ANTH 202 EXAM PREP Q&A 2026 STUDY
GUIDE SOLVED QUESTIONS
⫸ What is an emic perspective? Answer: Insider perspective; how
people within the culture understand their own practices and
meanings.
⫸ Why is distinction btw etic and emic important? Answer: Helps
avoid bias, balances internal meaning with external comparison, and
produces more accurate ethnography.
⫸ Example of etic? Answer: Researcher analyzing school pressure
using sociological frameworks.
⫸ Example of emic? Answer: Chinese students describing pressure as
"filial duty" or "bringing honor."
⫸ How did Boas differ from 19th-century evolutionists? Answer:
Rejected ranking cultures; emphasized cultural relativism and
fieldwork instead of armchair theorizing
⫸ Three key aspects of Boas' approach? Answer: •Cultural
relativism: no culture is superior
•Historical particularism: each culture has its own unique history
•Fieldwork & empirical data as the foundation of analysis.
, ⫸ How did Boas change U.S. anthropology? Answer: Made the
discipline scientific, fieldwork-based, anti-racist, and culturally
relativistic.
⫸ main differences between American and British anthropology
Answer: •American → focused on culture, cultural relativism,
historical particularism.
•British → focused on social structure and functionalism.
•American → four-field approach (culture, archaeology, biological,
linguistics).
•British → mainly social anthropology.
⫸ Define ethnic group. Answer: A group sharing cultural traits—
language, history, customs, shared identity.
⫸ Issues with race (biologically in humans)? Answer: Not
biologically valid; based on superficial traits; reflects social
inequality, not genetics.
⫸ Why is ethnicity better? Answer: Focuses on cultural identity, not
false biological categories; more accurate, less discriminatory.
GUIDE SOLVED QUESTIONS
⫸ What is an emic perspective? Answer: Insider perspective; how
people within the culture understand their own practices and
meanings.
⫸ Why is distinction btw etic and emic important? Answer: Helps
avoid bias, balances internal meaning with external comparison, and
produces more accurate ethnography.
⫸ Example of etic? Answer: Researcher analyzing school pressure
using sociological frameworks.
⫸ Example of emic? Answer: Chinese students describing pressure as
"filial duty" or "bringing honor."
⫸ How did Boas differ from 19th-century evolutionists? Answer:
Rejected ranking cultures; emphasized cultural relativism and
fieldwork instead of armchair theorizing
⫸ Three key aspects of Boas' approach? Answer: •Cultural
relativism: no culture is superior
•Historical particularism: each culture has its own unique history
•Fieldwork & empirical data as the foundation of analysis.
, ⫸ How did Boas change U.S. anthropology? Answer: Made the
discipline scientific, fieldwork-based, anti-racist, and culturally
relativistic.
⫸ main differences between American and British anthropology
Answer: •American → focused on culture, cultural relativism,
historical particularism.
•British → focused on social structure and functionalism.
•American → four-field approach (culture, archaeology, biological,
linguistics).
•British → mainly social anthropology.
⫸ Define ethnic group. Answer: A group sharing cultural traits—
language, history, customs, shared identity.
⫸ Issues with race (biologically in humans)? Answer: Not
biologically valid; based on superficial traits; reflects social
inequality, not genetics.
⫸ Why is ethnicity better? Answer: Focuses on cultural identity, not
false biological categories; more accurate, less discriminatory.
