SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Cultural Relativism, Lady Gaga, Ethnocentrism
Document Summary
Something becomes part of culture only when it becomes widespread in society. People take their own culture for granted. Ethnocentrism involves judging another culture exclusively by the standards of one own. Cultural relativism is the belief that all elements of all cultures should be respected as equally valid. It is important to avoid ethnocentrism to understand the ways society functions in different parts of the world. However; some cultural practices may deny human rights and by understanding where the cultural practice entails, we must know to draw the line. Another brick in the wall; portray culture as a mechanism for fleeing us and constrains us. Constraint is evident in education; children are conformed by education and formed by the culture we learn in school and the beliefs we are taught to have. Rationalization is the application of the most efficient means to achieve given goals and the often unintended, negative consequences of doing so.
