Chapter 3 Flashcards
effect of social media on young adults
more negative than positive
signifier
a vehicle of meaning and communication
semiotics
the study of nonverbal cultural meanings
linguistic relativity hypothesis
a hypothesis created by Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee that language influences our perception because we are more likely to be aware of things we have words for
cultural turn
Sociology’s recent emphasis on the importance of understanding the role of culture in daily life
Elements that constitute a complex cultural system
- Material objects
- Nonmaterial objects
- Creators/producers of cultural objects
- receivers of cultural objects
Agrarian societies
small rural communities, no towns or cities, lived through agriculture, often supplemented by hunting and gathering, ruled by chiefs, more inequalities than hunting and gathering socieites
Pastoral societies
range from a few hundred to many thousands of people, depend of tending to domesticated animals, marked by distinct inequalities, ruled by chiefs or warrior kings
cultural capital
the accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status
what influences types of cultural capital?
one’s socioeconomic position in society
types of cultural capital
- what a person embodies
- material objects one possesses
- possession of skills valued by larger institutions
what do countries in the global south have in common?
they were either colonies or strongly influenced by colonial relationships
cultural appropriation
when members of one cultural group borrow elements of another group’s culture
counterculture
groups that reject values or norms of the majority group in a society
assimilation
the acceptance of a minority group by a majority population in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture
multiculturalism
a condition in which ethnic groups exist separately and share equally in economic and political life
ethnocentrism
the tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one’s own culture and therefore misrepresenting them(judging other cultures)
cultural relativism
the practice of judging a society by its own standards
How has clashing of cultural values and norms changed over time and why?
they have increased in the modern era because of gloablization
cultural lag
an idea introduced by William Ogburn, stating that changes in cultural values/norms take time to catch up with technological developments
