UMich Anthro 101 Exam 3 UPDATED
ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Boas Franz - CORRECT ANSWER - Father of American four-field anthropology,
contributed to cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology; component of cultural relativism;
Studied language—speakers can't report an action, must be explained how you know that person
did an action; studied a=language and culture among the Kwakiutl Native Americans of Pacific
NW.
Bohannan, Laura/Tiv - CORRECT ANSWER - Best known for her article "Shakespeare in
the Bush"—Visits Nigeria's tribe called the Tiv who are deeply involved in storytelling, and tells
her story of Hamlet to prove to a colleague its messages and points are universal, but the Tiv
believe she doesn't understand the true meaning of the story and Bohannan learns that no values
are truly universal b/c different cultures have different perspectives on love, marriage, etc...Tiv
see her as uncultured
Chomsky, Noam - CORRECT ANSWER - Linguist that supports Universal Grammar—
the basic set of principles and rules that underlie all languages; human brain contains a limited
set of rules for organizing language so that all languages have a common structural basis; all
humans have similar linguistic abilities and thought processes (ex. creole language develops
from acculturation)
Labov, William - CORRECT ANSWER - Sociolinguist whose study showed that
pronunciation was clearly associated with prestige (ex. r pronunciation in NY)
Levi-Strauss, Claude - CORRECT ANSWER - Anthropologist associated with
Structuralism—human minds have certain universal characteristics that lead people to think
similarly regardless of society or culture; there is a universal pattern to the structure of myths
(similar elements and themes, need of binary oppositions and the classification of things to
impose order)
Marx, Karl - CORRECT ANSWER - Saw socioeconomic stratification as a simple
division between the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (propertyless workers); believed
, in class consciousness—recognition of collective interests and personal identification with one's
economic group
Turner, Victor - CORRECT ANSWER - Explained that communitas is a notable social
aspect of collective liminality (community spirit/bond of solidarity among liminal people); made
conflict an important part of his analysis and how symbols and rituals are used to redress,
regulate, anticipate, and avoid it; recognized links between symbolic anthropology and social
psychology
Weber, Max/Protestant work ethic - CORRECT ANSWER - Social theorist who argued for
the prominent role of religion in changing society; contended that individualism/work ethic and
other character traits associated with early Protestantism were especially compatible with
capitalism and aided its spread; defined 3 dimensions of social stratification (wealth, power,
prestige); social identification takes priority over class (against Marx)
Code Switching - CORRECT ANSWER - Speaker's shift from one language or dialect to
another in the context of a single conversation; the use of more than one linguistic variety
consistent with the syntax and phonology of each variety
Creole - CORRECT ANSWER - A language that has its origin in extended contact
between two language communities, one of which is generally European
Diglossia - CORRECT ANSWER - Language with "high" (formal) and "low"
(informal/familiar) dialects (ex. In German and Flemish language, people employ high variants
at universities, writing, professions, mass media, and low variants for ordinary conversations
with family and friends)
Euphemism - CORRECT ANSWER - Substitution of an inoffensive word for a more
unpleasant one ("pass away" rather than "die")
Focal Vocabulary - CORRECT ANSWER - Specialized set of words and distinctions that
are particularly important to certain groups of people (ex. types of snow to Eskimos or skiers)
ACTUAL Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Boas Franz - CORRECT ANSWER - Father of American four-field anthropology,
contributed to cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropology; component of cultural relativism;
Studied language—speakers can't report an action, must be explained how you know that person
did an action; studied a=language and culture among the Kwakiutl Native Americans of Pacific
NW.
Bohannan, Laura/Tiv - CORRECT ANSWER - Best known for her article "Shakespeare in
the Bush"—Visits Nigeria's tribe called the Tiv who are deeply involved in storytelling, and tells
her story of Hamlet to prove to a colleague its messages and points are universal, but the Tiv
believe she doesn't understand the true meaning of the story and Bohannan learns that no values
are truly universal b/c different cultures have different perspectives on love, marriage, etc...Tiv
see her as uncultured
Chomsky, Noam - CORRECT ANSWER - Linguist that supports Universal Grammar—
the basic set of principles and rules that underlie all languages; human brain contains a limited
set of rules for organizing language so that all languages have a common structural basis; all
humans have similar linguistic abilities and thought processes (ex. creole language develops
from acculturation)
Labov, William - CORRECT ANSWER - Sociolinguist whose study showed that
pronunciation was clearly associated with prestige (ex. r pronunciation in NY)
Levi-Strauss, Claude - CORRECT ANSWER - Anthropologist associated with
Structuralism—human minds have certain universal characteristics that lead people to think
similarly regardless of society or culture; there is a universal pattern to the structure of myths
(similar elements and themes, need of binary oppositions and the classification of things to
impose order)
Marx, Karl - CORRECT ANSWER - Saw socioeconomic stratification as a simple
division between the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (propertyless workers); believed
, in class consciousness—recognition of collective interests and personal identification with one's
economic group
Turner, Victor - CORRECT ANSWER - Explained that communitas is a notable social
aspect of collective liminality (community spirit/bond of solidarity among liminal people); made
conflict an important part of his analysis and how symbols and rituals are used to redress,
regulate, anticipate, and avoid it; recognized links between symbolic anthropology and social
psychology
Weber, Max/Protestant work ethic - CORRECT ANSWER - Social theorist who argued for
the prominent role of religion in changing society; contended that individualism/work ethic and
other character traits associated with early Protestantism were especially compatible with
capitalism and aided its spread; defined 3 dimensions of social stratification (wealth, power,
prestige); social identification takes priority over class (against Marx)
Code Switching - CORRECT ANSWER - Speaker's shift from one language or dialect to
another in the context of a single conversation; the use of more than one linguistic variety
consistent with the syntax and phonology of each variety
Creole - CORRECT ANSWER - A language that has its origin in extended contact
between two language communities, one of which is generally European
Diglossia - CORRECT ANSWER - Language with "high" (formal) and "low"
(informal/familiar) dialects (ex. In German and Flemish language, people employ high variants
at universities, writing, professions, mass media, and low variants for ordinary conversations
with family and friends)
Euphemism - CORRECT ANSWER - Substitution of an inoffensive word for a more
unpleasant one ("pass away" rather than "die")
Focal Vocabulary - CORRECT ANSWER - Specialized set of words and distinctions that
are particularly important to certain groups of people (ex. types of snow to Eskimos or skiers)
