Socio x immersion

• Sociocultural evolution


  The process of why human societies change through time
• Sociocultural evolution


  1. Societies form a new subsistence

  2. Societies acquire more knowledge
• Gerhard Lenski


  American sociologist who studied cultural evolution
• Levels of societal development

  • Hunting and gathering
  • Horticultural
  • Pastoral
  • Agricultural
  • Industrial
  • Post-industrial
• Hunting and gathering societies

  • Produce simple forms of tools used to hunt animals and gather plants/vegetation for food
  • Men hunt big animals like deer, elk, moose
  • Women collect vegetation, berries, and other edible crops
  • Lived in caves composed of 30-40 families, increasing to 40-50 if food is abundant
  • Believe the world is full of spirits
• Horticultural societies


  • Developed 10,000 years ago
  • Semi-sedentary, do not frequently move like hunting and gathering societies
  • Engaged in farming, farming tools still used in Western Europe and China
• Pastoral societies


  • Developed 10,000 years ago
  • Means of subsistence is animal domestication
  • Engaged in small-scale trading with other groups
  • Semi-sedentary, did not stay in one place permanently
  • Unequal social relations, with a ruling elite
• Agricultural societies and the Neolithic Revolution

  • Began 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period
  • Cultivated crops like wheat, barley, peas, rice, millets between 8000-3500 BCE
  • Domesticated animals as a form of subsistence
  • Developed farming tools and skills by 7000 BCE
  • Agricultural development in Western Asia by 3500 BCE led to rise of early civilizations
  • Cultivation of crops like wheat and barley spread to Europe and China
• Agricultural societies and the Neolithic Revolution

  • During the Neolithic Revolution, agricultural societies developed and population increased into millions
  • Had permanent settlements
  • Farming technology improved
  • Surplus food transported by animal-powered wagons, leading to food trade
  • Money replaced barter system
  • Increase in social inequalities
• Industrial societies


  • Revolution swept through Europe in late 18th and 19th centuries
  • Discovered energy sources applied to new technologies and machinery
  • Created centralized workplaces, leading to changes in industry, education, and social systems
• Post-industrial societies


  • Economic products centered on computers and electronics that create, process, and apply ideas and information
  • Characterized by transfer of labor, increase in professionals and skilled workers, education as basis of social mobility, human capital as essential, application of "intellectual technology" like mathematics, linguistics, algorithms, and software programming, focus on communication infrastructure, knowledge as source of invention and innovation
• Ethnic group


  Category of people whose members share a common origin such as culture or religion
• Race


  A socially constructed category composed of people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of society consider important
• Majority


  One that is culturally, economically, and politically dominant
• Minority


  A sociological group that, because of physical differences, is regarded as inferior and is kept culturally, economically, and politically subordinate
• Conflict


  • The struggle over scarce resources which are not regulated by shared rules
  • May include the attempts to neutralize, injure, or destroy one's rivals
• Accommodation


  • A condition where two groups coexist as separate cultures in the same society
• Acculturation


  • Adopts the culture of the majority group
• Assimilation


  • Eliminate their minority status and become socially and culturally unified with the dominant group
• Prejudice


  • A negative, irrational attitude towards a category of people
  • Results from the lack of knowledge or unfamiliarity with the subject
• Racism


  A form of prejudice; believed that the inherited physical characteristics associated with racial groups determine an individual's capabilities and, as such, is the basis for the unequal treatment
• Discrimination


  • The unfair treatment of people who belong to a different social group
  • This differential treatment is oftentimes unequal or injurious
• Causes of prejudice


  • The Authoritarian Personality
  • Socialization
  • Scapegoating
  • Competition for Scarce Resources
• Authoritarian personality


  • Tends to be submissive to people with power and authority
  • Antagonistic to those in lower socio-economic status
• Socialization


  • Prejudice is a shared meaning that we develop through our interactions with others
  • This may grow or diminish depending on the groups and institutions we socialize with
• Scapegoating


  • When individuals find it difficult to achieve their goals, they blame others for their failures or faults
• Competition for scarce resources


  • Competition for scarce resources and opportunities such as good jobs, nice homes, and prestigious positions likewise increase prejudice
• Mongoloid


  • A historical and racial category used to describe the people from the East and Southeast Asia
  • They invaded most of Eurasia in the 13th century and established what came to be known as the Mongol Empire
  • They have mixed color of skin—yellowish and light brown on the average
  • Hair color also vary but are usually black and straight
• Caucasoid


  • Commonly refer to the Europeans and other light-skinned populations
  • It is also used to denote the indigenous populations of Europe; North Africa; and West, Central, and South Asia
  • They have variable skin color from the lightest color to dark brown
  • Commonly referred to as the White Race

  
• Negroid


  • A term that has its etymological roots in the Latin word niger meaning "black"
  • In modern use, this race refers to the indigenous populations of Central and South Africa
  • Their skin varies from yellowish brown and dark brown to black
  • They also have curly to frizzy hair, wide nose, small ears, and thick lips