TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Anthropology > Exam Questions
- According to Functionalist theory, one function of religion is to reassure human beings faced with the prospect of death. Discuss the importance of this function in two types of society and state at least one other function of religion.
- Religion is the belief in spiritual beings. Do anthropologists agree?
- In a number of societies, there are "rites of passage" which mark the biologically important points in life. Identify these points and describe the rites which accompany them in ONE of the societies you have studied.
- Why did some authors believe that the social organisation of hunter-gatherer societies was an illustration of primitive communism? Justify your answer and provide an example from an ethnography you have studied.
- Distinguish and illustrate at least TWO types of division of labour in hunting-gathering societies. Refer to TWO ethnographic accounts.
- Compare the sexual division of labour in two societies that you have studied and show how this may be related to different ideas about male and female.
- With reference to specific ethnographies, give two examples of ethical problems an anthropologist might find him/herself confronted with, either in the process of fieldwork, or in the written representation of "others".
- Many industrialised nations now look to other cultures for ways to protect the environment. With reference to specific ethnography, show what lessons could be learnt from ways in which indigenous groups relate to their ecological context.
- Describe and compare the social functions of marriage in at least TWO of the cultures you have studied.
- With reference to specific ethnographic works, show how the presence of the anthropologist may influence the reality observed and the final account.
- Using one of the texts you have read, identify one ethical problem that may confront an anthropologist in the course of fieldwork. State how the anthropologist has managed this problem and describe the attitude of the different categories of people involved.
- Contrast the role of kinship in tribal societies with that of class in industrial societies.
- Patriarchy can be defined as a system where men control society and its institutions and where women are subordinated to men. In the light of this definition, how would you define machismo?
- Stratification by gender is a cultural practice based on cultural values, not biological factors. Discuss in relation to two ethnographies.
- Describe the ways in which men and women act differently in any one society that you have studied. What explanation does the anthropologist offer for these differences?
- All societies resort to specific ways of maintaining social order. Identify and compare how this is done in TWO different societies.
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