1. ASHFORD ANT 101 AllDiscussionQuestions
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Cultural Relativism. Cultural Anthropology gives three distinct meanings of
cultural relativism: a moral stance that requires anthropologists to suspend moral
and ethical judgments when interacting with a culture different from their own, a
methodological strategy that allows the anthropologist to pay specific attention to
the uniqueness of a culture, and an epistemological position that cultures are
unique and therefore knowledge about different cultures is almost inherently not
comparable. (Sec. 1.3).
In your forum contribution:
a. Discuss what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of each of these three
kinds of relativism.
b. Identify one belief or practice in another culture that you find puzzling, strange,
or troubling, and then discuss the extent that cultural relativism is a useful
approach to understanding and interacting with the people who hold it.
c. Discuss the extent that cultural relativism would be a useful approach to
understanding and interacting with people in your own society that did (or do) the
same.
d. Explore the extent to which whether one is studying in one's own country or in
another makes a difference in the applicability of cultural relativism to one's
research.
Your initial response should be at least 150 words in length. Build on the ideas
and terminology in the text and your own ideas to support your answers. Please
support your claims with examples from the text, required and recommended
material, and/or scholarly articles. Respond to at least two of your classmates’
posts by Day 7.
Studying Culture. Choose one of the "Consider This" boxes that Nowak and
Laird present us with in Chapters 1 and 2 of Cultural Anthropology, or discuss the
topics below from the film Margaret Mead: Coming of Age, available in the Films
On Demand database, in the Ashford Online Library.
The topics covered are:
a. Whether the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be applicable
to all cultures

2. b. Whether it is possible to truly view a culture without being influenced by the
cultural constructs of our own culture
c. How our understanding of what it means to be a patient in the United States
reflects our different cultural backgrounds and affiliations
d. In the film Margaret Mead: Coming of Age, it is mentioned that Mead’s initial
research was criticized on methodological grounds. Why was that? Do you
consider the criticism warranted or not warranted? What could she have done
differently?
e. Based on the film and the book, discuss the challenges of field work. What do
you think would be the most difficult? What has changed since the time of Mead?
Clearly identify the topic you choose at the outset of your discussion, and answer
all aspects of it thoroughly. Your answer should contain a balance of descriptive
detail and cultural analysis. Build on the ideas and terminology in the text and
your own ideas to support your answers. Include examples or information from
the film in any question answer as you see fit. Your initial response should be at
least 150 words in length. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings
by Day 7.
Foraging Societies. Answer one of the following four questions posed by Nowak
and Laird, in Cultural Anthropology, at the very end of Chapter 3:
a. What can we learn from studying foraging societies? Is there anything we can
learn regarding our relationship to the environment, or our family members, for
example?
b. What is the ethnographic present? Do you think that the use of the
ethnographic present in the film The Gods Must Be Crazy is appropriate, or do
you think Lee's criticisms are valid?
c. Do you think the view of many anthropologists (pre–1970s) that men's hunting
activities are more highly valued than women's gathering activities is a culturally
biased perspective based on Eurocentric notions that men are the family
"breadwinners"? Do you think this view is outdated (based both on more recent
ethnographic information and changes in American culture)?
d. An Inuit mother has just given birth to a baby. She has a one–year–old baby
still dependent on her milk. It is the season of food scarcity, which means the
mother is not as well nourished as she could be. She and her husband decide
that their older child is a higher priority, and they opt to end their newborn baby's
life. Considering the concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, discuss
the practice of infanticide.

3. Clearly identify the topic you chose at the outset of your discussion. Answer the
question posed thoroughly and thoughtfully by building on the ideas and
terminology in the text and your own ideas to support your answers. Your initial
response should be at least 150 words in length. Respond to at least two of your
classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Social Organization. Watch Blood Bonds, available in the Films On Demand
database, in the Ashford Online Library. Describe the correlation between
arranged marriage, economic exchanges surrounding marriage (bridewealth,
bride service, dowry, etc.), status of women, family pressures, and other factors
you can think of and the stability of marriage. Based on your reading of the
textbook and the film, what are the disadvantages of different forms of marriages?
Do you think they can be as successful as marriages of choice? Which form of
marriage do you have the hardest time understanding?
Reflect on marriage and divorce in current North American societies. What factors
contribute to the stability of marriages in our culture? What factors contribute to
stability of marriage in the cultures shown in the film? And lastly, what factors of
the cultures in the film could contribute to the stability of marriage in our culture?
And vise versa? Your initial response should be at least 150 words in length.
Please support your claims with examples from the required resources. Respond
to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Doing Business with Family. Nowak and Laird's Applying Anthropology 6.2 box,
in Cultural Anthropology, proposes the following question:
The familiar saying “never do business with family” advises against the practices
used in many of the chiefdom societies discussed in this chapter. This old saying
implies that doing business with family will create conflict, whereas chiefdom
societies welcome and encourage such close-knit economic exchanges as a way
of preventing conflict. In fact, in an interesting article on family businesses,
Bertrand and Schoar comment on how cultures based on strong family ties can
have a negative impact on economic development. The reasoning is that the
more we are taught to count on our kinship and family ties, the less likely we are
to trust those outside our family networks, which greatly prohibits the
development of larger economic institutions...
Consider both examples and create an argument for or against mixing business
with family. When responding to this question, be sure to engage in cross-cultural
comparison, taking into consideration variation in subsistence systems, descent
systems, mobility, and any other factors you consider pertinent. Draw examples
from the ethnographic record, your own experience, and the experience of others
with whom you are familiar. Your initial response should be at least 150 words in
length. Please support your claims with examples from the text, recommended
material, and/or scholarly articles. Respond to at least two of your classmates’
posts by Day 7.

4. Monumental Architecture. What does monumental architecture imply about the
cultural values and the socio-economic-political organization of the society that
created it?
Do a bit of Internet research on religious or secular monuments, statues, and
architectural wonders in your city, state, country, or internationally. Choose a
monument (or set of monuments), describe its main features, discuss any
symbolism it has, and analyze the messages it sends to its intended audience(s).
Provide a link to an image of the monument itself for the rest of us to see.
Bring in what you have read on leadership and political and religious organization
in band, tribes, and states up to now in developing your answer. Build on the
ideas and terminology in the text and your own ideas to support your claims. Your
initial response should be at least 150 words in length. Respond to at least two of
your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Economy and Colonialism. Relate what you have read in Chapter 8, of Cultural
Anthropology, regarding colonialism and the expansion of capitalism in modern
industrial societies to the article, “Marketers Pursue the Shallow Pocketed.” Is the
information being discussed in this article another example of colonialism? Why
or why not? Identify two potential positives and two negatives direct marketing of
the poor has on people and their economies. What theory of development is most
applicable to the expansion of global markets to poor, low income, and
indigenous communities?
Your initial response should be at least 150 words in length. Please support your
claims with examples from the text, required material, and/or scholarly articles.
Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Ethics in Anthropology. Be sure to watch and read the “Miscellaneous Topics”
at the end of Chapter 9 ofCultural Anthropology. Then, address the following
topic: As noted, anthropology’s work with the military over the years has been
wrought with controversy. Where do you stand on the issue regarding the use of
anthropologists in intelligence gathering for the military? Can you come up with a
compelling argument based on examples given in the text, your understanding of
the ethical requirements of anthropologist, and from your own experiences
/understanding of past and present military actions to take a stance on this issue?
Please use concepts and terminology from the text. Your initial response should
be at least 150 words in length. Please support your claims with examples from
the text, recommended material, and/or scholarly articles. Respond to at least two
of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Anthropology and the Future. Watch Winners and Losers, available in the
Films On Demand database, in the Ashford Online Library. Which issues are
most urgent in our world today? Are they the same in the US as in the developing
world? Where will the application of an anthropological perspective be most
effective? Your initial response should be at least 150 words in length. Please

5. support your claims with examples from the text, recommended material, and/or
scholarly articles. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.