I. Paper Overview
II. Paper Content
III. References
IV. Topic Ideas
I. Paper Overview
Cultural ways are the beliefs, practices, and symbols of groups of people. Cultural anthropologists focus on the way beliefs, practices, and symbols bind groups of people together and shape their worldview and lifeways.
Some beliefs, practices and symbols can be controversial (e.g. female genital mutilation), non-controversial (e.g. extended families caring for seniors rather than being placed in institutions) and misunderstood/unfamiliar – that is, finding the cultural way interesting but difficult to grasp/or having no knowledge about the cultural way (e.g. origin stories explaining where humans came from). Some can be a mix of both. Sometimes simply not understanding about a cultural way (belief, practice, symbol) can lead to controversial views in society, especially multicultural societies like Canada.
Thinking about your own culture or a culture you would like to know more about, what is an example of a belief, practice, or symbol that you are interested in studying anthropologically?
Whatever belief, practice, or symbol you choose, you must go beyond a “show and tell” style of investigation. Just explaining the belief, practice, or symbol isn’t enough. You must anthropologically investigate the topic – Is it controversial? Why? Should it be respected? Why not? Could a non-controversial belief, practice, or symbol be of benefit to other societies? Why? How has a belief, practice, or symbol been misunderstood? What has been the result of the misunderstandings or lack of knowledge? Why is it important to resolve those misunderstandings and/or become familiar about that belief, practice, or symbol?
 
II. Paper Content
• 3 paragraphs (total of 500-750 words, single-spaced, 12-point font)
• 3 references
Paragraph 1: Provide information about the cultural group who practices the cultural way you have chosen. Explain in detail the belief, practice, or symbol. Explain the cultural meaning of the belief, practice, or symbol and why you are interested in learning more about it.
Paragraphs 2 and 3: The content will vary in these paragraphs depending on the belief, practice, or symbol you choose. Choose which requirements fit your choice:
Controversial belief, practice, or symbol: P2: Explain why the belief, practice, or symbol might be viewed as a controversial cultural way. Provide an example of how the controversy has been expressed in society. P3: Explain why cultural relativism must be maintained or that the cultural way should not be tolerated within any culture. (Cultural relativism is the idea that all cultures are equal and that cultural ways have to be respected.)
Non-controversial belief, practice, or symbol: P2: Explain and provide details of the value of the belief, practice, or symbol. Provide an example of how the belief, practice, or symbol has been expressed in society. P3: Explain why it is important and/or beneficial for other cultures to know about and understand the cultural meaning and value of the belief, practice, or symbol.
Misunderstood/unfamiliar belief, practice, or symbol: P2: Clearly explain any misunderstanding/unfamiliarity about the belief, practice, or symbol. Provide an example of how the belief, practice, or symbol has been expressed in society. P3: Explain why it is important for other societies to become familiar with – to know about and understand – the cultural meaning of the belief, practice, or symbol.
 
A. How many and what kind of references: You are required to provide a minimum of 3 references to support your content. References must be academically valid websites that provide solid scientific support for your paper – no blogs, Wikipedia, Encyclopedias, etc. Higher marks (see Rubric) can possibly be achieved by using peer-reviewed academic journals. Find them here: Home Page – Library Services – Conestoga College
B. Providing references in your paper: We are going to keep this nice and simple. No APA, no reference page, no cover page. You only have to provide in-text citations using the website link and/or journal article link for the quote or paraphrase. That’s it. As papers are read online, providing in-text citations as a hyperlink allows me to quickly check and review the source of the quote or paraphrase.
Correct Citation Style for websites: Simply provide the link to the website after the quoted or paraphrased information. Here’s an example of a hyperlink citation of a direct quote from a website (paraphrase citation would be exactly the same – place it at the end of the paraphrased material):
Foraging is “the practice of subsisting off of the land from wild plants and animals. It can include hunting, gathering, and fishing” (https://explorable.com/subsistence).
Correct Citation Style for peer-reviewed journal articles: Provide the last name of the author and the date of publication before the quote or paraphrase. And, provide the hyperlink citation to the article after the quoted or paraphrased information. Here’s an example of a hyperlink citation of a direct quote from a journal article (paraphrase citation would be exactly the same, just delete the quotes around the paraphrased material):
(Smith, 2023) states, “The qualitative understanding of cultural symbolism is only fully realized by immersing oneself within the culture being studied for a minimum of one full year to experience all seasonal aspects of this particular practice” (https://ebcohost.com/participantobservationpractices).
IV. Topic Ideas
Below is a list of possible of beliefs, practices, and symbols – with a mixture of potentially being controversial, non-controversial, and misunderstood/unfamiliar.
Beliefs:
• Religious beliefs– choose any aspect of a religion you are interested in or practice
• Different cultural explanations of the origin of humans
• Gender fluidity – non-binary, two-spirited, transgender
• How death is perceived in different cultures
Practices:
• Care and treatment of the Elderly – institutionalized living vs living in extended families
• Medical practices – cultural practices and ideas around illness, pregnancy, aging, mental health, etc.
• Traditional use of plants in medicine (Ethnobotany)
• Traditional use of plants to connect with the spirit world (Ethnobotany)
• Marriage practices such as polygamy or polyamory
• Arranged Marriages versus Love Matches
• Forensic anthropology and residential school graves
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Vegetarianism as religious or spiritual practice
• Child rearing practices
• The drum in Indigenous cultures
• Smudging in indigenous cultures
• Culture practices around death (good source: Death As An Ally How Shamans Perceive Death – Shamanic Journey
•
Symbols:
• Religious expression and civil rights in Canada: The kirpan, the hijab, the turban, the burqa, religious symbols in Quebec society and its civil service
• Clothing as cultural expression
• Ribbon Skirts in Indigenous cultures
• Rap Lyrics – are they misogynistic?
• A universal language shared by the entire world – the benefits and potential negative impacts on cultural diversity
If you have chosen a topic from the Topic Ideas and would like more direction or if you don’t see anything that interests you, email me with Anthropology Section # Project Assistance in the Subject Line and I can assist you. I encourage you to quickly decide on a topic. (Here’s an example of how I could assist – Did you know beginning in 1991 RCMP members were allowed to wear a turban instead of the uniform hat? It was quite controversial at the time.)