Preparing for Class: September 1

Homework Assignment:
Some cultural traits or customs can be classified as adaptive, while others are maladaptive. First, define each term (adaptive and maladaptive) as clearly as you can and in your own words. Then choose one adaptive and one maladaptive custom in contemporary US society. Describe each custom in some detail and explain what makes it adaptive or maladaptive, using examples to illustrate your analysis.

Length: one to two single-spaced pages
Due: Thursday, September 8

Ember and Ember, Cultural Anthropology, "The Concept of Culture" (x)

As you read the assigned chapter, you should be both making yourself familiar with its key concepts and starting to think about how to apply the material. Therefore, I'm giving you a list of the ideas you should be able to explain and discuss, as well as a short series of questions you should be thinking about in starting the semester in LS 195.

Key Concepts:

Ideas for Consideration:

  1. Using yourself as the subject, come up with an example of learned behavior vs. one of instinctive behavior.
  2. On p. 20, we have an entertaining description of American dental hygene; think about other aspects of our common behavior that might be described humorously by someone who doesn't understand the details of our culture.
  3. In a variety of ways, we in the United States often impose our standards of economics, ethics, and government on people of other cultures; how do we justify doing this? Should we?
  4. As you go to dinner one or two of the nights this week, observe the way in which cultural patterns determine people's behavior and actions. Are there subcultures within the general culture of Clarkson students? Within each group, what are the constraints? How can individuals express themselves within these constraints?

 

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