Culture Flashcards
What is culture?
shared system of beliefs and knowledge
system of meaning and symbols
values
shared beliefs about what a group considers worthwhile or desirable
guide the creation norms
material v. symbolic culture & examples
material: physical object to which we give social meaning; buildings, tools, machines, utensils, artwork
symbolic: ideas associated with a cultural group;
cultural universals
a cultural trait common to all humans and societies; language
nacirema
US
cultural tool kit
acquired set of ideas and skills from the cultural environment we live in and apply in our own lives
ethnocentrism
principle of using one’s own culture as a standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than ones own are abnormal
cultural relativism
principle of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging according to ones own culture
multiculturalism
values diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic background and so encourages the retention of cultural differences within society, rather than assimilation
mainstream culture
most widely shared systems of meaning and cultural tool kits in a society
subcultures
small groups of people whose affiliation is based on shared beliefs, preferences, and practices that exist under the mainstream
counterculture
type of subculture
group whose ideas, attitudes and behaviors are in direct conflict with mainstream culture
actively contest the dominant cultural practices in the societies of which they are a part
culture/status/class
people often make educated guesses about the class status of others based on cultural signs; the way they dress, how the speak, the sports they play, the music they like, etc taste, cultural preferences
Lareau
studied class based childrearing patterns in the US concerted cultivation: actively fostering childs talents and intervening on his or her behalf, instilling sense of entitlement accomplishment of natural growth: caring for children but leaving them to fend for themselves socially, instilling sense of constraint
