the united states
is the most mulitcultural of all countries
As part of the human culture
religion is an example of nonmaterial culture
culture a term for belief
values, behavior and material objects that together constitute a people's way of life.
values
A standard by which people who share culture define what is desirable, good, and beautiful
examples of material culture
cars, computers, and CDs
whereas the term culture refers to a shared way of life
a nation is a political entinty
sociologists define a symbol as
anything that carries meaning to people who share a culture
cultural transmission
refers to the process of passing cultural patterson from one generation to another
key values of U.S. culture
are sometimes in conflict with one another
low-income countries
have cultures that value economic survival
nonmaterial culture
the intangible world of ideas created by members of a society
prescriptive norms
are rules that state what we should do
proscriptive norms
are rules that state what we should not do
William Graham Sumner
is the early U.S. sociologist who decribed the difference between folkways and mores ways
mores
distinguish between right and wrong
folkways
distinguish between right and rude
Ethnocentrism
refers to judging anothe culture using the standards of your own culture
Elements of social control
include shame, guilt and sanctions, including rewards and punishment
Technology
is the term for the application of cultural knowledge to the task of living in an enviroment
culture act as a constraint
limiting human freedom because much culture is habit and is repeated again and again
the distinction between high culture and popular culture
is based mostly on the social standing of the people who display the cultural patter
the social conflict approach
is linked to the philosophical doctrine of materialism
popular culture
cultural patterson that are widespread among a society's population
A subculture
refers to cultural patterns that set apart a segment of society's population
multiculturalism
is defined as an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of the United states and promoting equality of all cultural traditions
Eurocentric claim
the claim that U.S. culture is dominated by European and especially English ways of life
Counterculture
refers to cultural patterns that oppose those that are widely held
Cultural intergration
refers to the fact that change in one cultural pattern is usually linked to changes in others
the term "cultural lag
refers to fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others
conforming to folkways
an act of kidness, such as opening the door for an elderly man
cultural change
is a set in motion in three general ways: invention, discovery, and diffusion
diffusion
the soread of cultural traits from one society to another
cultural relativism
the practice of understanding another culture on its own terms and using its own standards
the structural-functional approach states
thst the stability of U.S. society rest on core values shared by most people
artifacts
tangible or physical human creations
structural-functional approach explains
how schooling helps prepare young people for the work they will do as adults
social-conflict approach
the theoretical approach that highlights the link between culture and social inequality
Culture is a sorce of human freedom because as social creatures
humans make and remake themselves
the term society refers
to people who interact in a defined territory and share culture
Anomie was used by Durkheim
to name a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to indiviuals
According to Lenski, the term sociocultural evolution refers
to changes that occur as a society acquires new technology
horticultural and pastoral
the first type of society to generate a material surplus
As Msrx, used the term alienation
means the experience of isolation and misery resulted from powerlessness
industrial
has the greatest productive specialization
Agrarian
engages in large scale farming based on the use of plowa drawn by animals or more powerful energy sources
the development of agrarian technology
rested on the use of the plow, animal power and the development of metals
The Roman Empire
a its peak power was an agrarian type of society
in terms of social inequality
agrarian societies generally have much more inequality than less productive societal types
compared to an industrial society
a postindustrial society is based on an information based economy
Karl Marx believed that the industrial-capitalist system was very productive
concentrating wealth in the hands of a few and giving rise to two great classes: capitalists and proletarians
The driving force for society, according to Marx
is social conflict between classes
Karl Marx
argued that the dominant social institution is the economy