term paper

Term Paper 1

American Indian Religion & Philosophy

Time, Space and People

Critique and Analyze the material, then Support your position.

- Introduction

· Is there one religious view/practice that all American Indian groups adhere to?

· What did you already know about American Indian religion and philosophy?

· What did you expect or hope to learn?

- Time

· How does history play a significant role in what takes place within an American Indian religion/philosophy? Consider federal law, role of the military, western religions.

· Give examples of American Indian religious practices that reflect a specific time period.

- Space

· Give examples of how geography is significant in religious practices?

· There are examples of how a Native view of the land might differ from other people. Describe this conflict and how it is initiated or how it perpetuates. (Refer to the film: In the Light of Reverence)

· Describe or interpret how the origin stories (those in iLearn) might give us information about the people and their environment.

- People

· Describe how people are involved in their ceremony (either as an individual, or as a group; you can describe a specific ceremony, the preparation of the ceremony, or how it is conducted).

· What do you consider to be the purpose or expected outcome of their ceremonies? You can choose a general theme or a case-by-case study.

- Conclusion

· What do you now understand about American Indian religion and philosophy?

· Compare your knowledge of American Indian religion and philosophy to another major religious practice and/or philosophy.

NOTE: Use terms from the Glossary

ANTHROPOLOGICAL Glossary

Animism - a belief that natural phenomena such as rocks, trees, thunder, or celestial bodies have life or divinity.

Anthropocentric - the idea that humans are the most important beings in the universe.

balanced reciprocity - is a direct exchange where the two parties involved seek to arrive at a mutually acceptable price or exchange for goods or services.

class stratification - where members of a society are ranked from higher to lower based on wealth, prestige, position, or education.

colonialism - forced change in which one culture, society, or nation dominates another.

comparative methods - analyzing data about cultures to learn and explain patterns of similarity and difference.

cultural relativism - understanding the ways of other cultures and not judging these practices according to one's own cultural ways.

cultural transmission - how culture is passed on through learning from one generation to another. Also referred to as enculturation or socialization.

culture - The learned patterns of behavior and thought that help a group adapt to it's surroundings.

deviance - to not follow the norms of society.

enculturation - the process of learning one's own culture, also called socialization.

ethnocentrism - judging other cultures by the standards of your own, which you believe to be superior.

ethnography - description of a culture, usually based on the method of participant observation.

extinction - when a culture dies out. Often the people die out too. Some may become peasants or pass into contemporary society.

fieldwork - living among a group of people for the purpose of learning about their culture.

hegemonic - the use of power, usually by those controlling the meta or master narrative against the other

holistic - no dimension of culture can be understood in isolation, cultures are integrated wholes.

humanism - concern for human welfare, dignity and values.

ideal - what people think the situation should be.

imperialism - economic control gained through the corporate organization of nation states.

information society - a society integrated by complex communication networks that rapidly develop and exchange information.

kinesics - body, facial, hand, and arm movements that are used to communicate.

matriarchy - where a mother figure and women have authority.

matrilineal - descent traced exclusively through the female line.

metaphor - application of a word or phrase to an object or concept in order to suggest a comparison.

modernization - the process by which cultures are forced to accept traits from outside.

multiculturalism - stressing the importance of different cultures, races, and ethnicities.

oligarchy - the ruling class. Usually a small group of wealthy individuals.

one-world culture - a popular belief that the future will bring development of a single homogeneous world culture through links created by modern communication, transportation, and trade.

origin story - description of how the culture came into being.

pacification - extending the authority of national government over formerly autonomous people whether by force or persuasion.

patriarchy - where a father figure and males have authority.

patrilineal - tracing kinship, inheritance, power through the male line.

personalness - refers to how well a person knows the other with whom an exchange is being made. Personal means that the other is well known, where as impersonal reflects lack of knowledge about the other. See reciprocity.

power - the ability to influence the actions of others.

qualitative methods - rich descriptions of cultural situations obtained from interviewing, participant observation, and collection of oral and textual materials. Ethnographies are reports from qualitative research.

quantitative methods - numerical tabulations and statistical comparisons made possible by systematic surveys, observations, or analysis of records. Data are used to test hypotheses and identify the strength of patterns observed using qualitative methods.

reciprocity - a mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges, especially the exchange of rights or privileges of trade between individuals or groups as in the transfer of goods or services between two or more individuals or groups. Also see balanced, generalized, and negative reciprocity.

religion - a set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices pertaining to supernatural power.

sacred - things and actions set apart as religious or spiritual which are entitled to reverence.

science - systematically acquired knowledge that is verifiable.

secular - things not regarded as religious or spiritual.

social stratification - arranging the members of a society into a pattern of superior and inferior ranks.

subsistence - the way by which a culture obtains its food.

syncretism - blending traits from two different cultures to form a new trait. Also called fusion.

theory - several related propositions that explain some domain of inquiry. Also called a school or paradigm.

urbanization - the process by which more and more people come to live in cities.

values - what people think is right and wrong, good and bad, desirable and undesirable.

wealth - the net gain in material well-being from economic activity. Wealth is measured according to the items of value in a given culture.