Sociology 3321F/G Lecture Notes - Harold Garfinkel, Ethnocentrism, Subculture
1 Feb 2013
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Values are shared ideas about what is socially desirable and undesirable, what is good and bad. Norm violations: sanctions expressions of approval (positive sanctions) or disapproval (negative sanctions) given to people for upholding or violating norms. Symbols refer to anything that stands for something other than itself. Gestures refer to the ways in which people use their bodies to communicate with one another. Language refers to a complex system of symbols (verbal and nonverbal, written and unwritten) that can be combined in an infinite number of ways and can represent not only objects but also abstract thought. It allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences. Although there are universal human activities (speech, music, storytelling, marrying, disposing of the dead, preparing food, and so on), there is no universally accepted way of doing any of them.
