MC Anthropology Discussion

Please write 3-4 sentences

What is “wisdom?” Try to reflect on how you understand “wisdom” in your own culture. Consider addressing any of the following elements:

• Can wisdom be learned? Or are you born with it?
• Can wisdom be taught? Or is it only learned through experience?
• Can you gain wisdom in the classroom? at work? in personal life?
• Is wisdom reserved for adults? Or can children be wise?

Sample Response

“My students usually argue that wisdom cannot be learned in the classroom (which is obviously sad to hear) but I think that is because most classrooms do not focus on offering wisdom. 

Throughout my life, I had many wise teachers who spent their time passing on their wisdom to me, and, for this, I am forever grateful.

 I hope that my cultural anthropology class offers some amount of wisdom (knowledge of the world, the ability to practice cultural relativism, tolerance, etc). 

I hope that you leave my class feeling like you gained some wisdom that is helpful to you!”

Please write 3-4 sentences

The nature of “truth” is hard to pin down and anthropologists examine reality both scientifically and semiotically. 

For this discussion, answer this question: Is reality objective or is reality subjective?

 Please support your argument using first-hand examples.

 Reference your own, culturally-specific knowledge to support your views.

Please end your response with a question that the next student can hook on to.

Sample Response

“During my volunteer work withBraver Angels , I was trained in group facilitation. A big part of group facilitation is learning that people understand the world around us in different ways. 

For example, we often talk about what we call “red facts” and “blue facts” which refer to the different types of data that conservatives and liberals refer to when they make political arguments. 

In most cases, both sets of data are true, but we pick and choose which ones to use to support our points. 

An example is used in response to policing: we know that crime has steadily declined the lowest point in generations and liberals often cite this to support our arguments to defund the police. 

However, crime has also spiked in the past few years, and conservatives often cite this evidence to back up their support for policing.

 Both sets of facts are true but we focus on different elements to construct our subjective sense of reality. 

Based on this work, I feel like there is no objective reality because our sense of reality is always being shaped by biased political arguments. 

Have you ever had a similar experience where you discovered that you were making decisions based on a different set of assumptions than someone else?”

WATCH AND ANSWER QUESTIONS

Please thoughtfully answer the following questions:

1. How were individuals with diseases treated in Neanderthal society?
2.  What does this tell archeologists and anthropologists about the attitudes that Neanderthal’s had toward others? 
3. Toward their community as a whole?
4. Describe the burial sites mentioned in this article. 
5. What types of burial rituals did Neanderthals engage in? 
6. How similar or different are these rituals to your own community’s burial rituals?