Culture
A system of knowledge, beliefs, patterns of behavior, artifacts, and institutions that are created, learned, shared, and contested by a group of people
Enculturation
The process of learning culture
Norms
Ideas or rules about how people should behave in particular situations or toward certain other people
Values
Fundamental beliefs about what is important, what makes a good life, and what is true, right and beautiful
Symbol
Anything that represents something else
Mental Maps of Reality
Cultural classifications of what kinds of people and things exist, and the assignment of meaning to those classifications
Unilineal Cultural Evolution
The theory proposed by nineteenth-century anthropologists that all cultures naturally evolve through the same sequence of stages from simple to complex
Historical Particularism
The idea, attributed to Franz Boas, that cultures develop in specific ways because of their unique histories
Structural Functionalism
A conceptual framework positing that each element of society serves a particular function to keep the entire system in equilibrium
Interpretivist Approach
A conceptual framework that sees culture primarily as a symbolic system of a deep meaning
Power
The ability or potential to bring about change through action or influence
Stratification
The uneven distribution of resources and privileges among members of a group or culture
Hegemony
The ability of a dominant group to create consent and agreement within a population without the use or threat of force
Agency
The potential power of individuals and groups to contest cultural norms, values, mental maps of reality, symbols, institutions, and structures of power
