Tapestry of Culture

Maxine Weisgrau is adjunct associate professor of anthropology at Columbia University. Abraham Rosman was professor emeritus of anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University. Paula G. Rubel was professor emerita of anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University.

• Detailed ContentsPreface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1 Anthropological PerspectivesLearning ObjectivesStudying Culture: Assumptions and DebatesHuman Evolution and Culture: The Emergence of Anatomically Modern HumansUpright Walking and Bipedalism: Cultural Implications of Evolutionary ChangeMeat Eating: Raw and CookedCultural Universals: What characteristics do all humans share? Cultural Rules and NormsSocietySocial StructureAnalyzing and Writing about Culture: A Brief History of Anthropological ApproachesCultural Evolutionary TheoryFranz Boas and Cultural RelativismFunctionalismStructuralismSymbolic AnthropologyFocus on History in AnthropologyFeminist Anthropology: “Male” and “Female” in Theory and PracticePostmodernism in AnthropologyFieldwork and Ethnography in the 21st CenturyGlobalization as an Anthropological IssueThe AnthropoceneThe Material World and Culture: Environmental AnthropologiesPolitical Ecology: Ecosystems and InequalitiesThe fieldwork journeySummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites2 Anthropological Methods Learning ObjectivesFieldworkAnthropology Moves to the Study of Complex SocietiesStudying Rituals Across Time and Space: The Comparative ApproachAmerican White Wedding Gowns and RitualsWhite Wedding Gowns and Rituals: A Brief HistoryWedding Ritual Variation: Marriage Equality and an American WeddingThe Comparative ApproachSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites3Language and Culture Learning ObjectivesThe Evolution of Spoken Language CapacityThe Structure of LanguagePhoemic StructureMorphemic StructureSyntax and GrammarLinguistic RelativityLinguistic UniversalsLanguage, Cognition, and UnderstandingEthnosemanticsSociolinguisticsGender and SpeechAfrican-American Vernacular EnglishLanguage Change and Historical LinguisticsContact Languages: Pidgins and CreolesLanguage ImperialismLanguage Loss and RevitalizationLanguage, Power, and PolicyWorld Englishes and the Spread of EnglishSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites4 Learning Who We Are: Culture and The Individual Learning ObjectivesParenting and AlloparentingFathers as CaregiversMigrating Parents and Global Labor MarketsWhat is Human Nature? Nature, Nurture and Beyond the DichotomyHow Children Learn to CommunicateLearning Cultural NormsNonverbal CommunicationsLearning Gender RolesCulture and PersonalitySocial Status and PersonalityRebels and InnovatorsEmotional Expression and Cultural NormsCulture and Mental IllnessCross-Cultural Study of Mental Illness and Wellness: 21st Century ChallengesSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites5 Symbols and Their MeaningsLearning ObjectivesCategories of SymbolsThe Symbolism of FoodSocial Groups, Social Categories, and Their SymbolsSymbolic Meanings of SpaceBody SymbolismSymbolism of Body DecorationThe Symbolism of SportsUniversal SymbolsSymbols, Politics, and AuthorityPublic Memorials and Monuments: Creating and Contesting Symbols of HistorySummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites6 Ties That Connect: Marriage, Family, and KinshipLearning ObjectivesMarriageMarriage ProhibitionsExogamy and EndogamySister ExchangesMarriage PaymentsBride ServiceNumber of SpousesLevirate and SororateDissolution of MarriagePostmarital ResidenceDescent SystemsPatrilineal Descent and Matrilineal DescentUnilineal Descent Groups: Their Structures and FunctionClansLineagesMoietiesKindredsRelations Between Groups through MarriageKinship Terminology SystemsFictive KinshipKinship in the Contemporary WorldThe Transnational FamilyKinship in America TodayVarieties of American FamiliesKinship, Class, and EthnicityMarriage, Migration, and State PolicySummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites7 Gender, Sexualities, and AgeLearning ObjectivesTheorizing Gender and SexualitySexuality and IdentitiesIdentities and Political ParticipationReproduction and CultureWork and GenderGender and the Care EconomyGender and IndustrializationCategories Based on AgeAge Grades and Age SetsAging, Retirement, and CareSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites8 Economic Organization: Production, Distribution, and ConsumptionLearning ObjectivesProductionHunting and GatheringContemporary Hunters and GatherersThe Introduction of AgricultureHorticultureGrain ProductionAgriculture in Today’s WorldAnimal Domestication and PastoralismNomadic Pastoralism in Today’s WorldThe Organization of WorkThe Organization of Work in Contemporary SocietiesDistributionDistribution in Egalitarian SocietiesSystems of Exchange in Societies with Flexible RankSystems of Exchange with Fixed RankCaste in IndiaBarterThe Market SystemThe Market Economy and GlobalizationConsumptionThe Changing Nature of ConsumptionSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites9 Power, Politics, and ConflictLearning ObjectivesConcepts in Political AnthropologyForms of Political OrganizationInformal LeadershipBand OrganizationBig Man StructureChieftainshipThe StateWar and PeaceThe Anthropology of ViolenceLaw and Social ControlLaw in Postcolonial StatesNation Building in Postcolonial StatesEmpowermentPolitics in Contemporary StatesFactionalismWarlordsPatron-Client RelationshipPolitical EconomyPolitical Resistance and GlobalizationSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites10 Belief Systems, Rituals, and the Spirit WorldLearning ObjectivesReligion Studied/ Religion Defined?Ritual: Approaching the SupernaturalRites of PassageRites of Passage in American CultureRites of Intensification: Practice and PoliticsStories about the Supernatural WorldAnalyzing Myths: Historical and Contemporary ViewsAmerican Myths, Legends, and FolktalesReligion, History, and ScienceConceptualizing the SupernaturalReligious SpecialistsReligious Syncretism: Religions and Their Adaptations to ChangeCyberspace and ReligionPolitics, Religion, and StatesWhy Religion? SummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites11Places and Spaces of Creative Expression Learning ObjectivesArt as Communication, Experience, and ResistanceArt and ArtistsPerformance and CreativityMusicDanceUrban Legend: Stories on the InternetCinema and Global FlowsAmerica Films, American Myths, and LegendsCollection and Displays: Conflicts and ReconciliationThe International Art World Today: Creating Value and CostThe Internet and Social Media: Anthropological PerspectivesSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites12Global Health and Wellness COVID-19, Public Health Policy, and InequalitiesDisease and Health How to Study Global Theories of KnowledgeCase Study: Guinea Worm Eradication in Rajasthan, IndiaContrast and Dispute Over StreategyHealth and Human CapitalConfronting Inequality: UN Sustainable Development GoalsHealth and EducationHealth Inequalities and Disparities Within CountriesFood Security and NutritionFocus on Women’s HealthChild MortalityCase Study: South AfricaValuing Toilets: Sanitation/Gender/HealthClimate Change and HealthPsychological and Mental Well BeingCommunity Health Worker Intervention Initiatives and Program EvaluationCase study: Thinking Healthy Program in Pakistan--Mobilizing Volunteer PeersConflict Zones/Migration/HealthSummary Key TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites13Living/Working in the Globalized World: Colonialism, Globalization, and Development Colonialism, Globalization, and AnthropologyGlobalization, Production, and ConsumptionThe Historic Background to Globalization: Many Faces of Colonial RuleNew Ireland: A History of Increasing Incorporation into the Global SystemDevelopment History and StrategiesAnthropology and ChangeEthnography and DevelopmentPeople on the Move Internal MigrationDiasporasMigration and TransnationalismTransnational Families: Marriage, Partner, and Family MigrationFeminization of Migration: Globalized Care and Service Economies“Movers” and “Non-Movers”: Ethnography PerspectivesSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested Websites14States and Identities: Ethnicity, Race, and Nationalism Racism and Critical Race TheoryNation BuildingCultural Identity: Reasserted and Transformed in Modern StatesRevitalization MovementsCargo CultsRebuilding Cultural IdentitiesEthnogenesisEthnonationalismMulticulturalismEthnic Differences, Ethnic Violence, and the New Nation of AfghanistanEuropean Immigration and Multiculturalism in the United StatesCulture Unassimilated, Reiterated, and Renewed in AmericaAfrican-Americans and African HeritageDiversity in America: Challenges and DebatesSummaryKey TermsSuggested ReadingsSuggested WebsitesEpilogue Glossary References Index