Contemporary World Cultures
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Contemporary World Cultures explores the diversity and complexity of cultures across the globe in the modern era. The course examines cultural traditions, social structures, belief systems, and the ways in which cultures interact and influence one another in an increasingly interconnected world. Students will analyze current global issues such as migration, globalization, identity, and cultural change, while developing critical thinking and comparative analysis skills. Through case studies, multimedia resources, and collaborative projects, learners will gain a deeper understanding of cultural practices and their significance in shaping contemporary society.
Recommended Textbook
Cultural Anthropology A Toolkit for a Global Age 2nd Edition by Kenneth J. Guest
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17 Chapters
1134 Verified Questions
1134 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Anthropology in a Global Age
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66 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many large corporations-Walmart, General Motors, and others-routinely operate larger numbers of factories in places like China in order to take advantage of very cheap wages, putting workers in their home country out of a job. What is this an example of?
A) uneven development
B) workload migration
C) flexible accumulation
D) global regulation
Answer: C
Q2) The theory of time-space compression suggests that the way we think about time and space has been transformed. What do anthropologists think might be the underlying reason for this?
A) flexible time scales
B) rapid economic growth
C) rapid accumulation of profits
D) rapid innovation of communication and transportation
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Culture
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70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In your own words, define the term ethnocentrism and provide a concrete example that illustrates the concept. Then discuss how ethnocentrism is related to cultural relativism and why anthropologists must concern themselves with ethnocentrism when conducting cross-cultural research. Conclude by offering some suggestions for concrete ways in which anthropologists can counter ethnocentrism in mainstream society today.
Answer: Students should be able to define ethnocentrism (the belief that one's own culture or way of life is normal, natural, or even superior, and the tendency to use one's culture to evaluate and judge the cultural ideas and practices of others) and offer a concrete example of it. They must also demonstrate the ability to distinguish between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism (which calls for the suspension of judgment while attempting to understand a group's beliefs and practices within their own cultural context), offering concrete reasons why anthropologists are concerned with these concepts. Students should provide plausible suggestions for how anthropologists can counter ethnocentrism more generally in mainstream society.
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Chapter 3: Fieldwork and Ethnography
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is one of the personal obstacles that ethnographers will likely need to overcome while conducting long-term fieldwork?
A) gaining access to observe everyday life and practices
B) establishing close rapport with community members
C) gaining a perspective on complex systems of power and meaning
D) stepping back from ethnocentric attitudes about cultural superiority
Answer: D
Q2) The anthropological practice of sharing ethnographic information on particular communities with nonanthropological institutions such as the military has been situated within the discipline of anthropology as a:
A) form of covert operations.
B) form of foreign aid.
C) form of economic development.
D) directive called "do no harm."
Answer: D
Q3) Define zeros and explain their significance for ethnographers.
Answer: Zeros are the elements of a story or picture that are not told or seen; they are key details omitted from the conversation. This omission offers insight into which topics are too sensitive to discuss publicly.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Language
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which component of any language refers to names, ideas, and events that offer a kind of catalogue of what is spoken and can be compiled into something accessible to others?
A) dialect
B) grammar
C) lexicon
D) syntax
Q2) Why can we say the events that comprised the Arab Spring are in part a matter of language?
A) The events were facilitated through the use of information technology and are seen as a kind of "digital activism."
B) The Arab Spring served to unify language use in the entire region.
C) In order to rebel, the rebels had to develop a new language that could not be understood by the authorities.
D) Use of cell phones led cell phone manufacturers to create native language apps.
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6
Chapter 5: Human Origins
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why did modern Homo sapiens settle in the Pacific Islands approximately 40,000 yBP?
A) There was stress on food resources in Africa.
B) A sudden increase in social organization made this possible.
C) Uncontrolled population growth in Africa put pressure on early humans.
D) The climate cooled and sea levels lowered, providing more land.
Q2) Which of the following emphasizes the deep underlying connection among all humans today?
A) gene flow between populations
B) differing amounts of melanin between populations
C) acclimatization in various environments
D) differing cultural adaptations between populations
Q3) Discuss the impact of Jane Goodall's work with chimpanzees on current evolutionary thinking. How do chimpanzees serve as a useful window into early hominid behavior?
Q4) Genetic studies of mtDNA indicate that:
A) all living humans have a common matrilineal ancestor.
B) there is less genetic variation in African populations.
C) early hominids had a very high incidence of disease.
D) there is more genetic variation farther from Africa.
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Chapter 6: Race and Racism
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Sample Questions
Q1) To what extent is Brazil a racial democracy?
Q2) A person who believes that Italians are somehow inferior and therefore refuses to give an Italian person a job is demonstrating what kind of racist behavior?
A) color-blind racism
B) individual racism
C) institutional racism
D) microaggression
Q3) In Living with Racism: The Black Middle-Class Experience (1994), sociologist Joe Feagin and psychologist Melvin Sikes write about middle-class African Americans who, despite their class status, continue to face racial discrimination. This study is an example of ________.
A) intersectionality
B) color-blind racism
C) phrenology
D) individual racism
Q4) Explain why geneticists state that dividing people into races by skin color is as logical as dividing them by earwax.
Q5) Identify the main factors that determine race in the Dominican Republic.
Q6) Explain how and why Jim Crow laws came to the American South.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Ethnicity and Nationalism
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Sample Questions
Q1) Adolf Hitler rose to power on the basis of a claim to "Aryan supremacy." The Nazi rise to dominance, however, happened largely because the Nazis leveraged and made full use of ________.
A) genocide
B) citizenship
C) multiculturalism
D) nationalism
Q2) Compare how and why ethnic-making projects in Rwanda and Bosnia have given rise to conflict.
Q3) The United States has been described as a so-called melting pot for immigrants, but not all immigrant groups follow the same trajectory. In a brief essay, compare and contrast the experiences of Italian, Jewish, Greek, or other European immigrants with those of immigrants from China or India.
Q4) What country only exists during the ninety minutes its team plays a soccer match?
A) United Kingdom
B) England
C) France
D) South Africa
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Chapter 8: Gender
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Sample Questions
Q1) A United Nations survey recently found that young women ages fifteen to twenty-five are being infected with HIV/AIDS three times faster than men in the same age group. What does this statistic suggest about the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving gender equality?
A) that the goal was achieved in 2016
B) that this goal is in fact far from complete
C) that this goal is completely unrealistic because of sexual dimorphism
D) that this effort has skewed gender inequality the other way, and now men must be empowered
Q2) According to data released by RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a rape or sexual assault takes place in the United States every 107 seconds. What is this an example of?
A) gender violence
B) statistical abuse
C) gender politics
D) gender policing
Q3) Discuss ways that women's participation in the global economy, including the changes in traditional gender roles and expectations, reflects both gender role stereotypes and economic inequalities in the twenty-first century.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Sexuality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Some envision sex workers walking on the street, trying to solicit strangers for money in exchange for sex. The account of the hostess bars in Japan offers a different portrait of sex workers. What are these hostesses selling that makes them part of the sex industry and, thus, sex workers?
A) massages
B) the idea of sex
C) the physical act of sex
D) alcohol to enhance client pleasure
Q2) According to Jonathan Ned Katz, when was heterosexuality "invented"?
A) about 6,000 years ago, when homosexuality first developed
B) in 1859, when laws about sexual orientation were written
C) in 1700, when the term was first used in Germany
D) in 1892, when the term was first used in the United States
Q3) Sociologist Mignon Moore found that openly gay sexuality among minority communities was seen as an affront to what?
A) womanhood
B) lesbianism
C) respectability
D) marriage
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Kinship, Family, and Marriage
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Sample Questions
Q1) Susan Kahn's research in Israel examined the deep interconnectedness of reproduction kinship, Jewishness, religion, and the state itself. Israel strongly promotes the birth of new children and even subsidizes reproductive technologies in an effort to increase the birth rate. What are two of the challenges in the use of reproductive technologies in this instance? How is the state's so-called stake in the child changed with the use of reproductive technologies?
Q2) Melanie Medeiros's research on the impact of a new tourism industry on families in Brogodo, Brazil, demonstrates which pattern?
A) Changing gender roles and opportunities lead to higher rates of sexual assault and domestic abuse.
B) Globalization has generally improved economic opportunities for men and led to more stable marriages.
C) As economic opportunities for women increase, approval for gay marriage in increases.
D) Expanding economic opportunities for women are linked to a rapid rise in divorce.
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12
Chapter 11: Class and Inequality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Economists clearly reveal that both the income and wealth gaps in the United States are widening substantially. What is the difference between income and wealth? Can an individual have high income but little wealth? Which households tend to be at the bottom of the income and wealth gaps, and which households are at the top? What are some of the reasons for the income and wealth disparities that exist in the United States today? Why are the U.S. income and wealth gaps widening despite increased globalization and access to educational opportunities? How do one's income and wealth affect his or her social mobility? What other systems of social stratification affect an individual's income and wealth and in what ways? How does Pem Davidson Buck's work with poor white people in rural Kentucky reflect how income and wealth are affected by other forms of social stratification?
Q2) What common result occurs when patterns of social stratification emerge?
A) egalitarianism
B) the redistribution of money
C) the maintenance of prestige
D) unequal access to resources
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Chapter 12: The Global Economy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Generalized reciprocity-the exchange of goods and services among those of relatively equal status-provides a means to share resources. What other significant function does it serve?
A) It helps maintain social status.
B) It provides for the poor.
C) It counteracts the dangers of large-scale industrial agriculture.
D) It helps build social ties.
Q2) What is the commodity most closely associated with early Chinese trade routes?
A) slavery
B) sugar
C) gold
D) silk
Q3) Explain the controversies associated with neoliberal policies. What is the reasoning behind structural adjustment policies? Use two examples from Jamaica to discuss problems associated with structural adjustment.
Q4) What major event set the stage for the end of European colonialism?
A) the Haitian revolution
B) World War I
C) the Battle of Algiers
D) World War II
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Migration
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Sample Questions
Q1) The generation of migrants who left their home countries as adults are known among scholars as which generation?
A) first
B) second
C) "lost"
D) "1.5"
Q2) Global migrations often involve difficult and dangerous journeys. The possibilities for migrating and ways people move are profoundly shaped by the "bridges and barriers" individuals may face. Drawing primarily on the case study of Chen Dawei, the immigrant from Fuzhou, China, discuss some of the bridges and barriers that can shape how and where people migrate. Compare Chen Dawei's story to that of another migrant who may not have the same bridges and may face more barriers. What are the economic, social, and political factors that may come into play in both home and receiving communities? Once Dawei was in New York, discuss how the decision to migrate still likely shaped his everyday life.
Q3) Internal migration is often the result of forces beyond our control. Discuss why a two-hour commute, say, from your home in the suburbs to your job in a neighboring state, might be considered a form of internal migration? Why might it not be considered that?
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Politics and Power
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Sample Questions
Q1) The debate continues over whether human beings are naturally peaceful or violent. Discuss the possible foundations of human violence and the evidence presented, and evaluate the author's conclusion.
Q2) To resist the power of state institutions, some societies make use of different systems to settle issues that might normally go to the state court system. What are these systems known as?
A) alternative legal structures
B) independent courts systems
C) common law structures
D) customary laws
Q3) In Bangladesh, over 1,000 youth marched over 100 miles to protest the construction of coal mines. What does this demonstrate?
A) people taking political action to resist climate change
B) electoral politics in action
C) the persistence of egalitarianism
D) the reign of hierarchy
Q4) Modern states play a central role in shaping what happens in every part of the world today. Discuss the aspects of the state that make it the dominant form of political organization in the world today.
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Chapter 15: Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) What do anthropologists call a part-time religious practitioner with special abilities to connect individuals with supernatural powers or beings?
A) medicine man
B) priest
C) magician
D) shaman
Q2) Anthropologist Victor Turner (1920-1983) considered religious pilgrimage to be a unique form of religious ritual. What is a religious pilgrimage? What are three specific examples of religious pilgrimage and what do they entail? What stages of process do the pilgrimage examples you provided entail? What purposes does religious pilgrimage serve for the individual and his or her community?
Q3) On what basis do people often make sense of the world, reach decisions, and organize their lives?
A) their religious beliefs
B) their society's social organization
C) their ability to falsify the religions of others
D) a theoretical understanding of religious practices
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Chapter 16: Health, Illness, and the Body
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text, what is one consequence of the health transition?
A) Chronic diseases such as cancer have declined as a primary cause of death worldwide.
B) Infectious diseases have increased as the primary cause of death in the United States.
C) Overall human life expectancy has doubled in the past century.
D) There has been a decline in health inequality across the globe.
Q2) We are taught that antibacterial soaps and cleaning products that completely eliminate germs on surfaces and food are essential to good health. Why is this approach now under scrutiny?
A) We have a greater understanding of disease in other cultures.
B) Research has unlocked all of human genetics.
C) We are better educated about human pathogens.
D) We have begun to understand human microbiomes.
Q3) The fact that people will inevitably die or grow old reflects which important concept?
A) Ability is only temporary.
B) Average life expectancies are on the rise.
C) The United States has poor hospice care.
D) Only some people experience disability.
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Chapter 17: Art and Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) Jessica Winegar studied post-9/11 attempts by institutions to bridge cultural differences with media. What category was rarely featured at the exhibits designed to improve relations?
A) historical art
B) female artists
C) male artists
D) music and rituals of Sufism
Q2) According to the text, what is one of the reasons for the production of rara festivals?
A) to develop a dynamic economy, where locals make money by selling tourist art
B) to support locals' desire to become involved in the global art market through dance and song
C) to facilitate protests about historical social inequality and political repression
D) to let go of daily stress and have a party
Q3) Consider the global trade of West African "wood" and "mud" artwork. Are these objects "authentic"? Refer to examples from Steiner and Stoller's ethnographies in your answer.
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