Cultural Anthropology 2022

  MAP OF NON-BINARY TRADITIONAL GENDERS MUXE in Mexican Culture Social convention says there are two types of people: male and female. And you know who’s who based on their genitalia. But in fact, various cultures have long recognized members who buck the biological binary.  The ancients wrote of people who were neither men nor women; individuals have been swapping genders for centuries; and intellectuals have fiercely debated the connection between the body and the self.  Today, there are many populations with alternative identities,    hijras  in South Asia,  kathoeys  in Thailand muxes  in Mexico Gender and Sexuality in THAILAND  "Are bodies everywhere defined as male or female and variations on that? If so why?"  Either way, "how do human societies determine sex and gender?" Sexual dimorphism: variations on the theme The first question posed was, "Are bodies always defined as male or female and variations on that?" The concept we'll use to describe

  Race vs Ethnicity If someone asked you to describe your identity to them, where would you begin? Would it come down to your skin color or your nationality? What about the language you speak, your religion, your cultural traditions or your family's ancestry? These words are often used interchangeably, but , they're defined as separate things.  "'Race' and 'ethnicity' have been and continue to be used as ways to describe human diversity, Race is understood by most people as a mixture of physical, behavioral and cultural attributes.  Ethnicity recognizes differences between people mostly on the basis of language and shared culture.  In other words, race is often  perceived  as something that's inherent in our biology, and therefore inherited across generations. Ethnicity, on the other hand, is typically understood as something we  acquire , or  self-ascribe , based on factors like where we live or the culture we share with others.  The basis of "rac

  FILM: Strangers Abroad, Margaret Mead Enculturation is the process by which culture is passed down from generation to generation. Understanding enculturation is one way to help us understand why we have different worldviews which underlie our different ways of viewing the world. These different views are often the source of CONFLICT in our globalizing world. Enculturation also helps us understand the core values in a culture (basis for ideological definition) as well as strategies for adaptation. There are two basic strategies for enculturation that aim to produce different kinds of MODAL PERSONALITIES (the kinds of adults that will be successful in their culture). Dependence Training --focuses on creating adults who are committed to the group, who see their individual needs as second to the groups concerns. ·          cooperation encouraged ·          group membership and interdependence stressed ·          tasks assigned progressively to children at a young age ·          prolonged