Culture and Society Through the Lens of Anthropology and Sociology

Vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, components, aspects, and perspectives of culture and society from anthropology and sociology, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Anthropology

The scientific study of the origin, development, and all aspects of human life, cultures, and societies across all human history.

Sociology

The scientific study of social life, social change, social causes and consequences of human behavior, social relationships, institutions, and human groups ranging from personal interactions to large societies.

Culture (Tylor's Definition)

The complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, language, and knowledge.

Edward Burnett Taylor

The English anthropologist who formulated the classic 1920 definition of culture as a 'complex whole' encompassing beliefs, practices, laws, norms, and knowledge.

Society

An organized group or groups of people who generally share a common territory, language, and culture, and act together for collective survival and well-being.

Ideas (Component of Culture)

A component of culture encompassing thoughts, beliefs, feelings, rules, instructions for making things, and abstract concepts such as love, peace, and happiness.

Activities (Component of Culture)

The dynamic component of culture comprising what people actually do, as opposed to what they believe or feel.

Artifacts (Component of Culture)

Man-made material products resulting from cultural ideas and activities, including tools, pottery, coins, clothing, and manuscripts.

Enculturation

The learning process through which an individual adopts the values, rules, and accepted behaviors of their society through interaction with immediate family, peers, and community.

Acculturation

The process by which a culture is modified to accommodate desirable traits from other cultures as a result of continuous contact and interaction between societies.

Deculturation

The loss or forgetting of cultural traits and practices over time due to conflicts between the needs and realities of different generations.

Dynamic, Flexible, and Adaptive Culture

The aspect of culture indicating that it is not static, but constantly adjusts, alters, and adapts in response to new ideas, influences, and environmental conditions.

Shared and Contested Culture

The aspect of culture indicating that while it is passed down across generations, its practices and meanings are constantly subject to questioning, reinterpretation, and disagreement.

Patterned Social Interactions

Regularities and structured ways of behaving in a society that can be seen as inherent characteristics or emergent products arising from human interaction.

Integrated and Unstable Culture

The characteristic reflecting that culture functions as an interconnected system rather than a closed one, meaning a change in one area often produces adjustments and instability in others.

Language (Cultural Transmission)

The primary tool for cultural transmission that enables individuals to share, discuss, and preserve knowledge, values, and traditions across generations.

Ethnocentrism

The belief, as defined by Sumner, that one's own culture is superior or the center of everything, using its specific values as the universal standard to judge all other cultures.

Positive Effects of Ethnocentrism

The beneficial outcomes of ethnocentrism, including the promotion of social solidarity, group loyalty, and cultural pride.

Negative Effects of Ethnocentrism

The harmful outcomes of excessive ethnocentrism, which include social conflict, prejudice, discrimination, and cultural intolerance.

Cultural Relativism

The orientation and approach of evaluating and understanding cultural practices and beliefs on their own terms rather than through external standards.

Core Emphases of Cultural Relativism

The key principles maintaining that no culture is inherently superior to another, fostering mutual tolerance and appreciation, and acknowledging the absence of universal moral absolutes.