Week 2: Culture Flashcards
What does culture refer to?
a wide variety of symbolic mediums and material objects that allow a group to carry out their collective lives in relative order and harmony
What is symbolic culture?
A society’s values, beliefs, norms, symbols, and language
What is material culture?
The physical objects that a society creates
What are symbols?
Things that represent or stand for something else
What are beliefs?
Understandings or judgments that people accept as true or real
What are values?
abstract ideals that we assign relative worth or importance to
What are norms?
rules of social life that everyone is expected to observe
What is the basis of cultural realities?
The basis of cultural realities is a consensus
What are subcultures?
groups that accept much of the dominant culture but are set apart by one or more significant characteristics (e.g. the Amish or hookup culture among college students)
What are countercultures?
groups that not only differ from the dominant culture but hold norms and values that are incompatible with it (e.g. the 60s hippie movement)
According to John Hostetler, why do the Amish practice separatism?
They are focused on the community so they avoid things that may cause competition or differentiation among individuals
According to Lisa Wade, what are the rules of hookup culture?
- The hookup must be meaningless
- Care less than the other person
- Can’t ask for a relationship
What is ideal culture?
the values, norms, and behaviors that people in a given society profess to embrace and regard as most desirable even if contradicted by behavior
What is real culture?
the values, norms, and behaviors that people in a given society actually embrace and exhibit
What is the cultural philosophy of individualism?
a type of cultural philosophy that favors freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control
