SOCI 2013 Lecture 3: Chapter 2 Notes culture and society, material and nonmaterial, culture universals, symbols, language, values, norms
6 Feb 2019
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Document Summary
Culture: the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society. Fundamental for the survival of societies: the essence of human social interaction. Material culture: physical or tangible creations that members of society make, use, and share. Nonmaterial culture: abstract or intangible human creations of society (such as attitudes, beliefs, and values) that influence people"s behavior. Cultural universals: an element, patter, trait, or institution that is common to all human cultures worldwide. Sapir-whorf hypothesis: according to this theory, language shapes the view of reality of its speakers; language can create and reinforce our perceptions about gender. Values: collective ideas about what is right or wrong and good or bad. Some core american values include: equality, freedom/liberty. Individualism: provide us with criteria by which we evaluate people, value contradiction: values that conflict with one another or are mutually exclusive.
