals to study; later life histories focused on individuals in unique social niches.
3. The value of the method was questioned by Franz Boas, who argued that individuals' own accounts of their lives could not be trusted.
4. A response to this argument is that even if the history is colored by the teller, it will provide numerous insights about the culture.