UNDERSTANDING

• Society


  A group of individuals sharing a common culture, geographical location, and government
• Society


  • Social solidarity
  • Shared identity and culture
  • Common language
  • Large population and ability to sustain succeeding generations
  • Definite geographical area
  • Political, economic, and social organization
• Major types of societies

  • Hunting & gathering
  • Horticultural & pastoral
  • Agricultural
  • Industrial
  • Post-industrialist
• Culture


  The set of beliefs, ideas, values, practices, attitudes, as well as material objects and possessions accumulated over time and shared by the members of society
• Categories of culture


  • Material culture
  • Nonmaterial culture
• Material culture


  • Physical or tangible objects produced, shared and utilized within society (e.g. tools, paintings, architecture, weaponry, toys)
• Nonmaterial culture


  • Intangible properties and elements that influence patterns of action and behavior (e.g. languages, beliefs, values, attitudes, ideas)
• Vital components of culture

  • Symbols
  • Language
  • Values
  • Norms
• Symbols


  Things that convey meaning or represent an idea
• Language


  A set of symbols that enables members of society to communicate verbally and nonverbally
• Values


  Shared ideas, norms, and principles that provide members of society the standards of what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or undesirable
• Norms


  Shared rules of conduct that determine specific behavior among society members
• Types of norms


  • Folkways
  • Mores
  • Laws
  • Taboos
• Folkways


  Norms that may be violated without serious consequences
• Mores


  Norms with moral connotations (e.g. stealing, bullying, gossiping, plagiarism, lying, being a faithful partner, sending children to school)
• Laws


  Norms that are legally enacted and enforced
• Laws


  • Accountability: Everybody, including the government, is accountable to the law
  • Just law: The law must be open & clear, publicized, and applied evenly
  • Open government: The processes of creating & enforcing laws should be accessible & fair
  • Accessible & impartial justice: Justice should be delivered timely by competent judges
• Taboos


  Negative norms that people find offensive and socially inappropriate
• Socialization


  The lifelong process of forging identity through social interaction
• Enculturation


  The process by which an individual learns or acquires the important aspects of his or her society's culture
• Culture and identity formation is facilitated through socialization and enculturation
• Culture has elements that have remained through the ages and aspects that have adapted to the realities of the present context
• Context


  Particular circumstances of a certain culture defined by location, weather, time period, and other factors
• Disciplines that study society and culture

  • Anthropology
  • Sociology
  • Political science
• Anthropology


  Examines and provides explanations for the existence of different cultural patterns as well as the similarities and differences between different cultures
• Anthropological approaches


  • Relativistic approach
  • Ethnocentric approach
• Relativistic approach


  Considers cultures as equal, with no "superior" and "inferior" cultures, and each is unique in its own way
• Ethnocentric approach


  The belief that one's native culture is superior to other cultures, leading to a negative view of other countries
• Ethnocentrism


  Diminishes or invalidates "other" ways of life and creates a distorted view of one's own
• Sociological perspectives


  • Structural functionalism
  • Conflict theory
  • Symbolic interactionism
• Structural functionalism


  Operates on the assumption that society is a stable and orderly system, with culture as the glue that binds society together
• Conflict theory


  Assumes there is constant power struggle among the various social groups and institutions within society, with the dominant class imposing its culture on others
• Symbolic interactionism


  Views individual and group behavior and social interactions as defining features of society, with culture providing shared meanings to ensure social order
• Political science examines culture as a vital aspect of society, analyzing it together with political socialization to explain political behavior
• Multiculturalism


  An ideology that acknowledges and promotes cultural diversity within society, involving the establishment of diverse political groups and institutions
• Cultural sensitivity


  Advances awareness and acceptance of cultural differences, while encouraging a critical stance in dealing with issues regarding diversity