Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology

Robert H. Lavenda is a professor of anthropology and chair of the Department of Anthropology at St Cloud State University.Emily A. Schultz is a professor of anthropology at St Cloud State University.

• PREFACEChapter 1 Anthropology1.1 An Anthropological Perspective1.2 The Subfields of Anthropology1.3 Is Anthropology a Science? Modernism, Postmodernism, and Beyond1.4 Reflexive Anthropology1.5 Moral AnthropologyChapter 2 Theory in Sociocultural Anthropology?2.1 Anthropology as Science?2.2 Nineteenth-Century Approaches?2.3 Early Twentieth-Century Approaches?2.4 Mid-Twentieth-Century Approaches?2.5 Late Twentieth-Century Debates?2.6 New Directions in the Twenty-First Century?Chapter 3 Culture?3.1 Culture Against Racism: The Early Twentieth Century?3.2 The Evolution of Culture?3.3 Culture and Symbolism?3.4 Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism?3.5 The Boundaries of Culture??3.6 The Concept of Culture in a Global World: Problems and Practices3.7 Culture: Contemporary Discussion and Debate3.8 Culture: A Contemporary Consensus?Chapter 4 Meaning-Making and Language4.1 Making Meaning?4.2 Studying Language: A Historical Sketch4.3 The Building Blocks of Language4.4 Language and Culture4.5 Language and Society4.6 Discourse4.7 Language Contact and Change4.8 Meaning-Making and Art4.9 The Anthropology of Media and the ArtsChapter 5 Worldview and Religion5.1 Religion5.2 Myth5.3 Ritual5.4 Magic and Witchcraft5.5 Religious Practitioners5.6 Change in Religious Systems5.7 Secularism, Fundamentalism, and New Religious MovementsChapter 6 The Dimensions of Social Organization6.1 What Is Social Organization?6.2 Dimensions of Social Organization6.3 Caste and Class6.4 Race6.5 EthnicityChapter 7 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality7.1 Sex, Gender, and Feminism in the Twentieth Century7.2 Sex, Gender, Race, and Class7.3 Gender Performativity7.4 Theoretical Diversity in Studies of Sex and Gender7.5 Sex, Gender, and the Body7.6 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality7.7 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Ethnographic ContextChapter 8 Relatedness: Kinship, Marriage, Family, and Friendship8.1 Kinship Versus Biology8.2 Descent8.3 Bilateral Descent8.4 Unilineal Descent8.5 Kinship Terminologies8.6 What Is Marriage?8.7 Whom to Marry and Where to Live8.8 How Many Spouses?8.9 Marriage as Alliance8.10 Family8.11 Divorce8.12 FriendshipChapter 9 Political Anthropology9.1 Power9.2 Political Ecology and Political Economy9.3 Disputes and Dispute Resolution9.4 Forms of Political Organization9.5 Social Stratification9.6 Forms of Political Activity9.7 Social Control and Law9.8 Nationalism and HegemonyChapter 10 Economic Anthropology10.1 The