Anthropology 25 Midterm

1. Since the definition of ethnography is a scientific study of people, cultures, and ethnic groups,

Nathan’s book is clearly an ethnography. In the book, Nathan, a professor who is an adept at

anthropological studies, willingly transforms herself into a twenty-first century college student.

During her stay at the university, she understands university life from a different angle. She

discovers new places on campus, which were unknown to her, and a campus bus system. During her

life in the dormitory, she discovers a conflict within the university, where at one end of the extreme

the educators and the administrators at the university try their hardest to bring university students

together through activities, university summer reading assignments, discussions and other events.

On the other end of the extreme, the students stay disconnected from everybody else, with their

own distinct groups, time commitments, backgrounds, friendships, relationships, dormitory set-up’s,

messages, styles and subject majors. Concisely, this conflict discussed in the book is the

ethnographic description, which makes Nathan’s book an ethnography. Furthermore, I do not think

it is unethical for an anthropologist to pose as a freshman. An anthropologist should do whatever is

necessary to be a successful anthropologist. Attempting to fit in with a group of people to learn

more about a group of people is simply the core of anthropological practice, which anthropologist in

no way can avoid, if they want to remain anthropologists.

2. The concept of an authoritative voice relates to the eight kinds of logic in a very clear way. For

each one of the eight kinds of logic, there is at least one authoritative voice. In scientific logic, the

scientist is the authoritative voice who uses evidence to support his or her position on birth. In

clinical logic, the medical practitioner is the authoritative voice who uses his or her medical

knowledge and practice to assess birth. In personal logic, anyone is the authoritative voice who has

something to lose or gain on personal level from decisions relating to birth. In cultural logic, the

spiritual leaders and traditionalists are the authoritative voices that use their knowledge of culture

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to assess birth. In legal logic, the litigator or legalist is the authoritative voice who assess the

liabilities of birth. In economic logic, anyone who can assess the cost benefits and risks of birth is an

authoritative voice. In political logic, anyone who is a critic or a public official is the authoritative

voice using public opinion to assess birth. In intuitive logic, anyone who can assess birth without the

need for the other seven logics is an authoritative voice.

3. There are a few problems related to the birth process, which have resulted from the physical

evolutionary process. One problem is the fact that we walk upright, which tilted the birth canal. A

second problem is the fact that humans have bigger heads compared with other animals, which

makes birth more difficult as the baby’s head goes down the birth canal. A third problem is the fact

that unlike other newborns, human newborns require more time investment from their mothers

because of their inability to care for themselves is higher. Culturally, the tilted birth canal has moved

the birth process from the stool to the table. The fact that giving birth is harder because of the

bigger head has spawned the cultural phenomena of midwifes, who help throughout the birth

process. The need for more time investment has instigated a new cultural experience of women

support groups to help women during times when children are most vulnerable.

4. It is clear that the authoritative voice in the birth of Adhiambo was the mother. It was the

mother’s decision to give birth to Adhiambo at home, rather than in the hospital. Her rational for

not giving birth in the hospital was that she already gave birth there once, and her experience was

that they wanted her money, and could care less about providing the necessary care during the birth

process. The affect on the birth process was that Adhiambo was successfully born at home. The

mother also received questions and opinions about her decision to give birth at home.

5. The authoritative voice clearly relates to the high rate of Caesarian deliveries in the United States

today because medical practitioners are encouraging or pressuring their patients to have Caesarian

deliveries. For medical practitioners, Caesarian deliveries mean less unpredictability, more

efficiency, less liabilities, less time consumption and more profits for the hospital. For patients,

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Caesarian deliveries mean a quicker birth, and more money made at work. Furthermore, the reason

Caesarian birth rates are lower in other countries is clearly indicated by American culture. In

America, people are used to having everything fast, cheap, without risk, without liability, and

without pain. The media is constantly forming American public opinion towards that particular

direction. Another reason for lower Caesarian birth rates is that other countries do not have good, if

any, emergency care like the United States does. A final reason is that the United States has the

least amount of pregnancy leave days, forcing women back to work too soon.

6. In the United States, most parents choose their careers over their own children. Ideally, they hire

nannies or pay for childcare services in their local community to care for their child. Even if an

American mother does not work and stays home, she still opts for nannies or childcare services to

maintain her personal freedom, which is a key part of American culture. In contrast, in Russia,

priority is given to the child, not to career or personal freedom. Ideally, a Russian mother will quit

her job or take a part-time job, just to spend more time and care for her child. Similar to Russian

mothers, Asian mothers from Korea, Japan and China stay home and form powerful emotional

bonds with their children through a variety of playful activities. Furthermore, in contrast to how

developed nations care for children, the Efe of Central Africa care for babies as an entire foraging

band, where everyone receives a chance to care for the baby.

7. The cultural concept of childhood relates to the perception of child soldiers in international

conflicts in many ways. In international law, due to the diversity of world cultures, completely

outlawing childhood soldiers has been mostly unsuccessful, with the strictest law being the 1998

Roman statute ruled in The Hague in Netherlands, which does prohibit recruitment of children

under fifteen, but it does not touch on the issue of criminal culpability of children, like for war

crimes. In national law, not everyone agrees on the age, when a person’s childhood ends. In Russia,

sixteen is the recruitment age, in countries like the United States, the recruitment age is eighteen. In

countries like Kenya , Mozambique, Sudan, and other unstable areas of the world, most children do

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not have a normal childhood, according to western standards, because people are in survival mode,

which means people will sacrifice their own children to preserve themselves.

8. Authoritative voices can and do conflict all the time. An example is from an article about a Syrian

girl who lost her virginity. The conflicting voices were her father who told her he would kill her if she

would lose her virginity and the Syrian girl’s boyfriend who insisted that it was okay to lose virginity

if one is in love with another person. The cultural perception of virginity is clearly influenced by the

parents, while the historical perception of virginity is influenced by spiritual and religious leaders.

Parents, from birth, instill their views or traditions about virginity, which depends on their beliefs.

Some parents are more liberal and pay no attention to virginity, while others are more conservative

and require marriage before sex. Religious and spiritual leaders, like Roman Catholics in particular,

have influenced the historical perception of virginity through theological discourse, where virginity

has been linked to the divine, and therefore, a sign that one has remained faithful to God.

9. The cultural consequences of the increasing number of twins and triplets being born through

artificial means are evident in today’s society. More women are receiving welfare benefits today

because they had twins or triplets by artificial means. Another consequence is that women are

quitting their jobs, just so they can care for their babies. Furthermore, the availability of baby gear

for twins and triplets, which is difficult to find without any increases in twin and triplet births, is

rapidly decreasing with each new twin or triplet born. If it costs on average a quarter of a million

dollars to raise one child, having twins and triplets means a doubled or tripled cost to raise a child.

Finally, the quality, as in education and health, of each child will decrease with an increasing number

of twins and triplets, because both educational and medical resources, like children’s doctors and

teachers, are extremely limited.

10. An epidural is a drug injection using a catheter. The drug blocks passage of pain impulses

through the nervous system, thereby eliminating all pain during the birth process. The drug is

usually injected into a place where the nerve is not protected by bone. The place where the epidural

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is injected is between the spinal bones and into the dura mater, one of the outer layers of the spinal

cord. Being an anesthetic drug, an epidural can have many consequences during birth. The most

obvious is that there is a slight chance the epidural will fail to work completely. It also causes a

longer labor for the woman because the woman loses all sensation. The epidural can also cause

harm to the baby, by causing the baby to have cardiovascular system and nervous system

problems later in life.

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