Chapter 2- Sociology Of Culture

Question 1

Define culture

Answer 1

Shared ways of living; ways of acting, thinking, and material objects that form the way of living

Question 2

Define society

Answer 2

People who act in a defined territory and share a culture

Question 3

Define culture shock

Answer 3

Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life- it’s a matter of perspective

Question 4

Elements of Culture

Answer 4

Symbols
Language
Values
Beliefs
Norms

Question 5

Symbols

Answer 5

Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture
The meaning found in these symbols make social life possible

Question 6

Language

Answer 6

A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another
Sapir Whorf thesis- people see and understand the world through the cultural lens of language; people have trouble imagining something that they don’t have a word for

Question 7

Values

Answer 7

Culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is desirable, good, and beautiful
Abstract standards that may not match behaviour

Question 8

Beliefs

Answer 8

Ideas that people hold to be true

Question 9

Norms

Answer 9

Rules and expectations by which a society guides the behaviour of its members
Folkways
Mores
Taboos

Question 10

Folkways

Answer 10

Norms for routine or causal interaction
Least prescriptive (most informal)

Question 11

Mores

Answer 11

Norms that are widely observed and have great Moral significance
Stricter negative sanction

Question 12

Taboos

Answer 12

Deeply rooted norms that are unthinkable actions generally formal norms (translated into laws)

Question 13

High Culture

Answer 13

The culture of the elite

Question 14

Cultural Capital

Answer 14

Social assets of a person or groups

Skill sets, knowledge base, ways of behaviour that allow for movement through social strata

Question 15

Embodied mannerisms

Answer 15

How a person expresses them self, interacts with others

Denotes your culture

Question 16

Popular culture

Answer 16

Outside of elite culture
People who choose and live in their culture
The culture is intentionally adopted by a person or group

Question 17

Mass Culture

Answer 17

When a common culture is forced into an individual by the masses

Question 18

Types of Culture

Answer 18

Dominant Culture
Subculture
Counter Culture

Question 19

Dominant culture

Answer 19

The prevailing shared ways of life; the culture which is most representative of the culture
Often power associated with the Dom culture

Question 20

Subculture

Answer 20

Smaller culture that exists within the dominant culture
Unique culture that may involve elements of the dominant culture
“Subordinate culture” have less power

Question 21

Counter Culture

Answer 21

Subculture in opposition of the dominant culture

Can be positive or negative- often protest the dominant culture

Question 22

Multiculturalism

Answer 22

Two processes
Policy- multiple official languages, recognition of rights of all people groups (ideal)
Practice- the melting pot- expectations that all people groups bring parts of their culture that are acceptable to be melted together into the Dom culture

Question 23

Ethnocentrism

Answer 23

Assess other cultures based on your own standards, usually as a result of ignorance

Question 24

Xenocentrism

Answer 24

Belief that another culture is better than your own

Question 25

Cultural Relativism

Answer 25

Considering the beliefs and practices of another culture in a manner that respects the ideas and beliefs of that culture
Looking holistically at another culture without your cultural lens

Question 26

Cultural Globalization

Answer 26

Westernization of the world

Western values and beliefs are becoming the cultural measuring stick

Question 27

Structural Functionalist Analysis of Culture

Answer 27

Culture is meant to act toward social cohesion and stability
Culture arises from the structure of society
Cultural Universals- patterns of behaving that we see in all cultures

Question 28

Social Conflict Analysis of Culture

Answer 28

Culture is developed based on how people earn their money (mode of production) and therefore breeds inequality
Materialism- culture slanted towards benefitting one group over another

Question 29

Sociobiology

Answer 29

Provides a biological basis for understanding culture

Culture evolved through a process of natural selection

Question 30

Stages of Texhnology and Culture

Answer 30

Hunting and Gathering- simple tools, all people must work, little to no hierarchy
Horticulture and Pastoralism- crops and animals; material surplus means not everyone has to work and there is more inequality
Agriculture- large scale cultivation, vast inequality (serfdom, slaves)
Industry- production of goods using advanced energy, family centred communities are weakened

Question 31

Socio-Cultural Evolution

Answer 31

The historical changes in culture roughy about by new technology