UCSP Final Exam

• Gerhard Lenski’s

  Sociocultural Evolution

  • Lenski’s sociological evolution approach views technological progress as the most fundamental factor in the evolution of societies and cultures.
  • Theory that supports the idea that societies go through changes as technology changes
• Lenski’s 5 Stages of

  Sociocultural Evolution

  • HUNTING & GATHERING
  • PASTORAL
  • HORTICULTURAL
  • AGRICULTURAL
  • INDUSTRIAL
• HUNTING & GATHERING SOCIETIES

  • composed of small groups
  • nomadic
  • basic tools for hunting
  • very low inequality among members
• Pastoral Societies

  • based on the domestication of animals
  • nomadic lifestyle
  • simple tools are used
• Horticultural Societies

  • first human settlements were founded
  • semi-sedentary/semi-permanent to stay near sources of food
  • small-scale farming
  • use of simple farming tools
• As societies grow and developed, they also produced material surplus which became the basis for social inequality.
• Agrarian Societies

  • More sophisticated tools were developed/used
  • permanent settlements
  • bigger population
  • creation of specialization to support needs of the society
  • creation of social institutions such as schools, church, & government
• INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

  • Started during the industrial Revolution
  • shift from human and animal power to machine power
  • larger population
  • led to wider disparity among groups in society as material surplus increased
• Orientation

  • noun. knowing where they are, the direction someone is facing or the way 

  someone tends to go.
• ETHNOCENTRISM

  • evaluation of other cultures accoridimg to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.
• XENOCENTRISM

  • refers to the desire to engage in the elements of another's culture rather than one's own. Styles, ideas, and products can all be items of preferences by someone with xenocentrist viewpoints.
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM

  • understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgements using the standards of ones own culture.
• MULTICULTURALISM

  • the view that cultures, races, and ethnicities, particularly those of minority groups, deserve special acknowledgment of their differences within a dominant political culture.
• Socialization: UnLocked

  British Entertainment Philosopher

  John Locke Tabula Rasa
• Socialization

  • A lifelong process of social interactions through which people acquire their  identities and necessary skills in order to survive.
• Primary Socialization

  • THE SOCIALIZATION THAT TAKES PLACE INSIDE THE HOME occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of their group.
• One of the agents of Socialization is Family.
• Cultural Capital

  • PIERRE BOURDIEU
  • the accumulation of knowledge, behaviors, and skills that a person can tap into to demonstrate one's cultural competence and social status.
• Secondary Socialization

  • THE SOCIALIZATION THAT TAKES PLACE OUTSIDE THE HOME appropriate behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society.
• OTHER AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION

  • SCHOOLS
  • RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS
  • GOVERNMENT
  • MEDIA