IHSS A 2021-22

  Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS 31 August 2021 Psychedelics as Medicines Psychedelics are a type of drug that gives the human brain serotonin. The anthropologist that wrote this report studied in the San Francisco area. Drugs like these have been recently “reborn.” In the 50s and 60s, there were plenty of plant-based drugs that were used for religious healings and practices but these psychedelics were never considered medicine. Now, these drugs have the same concept but different ingredients. The natural components are mixed with synthetic components. During the anthropologist's fieldwork, she learned that people have made a bunch of loopholes for seeking these medicines. Different people have different uses for them. Some of these people include religious healers and therapists. Technically if you are seeking help from trauma or different things from the past you might be eligible for access to psychedelics. People have turned to these medicines when doctors have tried everything ...

   Max Barger Mr. Roddy IHSS 24 August 2021 Ethnography on Serial Killers and Deviants I walk into the room, I see Dahmer sitting there; I introduce myself and he tells me that I already know who he is. I ask him what he thinks I know about him. He tells me that I am just another investigator coming to interview him on why he had murdered 17 people. He tells me that he would pick high-risk victims, like criminals, so that it wouldn’t be as noticeable when they went missing. I tell him what I know: he is the type of serial killer who is categorized as an organized killer. These types of killers would select their victims at different places, but still in their comfort zones. Comfort zones are places where they live and are familiar with. Almost all serial killers perform inside their comfort areas, wherever that might be. In Jeffrey Dahmer’s case, he would hunt his victims close to home and then actually kill in his home in Milwaukee, WI. There are four types of serial killers,...

Participant Observation: A hypothetical example of participant observation would be going to Japan and taking part in daily cultural practices in order to immerse oneself in how the society functions, rather than acting as an observer. As an ethnographer, participant observation is important because it’s impossible to truly understand a foreign culture without becoming a part of it. Ethnocentrism: An example of ethnocentrism would be an American viewing another culture as primitive or lesser than for having worse and/or different technology than them. Technology is only one of many things that could potentially bring out cultural bias or a feeling of superiority, which greatly falters one's ability to appreciate other cultures or communicate with them.  

  ethnocentrism  An example of ethnocentrism is in the reading “not a real fish”  He had decided that because eating dolphins was wrong in his culture, that it should then be wrong in their culture as well transculturation  One example of transculturation is colonialism, by coming across to America, the Europeans brought their culture with them and forced the indigenous tribes that were already there to adopt their culture, such as language, traditions, and religion. 

 Chiara Abel IHSS  Mr. Roddy  August 27, 2021  Anthropology Terms  1. Culture:  Culture is a mix of customs, religious beliefs, traditions, choice of clothing, and social standards that a certain group of people is a part of or practice.  An example of this would be how Italians use a lot of hand signals when they speak. The reason for this is because before Italy became a country, not everyone spoke the same language. Eventually, it was passed down through the generations and now it's a part of the Italian culture. Using hand signals is also another way for Italians to express visual emotion and it has now become another language for them.  2. Enculturation:  Enculturation is when someone learns about their own culture by living in it and practicing it every day, typically it starts at a young age.   Enculturation would be how parents choose to raise their children at home. An example of this would be the language the kids are taug...

 Ellie 8/26/21 Mr. Roddy IHSS Anthropology Terms Culture:  A few examples of culture would be: Americans lighting fireworks for Independence Day China does the dragon dance on Chinese New Year New Yorkers drop the ball every New Year How human society relies on cell phones  Race: A few examples of  race would be: A group of people who share the same characteristics and culture The Human Race. Physical traits giving off hints where your orgin is from  

August 26, 2021 Harper Young Mr. Roddy IHSS I had arrived at the village. It was very small and only accessible by boat due to the isolation. Not many people had been here before, it has been my life's work to understand these native people. I was still uncertain of where they were or if I had gone to the wrong place. I walked for hours and eventual I found a path. I followed it and I saw a village. I saw what looked like their leader, and I approached him. When i got closer people started backing away and giving me weird looks. The leader said nothing, I took off my backpack and gave him a gold ring as a gift. Their village welcomed me. That night they prepared a feast and had a welcome parade for me. They wore bright colored clothing and makeup. They had a very advanced village with unique architecture. They eventually led me to a adobe hut with a place to sleep.  

 Harper Young Transculturation- When you have new culture introduced to you and it becomes your culture. Diffusion - a new group picks up traits that are not theirs but the traits do not have the same meaning.

  Evan Garibay Mr. Roddy IHSS August 24, 2021 Ethnographer Blog (1950) After arriving in Cambodia, I was immediately met with my tour guide Bopha, which means flower in Khmer, the native language of Cambodia. As we begin making our trek through the bustling city of Phnom Penh, I see many buildings with three, four, and even five stories, all outfitted with terraces and women smoking long cigarettes on them. This city isn’t new, but its modernization is far from ancient. Bopha says the city dates back to 1434, as a small village with few people living there, and it only went up from there. As we arrive at our hotel, with the grand entrance and high ceilings, it's clearly one of the nicer buildings in the city. The roof with sharp golden turrets and long slender windows, it’s a sight to behold. The people here are very diverse, ranging from tall and slanted women to short rotund men. It’s a very large city, so the population matches well with this place. The town is known for its l...

socialization- the process of obtaining different social queues in reference to the society you spend most of your life in. this can help people accustom themselves to the sociopolitical environment they live in. irl ex: when a foreign exchange student has lived all their life in one place, and travel to a new country and see the different cultural norms in the new place versus the one where they lived .  irl ex: if you lived somewhere your whole life you'd be accustomed to that way of life. linguistics- the study of the organization of language along with how it’s structured and its prevalence in society. irl ex: when a professor of some sort teaches a course about the chinese language, ie mr. zhou

  Yazzie Stein Mr. Roddy IHSS 8.25.21 Ethnographer Blog Paris, France, 10th Arrondissement – Les Gares. At this point in my brief cultural ethnography career, I must say, I was still baffled by how to properly go about my assignments and I constantly was preoccupied with the vacation-aspect of the job rather than the “cultural documentation”. My first step in Paris (after the airport), I was greeted outside the doors by a short man with greased back hair and a sign in his hand with my name written on it. He informed me that he would be driving me to my AirBnb, hired by the organization I worked for. As I live on a small, culturally isolated island, everything about this city was new for me. The smooth running cars, the lights flashing and reflecting off each building per street, the constant advertisements (I counted men’s “Eau de Cologne” the most), the constant bustle of people heading home or to work or to see their friends -- each so different from the other; something I was ...

  Ethnographer Story - Black-Footed Ferrets When I left Texas and arrived in Wyoming last week, I’d underestimated the amount of time it would take to coordinate with my team and collect a variety of tools made this year (2024) that we would need to translate and understand the way black-footed ferrets communicate. As a graduate with experience in biology, I was thrilled to know that I’d be one of the first anthropologists to learn about the ways animals communicate, although I’d never expected wild ferrets to be the subject of my observations. An expert of the Great Plains guided me to an area where a group of ferrets lived underground. The first thing I realized was how solitary these animals were, the only groups of ferrets living together were mothers with their young children, and pairs of parents. It was mid-April and the mating season was coming to an end. As I watched the ferrets from afar none of them gave any attention to my attempts to communicate with them, as most we...

Niko Cantu Mr.Roddy IHSS 25 August 2021 Anthropology Terms Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - A very modern example of this term is how the sexist language that is used in our society influences the way that we view men and women. For example, policeman, fireman, handyman, nurse. Participant observation - a simple example of this is the host family that we live with when we travel to the world here at school. For example in places like China you stay with a host family that you eat with and spend time emerging yourself into their culture. Researchers participate in participant observation when doing studies on other cultures especially those that are more remote and not connected to modern society for example the satere - mawe tribe in the amazon which has been researched many times for its unique bullet ant tradition.. 

  Niko Cantu Mr.Roddy IHSS 24 August 2021 Ethnographer story In the year 2500 I arrived on mars nervous yet excited of the journey ahead of me. I was there to study the Martiens first spotted 50 years scavenging the surface of Mars and have only been seen a few times since then. The arrival to the plant at first seemed like a waste of time as no Martins could be seen, but things quickly changed as I was ambushed and taken to their home. As I spent a month rotting away in their cell I tried each day to communicate with them and tell them of my purpose on their planet. The month was long and cold as the surface of Mars is around -80 degrees fahrenheit. While it was cold I had realized we were underground which explained the warmer temperatures. Nearing the end of the month since my capture I was approached by one of the leaders of the mars people, a male named Kalmore. Kalmore was one of the few Martians that was willing to give me a chance. I was able to convince him, through diff...

  Charlie Brisch Mr. Roddy IHSS August 24, 2021 As I step off the transport into this area known as New York City, I notice the constant buzz of people. Everyone is hustling around, nobody stopping. A lot of people are standing on the side of paved paths waving for a yellow automobile known as a “tacksy.” From what I have already seen, it would be quicker to walk to their destinations than ask for a “tacksy.” There is a lot of “tacksies” and other automobiles on paved paths. There are also a lot of stores and places to eat. Everyone is absorbed in something that they are doing, paying no heed to anyone else around them. They carry around little boxes in their hands that have screens or hold them up to their ears and talk, acting like someone can hear them. Even during the night, people are still walking everywhere. There are also people dancing on the sides of these paved paths, on little smaller paved paths. From what I can tell, they are dancing for money, or entertaining other...

  Yazzie Stein Mr. Roddy  IHSS August 25, 2021 Anthropology Terms Ethnocentrism, in short, is the idea that one’s culture is superior to all other cultures and that the way things are done in said culture is the correct way. For example, a large demographic of Americans today and in the past frown upon immigrants, as they believe that their Western Christian culture is the proper one and that we shouldn’t be inviting different cultures into our society to “infiltrate” that. Transculturation  An example of transculturation, (essentially the fusion of a new culture when introduced to another), is the colonization of North and South America by the Europeans and how this brought European traditions, customs, language, etc to that area. 

 Khadijah Ahmed 8/24/21 IHSS Mr. Roddy Ethnocentrism - a mindset that one's own culture is far superior to others, and believing other cultures are not only different, but even unnatural and inferior. Ex. People carrying strong capitalistic beliefs looking down, and sometimes openly bashing other economic and social structures, without considering the different constituents. Socialization - a process by which individuals adopt norms of a culture, such as ways of communication, presentation, and overall behavior. Ex. Children of immigrant parents (usually) acquiring the cultural norms of the country they grow up in, everything from how they speak to how they dress.

 Khadijah Ahmed 8/24/21 IHSS Mr. Roddy But a few hours ago, I arrived upon the midlands of a land they call, “Tex-ass”. Almost immediately upon my descent from my mighty transport, villagers begin to stare and jab fingers in my direction. I watch from afar as they gape and babble in their various tongues. I begin to take note of their actions, their appearance, their collective behaviors. They come in various shades of brown but are dressed in brightly colored fabrics, as well as encasings on their lower limbs. I re-pocket my documents and begin to approach the village entry. Many retreat into large cubes, which I can only assume are dwellings, but a few approach in my direction. Finally, I am near enough to be able to communicate with the group remaining. I greet them, as per my research, by flourishing a hand in the air, and they respond in a similar manner. It seems as though much of their communication involves repetitive action, and after realizing that I am, indeed, quite edu...

 India Riley Mr.Roddy IHSS August 24, 2021 Ethnographer Blog As I walk off my jet and into the Arctic plains, I'm greeted by a gust of freezing yet refreshing air. At first glance the plains looked barren and empty but after walking for a few minutes I'm shocked to have found a mother polar bear and her two cubs. Typically polar bears wouldn't leave there den until later in the season, but due to global warming and the ice caps melting food is scarce; forcing the mother bear to take her two cubs into the frigid plains where anything could kill them. The mother bear takes her cubs up to the waters edge in look for ridged seals. As I follow the bears, I loose my grip on the icy snow and fall, causing the loud thud to echo against the thick cloud of morning fog. The frightened mother bear stands in front of her babies, ready to attack anything that tries to come near. I back away slowly to try and come off as non threatening, but I get the feeling that my observations on the b...

India Riley Mr.Roddy IHSS August 24, 2021 Anthropology Terms 1. Acculturation     The social change of an individual, gathering, or a group by adjusting to or getting qualities from another culture, by conquering, assimilation, etc. An example of acculturation would be when the Normans invaded England in 1066. After they invaded and conquered England, England's culture started adapting aspects from the Normans culture. For example, their language adapted French aspects, which is why modern English has so many French rooted words. 2. Ethnocentrism The thought or belief that ones culture is superior to all others. Being so fond of your own ways of life that you are hostile or condescending towards other cultures.  An example of ethnocentrism would be the Nazis. The Nazis believed that their Aryan race was superior to the Jewish. As a result, they enslaved and killed the Jewish in concentration camps during the holocaust.  

 Chiara Abel  August 24, 2021  IHSS  Mr. Roddy  Ethnographer Blog  As I approach the rainforest in the Southeast Asian island of Sumatra I look up and see the orangoutangs swinging from branch to branch. I take a deep breath and smell the fresh rain that had only just stopped a few minutes ago. I notice that the group of orangoutangs have started to leave the current spot they're in, so in hope of a good shot of them moving I pick up my camera and start filming the creatures while following them. They lead me to a more secluded part of the rain forest where I watch as they slowly climb down the tree in search for the insects hidden in the ridges of the tree bark. I notice a baby orangoutang clutching onto its mothers back, who is at the moment eating the leaves from the tree. After a few hours of observing the orangoutangs I take a break. I walk up to a stream only a few feet away from my original spot. I decide refill my water bottle, I take a sip and feel...

 Ellie 8/24/21 IHSS Mr.Roddy Ethnographer Blog I have just arrived at my friend's house and I am here to study their hairless cat named Pico. I have just now discovered that the species of hairless cats have developed the power to move things with their minds and talk to humans. This is important to study because someday this species will overthrow the human government, is what I believe. I walk into my friend's house and I'm greeted by Pico with a formal "Hello". I bend down to Pico and I ask him if it's okay if I study him for research purposes, he accepts. I follow Pico around studying his movements, speech, eating habits, and his telekinesis powers. He is currently using his telekinesis to get his favorite treat from on top of the counter, he has successfully retrieved the bag of treats and begins to snack on them. He finishes his snack and uses the telekinesis to put it back, he proceeds to walk into the living room where he jumps on the window seal. I...

Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS 23 August 2021 Ethnographer Blog Arriving in Rome was a wave of culture I was not prepared for. I have been studying this old, ancient, civilization for years. The year is 3020 and the newest time machine was just invented. I wanted to see how different societies were so long ago. I'm here towards the end of the ancient empire, around 300 AD. Not a lot of people will be allowed to know about my travels here since I'm so westernized. The people that saw me simply stared at me, leaving the machine and walking towards where I was directed to. My clothes, language, and just looks are completely different from theirs. I was welcomed greatly by the family I was staying with. I watched as they made my feather mattress and tried helping as they refused. Learning how they cooked, learned, and went about their life is very different from mine. When I tried to explain how to make their lives easier they also didn't listen to me.

Alice Korkin Mr. Roddy IHSS 23 August 2021 Anthropology Terms Cultural Relativity- Cultural relativity is knowing and accepting the fact that different cultures have different practices and beliefs. Putting your own beliefs aside can help you see how other cultures work and function differently from your own. An example of this is the food that people eat. In America, it is normal to eat beef and have eggs and bacon for breakfast. In other countries, this might be really weird. Those countries might have more “savory” meals like veggies and maybe even seafood for breakfast. Cultural relativity is being accepted on both sides.   Diffusion- This is when a part of a culture is spread to different cultures. The meaning behind this part of culture may be changed or not. Different diffusions include food, music, and languages spreading to different parts of the world from their origin. One big example is China town in a lot of cities. Parts of cultures, like food, from Asia, com...

Charlie Brisch Mr. Roddy IHSS August 24, 2021 Linguistics - the study of languages, how languages work, and how people communicate. Ex. Someone can become a linguist for the Army, and they would have to completely learn the language so they can translate intercepted messages. Transculturation - The impact a new culture has upon an individual who has moved into a new culture or society. Ex. Someone from the country moves into the city and the way they talk has changed and the way they dress.