Question

An anthropologist who studies the new ways in which class identities are combined with racial and ethnic identities, such as the idea that WASP signifies white or Jew signifies middle class, takes what type of approach?

Answer 1

An anthropologist studying the combination of class with racial and ethnic identities is taking a cultural anthropological approach which involves exploring how these categories intersect and influence societal perceptions and behaviors.

Step-by-step explanation:

An anthropologist who studies how class identities are combined with racial and ethnic identities, and how terms like WASP signify white or Jew signifies middle class, is taking a cultural anthropological approach. This approach is interested in the ways cultural categories and identities intersect and the meanings that are ascribed to different racial and class identifiers within societies.

Anthropologists have increasingly understood the importance of looking at race through an interdisciplinary lens. Cultural anthropologists in particular explore our understandings of race and how these perceptions are constructed and manifest within cultures, shaping individual and group identities.

Such an examination includes addressing how these constructions of race and class have historically been utilized to marginalize certain groups and maintain power structures. By revealing and challenging these patterns, anthropologists contribute to a deeper understanding of social inequalities and provide insight into the diverse ways individuals navigate and resist these societal frameworks.