chapter 4 Flashcards
what is non material culture
symbols
language
values
beliefs
norms
what is material culture
influenced by culture
physical objects, books, technology etc
What is culture
a system of ideads, values, beliefs, norms and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society
what is a society
a group of interacting individuals living in a specific geological area who share a common culture
Tempocentrism
belief that our own time is more important than past or future or that a certain decade is more important or better than another
ethnocentrism
the view that one’s own culture is superior to others and should be used as the standard against which other cultures are judged
xenocentrism
viewing another culture as better than ur own, or materialistic items
cultural relativism
the belief that cultures must be judged on their own terms rather than by standards of another culture
eg; greeting ppl
symbols
something used to represent sum else, flags, crosses, etc
most important set of symbols is
language
what is language
systemized use of speech and hearing to convey/express feelings and ideas
other media like music/art/dance is also communication
Sapir- Whorf hypothesis
that hypothesis that societies with diff languages perceive the world differently bcs their members interpret the world through the grammatical forms/labels and categories their language provides.
Values
ideas shared by the ppl in a society regarding what is important
- often emotionally charged; things worth defending
if u value monogamy, disapprove of those who are not
where are most of our values learned from
family, mass media, school, friends
what is value conflict
placing values on a hierarchy of importance and behaving in ways consistent w whats important
having to choose something conflicting, answer is what u value more
what is a learned cultural product
values
norms
elements of nonmaterial culture and are rules of conduct or social expectations
specify how ppl should and should not behave in social institutions
perspective
what they should do
prospective
should not do
William G. sumner identified what two types of norms
folkways and mores
folkways
norms in that they provide rules for conduct; violations only bring mild censure
eg; eating food w hands instead of silverwear
mores
more important than folkways; reactions to violation are serious
punishment results in prison, death, or ridicule
taboos
mores that prohibit something from being talked abt, but does not affect others
eg; talking abt sex
Material products
technology and artifacts
technology and its importance
knowledge gained by science in ways that influence all aspects of culture
eg; food, clothing, housing
artificats
physical products
cultural lag
tendency for nonmaterial culture to lag behind material culture
where does culture come from
one answer is that cultures arise from agreements between people within a social system
the agreements formed that creates culture is called what
institutions
what is an institution
a stable cluster of values, norms, statuses and roles that develop around basic goals necessary for social systems to survive
what causes culture to change
changes over time due to social consensus
or man made and natural events
eg; laws changing due to an election or a disaster
9/11 changed culture
conflict theory
groups engage in social conflict to enact social change
and is shaped by social experiences eg: blm
countercultures
groups that have rules values or beliefs that conflict w mainstream culture
eg; being nudist
subcultures
groups of ppl who share the main culture of a society, but also have their own distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle
eg; a member of a frat in a college
microdiscussion
culture is also an important elemnt of many ppls social identity
cultural universals
practices that exist in most or all societies, like families, tools, etc
herbert gans identifies which 3 taste cultures within larger cultures
high, folk, pop
what is high culture
ideas and materials of upper class,
will attend finest restaurants
folk culture
culture of working class or ethnic groups
pop culture
trends, social activities and shared experiences of everyday ppl
- halloween, baseball games
what is idea culture
norms and values ppl profess to follow
what is real culture
norms and values ppl actually follow
multiculturalism
respecting diff cultures within a society and honouring their unique contributions to a larger culture
ideoculture
knowledge and behaviours unique to a specific social group
