SOC 1100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Sociobiology, Centrism, Cultural Relativism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1100
• Professor: Deanna Behnke- Cook

Document Summary

Personal disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life because of: Immigration o: visit a new country, move between social environments. No way of life is natural to humanity, but most people around the world view their own behaviour in that way. 40 000 years ago people who looked more or less like us roamed the earth. Civilization emerged 12 000 years ago; changing the natural environment to benefit themselves. State: political entity in a territory with borders. Society: people who interact in a defined territory and share culture. Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture. Societies create new symbols all the time. Reality for humans is found in the meaning things carry with them. People must be mindful that meanings vary from culture to culture and even vary within the same groups of people.