Chapter 2 Flashcards
Nonmaterial culture
The ideas created by members of a society
Material culture
The physical things created by members of a society
Symbol
Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture
Language
A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another
Cultural transmission
The process by which one generation passes culture to the next
Values
Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable good and beautiful and that serves as broad guidelines for social living
Beliefs
Specific ideas that people hold to be true
Norms
Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members
Mores
Norms that are widely observed and have great morals significance
Folkways
Norms for routine or casual interaction
Social control
Attempts by society to regulate peoples thoughts and behavior
Hunting and gathering
The use of simple tools to hunt animals and other vegetation for food
Horticulture
The use of hand tools to raise crops
Pastoralism
The domestication of animals
Agriculture
Large-scale cultivation using plows harness to animals or more powerful energy sources
Industry
The production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery
Post industrialism
Production of information using computer technology
High culture
Cultural patterns that distinguishes a societies elite
Popular culture
Cultural patterns that are widespread among societies population
Subculture
Cultural patterns that set apart some segment of the societies population
Multiculturalism
A perspective recognizing the cultural diversity in the United States and promoting equal standing for all cultural traditions
Eurocentrism
The dominance of European cultural patterns
Afrocentrism
Emphasizing in promoting African cultural patterns
Counterculture
Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely excepted within a society
ethnocentrism
The practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
Cultural relativism
The practice of judging a culture by its own standards
Cultural universals
Traits that are part of every known culture
With regards to culture how are we different from other animals, is any particular where the life natural to humanity?
According to the textbook any particular way of life is not natural to humanity. Travelers often find themselves feeling uneasy as they enter an familiar culture
What is the Latin meaning of Homo sapiens? According to scientists how long ago did Homo sapiens first appear on earth? What is the difference between culture nation and society? What does multicultural mean? Why is the US said to be multicultural?
Homo sapien means intelligent person; according to scientists Homo sapiens first appeared on the earth12 million years ago; The difference between culture nation and society is culture is (the ways of acting and the material objects that together form of peoples way of life) nation is (a form of political organization in which a group of people share the same history traditions or language) Society (people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture); Multicultural is a perspective recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting equal standing for all natural traditions; The US is said to be multicultural because of our society downplayed cultural diverse city and defined itself primarily in terms of well-off European and especially English immigrants
What does the Sapir-Whorf thesis state?
Holds that people see and understand the world through cultural lens of language
What does instant messaging as a new set of symbols show about whether cultures change?
Instant messaging has a new set of symbols shows about whether culture strange good for you and a person burns a US flag by doing a political demonstration
What are the dominant values of US culture? What type of values to low-income nation stand to have? What type of values to high nations tend to have?
The dominant values of the US culture are: Equal opportunity Achievement and success Material comfort Activity and work Practicality and Efficiency Progress Science Democracy and free enterprise Freedom Racism and group superiority
Low income countries have very low values because the majority struggle to get by with poor housing unsafe water and to little food
High income countries have very high values because they were lucky enough to be born into a rich region of the world
Sanctions
Is a reward or punishment that a norm associates with a behavior or appearance.
Between Mores and Folkways which one distinguishes between “right and wrong” and which distinguishes between “right and rude”?
Folkways distinguish between right and rude.
Mores distinguish between right and wrong.
According to Lenski, what does sociocultural evolution refers to?
Sociocultural evolution refers to theories of cultural evolution and social evolution, describing how cultures and societies have changed over time
How did technology move through the stages of sociocultural evolution
hunting and gathering, horticulture and pastoralism, agriculture, industry, and postindustrial information technology?
Hunting and Gathering: This technology only supports a few societies such as Indians of Northwestern Canada, or The Khoisan of southwestern Africa.
Horticulture: These tools 6,000 years ago were used from Western Europe to China; Many societies continue to hunt as they adopted new technology.
Pastoralism: Growing plants and raising animals allows societies to feed hundreds of members
Agriculture: Agarian technology first appeared in the Middle East, and gradually spread throughout the world, Invention of animal drawn plow, wheel..etc changed societies
Industry: Raises living standards and extends the human life span.
Postindustrial Information Technology: More economic production makes use of new information technology
How did the social standing of men and women compare in hunting and gathering societies?
Women gather food while men do most of the hunting
What type of society emerged in the 2nd half of the 1700s?
Industry
What two reasons explain why sociologists disagree with judgements stating high culture is superior to popular culture?
Many cultural patterns are readily available to only some members of a society
What are some examples of ethnocentric statements or beliefs?
People in Europe and North America referred to China as the “Far East” this is a ethnocentric expression for a region that is far to the east of us
What is the structural functional theory of culture? What is the social-conflict theory of culture? What are the critiques of the social conflict theory? What is materialism and how is it related to the social conflict approach?
Structural Functional Theory of Culture: Explains culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs.
Social Conflict Theory: which argues that individuals and groups (social classes) within society have differing amounts of material and non-material resources
The critique of the structural functional theory of culture it is downplays the importance of change.
Materialism: which holds that a society’s system of material production has a powerful effect on the rest of a culture. It is related to the social conflict approach it is rooted in the philosophical doctrine of the social conflict approach.
How does culture act as a constraint? How is culture a source of freedom?
Culture acts a constraint because it gives advantages to some people but disadvantages to others
Culture is a source of freedom because its a part of a societies core values and beliefs
Culture
The ways of thinking,the ways of acting ,and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life
