Cultural Diversity
What is a cultural universal?
A common feature of human cultural behavior which can be found in all or most civilizations.
Is the nuclear family universal?
According to Giddens, The nuclear family is universal as it is widely acknowledged and accepted, however, the nuclear family has evolved and morphed with the times and cultures to accept and include families of adopted children, same-sex marriage is, children raised by elders and so on.
What are examples of cultural universals?
Dancing, marriage rituals, gift giving, and even rituals relating to death. Donald Brown mentions technology as another cultural universal encompassing worldwide variations.
What does Samuel Huntington have to say about Culture and Civilization?
In clash of civilizations it states, "War is not between countries but rather between the cultures of said country".
What is the difference between instinct and consciousness?
Instinct is not the product of learning or cultural socialization, it is in reference to action or behavior that is inherited and occurs in automatic response to specific stimuli. Whereas, consciousness is the reason and intelligence unique in human beings which affords them the capacity or potential to acquire knowledge or understanding and use it. Unlike consciousness, instincts do not change.
What is culture?
Is compromised of the values, norms, habits and ways of life that are characteristic of a coherent social group; passed down from generation to generation to organize life and interpret existence.
What is meant by the phrase "sociological imagination"?
It is what is required by us in order to "take ourselves away" from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them from a new point of view.
What does Thomas Kuhn state about paradigms?
Kuhn states that paradigms structure our perceptions and understanding.
What can reggae music tell us about cultural diversity?
Reggae music can tell us about the history of contact between different social groups, and of the meanings- political, spiritual, and personal that those groups expressed through their music; the music form itself was formed during slavery in Jamaica.
What was the case of Sue and Sue?
The case of Sue and Sue discusses how parents were called in regarding the child, and the school was unable to understand them correctly in terms of their response because of the cultural differences. The case discussed how multicultural counseling and internalized racism within practices can hinder the benefits of counseling for multicultural people.
What are the dimensions of culture according to Brown and Landrum-Brown?
The dimensions of culture are the psycho-behavioral modality (how you engage with the world), axiology (taught interpersonal values), ethos, epistemology (theory of knowledge), ontology (attitudes toward the nature of reality), concepts of time (linear or even based), and concept of self (individual self vs. extended self).
What would be the implications of Sue and Sue findings for our understanding of cross-cultural miscommunication?
The implications for our understanding of cross cultural miscommunication would be that by putting an effort to move past these biases the internalized racism would allow an understanding of different needs and necessary approaches for all cultural and sub cultural groups.
What problems would you see arising from the nuclear family and what are suggested alternatives?
The problems I would see arising from the nuclear family would be an uptick in unhappiness amongst members, rivalry, and divorce. What I would suggest is a conscious effort by parents to create a positive environment for their children and to follow it themselves, as to avoid the creation of a toxic environment that would serve as breeding grounds for such rivalry and in unhappiness and even divorce. I would also suggest cohabitation as to avoid divorce.
What is a civilization?
The realm of activity between the state and the market, including families, schools, community associations, non-economic institutions, etc.
What is a paradigm?
The set of shared assumptions about how the world works and the world view on it; it is an intellectual way of looking at something (a lens). The name associated with paradigm is Brown and Landrum Brown and Thomas Kuhn who coined the term.
Who does Diamond speak with?
Yali, New Guinean local politician, who asks "why do white people have so much more cargo?"
The principal theses of Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel" are
the advantages of one society over another are not based upon race, but rather than on geography (how easily some areas can produce food). Europeans were successful when coming to America because they built immunity.
What is microsociology?
the study of face-to-face interaction in everyday behavior
What is macrosociology?
the study of large scale social structures and long-term processes of change
