| Term | Definition |
|---|
| infrastructure | material and economic culture (make from living off the land) |
| structure | social organizations, power, relationships, roles, and identities |
| superstructure | area of symbols, cognitive models, and ideology (the X factor - culture) |
| bias | all people have a position on which they see the world |
| ethnocentrism | pan-human tendency to think one's culture is superior, and to judge other cultures based on our own |
| cultural relativism | culture understood in terms of the values and ideas of that culture (don't compare with others) |
| emic | cultural insider perspective |
| etic | cultural outsider perspective |
| colonization | the extension of a nation's sovereignty over territory beyond its borders by the establishment of either settler colonies or administrative dependencies in which indigenous populations are directly ruled or displaced |
| colonialism | a set of beliefs used to legitimize or promote colonization. Based on the ethnocentric belief that morales and values of the colonizers were superior to others |
| participant-observation | A research method commonly used by sociologists, anthropologists, and journalistic feature writers. The investigator becomes or poses as a member of a group under study in an attempt to gain an intimate, firsthand acquaintance with the group and understand how group members interpret the world |
| imperialism | the forceful extension of a nation's authority by territorial conquest establishing economic and political domination of other nations that are not its colonies |
| internal colonization | the imposition of a new cultural system leaves those who are colonized with a lack of identity and limited sense of their past |
| cultural imperialism | colonizing nations generally dominate the resources, labor, and market of the colonial territory, and may also impose socio-cultural, religious, and linguistic structures on the conquered population |
| neo-colonialism | persisting colonial relationships in the absence of formal political occupation by presence of economical and cultural domination |
| racism | the belief that human groups have inherent characteristics which determine their repsective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own is inherently superior and has the right to rule or dominate others |
| prejudice | interpersonal hostility that is directed against individuals based on their membership in a minority group |
| oppression | to "press down" in a political sense, therefore, the process by which people are prevented from exercising legitimate rights or are denied freedom, dignity, or justice |
| pluralistic society | one in which multiple cultures ideally coexist side by side |
| counterculture | alternative lifestyle for those who cannot or will not conform |
| subculture | a group withing a large group that lives with the general norm while preserving unique roots and lifestyles |
| bicultural | functioning in two or more cultures |
| traditional | holding on to own culture while rejecting dominant |
| marginal | having little to do with either sub/dominant culture |
| acculturation | when different cultures interact - selectively taking on elements of each other (give/take) |
| enculturation | lifelong process of socialization in one's culture |
| alienation | complete acculturation, loss of original culture or ability to switch |
| westernization | the ideas and practices of Western European (North American) culture eventually displaces many of the ideas and practices of the indigenous cultures of the colonies |
| modernization | A process in which the standard of living (along with the economy) is drastically heightened due to industrialization, urbanization, trade, and other social changes. |
| industrialization | the process of social and economic change, usually marked by technological advancements or more efficient methods, helps to produce more capital |
| urbanization | the process in which people increasingly move from rural areas to densely populated cities |
| health | presence of wellness (on any level) |
| sickness | unwanted condition or change (or even threat of change) |
| geo-social position | people's place (geographically/social hierarchy), place in space; position |
| social structure | organized patterns of relationships between individuals and groups within a society, orders their behavior in a predictable fashion and influences their interaction |
| social production | product of social/power relationships, influenced by relationships through time; dynamic, shifting, subject to change |
| cultural construction | the interplay between cultural expectancy (beliefs) and social structures; how things are represented |
| apartheid | a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites; a form of structural inequality |
| structural inequality | when unequal treatment is systematic, and perpetuated by dominant groups, social systems, and institutions; built into the system |
| institutional racism | systematic and covert forms of racism that are perpetuated |
| structural violence | the process by which the outcome of institutional inequality has the result of creating increased suffering, excess disease, and death |
| structural barriers | factors in the social, political, and economic organization of a society that limit life chances and social mobility through discrimination |
| life chances | opportunities for acquiring favorable life experiences - the good life, liberty, and happiness |
| life expectancy | average age in which a person in a particular group or area is expected to live |
| family | people related by blood or marriage ties |
| household | people who share living space and social support |
| ethnicity | cultural category, membership in a group identified by culture, religion, language, and national origin |
| Eugenics | the belief that information about heredity can be used to improve the human race by lowering the fertility of "genetically inferior populations"; the objective scientific belief that society needs to be protected from inferior people |
| sex | biologically based differences between men and women |
| gender | a set of cultural beliefs of what is expected (roles, practices, opportunities, restrictions) based on sex |
| sexuality | interplay between body image, gender, identity, gender role, etc. |
| social reproduction | all work of bringing each new generation of workers into the world (cooking, firewood, water, farming, homework, ritual) - things moms do |
| biological reproduction | preconception, conception, pregnancy, childbirth |
| production | the creation of value or wealth by producing goods and services |
| double day | the costs of having to do two kinds of work |
| social economic status | informal ranking based on income, occupation, education, etc. |
| social class | place in social hierarchy based on distance from the means of production; owner/CEO vs. manager vs. worker = what you own = assets |
| hegemony | dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group always involves some degree of consent from the subordinate (as opposed to dominance purely by force) |
| stigmatization | abominations of the body, defects of personality, social identity (race, ethnicity, religion, caste) |
| etiology | the cause of a disease |
| ethnophysiology | the ways in which the culture of a group influences conceptualizations of the body |
| reflexology | a therapeutic technique based on the premise that areas exist in the hands or feet that correspond to the organs and systems of the body and that stimulation of these areas by pressure can affect the corresponding organ or system |
| empty vessel fallacy | ignoring preexisting cultural knowledge and behavior while attempting to conduct interventions |
| compliance | act of cooperating; obeying |
| noncompliance | the failure to obey |
| typology | division of culture by races |
| naturalistic | method of inquiry or investigation or any procedure for gaining knowledge that limits itself to natural, physical, and material approaches and explanations |
| personalistic | various theories of subjective idealism regarding personality as the key to the interpretation of reality |
Combine with other sets
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