Question

how can urgent anthropology be beneficial to cultures? Give three examples to support your argument.

Answer 1

urgent anthropology

ethnographic research that documents endangered cultures; also known as salvage ethnography

advocacy anthropology

research that is community based and politically involved

multi-sited ethnography

the investigation and documentation of peoples and cultures embedded in the larger structures of a globalizing world, utilizing a range of methods in various locations of time and space

ethnographic fieldwork

extended on-location research to gather detailed and in-depth information on a society's customary ideas, values, and practices through participation in its collective social life

key consultant

member of society being studied who provides information that helps researchers understand the meaning of what they observe

quantitative data

statistical or measurable information, such as demographic composition, the types and quantities of crops grown, or the ratio of spouses born and raised within or outside the community

qualitative data

nonstatistical information such as personal life stories and customary beliefs and practices

informal interview

an unstructured, open-ended conversation in everyday life

formal interview

a structured question/answer session carefully notated as it occurs and based on prepared questions

eliciting device

an activity or object used to draw out individuals and encourage them to recall and share information

digital ethnography

the use of digital technologies for the collection, analysis, and representation of ethnographic data

ethnohistory

a study of cultures of the recent past through oral histories; accounts of explorers, missionaries, and traders; and analysis of records

theory

in science an explanation of natural phenomena, supported by a reliable body of data

Human Relations Area Files (HRAF)

a vast collection of cross-indexed ethnographic and archaeological data catalogued by cultural characteristics and geographic locations

idealist perspective

a theoretical approach stressing the primacy of superstructure in cultural research and analysis

materialist perspective

a theoretical approach stressing the primacy of infrastructure (material conditions) in cultural research and analysis