UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

• HUMAN VARIATION/SOCIAL DIFFERENCES

  • IT REFERS TO THE DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL BEHAVIORS THAT DIFFERENT CULTURES EXHIBIT AROUND THE WORLD.
• NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY

  • IS THE IDENTITY THAT IS TIED TO BEING PART OF A NATION OR COUNTRY A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE THE SAME HISTORY, TRADITIONS AND LANGUAGE AND WHO INHABITS A PARTICULAR TERRITORY DELINEATED BY A POLITICAL BORDER.
• ETHNICITY


  • THE QUALITY OR FACT OF BELONGING TO A SUBGROUP MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE A COMMON CULTURAL BACKGROUND
• GENDER 


  REFERS TO THE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED ROLES, BEHAVIORS, ACTIVITIES AND ATTRIBUTES THAT A GIVEN SOCIETY CONSIDERS APPROPRIATE FOR MEN AND WOMEN
• SEX 


  REFERS TO THE BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF HUMANS SUCH AS MALE OR FEMALE
• SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS 


  THE CONCEPT OF SOCIOECONOMIC CLASS VARIES BETWEEN SOCIETIES AS THE IDEAS ASSOCIATED WITH BEING POOR OR RICH DIFFER BASED ON THE COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCES OF INDIVIDUALS
• POLITICAL IDENTITY

  • REFERS TO THE SET OF ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES THAT AN INDIVIDUAL ADHERES TO IN RELATION TO THE POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND ACTORS WITHIN HIS OR HER SOCIETY
• RELIGION

  • THE BELIEF IN AND WORSHIP OF A SUPERHUMAN POWER OR POWERS, ESPECIALLY A GOD OR GODS
• EXCEPTIONALITY/NON-EXCEPTIONALITY

  • THE CONCEPT OF EXCEPTIONALITY LEANS ON THE NON-AVERAGE CAPACITY OF AN INDIVIDUAL. THIS COULD BE UNDERSTOOD IN A SPECTRUM OF CAPABILITIES, WHEREIN YOU HAVE THE GENIUSES IN ONE EXTREME AND YOU HAVE THE DISABLED AND CHALLENGED IN THE OTHER EXTREME
• ethnocentrism 


  the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture. a tendency to view other ethnic or cultural groups from the perspective of one's own.
• animism


  a person who believes all natural things, such as plants, animals, rocks, and thunder, have spirits and can influence human events:
• Political identity

  basher

  supporter
• Cultural relativism 


   is the position that there is no universal standard to measure cultures by, and that all cultural values and beliefs must be understood relative to their cultural context, and not judged based on outside norms and values. (POSITIVE & OPEN MINDED)
• Social change


  is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformation.
• Race


  is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their race, ancestry, ethnicity, and/or skin color and hair texture. Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain group.
• Global South 


  Developing countries
• Global North


  Developed countries or industrialized nations
• Biological Egalitarianism


  this perspective promotes the equality of our biological makeup despite our ancestry.
• cultural relativism


  which promotes the perspective that cultures must be understood in the context of their locality
• Culture is everything


  it is what a person has, does and thinks as part of society. This implies all of a person's belief system, set of behaviors, and material possessions. As such, it can be said that culture is a powerful agent in shaping the decisions and actions of humans given a situation.
• The word culture comes from the latin word _ "from cult or cultus" meaning _

  cultura

  to cultivate
• 2 distinctive components:

  Material culture

  NonMaterial culture
• Material culture


  includes all the tangible and visible parts of culture, which include clothes, food, and even buildings. The types of material culture present in societies differ, as each society is configured by its environment and history.
• Nonmaterial culture


  includes all the intangible parts of culture, which consist of values, ideas, and knowledge. Just like the material culture, the belief and values systems of society differ from one another based on their environment and history.
• Culture is learned


  An individual learns through his or her family, school, church, and other social institutions.
• Enculturation


  The process of learning your own culture.
• Acculturation


  The modification of culture to accomodate desirable traits from other cultures.
• Deculturation


  When the culture of the older generation comes into conflict with the needs and realities of the younger generation.
• Culture is shared


  This implies that a particular behavior cannot be considered as a culture if there is only one person practicing it.
• Culture affects biology


  They alter their bodies to fit into the physiological norms that are dictated by culture. The material culture can also be defined by the physical characteristics of humans.
• Culture is adaptive


  It is a fool for survival that humans use in response to the pressures of their environment. Both the material and the nonmaterial parts of culture are influenced by the goal of humans to address their needs as dictated by their environment and their biology.
• culture is maladaptive


  culture can also cause problems for the people who subscribe to it. These problems arise when the environment has changed and culture has remained the same.
• Culture changes


  culture is never static. This dynamism of culture is due to the changing needs of humans as they interpret and survive in their environment. As such, culture is continuously reinverted by people. From the clothes that we wear to this food we eat. culture can be seen ever changing.
• 4 requisite elements:

  territory

  sovereignty

  people

  government
• Divine right theory


  Rulers ascended to power convinced that their right to rule is based on their filial relationship with supernatural forces and entities. The concept of the god-king that was upheld in the city of sumer is an example. People were made subjects to these monarchs, as the latter were perceived by the former as direct descendants or representatives of their gods.
• Force theory


  a group forces members of another group to subject themselves to their rules . This was observed among the Mayans, as conflict over access to rivers resulted in the subjugation of one group by another.
• Paternalistic theory


  the father essentially is the leader of the first political unit, which grew, as the number of the members of his family grew. This is true for highly patriarchal, male dominated societies.
• Social Contract


  the creation of a state was a mutual agreement between the ruler and the ruled to ensure order and security from outside threats.
• Natural Theory


  humans have an inmate need to be part of a community. The Greek philosopher Aristotle described humans as "plitical animals" as it is in their nature to indulge in politics.
• 4 primary theories

  Divine right theory

  force theory

  paternalistic theory

  natural theory