Gender, Age and Culture

Each part will have a list of which sources with its source file name or a link to the source to use for each part if the source isn’t a link then the source is a file in the order with a matching file name

This take-home exam essay consists of three parts and should total no more than six (6) double-spaced pages (size 12 Times New Roman font, standard margins, bibliography on the 7th page). You may determine how many pages you wish to devote to each part (and be sure to label each part, e.g. Part One, Part Two, etc.). Note: do not put your name in the document, as the exams will be graded anonymously.

Part One | Are gender and age cultural or biological phenomena? How are gender and age used by different groups in different ways to organize society, the division of labor, and governance? Build an argument, and in this part, please cite at least three readings assigned in the syllabus (can include Eriksen; note also that texts can be the same or different from those cited in other parts of the exam).
Sources used for this part:

1. Eriksen book (ch.9)
2. https://www.sapiens.org/biology/hijra-india-third-gender/
3. Kinship article

Part Two | Sahlins argues that anthropologists should see kinship not (just) as biology but as “mutuality of being.” What does he mean by this? And do you agree? Describe the differences between bilateral, patrilineal, and matrilineal kinship systems, and explain how our knowledge of these systems supports your argument for kinship as cultural or biological (or both). In this part, please cite at least three readings assigned in the syllabus (can include Eriksen; note also that texts can be the same or different from those cited in other parts of the exam).
Sources used for this part:

1. Erikesen book (ch.4,5,6)
2. Kinship article
3. https://aeon.co/ideas/a-rock-a-human-a-tree-all-were-persons-to-the-classic-maya

Part Three | Race-based, class-based, and caste-based systems of social stratification create barriers for some and opportunities for others. How are race, class, and caste similar, and how are they different? And how do race-based, class-based, and caste-based societies compare with respect to unequal treatment? In this part, build your answer using examples from Nightmarch and cite at least one other text from the syllabus (can be Eriksen; note also that the text can be the same or different from those cited in other parts of the exam).
Sources used for this part:

1. Eriksen Book (ch. 10)
2. NightMarch Book (ch. 1-6)
3. https://aeon.co/essays/fact-check-the-idea-of-race-is-not-modern-but-late-medieval