Anthropology 3635: Peoples and Cultures of Europe Midsemester Exam II Fall 2006 16 November 2006 You may have the entire class period for the exam. Your exam must be turned in or uploaded to your WebDrop file no later than 3:15 p.m. This exam is available in electronic form from the General Purpose Course WebDrop Folder at <https://webdrop.d.umn.edu> If you are uploading a file to WebDrop call it something like your emailname_ce_exam2 do not use the characters " ' # : Upload all four of your questions in one file. Do not upload them separately in four files. This is an open-book exam. You may bring and use your texts, dictionary, thesaurus, a writing handbook, class handouts, notes, outlines, drafts, memos, and a Ouija board. You may also use references and materials from your other classes and the web, with the caveat, of course, that you properly cite any sources you use. You may bring and use your laptop but you must upload your exam to your WebDrop folder at the end of the exam period <https://webdrop.d.umn.edu>. Please upload the entire exam as one file, including the optional take-home question if you choose to do that question. NOTE: If you normally generate a.wps file (from the Microsoft Works word processor) please turn in your paper as a.rtf (Rich Text Format) document. ( It does not work simply to type in the.rtf extension on an existing.wps file. You must load the original document and then resave it as a.rtf file type.) Answer FOUR (only 4) of the following questions. Keep in mind that there is more than one approach you can take in answering these questions. Follow these guidelines: 1. Organize your answer before you begin. 2. Be sure to state: 1. What or who something is 2. Where it occurred or is located (if appropriate) 3. How it is important 4. When it occurred 5. Why it is important
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 2 3. State YOUR position or approach clearly. 4. Cite specific examples or references to support your statements. 5. Mention problem areas or other relevant materials which you would like to consider further in a more thorough statement. That is, when you're finished with your answer, what major questions are still left unanswered? 6. Summarize your argument or discussion. 7. Wherever appropriate use materials from more than one region of the world. 8. Remember that each of your responses should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. 9. Note: Do not discuss any topic at length in more than one question. 01. From John Millington Synge, an Irish dramatist, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore (16 April 1871 -- 24 March 1909)....
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 3 John M. Synge The Aran Islands 1907 One hundred years ago John Millington Synge, who first went to the Aran Islands in 1898, from Paris, wrote upon his arrival to the Aran Islands a secluded region west of Galway Bay that symbolized the Eden of the Irish cultural renaissance : Every article on these islands has an almost personal character, which gives this simple life, where all art is unknown, something of the artistic beauty of medieval life. The curaghs [their traditional boats made of canvas and wood] and spinning-wheels, the tiny wooden barrels that are still much used in the place of earthenware, the home-made cradles, churns, and baskets, are all full of individuality, and being made from materials that are common here, yet to some extent peculiar to the island, they seem to exist as a natural link between the people and the world that is about them. The simplicity and unity of the dress increases in another way the local air of beauty.... (pp. 9-10)
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 4 And Synge writes, in 1898: On the low sheets of rock to the east I can see a number of red and grey figures hurrying about their work. The continual passing in this island between the misery of last night and the splendor of to-day, seems to create an affinity between the moods of these people and the moods of varying rapture and dismay that are frequent in artists, and in certain forms of alienation. Yet it is only in the intonation of a few sentences or some old fragment of melody that I catch the real spirit of the island, for in general the men sit together and talk with endless iteration of the tides and fish, and of the price of kelp in Connemara. (p. 25) This continual danger, which can only be escaped by extraordinary personal dexterity, has had considerable influence on the local character, as the waves have made it impossible for clumsy, foolhardy, or timid men to live on these islands. (p. 43) The women are the great conservative force in this matter of the language. They learn a little English in school and from their parents, but they rarely have occasion to speak with any one who is not a native of the islands, so their knowledge of the foreign tongue remains rudimentary. In my cottage I have never heard a word of English from the women except when they were speaking to the pigs or to the dogs, or when the girl was reading a letter in English. Women, however, with a more assertive temperament, who have had, apparently, the same opportunities, often attain a considerable fluency, as is the case with one, a relative of the old woman of the house, who often visits here. (p. 60) These people make no distinction between the natural and the supernatural. (p. 72) Like all work that is done in common on the island, the thatching is regarded as a sort of festival. (p. 75) It is likely that much of the intelligence and charm of these people is due to the absence of any division of labour, and to the correspondingly wide development of each individual, whose varied knowledge and skill necessitates a considerable activity of mind. Each man can speak two languages. He is a skilled fisherman, and can manage a curagh with extraordinary nerve and dexterity He can farm simply, burn kelp, cut out pampooties, mend nets, build and thatch a house, and make a cradle or a coffin. His work changes with the seasons in a way that keeps him free from the dullness that comes to people who have always the same occupation. The danger of his life on the sea gives him the alertness of the primitive hunter, and the long nights he spends fishing in his curagh bring him some of the emotions that are thought peculiar to men who have lived with the arts. (p. 77) I have never heard talk so simple and so attractive as the talk of these people. This evening they began disputing about their wives, and it appeared that the greatest merit they see in a woman is that she should be fruitful and bring them many children. As no money can be earned by children on the island this one attitude shows the immense difference between these people and the people of Paris. The direct sexual instincts are not weak on the island, but they are so subordinated to the instincts of the family that they rarely lead to irregularity. The life here is still at an almost patriarchal stage, and the people are nearly as far from the romantic moods of love as they are from the impulsive life of the savage. (pp. 87-88) Question: From what you know about Aran from the film Man of Aran [1934], and from Inis
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 5 Beag [1983], and from class [2003-2006], how would the tone and content of what Synge said a hundred years ago fit Aran Island life in the mid and late twentieth century? 02. From the CEforum: Describe the differences between the film Man of Aran and the realities as shown in How the Myth was Made. 03. From the CEforum: What is Flaherty s legacy on the Aran Islands? We saw in The Man of Aran that Flaherty was working on trying to show how man was against the elements. Life on the islands is hard work. Day in and day out the people of the island are working against the sea, the land and the wind. All of these natural elements make life very hard. We saw the next day [in the video in class] that many of the islanders feel that Flaherty took things out of context. There is now [electrical] power on the island and ferries that take tourists to the island and also take essential products to those in need. There seem to be two sides to the debate over the Aran Islands. Question: Discuss in detail... the two sides to the debate over the Aran Islands as outlined and described in this question. 04. From the CEforum: How is the idea of romantic love a European invention? How has it affected other cultures? Note: If you are answering this question be extra careful in avoiding generalities. You must back up your discussion points with specific examples. Generalizations about romantic love will generally not be acceptable. 05. From the CEforum: Specifically, what are the differences between the agriculture one sees in the videos Man of Aran compared to the Kypesli video, and in the monographs Inish Beag compared with Vasilika? In detail describe how these types of agriculture shape the lives of the people in these peasant villages.
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 6 06. From the CEforum: The book Nan tells us that traveling Irish families did not see receiving clothing and food from townspeople as a handout; rather, travelers had an integral role in Irish society, and any "handouts" were viewed as rightful payment. Do you agree or disagree? How does/not the author describe the role of traveling families in overall Irish culture? 07. From the CEforum: How does the story of Nan give people a good understanding of the Irish culture? What is missing in the story that would help someone have a better grasp of what it is like to be Irish? 08. Current Affairs: A current affairs question will be added. 09. Much class time for the first part of the semester was devoted to looking at how anthropology developed Europe as a cultural area. How does what you have learned in Ireland support or disclaim the arguments of Susan Parman and others about the development of Europe in the Anthropological Imagination?
Peoples and Cultures of Europe, Exam II, page 7 10. In Inis Beag: Isle of Ireland, John C. Messenger writes: Inis Beag as much as any community is characterized by gossip, ridicule, and opprobrium, which gain their effectiveness as social control mechanisms from the deep concern of the folk with saving face, and which serve to limit freedom of action and behavioral idiosyncrasy. (p. 66) Discuss the evidence Messenger cites to support this statement. 11. Many times so far this semester Units of Analysis have been mentioned, discussed, or contained in a discussion or presentation. First, of all list all of the units of analysis that are used in anthropological analyses of Irish culture. Second, choose three units other than the individual and the community and describe how those three units of analysis have been applied in anthropological Irish studies. 12. Argue for the proposition that Susannah Hoffman, in making the film Kypseli, was actually making myth and constructing images -- similarly to what Robert J. Flaherty did with Man of Aran -- rather than making an ethnographically accurate and objective film about the people of the community of Kypseli. Include in your argument, as a part of your answer, comparison and contrast analysis with both Hoffman s work and with Flaherty s work. 13. If you do not like these questions, make up and answer a question of your own choice relating to a topic which you have not considered in your other answers. Do not select a topic that was part of any of your or your groups' in-class presentations. (If you think these questions are fantastic but simply prefer to make up one of your own, go ahead.) Answers should contain specific information supporting your position. Both your question and your answer will be evaluated. If you elect to make up and answer a question, you may prepare your question and answer in advance and bring it with you to the exam. If you prepare your question in advance you only need to answer three (3) in class. Do not write on any country for which you were one of the presenters.