Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics (UCSP) Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on the UCSP 1st Semester Reviewer covering core concepts in culture, sociology, political science, anthropological figures, social evolution, deviance, and human rights.

Culture

A complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.

Human Cultural Variations

The differences in social behaviors that different cultures exhibit around the world as a direct consequence of adapting, interacting, and developing in their respective environments.

Social Differences

Individuals' dissimilarities based on their social characteristics and qualities, which can result in discrimination.

Gender

The socially-constructed characteristics, roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society deems appropriate for men and women.

Socio-economic Status

The social standing or class of an individual or group, measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation.

Upper Class

Consists of elite families who are the most productive in terms of resource generation and highly successful in their respective fields.

Middle Class

Composed of small business and industry operators, professionals, office workers, and farm owners whose income provides a comfortable living.

Lower Class

Composed of farm employees, artisans, service workers, unemployed/underemployed individuals, indigent families, or informal settlers.

Ethnicity

Refers to a group of people who share a common culture, ancestry, language, history, traditions, or heritage.

Religion

An organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or supernatural, along with associated ceremonial or ritualistic practices.

Exceptionality

The state of being intellectually gifted and/or physically or mentally challenged in areas such as communication, intellect, or physical abilities.

Nationality

The legal relationship that binds a person to a country, affording state jurisdiction over the person and protection by the state.

Jus-Solis

A principle of acquiring nationality determined by a person's place of birth.

Jus-Sanguinis

A principle of acquiring nationality determined by blood relationship or parentage.

Social Change

A process, means, end, or social movement involving a program, ideology, and problem that transforms social structures.

Political Identity

A group affiliation describing how a member of a particular group expresses specific political opinions and attitudes.

Politics

Derived from the Greek word POLITIKA (affairs of the cities), referring to the theory, art, and practice of government.

Political Institution

An organized system of positions, rules, and responsibilities through which power is obtained and used to make decisions for society.

Anthropology

The scientific study of humans, their origins, biological, social, and cultural development, behavior, and values across time and space.

Franz Boas

Founder of modern anthropology and father of American anthropology who rejected the biological basis of racism and social evolutionism.

Marcel Mauss

Sociological researcher recognized as a great proponent of social ethnology who analyzed religion from a social perspective.

Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown

British social anthropologist who popularized structural functionalism, viewing social structures as interdependent parts maintaining societal stability.

Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski

Polish anthropologist regarded as an influential ethnographer who stressed fieldwork and the concept of participant observation.

Ethnology

The comparative study of cultures and social structures from different societies using firsthand data.

Ethnography

Literally the practice of writing about people based on immersive direct fieldwork.

Physical Anthropology

Subfield studying human biological origins, evolution, adaptation, and variation over time.

Archaeology

Subfield studying past human life and activities through material remains like tools, pottery, stone walls, and monuments.

Linguistic Anthropology

Subfield focusing on language and discourse and how they shape human history, culture, and social life.

Cultural Anthropology

Subfield dealing with human culture, social structures, language, law, politics, religion, art, and technology.

Political Science

The study of power allocation, systems of governance, political behavior, and public policies.

State

An organized political community living under a government.

Sovereignty

The ability of a state to govern itself without outside influence or interference.

Sociology

The scientific study of human interactions, whole societies, social phenomena, and group behavior.

Beliefs

Convictions or tenets that individuals regard as true even without empirical proof.

Empirical Proof

Evidence obtained through direct observation, experimentation, or scientific methods.

Values

A culture's standards for discerning what is good, right, and just in society.

Halaga

An aspect of Filipino values expressing how someone is valued as a priceless possession; includes self-worth, noble relationships, and compassion.

Asal

An aspect of Filipino values expressing one's actions, manners, or behavior toward others.

Diwa

The inner self or kalooban that resonates the intertwined emotion and reasoning of a person.

Kapwa

The core of Filipino values denoting a shared inner self and identity with another person.

Norms

Guides or models of behavior that specify what is appropriate, proper, right, or wrong in a society.

Folkways

Everyday customary patterns describing socially acceptable behavior in routine daily life.

Mores

Norms considered morally significant and essential to a society's welfare and survival.

Taboo

The prohibition of an action based on beliefs that it is either too sacred or too dangerous to undertake.

Laws

Rules or norms that are legally enforced by a distinct political organization.

Ethnocentrism

The practice of evaluating another culture using the standards of one's own culture, regarding one's own as superior.

Cultural Relativism

The belief that a culture must be viewed and analyzed on its own terms and context without universal moral judgment.

Xenocentrism

The belief that foreign products, lifestyles, or ideas are superior to one's own.

Temporocentrism

The belief that one's own time period is more important than the past or future.

Subculture

A smaller cultural group that develops distinct norms, values, and language within a broader society.

Counterculture

A subculture whose values and norms sharply contradict those of the larger society.

Culture Universal

Common cultural traits or practices found across all human societies.

Culture Shock

Disorientation and frustration experienced when individuals are in a cultural setting different from their own.

Culture Lag

The delay in social adaptation caused by differing rates of change between material and non-material elements of culture.

Material Culture

Physical objects and artifacts created or modified by human beings.

Non-Material Culture

Intangible human creations including languages, habits, values, customs, laws, and knowledge.

Cultural Heritage

The legacy of tangible artifacts and intangible attributes inherited from past generations.

Macroevolution

The long-term process of cultural and social change resulting in significant societal transformations, such as speciation or civilizations.

Dryopithecus

Genus of hominoids known as oakwood apes that lived in densely forested lowlands across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Ramapithecus

Fossil hominid discovered in Punjab, India, showing traits such as robust jaws, thickened enamel, and upright posture.

Australopithecus

Immediate forerunner of the genus Homo found in South Africa that walked erect and used stone weapons.

Homo Habilis

Early human ancestor nicknamed handy-man or tool-making man that possessed smaller molars and larger brains.

Homo Erectus

Erect ape man known as the first human ancestor to truly walk upright and use fire.

Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

Human ancestor characterized by skull expansion, elaborate stone flake tools, and big game hunting abilities.

Homo Sapiens Sapiens

Modern human genus whose early European fossils were named Cro-Magnon, distinguished by chin development, artwork, and blade tools.

Force Theory

Theory stating that society is formed through the physical subjugation of the weak by a superior force.

Social Contract Theory

Theory proposing that individuals naturally born free and equal established society through mutual agreement.

Evolutionary Theory

Theory holding that society is a product of continuous, gradual growth from unorganized to organized forms.

Socialization

Lifelong process through which individuals learn norms, values, behaviors, and social skills required to function in society.

Enculturation

Process by which cultural bearers learn the specific traditions, body of knowledge, language, and customs of their own group.

Ascribed Status

A social position assigned at birth or later in life involuntarily.

Achieved Status

A social position acquired willfully through individual effort, talent, decisions, and achievements.

Deviance

Behavior, beliefs, or conditions that violate established social norms or rules.

Formal Deviance

The violation of officially enacted legal laws, such as theft, vandalism, or tax evasion.

Informal Deviance

The violation of unwritten informal social rules, such as rudeness or cheating in an exam.

Strain Theory

Theory asserting that deviance occurs when there is a disconnect between culturally valued goals and legitimate means to achieve them.

Innovation

Deviant adaptation under Strain Theory where an individual accepts cultural goals but uses culturally disapproved methods to achieve them.

Ritualism

Deviant adaptation under Strain Theory where an individual rejects cultural goals but continues adhering strictly to approved routines.

Retreatism

Deviant adaptation under Strain Theory where an individual rejects both cultural goals and the legitimate means to achieve them.

Rebellion

Deviant adaptation under Strain Theory where an individual rejects societal goals and means and attempts to substitute them with new ones.

Sanctions

Systems of reward and punishment used to enforce social conformity and adherence to norms.

Human Dignity

An individual's or group's inherent sense of self-respect, self-worth, and integrity, forming the foundation of fundamental human rights.

Bill of Rights

A fundamental document protecting basic individual rights and liberties against government power abuses.

Common Good

Conditions, resources, and benefits shared by and advantageous to all members of a community.