Final Chapter 8

“survival of the fittest.” Refers to notions of struggle for existence being used to justify social policies which show no sympathy for those unable to support themselves. Herbert Spencer studied this.

the "applied science or the biosocial movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population," usually referring to human populations. Associated with the Holocaust—extermination of “undesired” population groups.

believed criminality was inherited, and someone born criminal could be identified by physical traits.

based on the environment, not parents

= skin color is an adaptive trait, not a racial feature

o  Light skin allows for vitamin D absorption, dark skin protects against UV radiation

*      Japanese social minority group.

American self concept vs. Japanese sociocentric view of the self: they are not trained to be self reliant, as we are as children. We learn “I” and “you” quickly when we begin talking, but Japanese on the other hand, learn 5 or 6 personal referants instead of just 2. Self is always defined relative to the specific social interaction.

*      Transition to adulthood- Prominent in most societies around the world are ceremonies that mark the transition of a male from boyhood to manhood, most involving some kind of test of courage.

cattle herding people of East Africa. To attain the title of a worthy man, he must own cattle, generous and independent. The road to being a man begins with circumcision.

Upper East Side of New York, high poverty. Drugs play an economic, psychological, and social part in the people’s lives. The provide income, escape from problems, symbolic resistance to racism, discrimination and subordination. But the people here do not accept their position at the bottom of a stratified society, and adapt to their circumstances as best they can. spanish harlem district

In societies that regard some races of people as dominant or superior and others as subordinate or inferior, it is the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union or mating between members of different socioeconomic groups or ethnic groups to the group that is considered subordinate or inferior.

a Chicago street gang. Boys joined the gang because alone they could not protect themselves. They valued heart—a willingness to follow any suggestion regardless of personal risk. Like the Yanomamo, they team up with other gangs sometimes.

the need to protect reputation, group reputation in case of the Vice Lords. “Honor is a bird that you hold in your hand”: on the island that Kalliopi studied, the idea of protecting oneself was important—not talking about oneself to preserve honor.

practiced by the Yanomamo, Vice Lords, and Kiowa—working as a group in a battle.

enhanced by collective violence. societies that are more violent have more men’s clubs, men’s sports teams, etc.

where manufacturing of mass destruction weapons take place. ex: Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, Cali. A wide variety of people worked there: both men and women, some environmental activists, women’s rights activists, etc.

“nuclear weapons, the scientists assume, are simply symbolic chips in a game whose goal is to avoid using them.” Also: Secrecy is one of the main ways the diverse group of people at the lab are brought together—knowing secrets serves to mark a person as a member of a special group (can be compared to a sorority or fraternity).

*      Ex: “collateral damage” (human deaths), “Christmas tree farms” (piles of weapons in a nuclear submarine), “footprint” (the pattern in which a bomb falls). The language they use seems to remove the speaker from the acts they are contemplating, and somehow accept the human lives they would be taking.

I’m assuming this is referring to how the people in the lab adapted to the “culture” of it all, the language and terms they used, they way they were trained to not think about the deaths, etc.

if the upper class don’t do big events or even hold events, this would not be acceptable and would get made fun of in the community

Language is used to distance the planners from the consequences of the actions they are planning