- 1. Coming of Age in Samoa, written by anthropologist Margaret Mead and published in 1928, is a pioneering work that explores the lives of adolescent girls in the Samoan Islands, providing a detailed account of their cultures, traditions, and social structures. Mead's ethnographic study is notable for its ground-breaking approach to understanding the process of maturity and the transition into adulthood from a cultural perspective, contrasting the experiences of Samoan girls with those of their American counterparts. Through immersive fieldwork, she observed that the Samoan approach to adolescence was characterized by relatively low levels of stress and conflict, suggesting that cultural factors played a significant role in shaping the experience of growing up. Mead argued that societal norms and values influence the emotional and social development of individuals more than biological imperatives. Her findings challenged prevailing views of adolescence as a universally tumultuous phase, proposing instead that culture significantly dictates how individuals experience this critical period of life. This influential work not only contributed to the field of cultural anthropology but also ignited discussions about gender, sexual norms, and the nature of human development, making it an essential text for understanding the intersection of culture and psychology.
In which archipelago was Mead's study conducted?
A) Tahiti
B) Samoa
C) Hawaii
D) Fiji
- 2. What was the primary age group Mead focused on in her study?
A) Elderly women
B) Adult men
C) Young children
D) Adolescent girls
- 3. What was Mead's central argument about Samoan adolescence compared to American adolescence?
A) It was more academically focused
B) It was less stressful and turbulent
C) It was more restrictive and controlled
D) It was identical in emotional experience
- 4. Which anthropological approach was Mead associated with?
A) Biological determinism
B) Evolutionary psychology
C) Marxist anthropology
D) Cultural determinism
- 5. How did Mead characterize Samoan attitudes toward sexuality?
A) Commercialized and transactional
B) Religious and ritualized
C) Permissive and casual
D) Strict and prohibitive
- 6. What was the title of Derek Freeman's book that criticized Mead's work?
A) Coming of Age: A Rebuttal
B) The Samoan Hoax
C) Anthropology's Greatest Mistake
D) Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth
- 7. In what year was 'Coming of Age in Samoa' first published?
A) 1942
B) 1935
C) 1918
D) 1928
- 8. Which university was Margaret Mead associated with during her career?
A) Yale University
B) Harvard University
C) Columbia University
D) University of Chicago
- 9. How long did Mead spend in Samoa for her research?
A) 5 months
B) 6 weeks
C) 9 months
D) 2 years
- 10. Which famous anthropologist was Mead's mentor?
A) Franz Boas
B) Bronisław Malinowski
C) Alfred Kroeber
D) Claude Lévi-Strauss
- 11. What was the primary language Mead used to communicate with her subjects?
A) English
B) French
C) Pidgin
D) Samoan
- 12. What was the main criticism Derek Freeman leveled against Mead's work?
A) She was hoaxed by her informants
B) She fabricated all her data
C) She plagiarized previous work
D) She didn't actually visit Samoa
- 13. What was the primary theoretical debate Mead engaged in with her work?
A) Urban vs. rural development
B) Nature vs. nurture
C) Capitalism vs. socialism
D) Religion vs. science
- 14. How did Mead describe the learning process for Samoan children?
A) Through observation and imitation
B) Through competitive games
C) Through religious instruction
D) Through formal schooling
- 15. What was Mead's view on the universality of adolescent turmoil?
A) It is exaggerated in all societies
B) It is biological and universal
C) It is culturally specific, not universal
D) It is caused by economic factors
- 16. The book was later criticized by which anthropologist in 'Margaret Mead and Samoa'?
A) Clifford Geertz
B) Marvin Harris
C) Napoleon Chagnon
D) Derek Freeman
- 17. Freeman's criticism argued that Mead's portrayal of Samoan society was overly focused on what?
A) Military conflict
B) Sexual freedom
C) Religious ritual
D) Economic trade
- 18. What was the primary unit of social organization in the Samoan villages Mead studied?
A) The extended family (aiga)
B) The age-grade
C) The nuclear family
D) The individual
- 19. Mead's findings were used to argue that human behavior is largely shaped by what?
A) Instinct
B) Geography
C) Culture
D) Race
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