Exam (elaborations)
Introduction to Sociology
- Course
- Social processes
- Institution
- Douglas College ( )
terms and concepts from an online pdf
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Chapter 5: Culture● Define key concepts related to culture
- Culture: Beliefs and behaviour that social group shares
- Cultural norm: defines appropriate and inappropriate behaviour overtime,
- Language, customs, beliefs, collective identities, and knowledge
● Discuss the defining characteristics of culture and provide examples
- Innovative: Basic issues are shared among different cultures/societies, but the solutions to
them are different (can result from working conditions, education, etc)
- Culture is a reflection of how humans adapt to the environment
- New ideas lead to new practices, such as new products or services, which are based on
people’s same set of beliefs and values about innovation (creative solutions, techniques,
and technology)
- Example: Different diets, but pizza can be made to fit into one’s diet (vegan,gluten-free)
- Example: Climate Change - eco friendly technology, like electric cars
- Learned: Socialization teaches us what is “normal” and our behaviour is the product of
written and unwritten rules. Our views also depend on what were taught
- It can be knowledge, values passed from one generation to another
- Example: marriage may be based on love, but other cultures may have marriages
arranged
- Restraining: culture has the ability to prevent changes from occurring
- globalization (influences of other cultures) made countries into similar environments, but
countries are still able to practice their own culture (immigrate and bring their practices
- Example: We can listen to the same music, but still have our distinct beliefs
- Examples: dietary, language
- Discuss the significance of cultural differences with regards to sociological research
and observation
- Culture universals: traits or patterns that is common in society and in many cultures
- Example: gender roles, marriage, sports, jokes
- Cultural differences: They make sense of different morals
, - Example: Conversation etiquettes - In the US, people stand apart to respect their space,
while some countries in the middle east tend to stand really close for them
- Example: In England, they drive on the left side, here we drive on the right side (we think
it’s wrong, but it is right to them)
- Some people may express disgust in one's culture
- Ethnocentrism: judging another culture intentionally or unintentionally based on how it
compares to one's cultural norms (can lead to discrimintaiton)
- Example: eating chopsticks and hands rather than a spoon or a fork
- Culture imperialism: attempting to force one’s cultural values on another culture
- Example: Assimilating European values and culture on Indigenious people
- Culture shock: frustration people may experience after being exposed to a new culture
- Example: different food, not being able to understand a person
- Cultural relativism: evaluating a culture by its own standards instead of viewing it
through the lens of one’s own culture (used in ethnography)
- Can be hard because we have our own biases
- Example: In Canada, women have control over their own bodies and would question the
practice of women circumcision in Ethiopia as part of a cultural tradition
● Identify and provide examples of the various elements of culture
- Values: cultural standards that help control social conduct (what is true, good and how
people should behave, but doesn’t show we behave)
- In Canada, we value multiculturalism, as it goes with our appreciation of diversity
- we still see discrimination against minority groups and immigrants
- Different beliefs - we can celebrate diversity by allowing new immigrants or having a
celebrating for cultures (Greek Week)
- Example: Canada believes in equal opportunities for everyone, but politics is dominated
by men
- Example: Value lower crime, but different beliefs to accomplish those values. we can
punish them or give them the resources so they can integrate themselves back into society
- Beliefs: tenets that we hold to be true, in which individuals in society have special
beliefs, but they still share collective values
- Real Culture: how society is and what occurs
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller brieanna_lisondra. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for CA$11.10. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
56326 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now