Core Concepts in Cultural Anthropology, first Canadian edition is a clearly written, concise cultural anthropology text with a distinctive Canadian perspective as it provides students with the key ideas, terms, and practices of contemporary cultural anthropology. This text is designed for courses that make extensive use of ethnographies and other supplementary readings while asserting current examples and covering the works of diverse scholars in Canada and abroad. Not a standard textbook, Core Concepts offers an elaborated discussion in accessible prose that can be used flexible as a core text or a supporting supplement. Discussing the use of engaged anthropology in today's world, this text explores how decolonizing anthropology approaches colonialism and its effects and ramification on Indigenous peoples of Canada, part of anthropology's origins, and Canadian identity. of the key terms and concepts that anthropologists use in their work. The text also includes coverage of perspectives reflecting Canada's diversity, with particular focus on research conducted among Indigenous communities, Anthropocene. and the ethical and collaborative research practices students need to mark their path forward in their studies. The book prepares students to read ethnographies more effectively and with better understanding of the history and origins of those terms and concepts. Preface Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1 - Anthropology 1.1 An Anthropological Perspective 1.2 The Subfields of Anthropology 1.3 Is Anthropology a Science? Modernism, Postmodernism, and Beyond 1.4 Reflexive Anthropology and the Ontological Turn For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 2 - Theory in Cultural Anthropology 2.1 Anthropology as Science 2.2 Nineteenth-Century Approaches 2.3 Early Twentieth-Century Approaches 2.4 Mid-Twentieth-Century Approaches 2.5 New Directions in the Twenty-First Century For Further Reading Bibliography Chapter 3 - Culture 3.1 Culture Against Racism: The Early Twentieth Century 3.2 Social Darwinism and Canada 3.3 The Evolution of Culture 3.4 Culture and Symbolism 3.5 Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism 3.6 The Boundaries of Culture? 3.7 The Concept of Culture in a Global World: Problems and Practices 3.8 Culture: Contemporary Discussion and Debate For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 4 - Meaning-Making and Language 4.1 Making Meaning 4.2 Studying Language: A Historical Sketch 4.3 The Building Blocks of Language 4.4 Language and Culture 4.5 Language and Society 4.6 Discourse 4.7 Language Contact and Change 4.8 Meaning-Making and Art For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 5 - Worldview and Religion 5.1 Religion 5.2 Myth 5.3 Ritual 5.4 Magic and Witchcraft 5.5 Religious Practitioners 5.6 Change in Religious Systems 5.7 Secularism, Fundamentalism, and New Religious Movements For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 6 - The Dimensions of Social Organization 6.1 What is Social Organization? 6.2 Dimensions of Social Organization 6.3 Caste and Class 6.4 Race 6.5 Ethnicity For Further Reading Bibliography Chapter 7 - Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 7.1 Sex, Gender, And Feminism in the Twentieth Century 7.2 Sex, Gender, Race, and Class 7.3 Gender Performativity 7.4 Theoretical Diversity in Studies of Sex and Gender 7.5 Sex, Gender, and the Body 7.6 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 7.7 Sex, Gender, And Sexuality in Ethnographic Context For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 8 - Relatedness: Kinship, Marriage, Family, and Friendship 8.1 Kinship Versus Biology 8.2 Descent 8.3 Bilateral Descent 8.4 Unilineal Descent 8.5 Kinship Terminologies 8.6 What is Marriage? 8.7 Whom to Marry and Where to Live 8.8 How Many Spouses? 8.9 Marriage as Alliance 8.10 Family 8.11 Divorce 8.12 Friendship For Further Reading For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Chapter 9 - Political Anthropology 9.1 Power 9.2 Political Ecology and Political Economy 9.3 Disputes and Dispute Resolution 9.4 Forms of Political Organization 9.5 Social Stratification 9.6 Forms of Political Activity 9.7 Social Control and Law 9.8 Nationalism and Hegemony 9.9 Nation and Nationalism in Canada For Further Reading Bibliography Chapter 10 - Economic Anthropology 10.1 The "Arts of Subsistence" 10.2 Subsistence Strategies 10.3 Explaining the Material Life Processes of Society 10.4 Modes of Exchange 10.5 Production, Distribution, and Consumption 10.6 Mode of Production 10.7 Peasants 10.8 Consumption 10.9 The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition For Further Reading Bibliography Chapter 11 - Globalization 11.1 The Cultural Legacy of Colonialism 11.2 Analyzing Sociocultural Change in the Post-Colonial World 11.3 Globalization 11.4 The Cultural Effects of Contact 11.5 Globalization, Citizenship and Human Rights 11.6 New Global Institutions For Further Reading Bibliography Chapter 12 - The Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Medicine 12.1 Anthropology, Science, and Tech 12.2 The Anthropology of Medicine 12.3 Human Health in Evolutionary Context 12.4 Human Health and Nutrition 12.5 Health and Human Reproduction 12.6 Sickness and Health in the Global Capitalist Economy For Further Reading Bibliography Appendix: Reading Ethnography The Parts of an Ethnography The Use of Indigenous and Local Terms The Photographs Why Are You Reading This Ethnography (and How Should You Read It)? For Further Digital Reading Bibliography Index Robert H. Lavenda is an emeritus professor of Anthropology at St. Cloud State University. Emily A. Schultz is a professor of Anthropology at St. Cloud State University. Michel Bouchard is a professor and former chair in the Anthropology department at the University of Northern British Columbia. His current research focuses on the history of North American Métis and French-Canadian communities in Ontario, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. This project builds on his past research, which examined issues of nationhood among Russian-speakers in Estonia as well as that of the Komi and other ethnonational populations in Russia. He teaches a wide range of cultural anthropology courses, including the introductory course, and organizes an annual Circumpolar Ethnographic Field School.