SOCL 2001 Chapter : Chapter 3
Document Summary
Culture is like two mirrors facing each other: it simultaneously reflects and creates the world we live in. Culture can be loosely defined as a set of beliefs, traditions, and practices. (many cultures, relative to place and people, way we speak, recreation, food, not born with we learn it) The concept of culture has evolved and expanded throughout history. The oldest understandings of culture focus on the distinction between: natural environment and, what is modified or created by humans. As europeans came into contact with non-westerners, culture evolved in terms of differences between peoples, which could be viewed positivity or negatively. Culture involved the pursuit of intellectual refinement. Culture = (superior) man (inferior) man: ethnocentrism (hold yourself to a higher regard than others and consider them inferior to you, judging other peoples culture based on own culture) Nonmaterial culture encompasses values, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms.
