Flashcards in Chapter 3 Deck (20)
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1
Culture
the way of life of a group- includes idea, behaviors, and material goods to which people attach similar meanings or a common social heritage
-The values, norms, and material goods characteristic of a given group
2
Society
shares culture and the same territory
-culture includes both stuff and ideas
-material culture
-non-material culture
3
Material Culture
-"stuff"
-includes technology
4
Non-material Culture
includes ideas and attitudes
-norms
-values
-symbols-language
5
Norms
rules that govern our behavior
-guidelines for appropriate behavior
6
Values
-broad abstract ideas that defines right and wrong
-Ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad. What individuals value is strongly influenced by the specific culture in which they happen to live
7
American values
-achievement/success
-efficiency
-honesty
-cleanliness
-individualism
8
USA norms related to food + eating
-unwritten rules
-govern appropriate food choices
-govern appropriate eating behaviors
9
Symbols
an object, sound, gesture, pattern that represents something other than itself
-one item used to stand for or represent another—as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation
10
Language
a system of symbols that expresses thoughts and ideas and enables communication
-The primary vehicle of meaning and communication in a society; a system of symbols that represent objects and abstract thoughts.
11
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis; Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
language helps shape our interpretation of reality since people understand the world through the cultural les of language
-a hypothesis, based on the theories of Sapir and Whorf, that perceptions are relative to language
12
Subculture
-groups present within the dominant culture that have distinct identities
-Values and norms distinct from those of the majority, held by a group within a wider society
13
Cultural Universals
meet needs common to all cultures but expressed differently in each
-George Murdock
14
Culture as a tool kit
-Ann Swidler
-culture is a tool kit of symbols, stories, rituals, and world-views, which people may use in varying configurations to solve different kinds of problems
-rejects node that values cause actions
15
Ethnocentrism
tendency to see ones own culture as superior to others, judging other cultures based on your own perception
-The tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one's own culture, and thereby misrepresent them
-William Graham Sumner
16
Cultural Relativism
The practice of judging a society by its own standards
-acknowledging the differences between cultures without passing judgement
17
Signifier
any vehicle of meaning and communication
18
Semiotics
The study of the ways in which nonlinguistic phenomena can generate meaning—as in the example of a traffic light
19
Hunting and Gathering Societies
Societies whose mode of subsistence is gained from hunting animals, fishing, and gathering edible plants
20
