Understanding Culture, Society and Politics Practice Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers the fundamental concepts of Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science, including definitions of culture, society, and various social norms and perspectives.

Anthropology

The holistic "science of human," a science of the totality of human existence, and the scientific study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present.

Sociology

The study of relationships among people, society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture of everyday life.

Political Science

A branch of social science dealing with political institutions, the principles and conduct of government, and the analysis of political activity and behavior.

Government

The system by which a state or community is controlled so as to put order.

Social Stratification

The relative social position of persons in a given social group, category, geographical region, or other social unit based on unique social characteristics.

Caste

A hereditary endogamous social group in which a person's rank, rights, and obligations are ascribed on the basis of his/her birth.

Class

A type of social stratification where a person's position is based upon achievement.

Estate

A type of social stratification that gives emphasis to birth as well as wealth and possessions.

Slavery

A type of social stratification with an economic basis wherein the master shows power over the slave.

Macrosociology

An approach that examines the social structure, social institutions, social organization, and social groups using functionalist or conflict perspectives.

Microsociology

An approach that places more emphasis on the role of individuals in society and uses the symbolic interactionist perspective.

Physical Anthropology

Also called biological anthropology, it concerns how humans emerged and evolved through time (human paleontology) and how human beings differ biologically (human variations).

Cultural Anthropology

A field of anthropology basically concerned with the differences of cultures from time to time.

Archaeology

A branch of cultural anthropology that studies past cultures through tangible or material remains to reconstruct prehistoric life.

Anthropological Linguistics

The study of languages where experts explain the difference of languages by culture and how language is constructed.

Ethnology

The study of recent or present cultures to explain cultural differences through vigorous research on practices like marriage and beauty.

Comparative Politics

A subfield of political science which studies and compares politics and theories within other nations.

International Relation

A subfield of political science which studies politics among nations, including conflict, diplomatic affairs, and international law.

Political Theory

A subfield of political science that studies classical and modern politics to discover what theory suits the characteristics of good politics.

Public Administration

A subfield of political science which studies bureaucracies on how they are functional and how to improve them.

Constitutional Law

A subfield of political science which studies how laws are made and the legal system of a certain nation or state.

Public Policy

A subfield of political science which studies the interface of politics and economics to develop sufficient programs for societies.

Culture (E.B Tylor)

That complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values, attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and shares as a member of society.

Society

The people who interact in such a way as to share a common culture, which can also refer to people in a particular geographic location.

Material Culture

All material objects or components of culture with physical representation, such as weapons, gadgets, clothing, and jewelry.

Non-Material Culture

Components of culture that are intangible or without physical representation, such as language, philosophies, customs, and laws.

Cognitive Culture

A category of non-material culture including ideas, concepts, and philosophies that are products of the mental or intellectual functioning of the human mind.

Normative Culture

A category of non-material culture including all the expectations, standards, and rules for human behavior.

Beliefs

Conceptions, ideas, or convictions that people hold to be true about the environment around them based on sense, religion, or science.

Values

Broad, abstract, and shared ideas describing what is appropriate or inappropriate (good or bad) in a given society.

Symbols

Verbal (words) or nonverbal (acts, gestures, signs) objects that communicate meaning recognized and shared by people in a culture.

Language

A shared set of spoken and written symbols basic to communication and known as the "storehouse of culture."

Technology

The application of knowledge and equipment, including all artifacts and devices, to ease the task of living.

Norms

Specific rules or standards that guide appropriate behavior in society.

Proscriptive Norms

Norms that define and tell us things not to do.

Prescriptive Norms

Norms that define and tell us things to do.

Folkways

Also known as customs, these are norms for everyday behavior followed for tradition or convenience, such as meeting an elder or using "Po" and "Opo."

Mores

Strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior based on definitions of right and wrong, considered essential to core values.

Taboos

Norms that society holds so strongly that violating them results in extreme disgust or hate, such as abortion, cannibalism, or adultery.

Laws

Codified ethics formally enacted by a political authority and enforced by an official law enforcement agency.

Sanction

Socially imposed rewards and punishments (formal or informal) that encourage conformity to norms.

Ideal Culture

The norms and values that a society professes to hold and describes as models worth aspiring to.

Real Culture

The norms and values that are followed in practice.

Enculturation

The process of learning about culture through families, friends, institutions, and media.

Ethnocentrism

Evaluating other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards of one's own culture, often finding them inferior.

Xenocentrism

The preference for the foreign, where anything abroad is assumed to be superior to local products or practices.

Xenophobia

The fear of what is perceived as different, foreign, or strange.

Temporocentrism

The belief that one's own time culture is more important than other time cultures.

Cultural Relativism

The principle that all norms, beliefs, and values are dependent on their cultural context and should be understood in terms of that specific culture.