Final Essay Prompts

Final Essay Prompts
Carefully read and consider each of the following prompts. Then, choose one to address in 250-word detail. In developing your essay, follow these guidelines:

(A) Discuss particular cultural examples (even if not directly addressed in the subject articles) to illumine your major points.
(B) Informally cite at least three course material sources from our book (Scupin, Raymond 2016 Cultural Anthropology: A Global Perspective, 9th edition. Boston: Pearson.)
(C) If the prompt asks you to discuss particular concepts, introduce each by defining it in your own words.
(D) Ensure you address each aspect of the prompt.
(E) Do not recycle other course writings for this assignment; think fresh, think detailed.

Prompts:

1. Small Scale Societies and Global Impacts. Introduce the concept of globalization, including ways its effects are spreading the globe. Consider a few cultural features of a particular band or tribal society that could be at a special disadvantage when confronted with the specific effects of globalization. Provide some examples of how your chosen cultural group is responding to the effects, whether positively or negatively.
2. Culture and Perspectives of the Outside. Define in your own words the concepts of values, beliefs, and norms. Detail how these features influence cultural behavior, including etic views of other cultures. Explore how these etic views in turn shape behaviors towards people of these different cultures.
3. Gender Roles and Globalization. Consider gender roles in two or more society types (refer to Scupin, Chapters 8-12 for the different society types). Compare and contrast how men’s and/or women’s roles across your chosen society types, utilizing examples from specific cultures. Making sure to refrain from value judgments, discuss how gender roles in each culture you chose allow the daily tasks of that culture to be done effectively. Consider how changes to gender roles can result from globalization.
4. Relationships of Political and Economic Systems. Detail a particular political system, utilizing a specific cultural example. Discuss the environmental features of the home area of that culture and how the group utilizes its environment in its economic system. Explore ways that the political system is shaped by the economic system the people have developed.