SOCL 2001 Chapter : Chapter 3
Document Summary
Culture can be loosely de ned as a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices: the concept of culture has evolved and expanded throughout history, the oldest understandings of culture focus on the distinction between: What is modi ed or created by humans: human - nature. Ideologies and symbolic representations: superior man - inferior man. Ethnocentrism: believing your own culture is superior. Viewing all cultures from your own culture"s perspective: man - machine. The best which has been thought and said : high vs low culture, cultural relativism: understanding cultural differences without assigning value, material culture. Everything that is part of our constructed environment: nonmaterial culture. Norms: social rules based on values: subculture. A group distinct from the larger culture, united by shared meaning. Ex: harajuku girls, rockers, people who like board games, athletes. What"s in a name: names follow socially-structured patterns, they re ect cultural trends, fashions, sometimes imply race. Socialization: process of internalizing values, beliefs and norms.
