Assignment

1. First, explain what anthropologists mean when we make a distinction between "Culture" and "culture(s)" (culture with a capital C vs. culture with a lowercase c). According to our textbook, what do some people say is problematic about "culture(s)"? What connections do you see between the issues with Culture/cultures described in our textbook and the TED talk by Anthropologist Wade Davis?

Second, explain why cultural relativity is so important to anthropologists. How can cultural relativity improve outsiders' understanding of female genital cutting?

Finally, feel free to discuss anything you thought was interesting from the reading and/or the TED Talk by Wade Davis.

Your post must be written in your own words. Remember to name your sources. If you summarize something from the textbook, you can say, "according to our textbook." However, if you use quotes from the textbook or any other source, be sure to put them in quotation marks, state where they are from, and include the page number.

2. Culture change is an often overlooked aspect in discussions of culture. What does the case of Kiowa Christianity (described in the reading) reveal about human cultural processes over time? What connections do you see between how the Kiowa responded to colonial and missionary pressures to change their culture and how the Mosuo have been responding to pressures from tourists? After thoroughly answering this questions, feel free to share anything you thought was interesting about either case.

Your post must be written in your own words. Remember to name your sources. If you summarize something from the textbook, you can say, "according to our textbook." However, if you use quotes from the textbook or any other source, be sure to put them in quotation marks, state where they are from, and include the page number.