Ch. 3- Cultural Structures Flashcards
Institutional explanations
explanations that focus on the way institutions (e.g. government, the law, patriarchy) act externally- as source of social power- to influence social behavior
Cultural explanations
Explanations that consider the way internal systems of meaning influence and dictate social behavior. Rather than emphasizing the power and material resources of institutions, cultural explanations emphasize symbols that shape and limit our individual actions, thoughts, and feelings.
Symbol
something that stands for something else (e.g. a flag, a dollar sign, or a cross; 2 categories: the sacred (good) and the profane (bad or evil)
Symbolic system
A system or pattern of symbols – for example, language or fashion.
Social code
pattern of meanings that undergird specific situations. For example, a young child can eat spaghetti with her hands at a restaurant, but for an adult to do so at a business dinner would be considered inappropriate and unprofessional.
Classifications
Groupings of events and objects that are familiar, similar, or different
Laws
written norms that prescribe or proscribe specific sets of behaviors under threat of punishment.
Counterculture
a term referring to values and behaviors that go against those of mainstream society
Belief
a statement that attempts to describe some aspect of collective reality (i.e. “Gods exists”, “The earth is round”)- whether it is true or false.
Behavior
Anything we do, regardless whether they are consistent or not with one’s attitude.
Attitudes
the statements that people make about their values and beliefs.
socioeconomic class
One of the most common classifications on society, closely tied to occupation and income. Members of different social classes are often seen as occupying different positions in a social hierarchy, and as having unequal access to resources, opportunities, and power. From a cultural perspective, however, socioeconomic class is most relevant in the context of understanding various ways of life, social codes, and classificatory schemes.
Genre
a distinctive form of cultural expression that aims to create symbols that engage, entertain and sensitize (e.g. commercial art, jazz, musical comedy, framed oil paintings, and evening sitcoms)
What is
explanations that focus on the way institutions (e.g. government, the law, patriarchy) act externally- as source of social power- to influence social behavior
Institutional explanations
What is
Explanations that consider the way internal systems of meaning influence and dictate social behavior. Rather than emphasizing the power and material resources of institutions, cultural explanations emphasize symbols that shape and limit our individual actions, thoughts, and feelings.
Cultural explanations
