2- Cultural Ecology

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Instructions
Goal:
The goal of this exercise is twofold. First, it is to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the concepts including cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. The second goal is for students to apply that knowledge to the analysis of a challenging, cross-cultural example.
Relevant vocabulary for students to define and use:
Ethnocentrism
Cultural relativism
Kinship
Fictive kin
Emic and etic perspectives
Functionalism
Cultural ecology
Read the following passage from C.W.M. Hart (Hart 1970, reprinted in Nanda 1985). In the longer ethnography, Hart describes how he took on the fictive kinship role of son to an elderly Tiwi woman.
I was approached by a group of… senior members of the Jabijabui clan [the clan to which Hart belonged by virtue of his fictive kinship relationship with the old woman]…[who] had come to me on a delicate errand. . . .[T]hey had decided among themselves that the time had come to get rid of the decrepit old woman [Hart’s fictive mother]. . .. As I knew, they said, it was Tiwi custom, when an old woman became too feeble to look after herself, to “cover her up.” This could only be done by her sons and her brothers and all of them had to agree beforehand, since once it was done they did not want any dissention among the brothers or clansmen, as that might lead to feud. . . .[H]er clansmen were in agreement that she would be better out of the way. Did I agree also? The method was to dig a hole in the ground in some lonely place, put the old woman in the hole and fill it with earth until only her head was showing. Everybody went away for a day or two and then went back to the hole to discover, to their great surprise, that the old woman was dead, having been too feeble to raise her arms from the earth. Nobody had “killed” her, her death in Tiwi eyes was a natural one. . . .I asked my brothers if it was necessary for me to attend the “covering up.” They said no and they would do it, but only after they had my agreement. Of course I agreed, and a week or two later we heard in our camp that my “mother” was dead.
Think through your reaction to this passage carefully. What is your emotional reaction?
What is your intellectual reaction? If you were in this situation, would you give permission? How would your decision affect your ability to do research in this community?
Outline your thoughts and then write an essay addressing the following questions:
1. What are the ethical issues generated by this incident?
2. Describe an etic and then an emic view of this situation?
3. What clues do we have as to how the Tiwi feel about this practice?
4. What kinds of reasons would different anthropological perspectives, such as functionalism or cultural ecology, give for this practice?
5. How does this situation bring up the idea of cultural relativism?
6. How does one refrain from ethnocentrism in this kind of situation?
Important: You must define and apply the vocabulary listed at the top of this exercise. Be sure to define the terms before using them to demonstrate your understanding.
Your response should be 2-3 pages (500 words minimum). It is very important that you demonstrate effective written communication in this assignment. Please proofread your paper, use spell/grammar check, and read it through one last time before you turn it in to make sure your essay is clear and progresses logically.