society and culture term 1

Belief system: a system in which members of a group share a commitment to a set of beliefs and values that systematically defines a way of perceiving the cultural, physical and psychological world. This can be categorised as religious and nonreligious, however all have rituals, symbols, stories, traditions and customs and often form on a basic philosophy

Philosophy: the underlying principle that contains a way of thinking and behaving which helps make sense of human expired

Doctrine: a belief/set of beliefs held and taught by church, political parties or groups

Rituals: series of actions or rites performed according to a prescribed order

Worldview: a particular philosophy of life or the conception of it that attempts to explain the social, cultural, physical and psychological aspects

Beliefs: a set of opinions or convictions that we believe is true which come from experience, reflection and other people's opinions

Ideology: an organised collection or body of ideas that reflect the beliefs and interest of a group, system, institution or nation. This usually refers to the body of doctrine, myth and symbols. Usually political and concerning society

Shared values in belief systems and ideologies: having marching values with a group of peer createst righteousness and assurance

Meaning, purpose and identity: belief systems and ideologies give people meaning, purpose and identity

Identity: the sense of self viewed through personal, social and cultural levels, formed over a period of time and curated over interactions and micro, meso and macro levels. These aspects of identity can lead to inclusion in groups. Involves many contributing factor such as gender, sexuality, family, class, ethnicity

Functionality: Shared values create cohesion necessary for the belief system or ideology to function effectively within societies.

Trust in Principles: Belief systems require informed trust in their principles due to the inability to provide concrete proof of an ideal future.

Micro Level: Individual actions and daily practices that express personal adherence to a belief system or ideology.

Meso Level: Community and institutional expressions, often through local groups or organisations, reflecting collective values and practices.

Macro Level: Large-scale societal or global expressions, including government policies, propaganda, or widespread cultural practices.

Forms of nonverbal communication in belief systems and ideologies; use of texts, iconography, legislation, imagery, rituals or customs to demonstrate their values and beliefs

Types of communication: some convey subtle fear or terror whereas some show acceptance and embrace

Hierarchy: crucially shape organisational structures and power dynamics, reinforce authority and clear chains of communication. They set agendas, tone and teachings

Secularisation: society movies away from closely aligning religious systems from the non-religious values and institutions, reflecting a border societal movement toward secular values and maintaining religious diversity e.g. in Australia 38.9% people don’t associate with a religion

Patriarchal structures: patriarchal structures remain common in both religious and secular contexts and enforce traditional power dynamics and gender roles

Counterforces: religious institution often serve as counterforces to state and constitutional power, serving as an alternate authority and moral guide

Secularism: The principle of separating religious institutions from the state and civic affairs.

Secularisation: The societal shift away from religious influences toward non-religious values and institutions which encourages freedom of belief, allowing individuals to choose or reject religion without state influence

Constitutional Secularism: Section 116 of the 1901 Australian Constitution prohibits laws establishing religion, mandating observances, or restricting religious freedom.

Early belief systems in Australia: late 18th century Australia had Indigenous and British colonial belief systems with influences of chinese Buddhism and Indonesian Muslim in Indigenous beliefs

Modern secular Australia: post 70s Australian Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam has grown to define australian as a secular country with religious freedom

Feminism: an ideology that promotes political, social and economic equality across genders

Feminism waves: split into 4 waves each with unique, core values

Patriarchy: patriarchy have underpinned human societies for centuries and have created institutions that reinforce oppression on women and see women as inferior intellectually, socially and cultural

Feminism origin: feminisme emerged as a specific concept in 1837 coined by the Frenchman Charles Foruirer where Britain and the US where the first followers

Forms of feminism: depending on the people and aims, feminism can address different aspects and manifests differently

18th-19th century: growing intellectual emphasis usually by drawing attention to the injustices experiences inspired from the Enlightenment. Very prominent after the revolutions in the US and France

Waves of feminism: can be transformative and evolutionary

First wave feminism: legal and political equality e.g. voting, property, educational and employment rights which laid the groundwork for gender equality and gained limited voting rights (1890-1920)

Second wave feminism: challenged domestic and cultural roles of women and women’s rights in the legal, social and economic spheres and pushed for equal rights

Second wave feminism influences: post WW2, influenced by civil right, Simone de beauvoir and her book the Second Sex were very influential

Third wave feminism: aimed to expand civil rights and social equity, promote intersectionality (1980s-early 2000s)

Intersectional feminism: intersectionality was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw which encouraged conversation around other factors of oppression e.g. race, class and how that interacts with the patriarchy to create a unique oppressive experience

Fourth wave feminism: challenging sexist culture and intersectionality and made space for less formal feminism by using social media to campaign and raise awareness and education (2010s-current)

Beliefs of feminism: belief in equality of sexes politically, socially and economically

Values of feminism: empowerment, autonomy, individuality, equality, freedom, expression, personal choice, liberation, equality

Feminism as a community: feminists share a sense of togetherness and community that is common to social movement as they work towards female liberation

Collective identity: an individual's cognitive, moral and emotional connection to a wider community, category, practice or institution

A collective identity: “An individual's cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with a broader community, category, practice, or institution”

Movement identity: Identity associated with membership in a feminist social movement

Adherents: someone who supports a set of ideas or religious beliefs

Feminism adherent collective identity: feminism is associated as a movement identity and stems from common myths, stories, and beliefs expressed through campaigns, activism, and cultural narratives

Anti-adherents of feminism: advocate against feminist values

Anti-adherent feminist value: feminism is disappointing

Underlying principle: a fundamental truth that serves as the foundation of a system of belief

Values and collective identity: values shared in a belief system or ideology are very important in achieving a collective identity for the group of adherents

Historically relevant feminist places: some notable places but typically transcend physical places

Feminist texts: spreads ideas, sparks moments, raises awareness, discusses opinions and generally spread feminism across the macro world

Language in feminism: language critical for study and analysis and is important in two ways: for breaking down patriarchal language (linguistic bias sexism) and the reconstruction of language to advocate for feminism

Symbols: representing abstract ideas and concepts through objects, words, or actions

Rituals: series of actions or rites performed according to a prescribed order ranging in significance, from institutionalised sacredness to simply maintaining tradition and heritage

Customs: established ways of acting unique to groups in society which link to heritage, values and traditions of people

Feminist rituals: not shaving, celebrating menstruation and resisting name changing when marrying

Feminist stories: Feminist fiction and non-fiction has created new interest in women's writing which prompted a general re-evaluation of women's historical and academic contributions under the popularisation of feminist thought

Myths: A set of stories or traditions that serves to support a worldview or is associated with a group or historical event

Feminism and power: no leaders, uniforms, structures or parliaments. However there are important feminists that have influenced the ideology over time and different feminist approaches

Feminist and power in theory: The feminist movement has given rise to a large body of theory which attempts to explain gender inequalities and to set forth agendas for overcoming these inequalities. These theories contrast markedly with one another.

Power and feminism: Feminism is directed at shifting the existing power relations especially between men and women within society. 

Power structure and feminism: The power structures tend to be in all areas of life, for instance in the family, world of politics and work as well as education and welfare.

Dissent: demonstrated opposition to an idea

Dissent in feminism: women who refuse to identify as feminists, anti-adherents and infighting

Infighting in feminism: different factions of feminists argue with each other

Technology and social media and teenage feminism: can help subvert narratives of teenage girls’ sexualisation and bodies because teenage girls have the access to call them out and start change e.g. platforms like the magazine Seventeen

Instagram and feminism: There are over 1 billion users on Instagram who can engage with the ideology in ways that are easily digested

Global feminism: a macro-level collective identity and movement based in the ideology which aims for political, social and economic equality between genders around the world

Nature of change: any discussion of change within feminism should focus on different waves

Impact of change: consequences and lasting impacts of the waves on society and culture

Resistance to change: fissures and agreements present in each wave

Continuity: The continuation of the ideology and diverse adherents globally

Change: Incite macro level change, omnipresent and accessible globally

Technology and globalisation: Assists interactions between different groups in society, perpetuates the ideology on a macro scale, facilitates collective identity and spreads awareness of cross-cultural experiences

Global feminism: a macro-level collective identity and movement based in the ideology which aims for political, social and economic equality between genders around the world

Explain: cause and effect eg changed enzyme function leads to slowing down of metabolic processes, make link and what end result is

Discuss: issue identified and points for and points against 

Describe: provide characteristics and features

Compare: show how similar and how different, often in a table

Assess: make judgement of so look at for and against or pros and cons and then make a judgement statement using evidence from above

Analyse: identify components and relationships between them

Evaluate: make a judgement eg for and against  based on a criteria and then a judgement statement for or against each criteria

Justify: support an argument point of view using evidence to support your view, include units