Chapter 2 Flashcards
(27 cards)
Culture
consists of the values held by a given group, the norms they follow, the language they speak, and the material goods they create
Cultural Appropriation
occurs when members of one cultural group borrow elements of another group’s culture
Values
ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad
example= honesty and honor
Norms
rules of conduct that specify appropriate behavior in a given range of social situations
example = the dos and dons of social life
Language
a system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts; the primary vehicle of meaning and communication in a society
- demonstrates both the unity and diversity of human culture because all cultures have language, yet there are thousands of languages in the world
- allows humans to vastly extend the scope of our thought and experience
The Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis (Sapir- Whorf Hypothesis)
argues that language shapes people’s perception of the world
- language gives permanence to a culture and an identity to the people
Cultural Universals
Forms of behavior found in all, or virtually all, cultures
Material Culture
the physical objects that society creates that influence the ways in which people live
Society
a group of people who live in a particular territory, are subject to a common system of political authority, and are aware of having a distinct identity
Instinct
a fixed pattern of behavior that has genetic origins and that appears in all normal animals within a given species
Biological Determinism
The belief that differences we observe between groups of people, such as men and women, are explained wholly by biological causes
Subcultures
cultural groups within a wider society that hold values and norms distinct from those of the majority
Countercultures
cultural groups within a wider society that largely reject the values and norms of the majority
Assimilation
the acceptance of a majority group by a majority population, in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture
Multiculturalism
The viewpoint according to which ethnic groups can 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 thereby misrepresent them
Cultural relativism
the practice of judging a society by its own standards
Hunting and Gathering Societies
people do not grow crops or keep livestock but rather gain their livelihood from gathering plants and hunting animals
Pastoral Societies
are those that raise domesticated animals as their major source of subsistence.
Agrarian Societies
depend on the cultivation of fixed plots of land.
Urban Societies
form traditional states or civilizations.
Industrialization
The emergence of machine production, based on the use of inanimate power resources (such as steam or electricity)
Industrialized Societies
highly developed nation-states in which the majority of the population work in factories or offices, rather than in agriculture, and most people live in urban areas
Nation- State
a particular type of state, characteristic of the modern world, in which a government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area, and the population are citizens who know themselves to be part of a single nation