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Cultural Anthropology Summary ch12...

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Chapter 12 The title of chapter 12 is “What can Anthropology tell us about Inequality?” The ethnographic and historical records show that societies in which people enjoy relatively equal relations with one another have flourished in different times and places. But cultural constructions of human differences and the use of such cultural constructions to build societies based on unequal social relations also have a long history. India’s caste system ensures that culturally and socially relevant jobs are filled. Other common social stratifications exist in the form of colorism and nationalist thinking. The chapter begins by comparing a ranked group within a hierarchically stratified society whose membership is defined primarily in in terms of wealth, caste, occupation or other economic criteria. India’s caste system separates the population into families who fulfill important jobs within the culture. Examples of these jobs include blacksmiths, cremators, and farmers. Their family lineage decides their function and job in society. These jobs are divided into different jatis, or level of purity/pollution. The more polluting your job is, the lower the jatis. This is a form of social stratification. Another form of social inequality is colorism. Colorism occurs when people with lighter skin are treated differently than people with darker skin. An example of this is in South America. When the Spanish originally came to South America, they had sexual relations with the first nations of that land. This resulted in the creation of a new blended skin color that was darker than Spanish, but lighter than the first nations. Over the years, this new lighter skinned sector of the population started to be treated differently, better than the first nations. This example of social inequality is called colorism.

Social inequality is also nationalist thinking. In this form, the majority population or dominant group creates a national identity for which to support and bolster. This national identity mirrors the ideals of the dominant group in order to get buy in. The minority populations or subordinate groups are either visually or culturally different than the dominant group. The minority groups don’t share the values or are portrayed as if they don’t in the eyes of the dominant group. Membership in social categories such as class, race, ethnicity, and nation can determine enormous differences in people’s life chances so much is at stake in defending these categories, and may all be described as if they were rooted in biology or nature, rather than culture and history. Although strategic essentialism may be successful in such struggles, it also risks repeating the same logic that justifies oppression....