Chapter Two Flashcards
Culture
Define Culture
The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that characterize a group and are passed from one generation to another
Give 6 cultural practices
Weddings, beauty, festivals, funerals, religious practices, rites of passage
Define Material Culture
The material objects that distinguish a group of people
Define non-material culture
A groups way of thinking and doing
aka symbolic culture
Define Culture Shock
The disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life
Female Genital Mutilation
More than 200 million have been cut in over 27 countries around the world (Africa, Middle East, Asia)
Define Ethnocentrism
The use of one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individuals or societies; generally leads to a negative evaluation of the other culture
Judging another culture based on your own
Define Cultural Relativism
Not judging a culture, but trying to understand it on its own terms
Asking questions to gain cultural context
We listen and we don’t judge
Define Symbols
Something people attach meaning to and use to communicate with one another
Define Gestures
Movements of the body to communicate with others
Shorthand way to convey messages w/o words
Language
A system of symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects, but abstract thought
Provides us with a shared past and future
Define Values
The standards by which people define what is desirable/undesirable, superior/inferior, good/bad, beautiful/ugly
Define Norms
Expectations of ‘right’ behavior
Define Folkways
Norms that ARE NOT strictly enforced
ex. flashing during mardi gras
Define Mores
Norms that ARE strictly enforced; essential to core values/wellbeing of the group
ex. stealing, rape, killing
Define Sanctions
Expression of approval for following norms or expression of disapproval for violating them
Positive vs. Negative Sanctions
Define Taboo
A norm so strong that it brings extreme sanctions if violated
The sanctions are severe and may include prison, banishment or death
Something prohibited or frowned upon due to social customs
ex. polygamy, porn, abortion, suicide, incest, cannibalism
Define Subculture
The values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish it members from the larger culture
ex. cliques
Define Counterculture
A group whose values, beliefs, norms, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture
ex. KKK, Black Panther Party, Mormons
Define Pluralistic Society
A society made up of many different groups
Ex. religions, racial-ethnic groups, interest groups
Define Core Values
Values that are central to a group; which the group builds a common identity around
Define Value Clusters
Values are not independent units; they cluster together to form a larger whole
ex. education + hard work + material comfort +individualism = success
Define Value Contradictions
Values that contradict one another; to follow one means to come in conflict with the other
ex. racism, sexism, civil war, women’s liberation movement
Define Value Clashes
Challenges in core values are met with strong resistance by the people who hold them dear
See it as a threat to their way of life
ex. gender roles/identities, same-sex marriage
“Culture Wars” w/traditionalists
