Cultural Anthropology Study Guide
A standard undergraduate cultural anthropology course: anthropological methods (ethnography, fieldwork, participant observation), culture concepts, language and communication, subsistence strategies, economic systems, kinship and family, political organization, religion and belief systems, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, globalization, and applied anthropology.
Practice Cultural Anthropology with AI
Get flashcards, quizzes, timed tests, summaries, and more — all calibrated to College Final Exam format.
12 Topics Covered
Introduction to Anthropology and the Anthropological Perspective
Four subfields, holism, cultural relativism vs ethnocentrism, and seeing the familiar as strange.
Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
Ethnography, participant observation, fieldwork ethics, emic/etic perspectives, reflexivity, and challenges of representation.
The Concept of Culture
Defining culture as learned, shared, symbolic, integrated, and dynamic; enculturation, cultural universals, and change.
Language, Communication, and Culture
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, sociolinguistics, code-switching, language endangerment, and nonverbal communication across cultures.
Subsistence Strategies and Environmental Adaptation
Foraging, pastoralism, horticulture, agriculture, and industrialism; labor patterns, sustainability, and ecological relationships.
Economic Anthropology
Reciprocity types, redistribution, market exchange, gift economies, Mauss, kula ring, and economic inequality.
Kinship, Marriage, and Family
Descent systems, marriage patterns, residence rules, kinship terminology, fictive kinship, and changing family forms.
Political Organization and Power
Bands, tribes, chiefdoms, states; authority, legitimacy, conflict resolution, colonialism, and postcolonial governance.
Religion, Ritual, and Belief Systems
Theoretical approaches, animism, rites of passage, Turner's communitas, shamanism, syncretism, and religious change.
Gender, Sexuality, and Culture
Sex versus gender, cross-cultural gender roles, third genders, gender stratification, and feminist anthropology.
Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
Race as social construct, structural racism, ethnicity, ethnic conflict, indigenous rights, and multiculturalism.
Globalization and Applied Anthropology
Cultural flows, transnationalism, hybridization, medical and development anthropology, advocacy, and ethical responsibilities.
What you get with ExamPilot
Ready to ace Cultural Anthropology?
Join thousands of students using ExamPilot to pass their exams the first time.
Start practicing for free