| 1. |
Pay attention to the different
fieldwork methods Napoleon Chagnon uses and how he combines them to develop
his understanding of Yanomami culture.
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| 2. |
Watch for the different ways
Chagnon establishes a relationship with those studied and how he uses participant
observation
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| 3. |
What is the key focus of Chagnon's
research on the Yanomami?
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| 4. |
Pay close attention to the
role of kinship in this society.
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| 5. |
Note how Chagnon learns about
the belief system, curing rituals, and myths of the Yanomami
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| 6. |
A short section of this video
explains "slash and burn horticulture"; we will study this subsistence
strategy later on in the class, so note its outstanding features
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| 7. |
The video also offers a view
into the political life of the society; keep the nature of this political
system in mind-we will also turn to this topic later in the course
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| 8. |
Toward the end of the video,
Chagnon's filming illustrates the process of enculturation-how people learn
to become members of their culture
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| 9. |
For future discussion: One
of the assigned textbooks for this course is The Yanomami and Their Interpreters:
Fierce People or Fierce Interpreters? It directly challenges Napoleon
Chagnon and his work with the Yanomami. Patrick Tierney's new book, Darkness
in El Dorado also attacks Chagnon-we will address these issues later,
so view the film and assess what you think of Chagnon's work with, and interpretation
of, the Yanomami. Note that at the end of the video he states, "These
may be the last people to whom we can glimpse dimly into our own past."
What do you think about this statement? You may want to consult some of
the web links about Napolean Chagnon on the Intro to Cultural Anthropology
page.
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