Trobrianders Seminar Presentation and Rubric
Click the image for the Presenation Handout and Rubric
Introduction Questions
You will do all the readings and answer all the questions, but you will have the special responsibility of discussing IN PAIRS the answer to ONE random question - in front of the class. You will receive a mark from 1 – 5 for your contribution.
Read Annette Weiner's bio on p. vii-viii and the Author's Acknowledgements on p.xi as well as the Introduction pp. 1 - 13
1) When and for how long did Weiner conduct her ethnographic research on Trobriand society and culture? How was her daughter involved?
2) How much time separates Weiner's ethnography on the Trobrianders and that of Malinowski? (See also p. viii). Discuss the geo-political context in which Malinowski visited the Islands comparing it to the years when Weiner did her research.
3) Why are the Trobriand Islands considered to be one of Anthropology's most sacred places?
·Keywords to incorporate in your answer: seminal fieldwork; primitive societies;
armchair anthropologists; formal scientific discipline
4) Which 3 important recommendations did Malinowski make for carrying out ethnographic
research?
· Keywords to incorporate in your answer: time; language; rapport; informants
(see esp. pp. 3,4)
5) What is Weiner's most significant point of departure from Malinowski's work? (see also your textbook Cultural AnthropologyCh. 2)
6) What role does kinship play in Trobriand society a) according to Malinowski? b) according to Weiner?
7) The location of Malinowski's fieldwork caused him to make generalizations concerning all Trobriand society? What, according to Weiner, was one of his erroneous conclusions?
8) How did Malinowski expose the ETHNOCENTRISM and RACISM of his contemporaries? (p.7)See particularly his explanations of Trobrianders' use of technology vs. their reliance on magic spells. (p.8)
9) Define kula. Highlight the differences between Weiner's and Malinowski's interpretations of this custom. (p.9)
10) How did the Trobriand Islands become known to Europeans? Did they settle and interact with the inhabitants? In what ways? •
11) Describe the terrain and climate of the Islands.
12) What is the connection between the Trobriand Islands
and the a) British Empire? b) Australia?
13) How is an individual Trobriander's social identity created? (p.13)
Read Annette Weiner's bio on p. vii-viii and the Author's Acknowledgements on p.xi as well as the Introduction pp. 1 - 13
1) When and for how long did Weiner conduct her ethnographic research on Trobriand society and culture? How was her daughter involved?
2) How much time separates Weiner's ethnography on the Trobrianders and that of Malinowski? (See also p. viii). Discuss the geo-political context in which Malinowski visited the Islands comparing it to the years when Weiner did her research.
3) Why are the Trobriand Islands considered to be one of Anthropology's most sacred places?
·Keywords to incorporate in your answer: seminal fieldwork; primitive societies;
armchair anthropologists; formal scientific discipline
4) Which 3 important recommendations did Malinowski make for carrying out ethnographic
research?
· Keywords to incorporate in your answer: time; language; rapport; informants
(see esp. pp. 3,4)
5) What is Weiner's most significant point of departure from Malinowski's work? (see also your textbook Cultural AnthropologyCh. 2)
6) What role does kinship play in Trobriand society a) according to Malinowski? b) according to Weiner?
7) The location of Malinowski's fieldwork caused him to make generalizations concerning all Trobriand society? What, according to Weiner, was one of his erroneous conclusions?
8) How did Malinowski expose the ETHNOCENTRISM and RACISM of his contemporaries? (p.7)See particularly his explanations of Trobrianders' use of technology vs. their reliance on magic spells. (p.8)
9) Define kula. Highlight the differences between Weiner's and Malinowski's interpretations of this custom. (p.9)
10) How did the Trobriand Islands become known to Europeans? Did they settle and interact with the inhabitants? In what ways? •
11) Describe the terrain and climate of the Islands.
12) What is the connection between the Trobriand Islands
and the a) British Empire? b) Australia?
13) How is an individual Trobriander's social identity created? (p.13)
Seminar Schedule
Wed Jan 27 Chapter 1: The Trobrianders Past and Present
Fri Jan 29 Chapter 3: Fathers and Matrileality
Tues Feb 2 Chapter 5: Marriage and the Politics of Yams
Thurs Feb 4 Chapter 7: Men Working for Women
Mon Feb 8 Chapter 9: Kula and the Search for Fame
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Trobriand Islanders Videos
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