Quiz 3 - Third quiz PDF

Preview

Summary

Third quiz...

Description

AT1003 Introduction to Anthropology 1: Quiz 3 Please use the following template to complete the short answer quiz. You have a 24-hour period (midnight to midnight) during the Friday of the relevant week to complete the quiz. The quizzes will be open-book, which means that course materials can be consulted but all answers will be checked for plagiarism so ensure that the answers are in your own words. The word limit for each answer is 150 words (750 words for the quiz in total). To submit your answers, save and upload this document to Quiz 1 in the Assignment Information and Submission Portal folder in the AT1003 MyAberdeen page.

Question 1: Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski documented the kula exchange in the Trobriand Islands. He wrote that, despite the mwali and soulava being greatly prized, their exchange was often accompanied by shows of exaggerated modesty by the givers, and disinterest by the receivers. According to Marcel Mauss, why was this the case? The Kula exchange implies the trafficking of gifts that extends beyond the domain of the first receiver. It is, in Mauss’s words, a “total phenomenon” with “religious, moral, legal and economic” (Hendry, 2008: 53) implications. Gifts travel, sometimes circularly, between the western Pacific islands, Mwali in one direction and Soulava in the other. With the particularity that the receiver does not retain them for long, but must pass them to another receiver forming a complex system of social relations in which prestige is obtained, in addition to withholding gifts for a time, making their circulation possible. This phenomenon is what Mauss calls “prestation”, exchanges that appear disinterested but are part of a network of obligations and inescapable interests for those involved. The manifestations of humility and disdain can be in this context, as expressed by Joy Hendry, a form of “wrapping” of the gift. (Hendry, 2008: 53) Source: Hendry, J., (2008), “Gifts, exchange and reciprocity” pp.51-77 in An introduction to social Anthropology: sharing our worlds, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Question 2: Why do young men in Ambrondromifehy, Madagascar, engage in daring consumption? 1

According to Walsh, there are several and complex factors that influence this sort of behaviour: ·

Particular translations of what could be considered the expected behaviour of a

young man. ·

Lack of control over most of the situations that determine their lives. All they can

master is the money in their pockets, and by spending it without control, they affirm themselves. “They consume money itself”. They build their image by spending, an image far from rational conduct. ·

Reciprocity in the necessary relationships to carry out their work as sapphire

miners, which is established by drinking, smoking, gambling… The spending will maintain that social structure. ·

The necessity of fighting the sense of marginality and uncertainty that comes from

the lack of control of almost everything in zaphiro’s trade and from the lack of support from the institutions. ·

The inclination “to dare” more than “to risk”. To dare means to defy or to be “wild,

dangerous and strong”. In other words, to gain status. ·

Prestige associated with masculinity

·

Reputability

·

Lack of other options

Question 3: How have anthropologists critiqued the theory that money economies evolved directly from barter economies? In his book "Debt: The first 5,000 years", David Graeber describes the problems that anthropologists have with the idea that money came from barter; the barter origins of money. He provides different ethnographic examples that undermine this idea. The proofs and pieces of evidence that anthropologists have used to criticize the theory that money economies evolved directly from barter economies are the following ones: Barter emerges during difficult economic times, when there is a devaluation of the currency, for example, in eastern Europe, in the early 1990s, before the collapse of communism. Also, barter occurs when money is not practical to use, for example, to avoid taxes. Finally, both bartering spheres and commercial spheres can co-exist within society. For example, a recent study done in Canada found that almost a third of small businesses in the U.S. use bartering and that 65 percent of corporations listed on the 2

New York Stock Exchange are involved in bartering. Question 4: How did President Truman conceive of the problem of development, and how did modernisation theory present solutions?

For President Truman, the problem of development was one of lack of production and knowledge. The world was divided between developed countries (wealthy western economies with democratic systems, advanced technology and trade) and underdeveloped ones (the victims of the old imperialist age that lack everything). In that context, all that an underdeveloped country had to do in order to reach development was to follow the path of the developed ones. By doing so, it will only be a matter of time to reach the goal of modernization, being modernization synonymous with development. That was the modernization theory proposal: the poor countries should progress through integration in capitalist markets and by neoliberal methods. That way, their progress could be scheduled, predicted and measured. The wealthy countries will draw the policies, and the underdeveloped will just have to follow them.

Question 5: Why does Vinay Kamat argue that the promises made to rural Tanzanians at the start of the gas drilling project are unlikely to be fulfilled? The promises made to rural Tanzanians by the government were uninterrupted electricity for the houses, factory jobs for the youth, roads, transport facilities, schools, hospitals, hotels… Furthermore, as the gas belongs to the nation, the president promised a developed country for 2025. Nevertheless, for rural Mtwara, the promises have turned out to be quite the contrary so far. The rural owners have no rights over the gas, their lands have been taken for exploitation, and they have not received fair compensation. The atmosphere is now polluted, and the crops are affected by infrastructures and buildings. Instead of producing electricity for the area, the gas will be sent through a pipe to other regions. As a result, they are now even poorer than before. The villagers' protests have been violently repressed and, the whole situation shows that they are facing the so-called "accumulation by dispossession". It is clear that the government party has different 3

objectives than the development of the rural area of Mtwara, which makes it very difficult to fulfill the first promises.

4...