American Anthropologist 1982

Agar, Michael. Toward an Ethnographic Language. American Anthropologist December, 1982. Vol. 84(4): 779-795.

Throughout this article, Agar attempts to formulate a framework for ethnographic concerns, which will lead to a better understanding of ethnography. He argues that in order to derive the optimal amount of meaning from ethnographic research we need to have a more general way to talk about ethnography.

Agar first describes some problems associated with ethnographic work. Information relating to a certain group can differ greatly depending on who is doing the research. It is also possible that a group that is observed can change before it is observed a second time, which could produce seemingly contradictory accounts. Ethnographic work can also differ due to the intended audience. Agar identifies the problem of understanding situations due to disrupted expectations. Agar uses narratives to exemplify problems associated with traditional ethnography.

Agar shows that there are three main steps involved in the process of ethnography: breakdown, resolution, and coherence. Breakdowns occur when expectations are disrupted. When a breakdown occurs a resolution is necessitated. Agar applies new language to describe how resolution can be obtained. He uses the general term “schema” to describe the combination of goals, frames, and plans. He uses the term “strip” to identify the phenomena encountered during ethnographic work. This is a general term that can apply to many different situations. Strips are a means by which an ethnographer can test any phenomenon against their own understanding of the group. Agar argues that resolution occurs through the application of schemas to strips. When there is no available schema to understand a strip, a breakdown occurs. Resolution occurs by finding a schema that can be applied to the strip without a breakdown occurring. Coherence occurs during the resolution of the breakdown. This is caused by a change in knowledge so that the breakdown is seen as a part of a bigger picture, or in Agar’s words, “part of a plan.”

Agar addresses some common concerns in ethnography and suggests a new framework for dealing with these concerns. He has utilized interpretive philosophy to construct his framework of understanding.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
CHAD R. BROEKER, Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Agar, Michael. Toward an Ethnographic Language. American Anthropologist December, 1982 Vol.84(4):779-795.

Michael Agar believes there is a problem with the ethnography within the field of anthropology. In his article, “Toward an Ethnographic Language,” Agar presents the dilemma: “many competent ethnographers” are unable to present a clear understanding of foreign cultures. As a result, Agar believes that many of these ethnographers produce “superficial garbage.” Another result that emerged from this subject is that anthropology sometimes has to overcome a sense of embarrassment when presented to members of other areas of science.

In an attempt to help ethnographers present a more clear understanding of other cultures in the field of ethnography, Agar suggests that a certain language needs to be created in order to explain the general ways of ethnography. By doing this, Agar believes that ethnographers can present a clearer understanding of culture to their audience. In the rest of the article Agar explains the general problems with ethnography. He suggests certain terms that ethnographers could use to help create a more clear ethnographic language.

To understand the issues within ethnography Agar presents the problems associated with this topic. Agar thinks the cultural background of an ethnographer can sometimes automatically alter his/her view of the culture they are studying. Even after the completion of their study ethnographers may be confronted with problems of how to present their findings to the different types of audiences they have to address. Also Agar, emphasizes the difficulty of comprehending certain traditions within the culture can also lead to problems or misunderstandings within ethnography. When presenting some of the problems in ethnography, Agar uses his own experiences as examples. Agar uses the rest of his article to explain an ethnographic language that could be used to clarify some of the issues within ethnography.

Agar believes that there is a certain relationship that can be used in any ethnographic study, where the ethnographer encounters “breakdowns” (which is a disjunction between the ethnographer and the culture of study). Then, it is the ethnographer’s job to eliminate this “breakdown”. When the ethnographer is able to abolish this “breakdown,” Agar calls this a “resolution.” Agar talks about other things that the ethnographer has to deal with in order to get to the “resolution” such as “goals” and “plans.” These terms describe what the ethnographer wants to learn and how he/she goes about achieving this. By explaining this process, Agar hopes to give his readers a more clear perspective of ethnography and the issues within it.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SARAH CEREZO York University (Naomi Adelson)

Biersack, Aletta. The Logic of Misplaced concreteness: Paiela Body counting and the Nature of Primitive Mind. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol. 84: 811-829.

The author references the Paiela highland people of Papau New Guinea, in order to legitimize the holistic complexity of the ‘primitive’ “science of the concrete”. In the process, she challenges the evolutionary stance that views ‘primitive’ culture as inferior to that of the West.

Biersack draws support from Levi-Strauss’ legitimation of primitive thought as metalogival and dualistic-a physical basis for abstract ideas- distinguished from Western science’s abstract basis to evaluate the physical. Using a cultural relativistic view, the author defends the Struass primitive “science of the concrete” as an alternative logic-an ‘authentic’ “science amoung sciences.” Hallpike’s previous conclusions built around an evolutionary progressive view that ‘primitive’ peoples operate on an “incomplete logic” come under fire. Hallpike draws from the Piagetian developmental scheme which tests a childs’s capacity for abstraction and cognitive ability to support his view that ‘primitive’ peoples are incapable of abstract thought.

The concrete basis of the Paiela counting system is in their enumeration, they use a tally of physical representation. Although using their own body parts to correspond to numbers may seem like a simplistic method initially, the author stresses the gestural and sequential as a “process of progressive differentiation”. In other words: an underlying pattern organizes the concrete in abstract terms. The counter uses body parts encoded in a numeric hierarchy which begin at the small finger and ascending towards the head, end at the opposite small finger to a total count of twenty-eight. The dualistic is present here- a basic organization of abstraction- embedded in the division of ascending and descending and in the ‘union of opposites’ which sees opposing body parts as paired segments. Illustrating the complexity of this counting system in its multiple approaches, Biersack describes a woman who begins counting on her small finger, then by joining her opposite hand as a paired unit, continues to count.

The author places Paiela body counting in the first of two stages in a process of communication. She goes on to discuss the elements of Paeila communication and the role played by the body. Encoded gestures support a binary positionality of communication as “open ” or “closed”. A dualist approach separates the mind- as non-action- from the body – as action: communication occurs when the body carries out the mind’s decision. Non-action is the intrasubjective first stage -folded arms- and action is the intersubjective second stage –arms extended- that completes communication. ‘True’ kinship for example, is maintained through a reciprocal relationship of supportive action. There is a division of the private intrasubjective space where tallying occurs, from the public intersubjective space of visual metacode. The author describes the assembling of bridewealth in which the assembler’s hands are held close to his chest as he tallies the pigs (in his private space), then, moving to metacode, he extends his arms or makes physical contact with the pigs (in the public space). The bodily engagement with the offering-spatial or physical- opens communication and signifies true kinship.

The thrust of the article is the dualistic blueprint, the binary oppositions of on/off communication and the paired relations of body parts, which is also used by Western science to “govern abstraction”. Both systems are portrayed as “authentic” sciences although operating on a different pattern or configuration. By building a conceptual bridge between the Paiela “science of the concrete” to a process of communication, Paiela body counting becomes an alternative to Western scientific methodology.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SUSIE MORGADO York University (Naomi Adelson)

Biersack, Aletta. The Logic of Misplaced Concreteness: Paiela Body Counting and the Nature of the Primitive Mind. American Anthropologist December, 1982 Vol. 84 (4):811-829.

In her article, “The Logic of Misplaced Concreteness: Paiela Body Counting and the Nature of the Primitive Mind”, Biersack attempts to discover the alternative logic that would permit her to develop a strong case for the dualistic rather than evolutionary nature of the relationship between primitive and Western thought. To establish her argument, Biersack refers to C.R. Hallpike’s monograph The Foundation of Primitive Thought in which he argues that the ‘incomplete logic’ of the primitive is rather like the ‘incomplete logic’ of the child. Like childish thought, primitive thought remains bound to concrete phenomena. However, unlike Hallpike, who insists that primitives could never employ a wholly different logic from that recognized by Western philosophers, Biersack argues that some primitive social groups do utilize a different logical system. Biersack also refers to the Piagetian development scheme, in which the child is liberated from experience by a progressive grasp of common abstractions. Because the development of the number concept in particular as an index of cognitive maturation is stressed, Biersack is led to consider the character of primitive counting systems.

Biersack uses the Paiela as her test group. The Paiela are a group of swidden horticulturalists that live in the Papua New Guinea highlands just west of the Enga and north of the Huli. A key feature of their social system is its ‘cybernetic nature’. Paiela counting is concrete in just the ways that Hallpike claims to be characteristic of primitive counting systems. The Paiela always enumerate; they never compute. There are elaborate tallying procedures in the event that the items being counted are absent, and the words for their numbers are also the names of body parts.

To prove the validity of her theory, Biersack discusses the arithmetic vocabulary that the Paiela use and illustrates how the pattern-dependence of the Paiela number is irrefutably present in their system. Next, she describes and analyzes Paiela counting behavior as an element in a complex communication process, complete with code and metacode, whereby kinsmen exchange messages of friendship or hostility. Having anchored Paiela counting behavior in communicational processes, Biersack finishes by arguing that the principles and abstractions underlying Paiela counting behavior, its ‘logic’, systematically contrast with the principles and abstractions of a Western scientific logic.

CLARITY RANKING: 1
J. DUNNE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Boehm, Christopher. A Fresh Outlook on Cultural Selection. American Anthropologist March, 1982. Vol. 84 (1):105-124.

Christopher Boehm reviews two books, Programmed to Learn: An Essay on the Evolution of Culture by H. Ronald Pulliam and Christopher Dunford and Population Pressure and Cultural Adjustment by Virginia Abernethy, in this article. He relates the articles with the subject of cultural selection. The article compares the books by writing style, content, and mood. Programmed to Learn is more “hypothetical and generalizing” while Population Pressure and Cultural Adjustments “focuses on one specific and crucial mechanism of cultural adjustment”. The authors agree on the fact that the mind must be the starting point in cultural adjustment studies. Pulliam and Dunford assume that learning is part of human nature. It is mentioned that in their book, trial and error are viewed as a special survival technique. They claim that humans are more likely to seek out rewards and avoid punishments. Pairing trial and error with imitation skills is strongly associated with receiving a reward. It is also mentioned that Pulliam and Dunford believe that learning at the individual level is a major factor that shapes the way we perceive ideas and create attitudes over time. On the other hand, Abernethy suggests that culture influences our thought processes. She suggests that culture creates equilibrium within humans enabling them to perceive the carrying capacity of the environment. With this idea intact, she mentions that cultural influences protect a species from overpopulating. Abernathy goes as far as saying that famines are “useful” in dealing with the idea of scarcity and its effects on populations.

In the end, Boehm ties the two books together stating that books like these are the starting points for understanding cultural selection. He feels that understanding both positions is a practical way to understand cultural selection and make it more efficient.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
WENDY LEACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Cole, Johnnetta.B. Obituary of Vera Mae Green. American Anthropologist 1982 84: 633-635.

Vera Mae Green was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. Where she was raised and went to Roosevelt College. Early in the fifties she worked in several social and welfare agencies. Which lead to her path of studies in anthropology at Columbia where she received her Masters degree. She then trained for community development in Mexico with a Mestizo community. This lead her to serve as one of Oscar Lewis research assistants in a urban poor community in Puerto Rico in the early sixties. This made her continue to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, where she received her degree in 1969. She then pursued various activities within anthropology, as well as, in the African American society. Vera Mae served on boards including Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association and president of the Association of Black Anthropologist and Mid-Atlantic council for Latin American Studies. Vera Mae was consumed by cancer and died on January 17, 1982.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
SHERISSE SEQUEIRA York University (Naomi Adelson)

Cole, Johnnetta B. Vera Mae Green (1928-1982). American Anthropologist September, 1982 Vol. 84(3):633-635

Vera Mae Green was born in Chicago 1928. She studied sociology and psychology at Roosevelt College. Throughout the 1960s Green worked in social welfare agencies in Chicago. Green later attended Columbia and received her master’s degree in anthropology in 1955. She worked in a Mestizo community in Mexico in 1956 and in 1963 served as a research assistant in Puerto Rico. Green would later receive her Ph.D. in 1969 from the University of Arizona. Green was one of very few African Americans to become an anthropologist. She did her fieldwork on the Caribbean Island of Aruba. Green taught at various universities and then took a position at Rutgers in 1972 where she would remain until her death in 1982. Green also served as the director of the Latin American Institute from 1976 to 1982, on the Executive Board of American Anthropologist, and as the President of the Association of Black anthropologists. She focused her research in the areas of diversity among poor populations of the world. Green was a champion for breaking stereotypes of the poor and especially those of Afro-American communities and culture. She also encouraged underprivileged populations to study anthropology.

CLARITY RANKING: 5.
JOHNNA PHILLIPS Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Eastwell, Harry D. Voodoo Death and the Mechanism for Dispatch of Dying in East Arnhem. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol.84:5-17

In this article Harry D Eastwell investigates the possibilities of voodoo death. Death by voodoo means death by suggestion through sorcery. He is very skeptical that healthy people die all of a sudden due to sorcery.

Eastwell has been to East Arnhem Australia to conduct psychiatric clinics. He found that the third most common “psychiatric” syndrome is a gross fear state. People with this syndrome fear death by sorcery, as well as feeling agitated, restless, sleepless with extensive sweating. While he was in Arnhem, he recorded two deaths reportedly due to “sorcery”. Eastwell provides alternative explanations for both deaths that are medically related. He also explains that in the grossly frightened state, the “victims” refuse food and water. He feels that they eventually die of starvation or dehydration. He refers to Yap who states that voodoo deaths really do occur. Yap is an ethnopsychiatrist who says that these deaths happen too rapidly for starvation or dehydration to set in. Eastwell is not convinced with Yap’s argument because he feels that Yap has no specific cases to back up his point. There are specific cases that Eastwell brings up that leads to the belief that the voodoo deaths are cause by dehydration and starvation. Due to psychological factors, the victim and his relatives confiscate fluids and food from the “victims” diet. When the “victim” is in a gross fear state, he gives up and accepts death as a rite of passage.

This article is very interesting because it looks at how death and the way that people view death differ cross culturally. People in the West always try to medicalize death but this article proves that there are diferent ways to deal with death.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
RIE KOREEDA York University (Naomi Adelson)

Eastwell, Harry D. Voodoo Death and the Mechanism for Dispatch of the Dying in East Arnhem, Australia. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol.84: 5-17.

Eastwell’s article explores the phenomenon known as “voodoo death”, which is defined as a progressive psychophysiological disorganization with surgical shock from terror in catastrophic situations. Individuals suffering from voodoo death believe that they are the victims of sorcery, and have no choice but to wait for impending death. This mental state is known as the “given up complex.”

Eastwell’s ethnographic accounts took place in East Arnhem, Australia where he conducted psychiatric clinics among the Aboriginal people with the intent to either prove scientifically or dispel the notion of voodoo death. While conducting research, Eastwell recorded two separate deaths that were supposedly the result of sorcery being placed on each respective victim. From his experience, he found that the third most common “psychiatric” syndrome of those in East Arnhem is a gross fear state. The dominant symptom of this state is fear of death from sorcery, but also included is intense agitation, restlessness, gross sleeplessness and increased vigilance come nightfall. Victims often refuse food and water, and many researchers believe the actual cause of death to be starvation and dehydration. Once a person falls into the mentioned state, scientifically it is hard to determine if sorcery has actually been performed against the victim. In the two cases where victims died from supposed voodoo death, reasonable medical evidence was found as an alternative mode of death. Eastwell supports his theory that voodoo death is purely psychological with several more specific insights, concluding that the cause of death is in actuality caused by starvation and extreme dehydration. The mind is a powerful tool, and once one gives up all hope of survival- whatever the reason- death can be an inevitable factor.

I found this article to be an interesting approach to how modes of death are stratified in different cultures. Even though medical alternatives to voodoo death were feasible in a few cases, many cases have still gone unexplained. Eastwell’s article provides many different theoretical approaches to cases in question, however, some of the information provided relied upon previous works. This at times made the article difficult to comprehend and hard to differentiate between Eastwell’s theories and the views and research of other parties.

CLARITY: 4
CAILIN MCAULIFFE San Diego Mesa College (Denise Couch)

Flannery, Kent V. The Golden Marshalltown: A Parable for the Archeology of the 1980s. American Anthropologist June, 1982 Vol. 84 (2):265-278.

Kent Flannery discusses an encounter with three archeologists on an airplane ride home to Ann Arbor. These three encompass very different aspects of the world of archeology. One is termed as the Born-Again Philosopher. This archeologist does no digging, but instead concentrates on developing theories for the archeological world. The second archeologist is termed the Child of the Seventies. He is very ambitious as long as he has to do no work. He invites colleagues to write chapters for him, puts his name on the cover, and calls himself the editor. Therefore he gets all the credit without any of the hard work. The final and most influential of the three is called the Old Timer. He is an older archeologist who has just been forced into retirement because he correlated his work too much with culture. For all of his hard work and dedication he was given his own trowel, which had been dipped in 24-caret gold, the golden Marshalltown.

The Old Timer leads the four in a conversation by challenging the ideas of the others. How could the theories of an archeologist who never digs really apply to archeology? He also contends that forcing a man/woman right out of graduate school to teach many introductory courses and to publish as much as possible is ridiculous. What can an archeologist write about if he is not out in the field doing work? The Old Timer also brings up the primacy of context and comprehensive collections.

At this point the author falls asleep and after an archeology nightmare, wakes to find himself at his destination. When home he finds that the Old Timer has left his Golden Marshalltown in his bag with instructions to give it to a young archeologist who still believes in culture, hard work, and digs because it is fun.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
SARA LAGRANGE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Glick, Leonard B. Types Distinct from Our Own: Franz Boas on Jewish Identity and Assimilation. American Anthropologist 1982 vol. 84: 545-565.

Around the 1850’s when Franz Boas was living in Germany there was a tremendous force of oppression over Jews, not specific to Germany, but Eastern Europe in general. Boas, being a German Jew was subject to these intolerable conditions and was forced to immigrate to America. Although born in Germany, he could not seem to assimilate in German society because of his Jewish heritage. Jews could not convince Germans that although they were of Jewish heritage, they belonged to the German society. The general consensus throughout Germany was “…if German Jews could ever become Germans, it would be when they ceased to be Jews.”

Franz Boas after moving to the United States and became assimilated there, never considered himself a Jewish-American. He maintained this belief along with many other Jews even before he emigrated, he considered himself only a German-American. He believed that Judaism was only his “religious persuasion,” and that the land he was born in was his nationality (German). Judaism had a greater influence on Boas’ career as an anthropologist.

Leonard Glick makes reference to Boas’ view of assimilation of German-Americans, and correlates it with the assimilation of Black’s and American Indians into American society. Boas is able to conclude in accordance with his own conditions that assimilation is possible but these minorities will maintain their strong heritages.

Boas hypothesizes that that in the process of assimilation into a society, once body changes occur, the mentality of the immigrants changes. This appears to be a biological assumption suggested by Boas.

Boas insists that for the ultimate assimilation people must not be forced to remain within an ethnic category, but rather encouraged to partake in new cultures.

Clarity: 4
RON SOREANU York University (Naomi Adelson)

Glick, Leonard B. Types Distinct from Our Own: Franz Boas on Jewish Identity and Assimilation. American Anthropologist September, 1982 Vol. 84 (3):545-565.

In his article, “Types Distinct from Our Own: Franz Boas on Jewish Identity and Assimilation”, Glick discusses the impact that Boas’ German Jewish heritage had on Boas’ writings regarding the assimilation of one people into the culture of another. Glick argues that the conflicting elements in his personal history – his heritage as both a German and a Jew – created difficulties and allowed Boas to adopt attitudes on assimilation that now seem to be at odds with the fundamental tenets of his career. Glick summarizes the attitudes of Boas towards the assimilation of Germans in America by acknowledging Boas’ writings, which illustrate that it was their duty to maintain pride in their national origins and cultural heritage, but advocated assimilation to the point of literal disappearance for the Jews. However, in groups with which he has not personally identified – African and Native Americans – Boas seems to have adopted a somewhat intermediate position; anticipating their ultimate assimilation but recognizing and supporting their need for a sense of pride in their own heritage.

Glick pushes forward to recount a brief history of the evolution of Jewish identity and explores the “Jewish Question” in 19th-century Germany. By paralleling Boas’ life with the segregation and oppression of Jews, the emergence of German Jewish liberals and nationalism, and the subsequent rise of German anti-Semitism, Glick vividly illustrates the formation of Boas’ opinions towards the assimilation of German Jews. Glick shows the impact that the German state of mind had on Boas as both a young adult and during his formative years, resulting in inconsistencies and often outright contradictions.

Glick finishes by stating that although Boas led the way to the establishment of cultural anthropology as a discipline he could not, or would not, recognize some of the most fundamental determinants of his own perspective on culture, society, and identity – specifically, those elements which were influenced, if not definitively shaped, by his heritage as a Jew.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
J. DUNNE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Goodwin,Christopher R. Obituary: Clifford Evans, Jr. American Anthropologist. 1982 Vol.84:636-638

This is an obituary for Clifford Evans Jr. He was a very predominant figure in anthropology. He was a curator in Latin American anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. He conducted research studies in Brazil, Guyana, Venezuela, the Caribbean Island of Dominica, Ponape in the Caroline Islands and in Virginia. Evans Jr and his wife did research at the mouth of the Amazon which marked the beginning of scientific archaeology in Brazil. His detailed writing on the Amazon is presently referred to as the “Bible”. They also developed the explicit archaeological model in South America, including the first application of the concept of settlement patterns in the tropical forests.

Evans Jr created many firsts in archaeology, including the discovery of obsidian hydrating at a constant rate and initiating a cross-cultural program between the Smithsonian and the research council of Brazil called Pronopa. He also formed numerous group projects in Brazil bringing different teams together. Evans Jr was well respected by the people of Latin America. He was also a recipient of many, many awards.

This obituary is very important. Clifford Evans Jr was such a large contributor to the study of archaeology.

CLARITY RANKING: 5
RIE KOREEDA: York University (Naomi Adelson)

Goodwin, Christopher R. Obituary: Clifford Evans, Jr. American Anthropologist, 1982. Vol.84:636-638.

Clifford Evans, Jr., Curator of Latin American archeology at the Smithsonian Institution, died on January 19, 1981. He was a graduate of the University of Southern California and attended graduate school at Columbia University.

Evans contributed numerous things for the field while specializing in Latin American Archeology. He conducted archeological research in places such as Brazil, Guyana, Ecuador, Venezuela, the Caribbean Island of Dominica, Ponape in the Caroline Islands and Virginia. In 1948 and 1949 Evans and his wife, Betty Meggers, did research in the lower Amazon of Brazil, which in turn led to his doctoral dissertation on the archeology of the Territory of Amapa, Brazilian Guiana. From their research, he was able to coauthor the seminal volume Archeological Investigations at the Mouth of the Amazon. Evans had the opportunity to work in coastal and eastern Ecuador alongside the distinguished Ecuadorian archeologist Emilio Estrada.

Clifford Evans Jr. was well known for his contributions to the Smithsonian. He carried out the Smithsonian’s Amazon Ecosystems Program, and organized the Smithsonian Senate of Scientists along with being the Treasurer of the Association for Tropical Biology for eight years. He broke the color barrier by hiring a black office employee at the Smithsonian and he was the first curator to modernize an exhibit hall in the 1950’s. Evans was also the recipient of countless awards and was the first to form ample group projects throughout Brazil. According to Dr. Mario Sanoja, Evans was “The best cultural ambassador for the United States in Latin America.”

CLARITY: 5
MAGGIE MANN University of San Diego (Denise Couch)

Gray, J. Patrick. Wolfe, Linda. Sociobiology and Creationism: Two Ethnosociologies of American Culture. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol. 84:580-594.

Gray and Wolfe use a non-judgemental approach to sociobiology and creationism as related discourses, which manipulate “key symbols” of the American secular worldview. The common rise in popularity of both indicates not only their relativity, but responds to disillusionment with the dominant worldview. The author stress the need for a ‘symbolic anthropological’ view that sees sociobiology and creationism as formative processes of “American mythological systems”.

David Schneider’s model outlines the secular American perspective in terms of the unresolved contrast between nature and culture: nature is both the opposition and origin of culture. The insecurity of this unresolved relationship is minimized through the secular view whose basis is a human rationality-or morality-that places humanity above nature. The resulting “rules of behavior” inform the symbols of American culture; family, sexuality, home, work, and gender issues. As alternative discourses to the dominant secular view, sociobiology and creationism enter “symbolic” dialogue with key cultural aspects. The inevitable result: altered, not truly distinctive, positionality.

Sociobiology and creationism borrow elements from eachother towards one common goal: criticism of the dominant secular discourse as cause of current social crisis. Each offers it’s “eternal values” as the natural solution.

Gray and Wolfe argue that the complexity of cultural pluralism and secularization in industrial societies results in multiple competing discourses. Traditional anthropological notions of ‘myth’ as a single discursive form becomes the modernized fractured mythologies with different characteristics. This article provides an interesting symbolic analysis of sociobiology and creationism in terms of the multiplicity of contemporaneous discourse.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
SUSIE MORGADO York University (Naomi Adelson)

Gray, Patrick J. and Linda D. Wolfe. Sociology and Creationism: Two Ethnosociologies of American Culture. American Anthropologist September, 1982. Vol. 84(3): 580-593.

In this essay, Gray and Wolfe describe the differences between human sociobiology and “scientific” creationism and compare the two discourses against the secular view of American culture. In the introduction Gray and Wolfe state that previous papers addressing these topics have been problematic because analysis has ignored the fact that while sociobiology rose to the status of cultural fashion, creationism also saw a wider acceptance. The purpose of their essay, according to Gray and Wolfe, is to offer a move towards a symbolic analysis relating the main subjects, sociobiology and creationism, to one another, along with other themes in American culture.

The paper is then broken down into two different sections: (1) A Secular World View and (2) Creationism and Sociobiology. The section on the American secular world view mainly focuses on a model proposed by David Schneider. There are a number of features to his model and the first one is the origin of morality. Studies of world views show that the sense of security these beliefs hold is enhanced, and sometimes created, by the belief that morality is eternal. The second feature says that the belief system is complex and conflict is potentially high. Thirdly, American society is concerned with the possible fall of the distinction between humans and non-human animals. This fall would ultimately result in the end of culture. The fourth feature deals with the home/work contrast. In this Schneider says that nature is the source of the emotions and behaviors that are associated with the home. The final feature of this model deals with the secular world view’s vulnerability to disconfirmation.

The section on creationism and sociobiology deals with comparing them against each other and the American secular world view. Gray and Wolfe say that neither creationism nor sociobiology totally reject the aspects of the secular world view, but rather use the basics of the view and merely add a component. Creationism adds the idea of the supernatural. On the other hand, sociobiology adds the idea of supernatural, in which God is replaced by natural selection. The authors also state that both creationism and sociobiology argue that the secular world view is responsible for the problems that are currently facing the nation.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
CARROLL BILBREY Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Handwerker W. Penn, Crosbie Paul V. Sex and Dominance. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol. 84: 97- 104

To examine the impact of genetic composition and sociocultural influence on differential sexual dominance, a study was constructed using 15 sociology students who participated in a simulation game called SIMSOC. The study was intended to simulate minimal requirements for societal living and to enable the student-players to develop their own mock society.

To determine relative sexual dominance, eight variables were examined. From the sociobioligical perspective, sex was chosen; from a sociocultural perspective, self-esteem, status expectations, group participation, and resource control were chosen. The researchers chose an additional three variables of age, height, and weight to apply to the model (these were felt to be untied to either perspective).

Results from the study indicated that there may be a sexually differentiated genotype that affects relative dominance. However, this was only found to be important in creating size differentials. Through this experiment, relative sexual dominance among men and women can be explained by size acting through variables of culture. Particular behavioral patterns arise from specific social relations and cultural content.

The writers of this article conclude that the sociobiological explanations for sexual dominance are inadequate and social construction of relative dominance should be further studied so that issues of sex roles, biology, culture, sociology, and methodology are more explicitly considered.

CLARITY RATING: 3
MARCIE GOLDMAN York University (Naomi Adelson)

Handwerker W. Penn, Crosbie Paul V. Sex and Dominance. American Anthropologist 1982 Vol. 84: 97- 104

Crosbie and Handwerker propose the question; “is differential dominance among men and women a function of their distinctive genetic composition or a function of sociocultural variables?” First, they describe the sociobiological way of thinking. The problems with sociobiological thinking, though, are 1) the central theory of inclusive fitness makes it impossible to formulate empirically falsifiable statements and 2) genotypes cannot be deduced from phenotypes. That is to say, some genetic traits may not be expressed physically and also many environmental variables may bear complex relationships to the physical and behavioral expression of genetically determined characteristics. Crosbie and Handwerker then set out to determine which view is more plausible by conducting an experiment.

In their research model, Crosbie and Handwerker examined eight variables that were recognized as important determinants of relative dominance: sex, age, height, weight, self-esteem, status expectations, group participation, and resource control. Relative dominance, as the dependent variable, was calculated from an average of measures of power, prestige, and privilege. In their experiment, Crosbie and Handwerker used twenty small groups broken down from 159 beginning sociology students. Emergent dominance was measured by the groups playing the simulation game SIMSOC over a five week period. The purpose of the SIMSOC game is to simulate the minimal requirements for societal living and then to allow student-players to develop their own miniature societies within these limits.

By measuring status-expectations and dominance in the SIMSOC game, Crosbie and Handwerker came up with these results: it is not maleness or femaleness that gives men dominance, but their larger size. Men tended to be dominant over the women in these groups because the men were taller. This also goes for taller men being more dominant than shorter men, taller women being more dominant than shorter women, and even taller women being dominant over shorter men. Basically there seems to be a sexually differentiated genetic trait that affects relative dominance in human populations.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
CARROLL BILBREY Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Howard, Alan. Interactional Psychology: Some Implications for Psychological Anthropology. American Anthropologist, 1982 Vol. 84: 37-57.

This article discusses the increasing relevance of psychology in anthropology. It discusses the fusion that occurred between behaviourists, trait psychologists, and psychodynamically oriented theorists into what is known as Interactional Psychology. The key issue discussed in the article is whether personality and behaviour results from a person-centered or situation-centered context.

To examine the issue, Howard provides a history of recent debates and studies in Psychological Anthropology that have reduced the divide between psychologists and anthropologists. One of the most important observations is that cultural configurations (societies) maintain their own distinct psychological labels. This provided an opportunity to understand the relationship between individual and society as an open system of interaction. Howard looks at the work of Behaviourist Psychologists from animal testing to more recent work with humans. This lead to a trend toward interactional psychology where the emphasis while doing research was placed on behavioural contexts and cognitive processes over identifying fixed personality traits or motivational dispositions.

Howard concludes that the interactional perspective will not only help psychological anthropologists and psychologists share in a “mutually intelligible manner”; but it provides the fundamental framework to “develop a more genuinely holistic framework for understanding both human nature and human variation” (53).

This article will be particularly useful for individuals looking for historical links between anthropology and psychology. Moreover, it provides a sound technical base for individuals interested in psychological anthropology.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
ERNESTO WULFF York University (Naomi Adelson)

Howard, Alan. Interactional Psychology: Some Implications for Psychological Anthropology. American Anthropologist March, 1982 Vol.84 (1): 37-57

This article discusses how interactional psychology was reestablishing harmonious relations between behaviorists, trait psychologists, and psychodynamically oriented theorists. Howard set out to demonstrate how the changes that were occurring in psychology would better permit psychological anthropologists and psychologists to communicate and draw information from each other.

Howard began by discussing psychology’s influence on psychological anthropology. Psychoanalysis seemed to fit well with anthropological study because it presented personality as an open system interacting with society. Behaviorism also fit because it was compatible with the Boasian period and other trends in anthropology at the time. Due to changes in the premises of the psychological and anthropological fields, a movement had been toward a more holistic approach to social behavior. Howard then explains how psychology moved to the inclusion of interactional psychology that would then focus more concern for behavioral contexts and cognitive processes.

Delving into how the concept of personality is important to psychological anthropology, Howard gives examples of different perspectives of personality and situation. He discusses how personality and situation could be viewed as independent of each other, although somewhat related, and as interdependent of one another. The examples of independent perspective involved psychodynamic and trait psychological approaches, showing how they attempted to salvage personality.

The examples of interdependent perspective, according to Howard, give to a variety of research strategies. He said that exploration of these strategies by ethnographers would lead to interactionism being used in analysis of human behavior and also in analysis of psychoculture. Howard then acknowledges that situations may be able to be compared cross-culturally, but they raise problems in constructing universal goals.

The essay continues by giving an interactional solution to an ethnographic problem. Howard uses his own study of achievement behavior of Hawaiian American schoolchildren to present and solve an ethnographic problem. His project brought in a psychologist, Ronald Gallimore and their collaboration helped the study to determine that low achievement was not due to low motivation or lack of parental concern. Hawaiian Americans placed more emphasis on affiliation than they did on achievement, causing students to score lower. The collaboration of the two disciplines led to a more predictive model of Hawaiian American children by supplying better evidence.

Howard then explores the use of psychological constructs to explain cultural forms, the impact of cultural forms on personality structures, and the explanation of human behavior in cultural context. This article demonstrates that due to interactional psychology, fields were being drawn closer together. The outcome of this would be a better understanding of issues that would help to achieve better analysis in psychological anthropology and also psychology.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
JASON GEORGE SARVER, Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Hunn, Eugene. The Utilitarian Factor in Folk Biological Classification. American Anthropologist. December, 1982. Vol. 84 (4): 830-845.

Eugene Hunn argues that ethnoscientists interested in folk biological classification have not paid enough attention to the importance of the systems of cultural knowledge in their attempt at general logical and/or perceptual principles governing the form and content of folk biological taxonomies. He suggests that ethnoscientists adopt an adaptationists view in recognition of the fact that cultural knowledge is used to guide behavior. Hunn maintains that the desired outcome is a new ethnoecology integrating ethnoscientific and ecological theory. To demonstrate his argument, Hunn cross- references data collected and papers written by Brent Berlin, Cecil H. Brown, and various other sources with his own work.

Hunn claims that cultural knowledge of the natural world could also be of use has, for the most part, been ignored. Hunn states that Brent Berlin felt it necessary to tell an audience of biosystematists that less than half of the named folk generic classes of plants in the folk botany of the Tzeltal had any cultural importance. Hunn alleges that a close examination of Berlin’s data shows some practical relevance for almost all of the Tzeltal folk botanical categories that he has labeled “culturally insignificant”. Examples that Hunn gives are that some are poisonous, others persistent weeds, and some good only for firewood.

Hunn professes that what is needed is a synthesis that combines the cognitive psychological insight and methodological sophistication of ethnoscience with the explanatory power of modern evolutionary theory. He contends that the focal issue is whether the study of folk biological classification can be advantageously pursued in the future outside the context of its use.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
VALERIE TRIESCH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Hunn, Eugene. The Utilitarian Factor in Folk Biological Classification. American Anthropologist, 1982:830-846.

The overall concern of this article is the utilitarian/adaptationist theories that oversimplify systems of cultural knowledge. The authors argument is the requirement of a synthesis that would combine ethnoscientific insight with the theory of modern evolution. His purpose is to prove a need for such a synthesis. He will use his own research specialty of folk biological classification to prove the weakness of the current analysis. He will argue that ethnoscience should take on the task of developing this synthesis.

The author makes his point by citing way too many examples of difference classifications of different species. From what I gather, he would like ethnoscientists to work with different cultures to develop a more in depth categorization method for the significance of different species. He proves his argument, but I feel he need not have been so long winded.

CLARITY: 4
KATHIE MISSETT San Diego Mesa College (Denise Couch)

Leonetti Lockwood, Donna and Newell-Morris, Laura. Exogamy and Change in the Biosocial Structure of a Modern Urban Population. American Anthropologist March, 1982. Volume 84(1):19-36.

“Exogamy and Change” studies the patterns of exogamy in a large population of Japanese Americans on the West Coast for forty years. In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of racial outmarriages among Japanese American populations compared to other large minority groups within the United States. Assessing the motivations for this pattern can help us understand patterns of change in modern urban areas. The authors, Donna Lockwood Leonetti and Laura Newell-Morris, stress the importance of recognizing the social relationships upon which racial outmarriages are based. It is also important to observe the level of biosocial integration of a group and the level of exogamous marriages. A deme is a population with a high level of endogamy. The goal of this paper is to observe the structure of a community of Japanese Americans in Seattle-King County as the transform from a deme into a more integrated population. The increasing levels of outmarriage may be a cause and effect of an expansion of social relationships into the larger population.

Marriage license applications between 1930-1975 were used for marriage information as well as birth records between 1907-1975 and all individual census records and marriage records maintained by the War Relocation Authority during the internment and evacuation of Japanese members of the community. Residence patterns have also been observed through a number of government records and more information has been collected through interviews with members of the population.

The authors make a distinction between a nuclear population of Japanese Americans and a nonnuclear population of Japanese Americans. The nuclear population consists of the individuals who had lived in the Seattle-King County area before the internment of Japanese populations in 1942. The nonnuclear population consists of a number of Japanese American individuals who moved to the area after the internment. This distinction is supported by the many interviews with members of the community conducted by the authors.

Exogamy in the Japanese American population includes marriage to people with European surnames and people with Asian surnames other than Japanese surnames. After World War II the pattern of exogamy in this population increased dramatically. The group of Japanese Americans was arguably no longer a deme after World War II due to the mixing of Japanese American populations and the collapse of their economic and institutional structures in the community. The percentage of racial exogamy has increased from a very low percentage in the early postwar years of 5-10% to over 50% by 1975. Members of the nonnuclear population experience an increase of exogamy trends at a much faster rate than members of the nuclear populations. Not until the 1970’s do these levels even out for both females and males. Racial exogamy seems to correlate with membership of parental figures in either the nuclear or nonnuclear population and thus leads the authors to the conclusion that social ties have a large influence on patterns of racial exogamy.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
ASHLEY MARIE ENRICI Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Levy, Robert I. and Rappaport, Roy. Gregory Bateson 1904-1980. American Anthropologist 1980 Vol.84:379-394.

Gregory Bateson died on July 4, 1980. He was 76 years of age. Bateson left behind his wife Lois and several children, including Mary Catherine, the dean of Faculty at Amherst College, who is the daughter of his previous marriage to the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead.

Bateson came from an academic family, and he attended Cambridge College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and a master’s degree in anthropology. His most famous publication was Naven and much of his anthropological reputation relies on this book. The topics which Bateson covered throughout his career are very diverse including: biological evolution, adaptation, ecology, art, arms races, communication, learning, play, fantasy, films, character and personality, and the nature and pathologies of thinking.

Bateson never held a fixed position in a department of anthropology, however he was a fellow at St. John’s, Cambridge from 1931-1937. Bateson served in Asia in the O.S.S. during World War II after becoming a permanent resident of the United States in 1940. He later held visiting appointments at Stanford, the University of Hawaii, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Much of his career was spent working in medical institutions and laboratories studying animal behaviour.

Much of Bateson’s work was done in collaboration, which makes it difficult to know what his individual contribution was. Bateson himself would have difficulty with this statement, however, because it assumes that the work of an individual is more important than the work of a group as a whole.

Gregory Bateson was an individual who was not a member of any academic discipline. However, his anthropological concerns were grounded in the biological sciences. This was not only because his undergraduate training was in the natural sciences, but also because of the influence of his father, who was one of the founders of modern genetics. Bateson shared his father’s interest in biological morphology, and expanded it to include the morphology of behaviour. Behavioural morphology to Bateson, included structures of meaning and communication.

Bateson was very bothered by the decimation of aboriginal peoples, the deterioration of the environment, economic oppression, and nonsensical wars. He was a prominent man and anthropologist.

CLARITY: 4.5
RYAN MASON York University (Naomi Adelson)

Levy, Robert I. and Roy Rappaport. Obituary for Gregory Bateson (1904-1980). American Anthropologist September, 1982 Vol. 84(2):379-394.

Levy and Rappaport approach the subject of Bateson, his life and his work, as loving and gentle admirers of both. As an anthropologist, they report, that he was not appreciated by most within the discipline until near the end of his life. The anthropological project, although often unnoted and unrecognized by others, was ever present in his mind and work. Levy and Rappaport are thorough in laying out his life chronologically and his work conceptually but most interesting are the reasons they outline for his lack of position within the discipline. Bateson never held an ongoing academic position in anthropology. His regular employment was within medical institutions and laboratories in the study of animal behavior. He had a seeming endless list of collaborators working in a wide range of disciplines including psychosocial communication theory, evolutionary theory, cybernetic theory (which he developed along with Norbert Weiner), psychiatry, ethology and ecology. According to the authors “such intense collaboration makes it difficult to evaluate fully Bateson’s individual contribution to the groups and various sets of problems addressed. But those who [were his collaborators] attest that his contributions were central and seminal…[that] he proposed, above all, a way of looking at phenomenon in a particular, [integrated] and original way.” In addition, they point out that Bateson abhorred competitive struggle in the introduction of ideas. He believed that concepts and ideas were not personal possessions but contributions that are shared in the nexus of a larger universe of mind where “the ideas which seemed to be ‘me’ can also become immanent in ‘you.’” And, Bateson adds, “may they survive, if true.” Levy and Rappaport end here but, I believe, they end here with the hope that their analysis of this life, of Gregory Bateson, will lead others to both find his work and employ it as well as to integrate his principles of collaboration and non-competitiveness into their own way of being. In this way, they help assure that “he” becomes a more apparent part of “us” and that nexus of our shared “larger mind.”

CLARITY RANKING: 4
ELIZABETH STERNKE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Lowe, Elizabeth and John Lowe. Cultural Pattern and Process: A Study of Stylistic Change in Women’s Dress. American Anthropologist September, 1982. Vol. 84 (3): 521-543

In the article, “Cultural Pattern and Process: A Study of Stylistic Change in Women’s Dress”, Elizabeth and John Lowe explore and build upon Richardson and Kroeber’s analysis and interpretation of women’s evening wear as it relates to cultural patterns and processes. The authors first examine the database gathered by Richardson and Kroeber. The database consists of stylistic changes of women’s full evening dress from 1605-1936. Lowe and Lowe’s reexamination of the material uses only information from 1789-1936 because the earlier material was determined to be too fragmentary for statistical analysis. The authors examined the material using the same features that were used by Richardson and Kroeber; skirt length, waist length, décolletage length, skirt width, waist width and décolletage width. Lowe and Lowe give a fairly detailed summary of Richardson and Kroeber’s findings and interpretation of the material they gathered. This summary includes the methods used to measure and analyze the material as well as the conclusion that women’s eveningwear design moves in long-term cycles of 70-150 years and always returns to the same basic pattern. The authors go on to critique the analysis done by Richardson and Kroeber. The critique outlines three flaws of Richardson and Kroeber’s analysis. “First, the existence of periodicity as well as the estimated periods of oscillation were obtained by visual inspection of the data…Second, in defining their ideal configuration of women’s evening dress, Richardson and Kroeber looked at the coefficient of variation rather than the variance or standard deviation, presumably on the assumption that the larger the measurement, the greater the expected variance…Third, Richardson and Kroeber actually posit two mechanisms of stylistic change.” Lowe and Lowe reexamined the data using different statistical and mathematical analysis and have come to some different conclusions. The authors concluded that 1) “styles are stochastic systems, neither entirely random nor deterministic, but instead a mixture of structure and chaos”, and 2) “styles are equilibrium systems exhibiting long wavelength oscillations about an equilibrium” and they go on to say “while styles are certainly part of culture, one should be hesitant about extending the results here to all cultural change…(and) what we find is that changes in the political/economic sphere do have an impact on women’s dress, but as randomized noise.”

CLARITY RANKING: 1
WILLOW LUCAS Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Martin, Stewart F. and Donald G. Stewart. A Demographic Basis for Patrilineal Hordes.American Anthropologist March, 1982. Vol. 84 (1): 79-96

The authors of this article intended to present evidence, which supports the model proposed by Radcliffe-Brown of patrilineal hordes for undisrupted hunter/gatherer societies. They also intended to examine other theoretical arguments that have stemmed from inadequacies in data, which has been collected from modern hunter/gatherer societies. The article is divided into two parts: the first gives a description of Radcliffe-Brown’s patrilineal hordes and the second presents theoretical arguments against his model.

Radcliffe-Brown described the local organization of the Kariera in Australia. He stated that most of the pre-contact hunter/gather societies were organized into small hordes each claiming and occupying a territory. Spouses usually came from other hordes and residence was set up with the male’s relatives after marriage. Radcliffe-Brown stated that members of different hordes were likely to be present in single horde’s territory, which formed camps of varying sizes and compositions, but all of these hordes were connected to a patrilineal clan. The patrilineal clan was a conglomerate of hordes in which the men of a horde were tied by descent to the men of other hordes in a territory. Men associated with male relatives more than they did with any other males. Radcliffe-Brown’s model has left leeway for scholars to present theoretical arguments against the existence of patrilineal hordes in Australia.

One theoretical argument presented about the impact of environmental flux states that territories held by the hordes would have to be large enough to cancel out variation in resources. The hordes would then need to have closed territories to cancel out variation and this would not allow state membership of a local group. The authors claim that the argument equates horde membership to that of a camp. Individuals of a horde move around freely in the territory of the clan, and due to this the horde is not just limited to that of a camp. Another argument of environmental flux claims that, due to evidence from contemporary hunter/gatherer societies, the hordes could not have been viripatrilocal. The argument says Radcliffe-Brown mistook patrilineal ideologies for patrilocal models. It also says that hunters concentrate more on animal behavior and personal skill than on knowledge of territory. Both of these claims are assertions that are made from contemporary hunter/gather societies and the claims do not preclude patrilineal hordes.

The last argument states while some hordes grew other hordes did not and resources of a territory would not be able to support growing populations. Men from other clans would then move from their horde to another horde in order to acquire sufficient resources and this would destroy the patrilineal descent of a horde. The authors examined the growth rates of nonpolygynous and polygynous populations, finding that in a nonpolygynous population, the patrilineal horde would not be able to maintain a sufficient number of males to exist and would need to combine with others. In a polygynous population there would be enough births of males to produce an organization that would support the continuation of patrilineal descent and Radcliffe-Brown’s model.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
JASON GEORGE SARVER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Martin, John F. and Donald G. Stewart. A Demographic Basis for Patrilineal Hordes.American Anthropologist March 1982. Vol. 84 (1): 79-96

In this particular article, the authors’ intent is to provide you with evidence and with knowledge that supports their theory. Radcliffe-Brown presents their theory in patrilineal hordes for uninterrupted hunter/gatherer societies. The authors also intended to examine other theories that have emerged from insufficiencies in the data that has been collected from modern hunter/gatherer societies. The article is separated into two groups. The first group of this article presents the description of Radcliffe-Brown’s patrilineal hordes and the second explains the opposing side to his theory.

Radcliffe-Brown began by elucidating on their model in which they described the Kariera in Australia, a local organization there. Radcliffe-Brown stated that they were territorial within their small groups/hordes. The existent marriages in the horde were of those spouses who married outside of their horde. The female was usually the one to move out with the male and she was to set-up a residence with the male’s relatives. The patrilineal clan was an amalgamation of hordes where other males brought the males together in the clan. The males connected with the male relatives more closely than other outside males. With this, Radcliffe-Brown’s theory is flexibly open for researchers to present arguments against the existence of these hordes in Australia.

An argument in the article states that the resources in some territories are not enough to support the increasing/decreasing population in some hordes. When this happens, the males in the clan would migrate to another clan to gain adequate resources. With the males leaving the clan, it destroys the population of patrilineal descent of the horde. Radcliffe-Brown scrutinized the increasing rates of polygynous / nonpolygynous populations. The results show that in a nonpolygynous population, the patrilineal horde would not be able to sustain a satisfactory amount of males to exist and that they would need to combine with other hordes. In a polygynous population, there would be a sufficient amount of births to support the organization and also support Radcliffe-Brown’s theory.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
CHENG TAN San Diego Mesa College (Denise Couch)

Merten, Don and Gary Schwartz. Metaphor and Self: Symbolic Process in Everyday Life American Anthropologist December, 1982 Vol.84 (4): 796-810.

The article by Merten and Schwartz discusses the relationship between metaphor and self, using workers from a real mental health institute as subjects. Combining the words “mental health” and “community” create the metaphors the authors examine.

Community is important to the mental health service for a variety of reasons. It is the way in which the subjects felt about the relationship between community and mental health that creates this story. In the beginning, the mental health institute was traditional and conservative in the sense that they employed mostly people with proper medical degrees to do psychiatric work; usually these people came from outside the community. At this point, the authors say that the institute valued “community through mental health” as a metaphor. The problem was that the customers felt that their doctors could not empathize with them, and this diminished their healing potency.

The institute saw an opportunity to provide better mental health services by valuing the new metaphor “mental health through community.” Seeing community as essential to mental health gave the institute impetus to empathize with their patients and it even changed the structure of the work place, as the institute hired many locals. The local employees taught the professionals how to reach out and understand local people in the inner city while the professionals were able to teach their brand of therapy to the local employees. The institution began to embrace the new metaphor so much that their director lashed out publicly at the inadequacy of other services because they didn’t confront patients on their own level, they didn’t value the “mental health through community” metaphor.

This unacceptable public statement by the institute’s director eventually led to the financial demise of the company and along with it went their unconventional methods of mental care. The company returned as a conservative company, similar to other institutes in the community. An emphasis on the community aspect of mental health care was no longer of central concern to the institute.

The authors picked good subjects and used easily understandable metaphors to examine the relationship between metaphor and self. Rather than present a theoretical or philosophical debate, or quantitative test results, the authors illustrated the importance of metaphor with an interesting and real example.

CLARITY RANKING: 4.
GREG LEACH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Merten, Don and Gary Schwartz. Metaphor and Self: Symbolic Process in Everyday Life American Anthropologist December, 1982 Vol.84 (4): 796-810.

This article examines the relationship between metaphor, self, and social experience. Merten and Schwartz point out that the richness of metaphorical speech is a practical means to express something meaningful and evaluative. The authors specifically used the staff and board of a community health center as an example of how their issues develop into arguments grounded into contrasting images of self.

Merten and Schwartz give sufficient examples of metaphorical expressions such as community through mental health (C-MH) and mental health through community (MH-C). Community through mental health is important because it indicates the co-dependence of the two and how one cannot survive without the other. At the start, the mental health institute took a more conservative approach and hired employees from outside the community who already had certifiable medical degrees to do psychiatric work. The institute adopted the metaphor “community through mental health”, but it was not successful because many of the customers felt that the doctors could not identify with and show compassion for them. This, in turn, weakened the slogan and healing power of the institute.

The mental health institute, realizing that their old slogan “community through mental health” did not serve them well, reversed it so that it would read “mental health through community”. This new metaphor gave them a push in a new direction, adding a much needed momentum as they started to empathize with their customers creating a better atmosphere in the workplace. In addition, local people from inside the community were hired, teaching the professionals new skills in regards to empathizing and becoming more compassionate with the local people in the inner city, while the professionals taught the local employees their brand of therapy. The people at the institute began to feel so strongly about this metaphor that they even went as far as scrutinizing other agencies who did not adopt their style.

Tension began to arise between the two metaphors; however, uncertainty as to what the nature of its difficulty simply resulted in reluctant accommodation for the time being. Eventually, the director of the institute’s lashing out on other agencies of the community led to the financial collapse of his institute along with the unorthodox methods of practicing mental health care. It returned to its mundane and conservative approach, fading out of the limelight.

Merten and Schwartz made a good attempt to describe the metaphor and self as well as how it relates to social experience. They gave plenty of statements supporting their main idea and the examples made it that more enjoyable to read. The diction was at times a tad redundant and unclear but the overall claim was conveyed with ease and its expression of the metaphorical properties was well done.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
TOM LOFTUS University of San Diego (Denise Couch)

Swartz, Marc. Cultural Sharing and Cultural Theory: Some Findings of a Five-Society Study. American Anthropologist, 1982 Vol. 84 314-329.

In this article Swartz takes a look at the adequate theory of culture’s role in human life. The outcome of his examination of the sharing of elements of culture with family life among nuclear family members tell us that members of family statues share no more with one another than they do with members of their society in general. In some family relationships, Swartz found, high levels of sharing develop over time rather than being brought to the relationships from their outset, but this does not seem to be true of all family relationships. Differences in levels of sharing between families in the same society were found to be greater than differences between different societies. The status-centered model of cultural sharing as currently formulated appears a weak basis for a broader cultural theory because of its failure to account for important elements in cultural distribution not attributable to status membership alone.

In his concluding remarks concerning his study, Swartz’s indicates that much of the difficulty derives from the definitions of personality and of culture used.

CLARITY RANKING: 2
SIMON ISRAEL York University (Naomi Adelson)

Swartz, Marc. Cultural Sharing and Cultural Theory: Some Findings in a Fice-Society Study. American Anthropologist June, 1982 Vol. 84 (2): 314-322.

Marc J. Swartz examined five cultures in order to determine what cultural elements are shared by whom. His primary focus was the difference between cultural sharing within a family and cultural sharing within a culture.

The five cultures Swartz looked at were located in: Demonte, Italy; Kahl, Germany; Seville, Spain; La Jolla, United States; and Mobasa, Africa. Each of these cultures, with the exception of Demonte, which is a rural Italian village, are urban centers that depend on a typically urban way of life. All groups are literate, monotheistic, modern, and rapidly changing.

Within these cultures Swartz looked at family groups. To be considered for the study a family had to meet three criteria. The family had to contain a husband and a wife living together at the time of the study. The family had to have at least one child, of age 12 or older, who lived with the family and had never been married. Thirdly, the parents had to consider themselves the natural parent of the child/children.

To determine what families to include in the study, Swartz used a multiple-choice questionnaire that contained questions about family life. He used the same questionnaire, though translated, for every society. Swartz selected 138 families to participate in the study. Each culture was represented by 30 families, with the exception of Mobasa, which was represented by only 17 families. The total study consisted of 414 individuals. Once the families were determined, Swartz interviewed three members of each family.

Swartz’s study led him to the conclusion that there was more cultural sharing within a family than within a culture. Furthermore, there was a greater difference in the rate of cultural sharing within a culture than between cultures. Consequently, Swartz believed that cultural sharing may not be the result of cultural transmission from generation to generation, but may develop as families evolve over time. Additionally, this led him to the hypothesis that different societies may be more similar to one another in the levels of cultural sharing than individuals within any one society.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
MISTI PINTER Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Willner, Dorothy. The Oedipus Complex, Antigone, and Electra: The Woman as Hero and Victim. American Anthropologist, 1982 Vol 84:58-78

This article takes Leach and Levi-Strauss’s structural interpretation of Greek mythology and attempts to reinterpret it through a feminist perspective. Specifically, it looks at the Oedipus myth and Freud’s interpretation of that myth through the eyes of the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone. This paper discusses Antigone, Electra, and other mythic women in their relations to family and to the public domain. This interpretation of Greek mythology differs from previous ones but is not inconsistent with them.

Willner further goes on to illustrate that in these tragedies the men seek to bind their daughters and nullify their sons. She does this by looking at the house of Thebes and more specifically the myth of Oedipus and his relation to his daughter Antigone and his sons. She feels that the myth of Antigone can be viewed as a representation of metaphoric father-daughter incest and, thereby, the binding of women to a stance of self-abnegation toward men.

Willner suggests that Sophocles’ Antigone and Electra are paradigms of the woman as hero and victim. They are heroic in transcending their gender role, yet in transcending it they also are denied fulfillment as women, and Antigone sacrifices her life. Thus they are victims in their heroism. Although Antigone and Electra transcend the role given to women, they do not actually violate it. In this they are set off from Clytemnestra who reserves gender roles. She concludes that if myths carry multiple messages about the societies that generate the myths, then they also carry messages about the societies in which the myths continue to resonate. If some Greek myth resonate, it is because at least some of the messages are relevant. He paper illustrated messages which include male dominance and the deprivations of women. Thus, they still exist today in western society.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
SHANE MATTE York University (Naomi Adelson)

Willner, Dorothy. The Oedipus Complex, Antigone, and Electra: The Woman as Hero and Victim. American Anthropologist March, 1982 Vol. 84 (1):58-78.

Dorothy Willner discusses the topic of women as victims and heroes throughout several Greek myths. She approaches these topics with a feminist perspective. The author focuses on two particular myths featuring Antigone and Electra. The differences and similarities are pinpointed and discussed. The relationship between father/daughter and sister/brother are a main focus for interpretation. Both of these myths have important male/female relationships that focus on intense love and protection between the two sexes.

The author focuses on the fact that the women in these stories act of their own minds but have to face grave consequences. Antigone wants to have her brother buried, while her uncle has refused burial. Antigone goes on to bury her brother even though this means death. She meets her death as a hero. She is one of the few female heroes throughout Greek mythology. The author looks at this story and analyzes the feminist perspective, along with ideas from Freud and Levi-Strauss.

The author also discusses the women as victims in the myths. They have to suffer numerous indignities. Clytemnestra is a female victim in the myth featuring Electra. Electra persuades her brother into killing their mother Clytemnestra for revenge.

Dorothy Willner writes a very detailed article involving many different theories about these women in myths. The article is easily understood if it is read slowly.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
SARA LAGRANGE Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Whiting, John W. M., Sodergren, John A., Stigler, Stephen M. Winter Temperature as a Constraint to the Migration of Preindustrial Peoples. American Anthropologist. June, 1982. Vol. 84 (2): 279-297.

John W. M. Whiting, John A. Sodergren, and Stephen M. Stigler argue that (1) the 10°C winter temperature isotherm has been an effective constraint to migration and expansion, and (2) the dispersion of language phyla has been homogenous in a certain temperature scale, in contrast to the marked heterogeneity in terms of geographical dispersion.

The authors used a “null hypothesis” model to test their isotherm hypothesis. In order to have a yardstick to judge the number of crossovers they observed, they supposed that 315 exemplars were located on their temperature scale. Twenty-four phyla were classified as cold or hot depending on whether the estimated phylum mean was above or below the isotherm. The conclusion the authors drew from their analysis was that the observed number of crossovers was too small a number to be in accord with the model they suggested as describing “random” distribution. Thus, their model failed. The authors claim the main reason the number of crossovers was so low was because the centers of the phyla clusters were distributed in rough accord with their model, but with a gap in the neighborhood of the isotherm. Whiting, Sodergren, and Stigler state they cannot say that their study supports any theory about dispersion or migration but that it stands as a strong empirical finding.

The authors also explore other possibilities that could have affected dispersion and migration. They assert that if the “common origins” hypothesis is accepted, then the implication of their findings supports their theory that the 10°C isotherm acted as a barrier to migration and expansion. Their interpretation of their findings also suggests that the homogeneity of the winter temperature variation within language phyla that they adopted for their research may have an important limiting effect on migration in all climates, not just those near the 10°C isotherm.

Whiting, Sodergren, and Stigler discovered an empirical association between winter temperature and distribution of language such that centers of distribution of the 24 language phyla studied are repelled by a 10°C isotherm. They interpret the finding to be a consequence of the effect of this climatic barrier on the migration and dispersion of people during the last 10,000 years.

CLARITY RANKING: 3
VALERIE TRIESCH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Whiting, John W. M., Sodergren, John A., Stigler, Stephen M. Winter Temperature as a Constraint to the Migration of Preindustrial Peoples. American Anthropologist. June, 1982. Vol. 84 (2): 279-297.

The authors attempt to prove the existence of a relationship between the dispersion of preindustrial peoples and the winter temperature in the area they inhabited. The societies are classified by their distribution- according to common languages- to illustrate how the 10°C (50°F) winter isotherm served as an effective limitation to migration and expansion. The study also addresses how the distribution of language phyla remains homogenous throughout a specific temperature scale while the geographical distribution is heterogeneous.

Data from a previous study on linguistic affiliation helped the authors classify the societies by language phyla. Each phylum contains at least four exemplars, with 315 exemplars total. In order to graphically represent the relation between language affiliation and winter temperature, the phyla are arranged from coldest to hottest using the mean temperature for the coldest month of the year. The 10°C isotherm line divides individual cases into the cold cases and the warm cases. All but three of the 184 cases in the warmer mean phyla have a temperature of 10°C or above. All but 15 of the 129 cases in the cold mean phyla have a temperature less than 10°C. There are only 18 total crossovers in this study. Thus far a conclusion can be made stating that the 10°C isotherm line serves as a barrier for migration from cold to warm areas and vice versa.

The authors then set out to statistically prove this conclusion. Ultimately, there is not enough evidence to substantiate their claim because the observed number of crossovers is too small to accord with the original model describing “random” distribution. The authors found that although the centers of the phyla clusters are distributed in rough accord with their model, a gap in the neighborhood of the isotherm probably causes the low number of crossovers. While the evidence does not conclusively support any theory about dispersion or migration it stands as a strong empirical finding.

Additionally, they consider other possibilities that could affect dispersion and migration. Assuming that the “common origins” hypothesis- the idea that speakers of related languages usually have common origins- is correct, the implication of their findings supports their theory that the 10°C isotherm acted as a barrier to migration and expansion. The data also shows that fewer warm phyla cross over the 10°C isotherm barrier than cold phyla. They attribute this imbalance to the necessity of more clothing to adapt to a colder climate. According to their research the adults would now need two layers of clothing instead of one and the infants would require a cradle and swaddling clothes in the colder climates. The authors’ data also implies that the homogeneity of the winter temperature variation within language phyla could possibly have an important limiting effect on migration in all climates, not just those near the 10°C isotherm.

The authors reveal a close association between winter temperature and distribution of language which shows that the 24 language phyla studied were repelled at the 10°C isotherm. The findings are likely to be a consequence of the effect of the isotherm on the migration and dispersion of people during the last 10,000 years. Lastly, the reluctance of a warm phylum to migrate to the cold phylum can be attributed to the requirements of two layers of clothing for the adults and cradles and swaddling clothes for the infants.

CLARITY: 3
SUSAN WILLIAMS University of San Diego (Denise Couch)

Whiting, Beatrice B. Anne Millspaugh (Cooke) Smith (1900 -1981). American Anthropologist September, 1982 Vol. 84(2):395-396

Anne Millspaugh Smith was born in New York City in 1900. She attended Cornell and received her B.A. in 1922. Smith married and remained home until her divorce. In 1935 she started work on her master’s in Anthropology at Yale, earning the master’s in 1937, and the Ph.D. in 1940. Smith’s fieldwork took her to Utah and Colorado where she lived among the Northern Ute. She remarried in 1939 and worked with her husband as the acting director of Community Services during the War. She would resign a year later due to the treatment of the Japanese interns. Smith served the League of Women Voters and conducted a study of the Santa Fe Public Schools. She was a curator at the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe from 1957-1960, when she took a leave of absence to conduct research on the New Mexico Health Project until 1962. Smith again served as curator until 1965 and remained an active member of the Museum until her death in 1981. Smith was an advocate for Native Americans and served on various committees one of which was the New Mexico Commission on Indian Affairs.

CLARITY RANKING: 5.
JOHNNA PHILLIPS Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)

Whiting, Beattrice B. Anne Millspaugh (Cooke) Smith 1900-1981. American Anthropologist 1982. 84. pg. 395-396

This article is an obituary of the life of Anne Cooke Smith. She received her Ph. D in anthropology from Yale University in 1940 did her fieldwork on Northern Ute of Utah and Colorado. She did her masters thesis on ” The Material Culture of the Northern Ute” and her Ph. D on the analysis of basin mythology. Her collection of Ute folk tales and mythology were published later in her life.

Before World War 2, Mrs. Smith was the regional director of the Bureau of Land Management of New Mexico and later became the New Mexico state commissioner. However she resigned her post after realizing the conditions of Japanese Internment camps. In 1957 she became the Curator of the Museum of New Mexico as well as a founding member of the Santa Fe County Association for Mental Health.

During the 1950’s she was Mrs. Smith was a research consultant and expert witness for the Ute’s in their land claim cases. She played a big part in the lives of the Ute’s and used her political and educational influence to benefit the Ute’s.

Clarity 4
DISHAN JEBAMONEY York University (Naomi Adelson)

Verdon, Micheal Where Have All Their Lineages Gone? Cattle and Descent Among the Nuer. American Anthropologist September, 1982 Vol. 84(3):566-579.

Many studies have been conducted with the Nuer people as the focus. Evans-Pritchard believed that the Nuer possessed a segmentary lineage system. However, this has been debated throughout the years. No aggregation has been discovered within the ritual or political activities of the people. Although judiciary and ritual groups are found, they too are not permanent or aggregated. Therefore, the author has concluded that the Nuer do not possess any lineages.

Verdon agrees with Burton (1981) that the social organization of the Nuer is built around their relationship with cattle. Rights to sacrificial meat, ancestral protection and inheritance all revolve around one’s position or relation to those possessing cattle. Moreover, one’s place in society is associated with the connection one has with cattle. For example, cattle are divided among the male heirs. If a man dies without a male heir his daughter must marry a wife in her father’s or brother’s name. Additionally, if a man dies childless it is the trustee’s duty to marry a wife to his ghost. The woman’s male child will be the dead man’s child and thus his heir to the cattle. Therefore, continuing his line and transmission of the herd will remain within the lineage. Hence, in Nuer society, cattle are the social organizing unit and not lineage or segmentary lineage systems.

CLARITY RANKING:3
JOHNNA PHILLIPS Purdue Univeristy (Myrdene Anderson)

Zumwalt, Rosemary. Arnold van Gennep: The Hermit of Bour-la-Reine. American Anthropologist. June, 1982. Vol. 84 (2): 299-313.

Rosemary Zumalt’s objective in writing this article is to bring to light reasons why Arnold van Gennep was ostracized by the academic community in France. It is the author’s contention that van Gennep was kept out of the academic community due to his constant criticism of the social sciences in France as well as a gap between his ideas and Emile Durkheim’s. The author cites several different books and journal reviews to support her thesis.

The author states that Arnold van Gennep only held one academic position in his life, from which he was expelled from in 1915. He was expelled for his criticism of the Swiss government and what he considered its pro-German status. The author maintains that van Gennep’s criticism of Emile Durkheim’s book, “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life”, marked the beginning of the ever widening schism between van Gennep and Durkheim as well as van Gennep and the French academic community. In return Durkheim gave a scathing review of van Gennep’s book, “Les rites de passage.”

The author also theorizes that van Gennep was successfully kept out of the academic community because of Emile Durkheim’s following in addition to his political power within the academic community. Rosemary Zumalt claims that it was important for Durkheim to maintain his influence in the French university so he could maximize his position as the new leader of sociology.

CLARITY RANKING: 4
VALERIE TRIESCH Purdue University (Myrdene Anderson)