Essays and Research Papers on Anthropology

This is a 4 page paper summarizing four articles within the social sciences and cultural studies. Articles by Hassan Bakhtari, Sue Ann Curtis, Stephen Littlejohn and Cynthia Lont discuss various concerns within the area of social science and cultural studies. Bakhtari addresses the difference found in management styles between Middle Eastern immigrant managers in the ...

A 5 page paper addressing the question of the nature of cultural anthropology. The author utilizes the case study presented in Anne Fadiman's ethnography "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" to illustrate the differences in approach typically entailed by mainstream medicine and tradition. The emphasis that cultural anthropology, and indeed medicine, ...

This 5 page paper gives a quick summary of the creation myth of the Aboriginal people in Australia and then examples how this story portrays the various belief and value system of that culture.Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This is a 4 page paper discussing the use of body metaphors in contemporary text. Metaphors within contemporary text are used to emphasize particular events, situations, emotions or physical states and are considered by some that today “one cannot think without metaphors”. The use of body metaphors within text is easy to grasp for all ...

This is a 5 page paper discussing cross-cultural awareness through interviews and cinema. A review of an interview with South African Mark Mathabane and a review of the Spanish film “Talk to Her” by Pedro Almodovar allow readers to appreciate cross-cultural aspects which also help to broaden and define a person’s self-identity and approach to ...

A paper which looks at some of the salient points in a series of articles about post-colonial development and the fragmentation of community in third world countries. Bibliography lists 10 sources

This 6 page paper discusses the book by Ian Frazier, On the Rez. The book is analyzed for characterization, themes, symbolism, and author's point of view. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 4 page essay that summarizes and analyzes Katherine S. Newman's anthropological study of inner-city working poor, No Shame In My Game (1999). The writer argues that this text is revealing and often contradicts many of the preconceived notions concerning the poor that are prevalent in US culture. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page contention that death is a process, a process in which the dying terminate their societal obligations but in which family members often incur obligations in the form of family vigilance. These obligations have varied, however, over time and culture. In many aspects of our modern society death has become more ...

A 4 page discussion of the numerous factors which can limit social mobility. While mobility between castes is perceived as impossible in the traditional caste system, it is possible to move within and between classes on the basis of merit and hard work. Even in the class system, however, social mobility is limited ...

This 5 page paper discusses the socio-cultural behavior that one might view in a hypothetical laundry mat in the inner city. Examples given. Bibliographpy lists 6 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the theories of Jared Diamond in his Pulitzer Prize winning book: Guns, Germs and Steel. Examples offered. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This is a 6 page paper discussing structuralism in the study of media and culture. Structuralism is based on the premise that “societies and sociological or cultural practices can be analyzed, along the lines of language, as signifying systems [and within] structuralism the subject is decentered, in other words the central focus on the individual ...

This 4 page paper examines aspects of linguistics within anthropology though the functionalist and structuralist approaches of de Saussure and Jakobson with analytical approaches from Levi-Strauss. The paper also considers how Leach defines the variation of myth within cultural societies. The bibliography cites 4 sources.

This is a 10 page paper discussing Gulru Necipoglu’s article “The Life of an Imperial Monument: Hagia Sophia after Byzantium”. Gulru Necipoglu’s article “The Life of an Imperial Monument: Hagia Sophia after Byzantium” highlights many of the cultural and historical aspects of Hagia Sophia since Mehmed II’s conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Necipoglu comments that ...

This is a 4 page paper discussing male status in Ibo society and its loss after the arrival of the white missionaries and colonization. In traditional African Ibo society there were several different circumstances and symbols which led to male status. Male status depended on age, the family unit, community position, and wealth which were ...

A 5 page overview of the process of making corn bread. The author takes the reader through the process step by step from pre-heating the skillet to mixing the batter. Important terms like “pone” are defined as well as information on how Southern cooks regard and care for their prized corn bread skillets. ...

A 5 page paper in which the author approaches the term “aboriginality” with the contention that the term has been defined not only by the Aboriginal peoples themselves but by those cultures who invaded Australian shores and ultimately came to dominate the land and the people. The problem which is inherent in an English ...

A 5 page discussion of the factors which have influenced white perception of the Australian frontier. The author contends that this perception has been fueled not only by fear and racism but also by an intense greed to capitalize upon the lands and the peoples of Australia. Not only were the aborigines distinctly ...

A 5 page examination of the question of just how accurate is the contention that Australia’s aborigines have been partially integrated into the Northern Australian pastoral industry. While indeed there has been partial integration, this integration has occurred more in response to white interests than any true concern for aborigine welfare. Bibliography lists ...

A 7 page paper which examines this topic and the issues it addresses within the cultural context of the works of artists Susan Hiller and Coco Fusco. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

This is an 8 page paper discussing discrimination and assimilation of African and Native Americans. African Americans and Native Americans in the United States have experienced generations of discrimination and assimilation but from somewhat different perspectives. Native Americans were the most profoundly affected by colonization and were forced into minority group status and relocated by ...

This is a 10 page paper discussing abuse in Aboriginal residential schools in Canada and in particular that in Fort Albany, Ontario. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Canada, the federal government in partnership with a number of religious organizations ran over 130 “residential schools” for Aboriginals. Originally intended to promote the assimilation of ...

This 11 page paper details the intricate courtship and marriage ceremonies of the ancient Aztecs. These practices are also analyzed for binary opposition and deconstruction. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A paper which considers the importance of the Neolithic Revolution, in terms of the transition from nomadic culture to agricultural cultivation, and the impact which this had on the nature of society and culture. Bibliography lists 2 sources.