Mid-Term Exam
For the mid-term exam there will be two essay topics drawn
from the ones given below. Each essay will count 50% of the mid- term grade.
Each of the essays is a large topic and will require you to summarize information
from various sources. Your essays will be graded on how well you are able
to integrate the most pertinent information presented in class lecture/discussion
and films and in your reading into a coherent and well-organized essay
in response. A good essay should also show original thought and organization
of ideas.
You have the option of writing your essays in
class or at home. There are advantages to both options.
In-class exam
You can prepare for your in-class essays by researching and outlining
your topic much as you might when writing a take-home exam. The major difference
is that you will be limited to writing whatever you can write in a two-hour
time period. Some students feel this places a convenient boundary, or limit,
on their essays, and prefer an in-class essay to a take-home one. Also,
when grading in-class essays I will take into account that you do not have
the possibility of quoting authors or citing references, nor as much time
to organized and elaborate your argument. I also sympathize with the fact
that you do have as much time to check your spelling, grammar, and the
flow of your argument as carefully as you might with an essay written at
home.
You will have two hours to write your exam in class.
Take Home Exam
For those of you who choose a take-home exam, you have a choice: answer any two of essay topics #1, #4 or #8 below. Your written essay will be due at the beginning of class next week (ie. Feb 11th, at 6:30 PM). (There will be no lecture/discussion or film on the exam day.)
If you opt for a take-home exam, each essay should be about 5 full type-written
pages, with 1 inch margins, 1.5 line-space, using a 10 to 12 point font.
You may turn in you paper via email if you prefer. In that case, be sure
to save and send it as an ASCII file (ie. not formatted by whatever wordprocessor
or computer operating system you might use.
Mid-Term Exam Questions
- 1. Anthropology's dual status as a science ('the science of
what it means to be human') and a humanity ('the science of what it
means to be human') has entailed an internal struggle (common also,
though in other ways, to other social sciences) of how to be both scientific
and humanistic, to address the human experience, but to do so from above,
outside, and apart from its subject. How has this struggle revealed
itself in the anthropological films we have seen?
- 2. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativity are two opposite ways
to approach the understanding and representation of other cultures. Clearly
anthropology has chosen the path of cultural relativity. But it's
a long path and it will take anthropology a while to reach that goal. What
does it entail? How can we show this is the direction taken in the
history of ethnographic film?
- 3. Margaret Mead saw film as a tool of ethnography. In
what senses? Having seen a number of ethnographic films now, do you
agree with her about its importance in ethnography? In what ways?
Did ethnographic film eventually fulfill the purposes she had hoped
it would?
- 4. What are the goals of ethnography? How do visual ethnography
and literary ethnography differ in achieving these goals? What are
the strengths and weaknesses of each?
- 5. What do you suppose was Flaherty's influence on John Marshal
in the making of the film, The Hunters? Do you think Flaherty
misled Marshal? Why? How?
- 6. The film The Hunters implies that the !Kung Bushmen barely
eked a living out of their harsh environment. However, much of the
data presented in chapters 3 and 4 of the book The Dobe Ju/'hoansi
suggests this was probably not exactly the case.
a. How exactly did the film give the impression that it did?
b. What evidence and information in the book indicate that !Kung
Bushmen's life is better than the film makes out?
c. Why do you think that the film makers portrayed the !Kung as
they did? Besides strictly factual data derived from observation,
what attitudes and tendencies of the filmmakers do you think contributed
to the making of the film?
- 7. How does the film Bitter Melons present the !Kung view
of the Kalahari? How does it contrast with the view presented in
the film, The Hunters?
- 8. Contrast the films N!ai: the Story of a !Kung Woman and The
Hunters. In you discussion be sure to cover the following:
a. The 'location' of the viewer in relation to the film's narrative
and its various scenes.
b. The 'location' of the filmmaker/ethnographer in relation to
the Ju/'hoansi.
c. The perspective (status, gender, authority) of the narrator.