Key Concepts in Cultural and Social Studies

Key Concepts in Cultural and Social Studies

• Culture: Learned beliefs, practices, symbols, and values forming worldview and lifestyle.
• Society: Organized groups with relationships and interactions.
• Identity: Characteristics defining individuals or groups, shaped by culture and experience.
• Power: Influence or control over behavior and outcomes.
• Social Relations: Interactions among individuals within social structures.
• Beliefs and Knowledge: Shared truths shaping interpretations of the world.
• Symbolism: Use of symbols to convey meanings.
• Materiality: Physical objects with cultural/social significance.
• Change: Alteration of cultural/social elements, driven by internal or external forces.
• Structure and Agency: Balance between societal norms and individual action shaping outcomes.
  • Norms: Rules governing social behavior.
  • Values: Shared principles about what's important.
  • Socialization: Learning societal norms and values.
  • Enculturation: Learning and adopting one's native culture.
  • Personhood: Culturally constructed concept of personhood.
  • Ritual: Symbolic actions within cultural traditions.
  • Liminality: Transitional state with suspended social roles.
  • Belonging: Sense of acceptance within a group.
  • Kinship: Socially recognized relationships based on blood/marriage.
  • Fictive Kin: Non-biological relationships treated as kin.
  • Social Institutions: Systems of norms/values guiding behavior.
  • Meritocracy: Success based on ability and effort.
  • Holism: Interconnectedness of cultural systems approach.
  • Fieldwork: On-site research for cultural understanding.
  • Ethnography: Written account of anthropological research.
  • Anthropological Positionality: Awareness of researcher's identity in research.
  • Reflexivity: Critical self-reflection on perspective in research.
  • Social Control: Mechanisms enforcing norms.
  • Collective Effervescence: Shared group energy during rituals.
  • Sacred and Profane: Distinctions between holy/everyday.
  • Rites of Passage: Rituals marking life transitions.

Key Theories in Anthropology and Sociology

• Cultural Relativism (Franz Boas): Understanding cultures within their own context, avoiding judging by external standards.
• Structural Functionalism (Émile Durkheim): Society's parts work together for stability and cohesion; religion unites people with shared beliefs.
• Symbolic Anthropology (Clifford Geertz): Culture as a "web of meaning" interpreted through symbols.
• Hegemony (Antonio Gramsci): Ruling groups maintain power through cultural dominance, not just force.
• Self and Other: Anthropological concept of constructing identities through differentiation.
• Imagined Communities (Benedict Anderson): Nations are socially constructed communities, imagined as shared identities.
• Ethnocentrism: Judging other cultures by one's own standards, leading to misunderstandings.
• Acculturation (Redfield, Linton, Herskovits): Cultural change from prolonged contact, often involving power imbalances.
• Postmodernism (Michel Foucault): Critiques universal truths, focusing on power and subjectivity.
• Conflict Theory (Karl Marx): Social change arises from conflicts over resources, power, and inequality.