...through an exploration of the peoples of the world. We will cover the basic concepts, theories, and methods that anthropologists use to study variations in cultural norms and social practices, economic systems and rules of law, social organization and patterns of inequality, identity and worldview, and patterns of social and cultural change. Focusing on the culture concept and the method of ethnography, we begin with the historical foundations of anthropology and then follow its attempts to understand contemporary human cultures. Comparative analysis of multiple ethnographic case studies and major theoretical approaches illuminates the range of human diversity, the forces that shape cultures, and how people adapt to a rapidly changing modern world. The central objectives of this course are to develop your intellectual skills, your cross-cultural fluency, and your sense of civic and moral engagement in global society. I hope that this course inspires many of you to become anthropology majors or minors, and grants each of you an anthropological perspective on your own life. REQUIREMENTS This is an intensive course that requires full participation from every student. You must attend all lectures, study all the assigned materials before the class for which they are listed, complete required assignments, actively participate in lecture, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of readings, videos, in-class activities and quiz/exam questions. Optional extra credit activities will...
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...the MCAT2015 Exam? Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior What will the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section test? The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section asks you to solve problems by combining your knowledge of foundational concepts with your scientific inquiry and reasoning skills. This section tests your understanding of the ways psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions and reactions to the world; behavior and behavior change; what people think about themselves and others; the cultural and social differences that influence well-being; and the relationships between social stratification, access to resources, and well-being. The Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section emphasizes concepts that tomorrow’s doctors need to know in order to serve an increasingly diverse population and have a clear understanding of the impact of behavior on health. Further, it communicates the need for future physicians to be prepared to deal with the human and social issues of medicine. This section is designed to • • • • • test psychology, sociology, and biology concepts that provide a solid foundation for learning in medical school about the behavioral and sociocultural determinants of health; test concepts taught at many colleges and universities in first-semester psychology and sociology courses; test biology concepts that relate to mental processes...
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...How does fashion shape social identities? In my essay I am going to investigate the meaning and the relationship between these two words: fashion and identity, particularly in relation to social status. Fashion and identity both represent a complex notion, especially when we talk about their association. Nowadays, if we pronounce the word ‘fashion’, which has become one of the most common words in our society, we immediately think of clothes; what people wear in the streets or what the majority of people wear, or what the latest styles of clothes are that are in the stores. Originally, the concept of fashion emerged in Europe in the fourteenth century when the changing of styles of the clothes began to speed up. As Laver confirms: ‘The mid-fourteenth century marks the emergence of recognizable fashion in clothing’ (1979:62). But what is fashion? We could approach this question either in a simple or complex way. If we had to define it briefly, we would say that it is the latest style of clothing. As Rouse outlines: ‘Fashion is more than a commodity, the product of a particular industry, it is an attribute with which some styles are endowed. For a particular style of clothing to become a fashion it actually has to be worn by some people and recognized and acknowledged to be a fashion’ (1989:69). Apparently, the evolution of fashion is strongly connected to the development of society in the history. Several historical factors played decisive role in enabling society to change...
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...Katelyn Smith Social Psychology 9/25/14 Chapter 4 Reaction Assignment #4 Use your own experience to define and explain social identity theory. In which situations do you find yourself more likely to identify with a group? When are you most likely to see yourself as an individual? In what ways might this be culturally influenced? In my experience social identity theory is how you develop your own identity from certain social groups. I feel that I am the most bubbly and caring of my friend group while at home I feel like I am “the maid” because I’m always cleaning up after everyone. Situations I feel like I would be more likely to identify with a group is whenever my teachers give a group project, or being in a sorority. Situations in which I feel like I would see myself as an individual is when I am hanging out with my friends because each one of us has a different personality making us different and individual. In western cultures like the United States, people tend to emphasize individualism while many non-western cultures tend to emphasize collectivism. This makes cultural influences a huge deal because these values or traits are the social norms for your culture and if you don’t follow or believe them then you are not welcomed. Based on what you’ve learned about motivation, make a case for a hypothetical community service program you could implement at your university. What would you do to ensure that students were highly motivated to engage in the work, both...
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...3/15/11 Social Identity Vs Personal Identity In this paper I will discuss the differences and similarities between the two using three texts from June Jordan, Tim Wise, and Avery Gordon as well as give you my personal opinion about the topic. Social identity, in my opinion, is a bad thing as a whole because it doesn't take into account the experiences that any one person has, it just lumps them together. There are many factors that one needs to take into account when discussing these topics and I will try to explain them as best as I can. Social and personal Identity in today’s society is very much blurred, the individual person has his or her own identity that she relates to but when viewed as a whole in today's society people get lumped together with all the same “people” whether that be race, class, gender or status. The first article I will talk about is Tim Wise’s "Preface" and "Born to Belonging” in this article Wise talk about being born to belonging and what he means by this is that white people that are born into white homes don’t usually have to work that hard to get far in life such stated in this quote “We, are unlike people of color, born to belonging, and have rarely had to prove ourselves deserving of our presence here” (Wise 3). What this quote talks about is that the white race is generally seen as the better race, and because of this white people won’t have to work as hard to get good jobs and have a good income. This is a social identity that he presents...
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...Task 1 As social workers we live and work in very large complex and ever changing society therefore it may be very important as a social worker to know what social class her client, family or community belongs to, as this gives the social worker insight into how to intervene. Social class can be defined in a number of ways but the one that’s widely adapted by social workers is that social class is a large group of people whose economic circumstances, usually measured by their incomes, wealth and occupation, are broadly similar. There are three major social classes in the United Kingdom which include; the working class, middle class and the upper class. Socialists emphasize that social class is essentially an economic concept and they determine individual’s class on the basis of wealth income and occupation. However it is also important to say that there are other factors to consider when determining a person’s social class such as; their family social background, standard of living, home ownership, leisure pursuits, circle of friends and social connections and education. Broadly speaking most of the factors listed above are closely connected with one’s wealth, income and occupation. One may define Identity as who or what a person or thing is. Identity also helps to define who a person is; it is a self representation of a person’s interests, relationships and leisure activities. On the other hand belonging can mean to feel a sense of welcome and acceptance to someone or some...
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...against repression, marginalization, stigmatized identities and quest for equality has been a part of human history. Rapid growth ideology has impacted country in two critical ways. Firstly, it has lead to the exclusion of poor and the vulnerable communities from the development discourses and secondly, violating of human rights against those who question the current form of development emanating from crony capitalism. One of the noteworthy developments to counter the majoritarian hegemony in the current scenario is that of identity formation to safeguard their basic rights. Vulnerable communities on the basis of exclusion and discrimination have started organizing themselves on collective identities. Dehumanizing experiences faced by...
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...Culture and Identity Outline, what the term ‘Culture’ may be taken to mean and then explain the ways in which it is transmitted by the wider society and the effects that this may have for individual members of the society . Introduction: Society and Culture are interlinked, thus sociology defines society as two or more people who interact in such a manner as to share a common culture. Therefore culture is seen as a vital factor of sociology. Culture can be defined as common beliefs, behavior, objectives or characteristics formed within a group of people or society. People tend to define themselves with to a particular culture. In other words culture is a common set norms formed within a group of the society or a society to which people identify themselves to. This essay aims to explain in which ways culture is transmitted within the society and the effects this may have on individual members of a society. The essay will look at concepts of culture in terms of mass and folk culture. Furthermore it will take into consideration age, gender, social class and ethnicity, which will help to understand the interrelationship between self, identity and socialization. To understand culture in modern world better, the essay will aim to analyze the link between cultural consumption and identity in the modern society. Main body: According to Linton (1945) culture of a society is the way of life of its members; a collection of ideas and thoughts, which they learn and practiced...
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...Week 2 1. Which of the following is true about the development of the intercultural communication area of study? a. it originated with scholars looking for practical answers to help overseas workers. 2. Which approach to intercultural communication has the goal of initiating social change? b. critical 3. Which of the following approaches to intercultural communication views reality as external to humans? c. social science 4. Which methods are primarily used in the critical approach to intercultural communication? d. text and media analyses 5. the social science approach is also called the e. functionalist approach 6. researchers using a critical perspective attempt to explain f. how macro contexts such as political structures influence communication 7. one limitation of social science approach is g. the possibility that the methods used are not culturally sensitive 8. The goals for the social science approach are h. describe and predict human behavior 9. the study of how people use personal space is called i. proxemics 10. Which dialectic of intercultural communication addresses the fact that some of our cultural patterns are constant and some are shifting? j. static-dynamic dialect 11. The privilege-Disadvantage dialectic recognizes that k. some people are disadvantaged in some contexts and privileged in other contexts 12. Which of the following might explain why early...
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...‘liquid’ society and postmodernity, and the ethical and moral consequences of living in such a society, have made him one of the most influential social theorists of modern times. Liquid society – postmodernity, ethics and moral consequences. Bourdieu, Pierre (1930–2002) A French sociologist and anthropologist whose work attempted to deal with how people contribute to their own domination. Developing the concepts of ‘habitus’, ‘cultural capital’, and ‘field’, Bourdieu examined processes of subordination and resistance in a number of areas of social life, including education, art, literature, language, television, and the globalised economy. Bourdieu’s most famous book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1984). Globalised economy, subordination and resistance in social life. ‘Culture capital’ Burke, Edmund (1729–97) An English politician and writer, often seen as the father of modern conservatism for his hostile reaction to the chaos and violence of the French Revolution. For many, his defence of tradition and individual liberty is still highly relevant to today’s world. Father of modern conservatism Durkheim, Emile (1858–1917) A French sociologist who argued that sociology should see social phenomena as ‘social facts’ that cannot be reduced to biological or psychological explanation. Such social facts endure over time—while particular individuals die and are replaced by others—and they have a coercive power that...
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...racial bias and whether these automatic biological processes can be counteracted through social intervention. The purpose of this paper is to propose mechanisms of racial bias and demonstrate their operation in relation to personal identity at the biological, psychological, and social level. An individual’s perception of himself and others depends on the personal, relational, and the collective phenomenon of identity. An understanding of how identity operates as a mechanism of racial bias at the psychological...
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...Theory and Symbolic Interaction „No very sharp line can be drawn between social pshycology and individual pshycology” George Herman Mead Introduction In recent years, renewed and increased attention has been given to the need to organize a variety of theories into an interdisciplinary or integrated theory that captures tile contributions that can be made from the many explanatory approaches that have emerged over the last one hundred years. This move towards integrated or interdisciplinary theory represents a new stage of development in the field and requires a careful reassessment of the perspectives that have formed the core of criminological thought.[1] Each era of social and political turmoil has produced profound changes in people’s lives. Perhaps no such era was as significant for criminology as the 1960s. A society with conservative values was shaken out of its complacency when young people, blacks, women and other disadvantaged groups demanded a part in the shaping of national policy. They saw the gaps between philosophical political demands and reality: Blacks had little opportunity to advance women were kept in an inferior status; old politicians made wars in which the young had to die. Rebellion broke out, and some criminologists joined the revolution.[2] These criminologists turned away from theories that explained crime by characteristics of the offender or of the social structure. They set out to demonstrate that individuals become criminals...
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...decisions, and actions. As Sigmond declares, the English tea drinker is “in- capable of appreciating [tea’s] value” (1). What the typical tea drinker fails to recognize, Sigmond suggests, is the crucial role that tea plays in forming the foundation of everyday life. Despite Sigmond’s attempts to rectify the humble status of tea in nineteenth-century English culture, tea has remained a 1 2 introduction relatively unrecognized aspect of Victorian life. Just as Sigmond implies that the beverage’s mundane role precludes the tea drinker from appreciating its importance, the continued significance of tea in twentieth-century British society seems to have prevented scholars from adequately analyzing its role in British culture and national identity. As Anthony Burgess has speculated, “Perhaps tea is so woven into the stomach linings of the British that they cannot view it...
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...To understand social deviance and delinquency, subcultural theory was used. These exist where cultural diversity is present. It was first applied during the 1950’s “referring to distinctive sets of values that set the delinquent apart from mainstream or dominate culture” (McLaughlin and Muncie, 2001, p.296). This idea of a subculture developed from the study of youths in urban settings. In society many music subcultures include, Goths, Punks and Hip Hop, plus many more. The question which has to be considered is whether subcultures are useful when trying to understand the link between youth, music and identity. Most commonly subcultural theories have been observed by two pieces of research, ‘The Chicago School of Sociology’ and ‘The Centre...
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...New Social Movements In Nepal Introduction Nepal has undergone three major movements during and after the end of the hundred years of Rana Oligarchy in 1950, 1990 and 2006. These movements did not only change the political power, but also substantively affected the structure of the prevalent Nepalese society. Hereupon, ethnic, Dalit, women and Madesh movement with the demand of identity and inclusion have been reaching their peak in these recent years. We can analyze all these movements of Nepal under the important and essential theory of New Social Movement. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) fought twelve years People's war under the doctrine developed by Mao Tse-tung of China, but raised many issues highly influenced by the New Social Movement such as ethnic, gender, Dalit and Madesh related to the identity and human rights, not based on socialism or communism. The article 'New Social Movements: of the Early Nineteenth Century' written by Craig Calhoun is important to make our perception on the various social movements of Nepal. It is new concept in the sociological theory which was developed after only 1968, different than old social movements like the Marxism, socialism and labour movement of the past. Most of the contemporary social movements are emerged outside the mainstream political system, political parties and formal institutional life and inspired by the non-hierarchical, participatory form of democracy, human rights, social justice, environmental preservation...
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