Chapter 3

Subculture

A group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle

Counterculture

A group within society that open rejects or actively opposes society's values and norms

Taboo

A norm ingrained so deeply that even thinking about violating it evokes strong feelings of disgust, horror, or revulsion. Ex: Incest, Paedophilia, Cannibalism

Multiculturism

A policy that values diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds, and so encourages the retention of cultural difference within the larger society

Culture shock

A sense of disorientation that occues when entering a radically new social or cultural environment

Moral Holiday

A specified time period during which some norm violations are acceptable Ex: mardi gras, nude beaches, spring break celebrations

Language

A system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, or written symbols; the bases of nonmaterial culture and the primary means through which we communicate with one another and perpetuate our culture

What is the one of the most important functions of a symbolic culture?

Allows us to communicate through signs, gestures, and language

Material culture

Any physical object to which we give social meaning: art and artifacts, tools and utensils, machines and weapons, clothing and furniture, buildings and toys. Any physics thing that people create, use or appreciate might be considered material culture.

Ways in which to to see the world anew

Begginer's mind, culture shock, sociological imagination and cultural relativism

Culture wars

Clashes within mainstream society over the values and norms that should be upheld

What does language help us to do?

Conceive of the past and plan for the future; categorize the components of the world around us; and shape our perspectives on reality

What do critics of cultural diffusion describe it to be?

Cultural imperialism

What do these terms represent: Language, standards of beauty, hand gestures, styles of dress, food, and music

Culture

Constantly taking one's own culture for granted can result in what?

Culture shock

What's a problem related to culture shock?

Ethnocenterism

True or false: Cultural conflict always comes from extreme margins of society

False; *does not always come from the extreme margins of society and can emerge from within the mainstream

True or False: It's easy for us to see our own culture, so we recoginize the extent to which it shaped and defines who we are

False; it's hard for us to see our own culture, so we may not recognize the exten to which it shapes and defines who we are

True or False: Norms can't be distinguished by the strictness with which they are enforced

False; they can be distinguised by the strictness with which they are enforced, ex: law vs folkway

Values

Ideas abotu what's right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or worthy in a particular group; they express what the group cherishes and honors

What was our current Digital Age/Information Age spurred by?

Invention of the computer microchip

Folkways

Loosely enforced norms involving common customs, practices, or procedures that ensure smooth social interaction and acceptance.

Technology

Material artifacts and the knowledge and techniques required to use them

Does cultural diffusion and cultural leveling occur in a one-way direction?

No

COVID-19 and social control

Norms around mask wearing and social distancing were often enforced with sanctions

Mores

Norms that carry great moral significance, are closley related to the core values of a cultural group, and often involve severe repercussions for violators. Ex: theft, rape, and murder

What's the main resentment against the U.S. abroad?

Perceived failure to live up to its own politics values and ideals - or to apply them fairly to others

Sanctions

Positive or negative reactions to the ways that people follow or disobey norms, including rewards for conformity and punishments for violations

"Body Ritual among the Nacierma" by Horace Miner

Reminds us how easy it is to overlook aspects of our own culture, precisely because they seem so normal to us

Norms

Rules or guidelines regarding what kinds of behavior are acceptable and appropriate within a particular culture; these typically emanate from the group's values.

Signs

Symbols that stand for or convey an idea. Ex: Traffic signals, price tags, note on sheet music, etc.

Hegemony

Term developed by Antonio Gramsci to describe the cultural aspects of social control, whereby the ideas of the dominant social group are accepted by all of society

An example of the tension between ideal and real culture

The U.S. and it's history with slavery, western expansions, oppression of women, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and the battle for LGBTQIA+ rights

Cultural diffusion

The dissemination of material and nonmaterial culture (tools and technology, beliefs and behavior) from one group to another

Culture

The entire way of life of a group of people (including both material nonmaterial elements) that acts as a lens through which one views the world and that is passed from one gernation to the next

Social Control

The formal and informal mechanisms used to elicit conformity to values and norms and thus promote social cohesion

Sapir-Whorf hypothese

The idea that language structures thought, and that ways of looking at the world are embedded inlanguage

Nonmaterial culture

The ideas associated with a cultural group, including ways of thinking (beliefs, valuses, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (normas, interactions, and communication).

Cultural imperialism

The imposition of one culture's beliefs and practices on another culture through media and consumer products rather than by military force

Real Culture

The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that actually ecist within a society (which may or may not correspond to the society's ideals)

Ideal Culture

The norms, values, and patterns of behavior that members of a society believe shuold be observed in principle

Cultural relativism

The princile of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging or evaluating according to one's own culture

Ethnocentrium

The principle of using one's own culture as a means or standard by which to evaluate another group or individual, leading to the view that cultures other than one's own are abnormal or inferior

Cultural leveling

The process by which cultures that were once unique and distinct become increasingly similar

Dominant Culture

The values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful (in terms of wealth, prestige, status, influence, etc.)

Gestures

The ways in which people use their bodies to communicate without words; actions that have symbolic meaning

How has Western culture spread rapid to the rest of the world?

Through capitalism and globalization, and aided by new forms of transportation and communication that allow for ever-faster exchanges

Is it true that subculture can influence the mainstream and become part of the dominany culture and something that is dominany can change to a counterculture?

True

True or False: People have argued that language shapes not only our communication, but our perceptions as well

True

True or False: The power of the dominany culture may produce cultural hegemony

True

True or false: A subculture can be based on ethnicity, age, interest, or anything else that draws individuals together

True

True or false: Culture can change slowly or rapidly

True

True or false: Culture is learned. It's passed from one generation to the next through communication (not genetics)

True

True or false: Language plays a significant role in how people construct a sense of reality and how they categorize the people, places and things around them

True

True or false: Sanctions help to establish social control

True

True or false: The Digital Revolution is shaping our culture and the rest of the world at an increasingly rapid pace

True

True or false: Value and norms are nonmaterial culture in thought and action

True

True or false: There's no one "American Culture"

True - there's a variety of cultural groups within American society

Laws

Types of norms that are formall codified to provide an explicit statement about what's permissible or forbiddden, legal or illegal in a given society

How does cultural diffusion occur?

Usually occurs in the direction from ore developed to less developed nations

True or false: Change can be thought of as "progress"

Ususally, yes; as we move from what seem to be outmoded ways of doing things to mor einnovative practices

What are culture wars mainly waged over?

Values and morality and the solutions to social problems

Are norms specific to a culture, time period, and situation?

Yes

Can ethnocentrism be a source of prejudice and hostility?

Yes - ethnocentrism may give us a sense of pride in our own group and can prevent us from seeing and unstanding others

Are there certain situations where specific norm violations are acceptable?

Yes, because norms are specific to a culture, time period and situation, ex: Moral Holiday

Is language a human universal?

Yes; even though it varies from culture to culture

Two major categories of culture:

material and non-material