Cultural Anthropology

1. Ch 1: Anthropology in a Global Age

1.1. "Human activity already threatens the world's ecological balance. We do not need to wait to see the effects" (Guest 21)

1.2. In this section of the textbook, it is mentioned that the patterns of human consumption is negatively impacting our resources. For example, our water resources are being affected.

2. Ch 5: Human Origins

2.1. https://youtu.be/vcTibOl0ODc

2.2. "The recovered genetic material reveals great deal about ancient human populations, including diseases they were exposed to, their population movements, and distinctions among groups (Guest 161).

2.3. This section of the textbook mentions a lot about DNA providing a lot of information. The studies of DNA have even shown the movement of our ancestors. It is amazing that technology can provide that much information by simply looking at DNA and fossils.

3. Ch 8: Gender

3.1. On page 281, the textbook shows tons of examples of products specifically packaged for women and men, but are the same product. For example razors, for women, it is packaged in pink and for men it is packaged in green.

3.2. "Gendered packaging, descriptions, and product names promote masculine and feminine versions of the same item-shaving cream, body wash... often with higher prices for women for no apparent reason" (Guest 281).

4. Ch 4: Language

4.1. "Humans are born with the ability to learn language - not a particular language, but whatever one they are exposed to as they grow up" (Guest 112).

4.2. This quote stood out to me because I grew up with the languages Filipino and English. Until now, I never really realized how I learned Filipino because I never took a formal class until high school. It still boggles my mind because out of my cousins and siblings, I am the only one who really understands the language and they don't. The funny thing is, we're only about 1-3 years apart.

5. Ch 15: Religion

5.1. "Anthropology has a long history of studying cultures where magic is practiced and witches are real" (Guest 588).

5.2. Sometimes it's hard to believe that witches are real. It's not very normal to see a witch in our every day lives. There may be tons around us and we don't even know. But I do know that they are possibly real. I have a friend that claims that her family in previous years are witches. Anything and everything is really possible.

5.2.1. Ch 12: The Global Economy

5.2.1.1. "Today fewer than 250,000 people make their primary living from food foraging" (Guest 440).

5.2.1.2. I thought this was interesting because there are still people who hunt for their food. I think it's interesting because each and every day technology is advancing, but people still decide to stick to their roots, which I think is very impressive. Instead of relying on technology, they are passing down traditions.

6. Ch 7: Ethnicity and Nationalism

6.1. "... the construction of ethnicity, like kinship, is quite complicated, moving well beyond easy equation with biological ancestry" (Guest 240).

6.2. I never knew ethnicity could be such a complicated topic. At my job, there are only three options for ethnicity. It is either Hispanic, not Hispanic, or other.

7. Ch 2: Culture

7.1. "... Geertz (1973c) examines the difference between a wink and a twitch of the eye" (Guest 46)

7.2. On page 46, it mentions that even simple actions don't have to be simple. They can have a deeper meaning. Like the example of winking or twitching of the eye. As mentioned general area of the eye is moving, but both actions mean 2 completely different things.

7.3. https://youtu.be/Jx-1EthJeIg

8. Ch 9: Sexuality

8.1. "Text three friends and ask them to define sexuality. You will most likely get three different responses" (Guest 313).

8.2. I did exactly what the quote stated. I texted three friends and asked them to define sexuality. I, in fact, did get 3 completely different responses. I thought doing this would be interesting because I, too have a different definition for the word. I have never really read too much about the topic until I enrolled in this class.

8.3. https://youtu.be/SEurlKy2bN0

9. Ch 11: Class and Inequality

9.1. "Class is particularly invisible in U.S. television programming" (Guest 418).

9.2. I thought this quote was interesting because the more I think about it, the more that it's true. I can't think of one more than 2 or 3 Disney shows/movies that portrays the lower class. Majority of the shows broadcast the upper middle class.

9.3. https://youtu.be/4K5fbQ1-zps

10. Ch 14: Politics and Power

10.1. "As we look globally today, we seem to be experiencing a period during which violent conflict is not sporadic, but permanent-a time of continuous war in one place or another involving extraordinarily sophisicated tools and weaponry (Waterson 2009)." (Guest 543).

10.2. Back when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I remember that there were tons of BLM issues and many people went out their way to go and support. It was a scary time because that was when the police force were violently harming citizens. It's terrifying to know that when there is conflict, there will be weapons.

11. Ch 6: Race and Racism

11.1. "Many of us were enculturated to believe that “race” refers to distinct physical characteristics that mark individuals as clearly belonging in one group and not in another" Guest 198.

11.2. It's really easy to accidentally label someone the wrong race because there is no race that has specific characteristics. For example, sometimes people think I am Mexican by just looking at me, but I am actually Filipino.