Cultural Studies: Concepts and Practices

Culture

• Culture is the way of life for a group of people. It includes both material and symbolic elements.
• Material culture includes objects like tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork.
• Symbolic culture encompasses ways of thinking (beliefs, values, and assumptions) and ways of behaving (norms, interactions, and communication).

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

• Ethnocentrism is judging other cultures based on the standards of your own culture.
• Cultural relativism involves understanding the customs of other cultures in the context of their society, not solely based on your own cultural perspective.

Cultural Universals and Cultural Diffusion

• Cultural universals are customs and practices that exist across all societies.
• Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural traits, material objects, ideas, or behavior patterns from one society to another.

Society and Agents of Socialization

• A society is a group of people who are relatively self-sufficient and share a common territory and culture.
• Agents of socialization are people, organizations, and institutions that transmit culture to those learning it, especially children.

Cultural Norms and Sanctions

• Cultural norms are rules and expectations that guide behavior within a society.
• Sanctions are social responses to behavior, or cultural reactions.

Race and Racism

• Race is a group of people identified as distinct from other groups based on supposed physical or genetic traits shared by the group.
• Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, often used to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

Social Construct

• A social construct is an idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society.