Anthropology
Class Outlines
(in chronological order)
Introduction to
Anthropology
Liberal Arts >
Social Science >
Anthropology-Sociology-Psychology-Political Science-Economics-History-Criminal
Justice
Anthropology
(and its
Subfields)
Archeology
Prehistoric &
Historical
The tools & techniques in excavating artifacts and fossils from the earth
Anatomy &
Physiology, Genetics, and Primates
Linguistics
Historical Diffusion
& Geography of languages; Culture & Language connections
Cultural
Politics, Religion,
Economics, Kinship, Family, Arts, Group Organization, Pastimes, Inequality, and
Enculturation & Education
·
Applied Anthropology
Basically we
study the patterns of social behavior and thinking in a given society or
culture group; its social structure or organization; the interaction between
people in a group; and the change or adaptation within the group.
Foundation Terms for Anthropology
It’s all about “CULTURE”
v Defining “culture” through social science
v Culture organizes – gives us purpose –
productivity –consistency/continuity
v Culture is functional & integrated
v World View
o The symbolism of culture
v The staying “Power” & Identity of
culture
v Culture Shock!
v Core Values
o Independence vs. Dependence Training
v Norms & Mores (social structure)
v Culture Universals
v Durkheim’s Solidarities (basis for a sense of
unity and identity)
o Mechanical & Organic Solidarity
o Durkheim & Weber’s Warnings about
Organic societies
v Society
v Ethnic Group
·
Plural
Society & Acculturation
v Subculture
Ethnicity & Ethnic Groups
Terms relating to
Culture/Culture Groups/Ethnicity
Applied
Anthropology – applying
anthropological information to identify and solve contemporary social problems;
come to the aid of culture groups based on the information that anthropologists
have at hand.
Mechanical Solidarity – social order and cohesion based on
common agreement and uniform thinking and behavior.
Organic
Solidarity – social order and cohesion based on interdependence and
cooperation among members performing a wide range of specialized tasks.
Society
– a group of people who have come together under a set of common interests
and values working within interdependent structures and relationships.
Ethnic
Group – a group sharing a common cultural heritage and homeland,
hanging on to important cultural identifiers like Language, Religion,
History-Ancestry-Homeland, and some remaining Customs and Traditions.
Subculture
– groups with cultural variations on the dominant theme of
societies, regarding some behavior, customs, language and outward
symbols/appearance.
World
View – ways of perceiving and interpreting reality; includes
perceptions on the role of humans in the grand scheme of things, and an
individual’s place in it.
Culture Shock
– personal disorientation that accompanies exposure to a foreign culture.
Core
Values – widely shared conceptions of what is good, right, worthwhile
and important; sets in motion many goals and
priorities of the group.
Norms
– written and unwritten rules of behavior appropriate to specific situations.
Mores
= serious norms supporting serious beliefs/values, with serious consequences if
broken.
Plural Society - A society comprised
of multiple ethnic groups, subcultures, and/or races that have become
interdependent.
Acculturation – widespread diffusion
between two or more cultures that have intense frequent contact between each
other, influencing each other’s culture.
Assimilation
– process of bringing minority culture groups into a common cultural
fold, or alikeness; an
encouraged or forced melting-pot scenario for a society.
Multiculturalism – accommodating the widest possible diversity in
society through political policies and societal ethics of tolerance.
Language & Culture
– Value of Language for Humans
– Identity - Enculturation - Mental Development - Displacement
– Origins & Structure (expansion) of Language
– Phonemes (they combine to make lots of Morphemes [words])
– Paralanguage (including Voice Qualities)
– Nonverbal Communication
-- Language & Social Stratification
– Languages do change and develop with culture *
-- historical relationships between
languages
– Dialect
– Sapir / Whorf Hypothesis - each language uniquely shapes perception, and to
some extent reality, for its speakers. (each
language provides a unique vocabulary with unique definitions along with a
unique grammar structure)
– Ethnolinguistics (ethnosemantics) – is what we can learn about a culture from their language alone.
* How does a language change? Languages will evolve over time within linguistic groups by 1) combining new groups of sounds (phones), within the group’s list of possible sounds, to make new words (morphemes) as we need them to describe new things or actions; or 2) the words themselves can “morph” through popular speech (“going” to “gunna”), as humans often look for shortcuts to speech (“y’all wanna go? No I can’t”); or 3) by creating connotations of existing words (recycling them, second or alternate definitions to a word); or 4) words can be borrowed from other linguistic groups, sometimes modifying their meaning or pronunciation. 5) Only rarely, and over a longer period of time, might a linguistic group accept changes in syntax (grammatical structure in a phrase or sentence).
Terms relating to Language &
Culture
Displacement – the ability to communicate outside of immediate time and place (outside of the “here and now”).
Phonemes – sounds that make a difference in the meaning of a word, by themselves do not carry meaning.
Morpheme – a sound, or group of sounds, that carry meaning for the listener (mostly what we call words).
Paralanguage – sounds that are not considered “words”, along with background sounds or changing tones, that do convey or alter meaning for the listener.
Dialect – a regional or subcultural variation of a language distinguished by its unique vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, speed and/or syntax.
Ethnolinguistics & Ethnosemantics - social linguists who try to reveal something about the culture, its meanings, values and interpretations of the world by studying the language alone.
The Practices, Tools and Science of Archeology
·
What is it in general that Archeologists
do? What specialists do they tend to
pull in to assist their work?
o
Physical Anthropologists;
Paleopathologists (forensic anthropologist); Molecular Anthropologists;
human, plant & animal Paleontologists (Phytoliths); Geologists & Geographers
·
What are the general steps that an
Archeologist goes through in the process of doing an excavation?
o
What/Where will you dig? Cultural Resource Management; Grave robbers; Surface Sampling;
Remote Sensing; Informed Consent; Finances & Proposal; Personnel &
Tools; Screening &
Floatation Method; Stratigraphy &
Test Plots; cataloging; preliminary & advanced laboratory
analysis; Summary &
Conclusions; possible Reconstruction
·
What are some of the primary Dating
Methods
o
Relative Methods: Stratigraphy & Fluorine methods
o
Absolute Methods: Carbon 14,
Potassium/Argon
Slide
Show on the
Archeology of MesoAmerica and Andean America
·
Outline
to Slide Show in our Anthropak
The beauty and
the beast of Evolution
·
What is Evolution exactly? What are the basics to its process?
o
The key words of Evolution – Biological
Diversity/Variety,
Change & Adaptation, Competition & Selection of the fittest
o Charles Darwin & Natural Selection
o Short-term (punctuated) & Long-term (gradualism) evolution
o Gregor Mendel’s contributions
§ Hybrids/Mixing species variations
§ Recessive & Dominant Genes
o Somatic Cells: regular cells & normal replication (Mitosis)
o Gamete Cells: sex cells & combined reproduction (Meiosis)
· Recombination
· Crossing Over
o Mutations
§
Based Substitution (somatic or gamete)
§
Chromosomal
Rearrangement (somatic or gamete)
o
Gene Flow
o
Genetic Drift
·
Human species and its
somewhat unique strategy of evolution
o
Brains over Brawn
Terms relating
to Evolution
Somatic Cells – cells that produce (and reproduce when necessary) over
99% of our bodies such as skin tissue, organs, bones, hair, etc. and replicate
themselves in normal growth or bodily repair through Mitosis cell replication.
Gamete Cells - very specific cells designed for
reproduction (sex cells), and the very unique process they go through in
replication and possible mutation. In
our case the sex cells are combined from 2 individuals, male and female,
forming a unique biological individual.
In this process you can find new DNA forming and creating change and
diversity in the species, or the gene
pool.
Gene
Flow: genetic variations to a
population that comes by sharing genes across populations (sex cells and
recombination).
Genetic
Drift: unintentional selection of
genetic traits via random probability or natural disaster or disease in a
particular population.
Genotype: the genetic make-up of a an organism; the combination of alleles for a given
gene; not all genotypes are expressed physically in the organism (body), some
just recessive or dormant.
Phenotype: The physical expression of the
genotype; genes/alleles that actually send out RNA messages for protein
development in the body (tissue/bone building); it may be influenced by the
environment.
The Nature vs. (and) Nurture debate
·
What
is the Nature / Nurture debate
o How and when do you apply
Nature/Nurture?
·
Evidence
for Nature
·
Evidence
for the dominance of Nurture
·
The
inseparable marriage of the two
Physical Adaptation, Race and Prejudice
– Human Evolution is all about adaptation to local environments
(Convergence & Divergence)
– Regional Physical Variations - noses; eye color; body shape & size; and
Skin Color = regulating quantities of
sunlight (ultraviolet light) and Vitamin D
– just how different are we? Old Science & new Genetics
– the stereotypes, stigmas, and scapegoats of Racism
– Reality check on Genetics and Group Behavior
– significant human differences are explained through __ __ __ __ __ __ __!
Early Human History & Evolution
It’s all about Physical & Cultural Adaptations.
“mya = millions of years ago”; “ya”= years ago; “c.c.s” = cubic centimeters
Australopithecines (beginning of the Hominines split) (4.4 mya – 1 mya)
n Pressures toward Bipedalism (Ardipithecus Ramidus – 6-4.4 mya)
n Orrorin & Kaddaba (6-5 mya) (Australopithicus Anamensis (4.2-3.9 mya)
n Australopithecus Afarensis (3.8–3 mya) (“Lucy”- her physical characteristics)
o A changing environment; arm, finger & toe length; skull size (500 c.c.s); teeth; pelvis – advantages of bipedalism
o Scavengers for meat; still mostly vegetarian
o Other Australopithecines
- Garhi from north (2.6)
Gracile & Robustus from south (2.6-1 mya)
Homo Hablis (beginning of genus Homo) (2.4-1.6)
n Working/Manufacturing Tools (intentional chipping and flaking stones)
n More protein (meat) – still scavenging/not hunting per se
n Shifts in teeth (smaller; tighter fit); skull shape/size (700 c.c.s)
n Division of labor? Still apparent sexual dimorphism. Food sharing between males & females? Closing of the birth canal (pelvic region).
n Overlapping evolution (A. robustus, A. boisei, H. erectus)
Homo Erectus (1.8 mya – 300,000 ya) (Lower Paleolithic)
· Big leaps toward modern anatomy, less sexual dimorphism especially in the late Erectus period > specialized technology, formal hunting & gathering,
quasi-sophisticated language; any signs of culture?
· Body & Skull size (1,000 c.c.s); Teeth (smaller back, larger front teeth)
· Diversified tool kit; out compete H. hablis & Australopithecines in savannas
· Geographic expansion into much of southern/central Eurasia
· Later: (700,000 ya-250,000 ya) – Fire & Cooking (its advantages); clothing; complex language & cooperative hunting; formal campsites (includes caves); fire may be as old as 1 to 1.5 mya, but not widely used until 700,000 ya.
· Some transitional skulls/bones found (700,000-300,000 ya) H. Antecessor & Heidelbergensis - moving toward either Neanderthal or Archaic Homo Sapien
Archaic Homo Sapiens (300,000 ya – 30,000 ya) (linguistics & genetics=200,000 ya) (Middle Paleolithic)
· Fluctuating glaciation/interglaciation cycles (cooling/warming periods)
· Anatomy (little taller/leaner, more chin/less brow-ridge [except Neandertal], avg. brain size 1,250 c.c.s)
· Tools – longer blades/points; more core flaking, now with bone & antler
· Terra Amata (coast of France) = diverse food, formal shelters, etc.
· Neandertal (Homo Sapien Neandertalis?) (120,000-30,000 ya) – different anatomy (avg. 1,500 c.c.s); stocky (conserve heat), muscular, big boned, hairier, longer big nose; big game hunters; sexual dimorphism; human or beast? Any signs of “culture”?
· Homo Floresiensis – the dwarf anomaly on an Indonesian island
Modern Homo Sapien (Homo Sapien Sapien) (30,000 ya – 10,000 ya)
(Upper Paleolithic)
· Slightly taller, thinner skeletal frame with average 1,300 ccs brain capacity and more frontal lobe with weaker muscle attachment around the skull
· End of the Paleolithic (old rock/stone age); last bastion of total hunting and gathering; population of the Americas & Australia
· warming period (Holocene) > glacial retreat > new lakes and rivers form in mid-latitudes + a continental shelf underwater (fishing & birds)
· less of the specialized big game hunting, more smaller diversified game > smaller/finer stone points + nets, hooks, traps, snares, bone & antler tools, bow & arrow, atlatl, boomerang
· Religion & Art (cave painting/petroglyphs, bone carvings, figurines)
Period followed by the Neolithic (ceramics, agriculture, sedentary lifestyles)
History - “a funny
thing happened on the way to Becoming a State”
(a logical series of events leading us out of simple horticulture; pastoralism
or hunting/gathering to our current state-level situation today)
Early States > (developing agricultural/ranching based societies with some
cultural diversity; larger populations; organized labor; formal leadership to
organize engineering projects & markets > specialization;
defining territories and sense of land ownership; then a warrior class;
all leads to bureaucracy)
State-Level Societies &
radical changes for Tribal cultures
– introduction of intensive Agriculture & Ranching; circumscription of
territory = sense defining boundaries and ownership of land
– populations starts to grow rapidly; development & expansion of the State
which lead to changes below
– new layers of Political hierarchy emerge (formal leadership; later impersonal
and dictatorial/autocratic kings who keep the military
and religious leadership on a tight
leash – in close control); increased
reliance on Externalized Sanctions (formal laws/punishment/judges)
and state coercion (vs. Internalized Sanctions = deviance is
deterred via beliefs, religion, taboo, cultural understanding of norms/mores)
– smaller culture groups or nations losing political control to state
governments, hence over some of their cultural ways of life
--formal kinship descent systems develop to include control of land &
assets
– many social, work and family activities make their adjustments: work for
strangers, not family; specialization becomes diversified;
state supported jobs or requirements come into play; distant and
impersonal economic/social relationships take root
– much generalized & balanced reciprocity replaced by negative reciprocity
– women, the environment, and personalized religion are negatively impacted
– settling disputes is formalized = less social healing & judicial
flexibility (replaced by more bureaucracy)
– Anomie, Disenchantment & Alienation come into play, mostly under newer
industrial/post-industrial economies
Systems of
Stratification / Inequality
– Is Stratification a method of “organizing” people into useful subgroups,
or,
a
system of perpetuating “inequality” ?
– Categories, or types, of stratification: Inequality based in. . . . . . ?
-- Kuznet's Curve (a history of inequality, as well as the present and future)
– Minority Groups
– Caste
& Class Systems
(ascribed) vs. (achieved) status
(systematic) vs. (meritocracy)
-- Or, a blending of the two!
– Supporting Ideologies of Inequality, and the ruling elite’s “Facades
of
Legitimacy” (Marx)
-- Tribal groups – they’re types of inequality, and attempts at equality
(egalitarianism)
– Absolute & Relative poverty
Family, Marriage and Kinship
. . . an old fundamental organizing institution for cultures
· Functions of Formal Family and Kinship (5)
· value of Marriage (a formal contract/ceremony)
· value and definition of “Family” on a global scale
· Nuclear & Extended families &
Extended Households
o Consanguine (blood kin); Affinal (by marriage)
· Residence Patterns (matri- ; patri- ; neo- ; ambi- local)
· Romantic Love vs.
Arranged Marriage
o Exogamy & Endogamy
o other reasons for arranged marriages
· Monogamy; Polygamy; Polygyny
o Bride Price/Wealth/Service & Dowry
o Polyandry
o Divorce
o Serial Monogamy
Descent Systems
o Unilineal Descent (Patrilineal,
Matrilineal)
o Double Descent
o Ambilineal Descent
· Bilateral Descent
· Kindred
Functions
of Family & formal Kinship
1. Keeping
relations and biology in order (includes marriage & sex taboos)
2. Enculturation
> survival & emotional security
3. Providing
material security by way of networking money, labor and passing down wealth and
assets
4. Delegation
of rights, responsibilities and obligations
5. For
the benefits of Exogamy
Economics & Culture
-- A Powerful cultural institution
o --
Traditional & Tribal Economics in general
Integration of economics with other cultural institutions (social, family,
politics, religion, etc); social ties, reputation & religious
connections; not necessarily on a ridged schedule/clock; save up for big giveaways (Potlatch, Maya
Cargo); passing down wealth & skills via kinship; shared labor &
resources & well defined economic roles & division of labor; culture group specialization & identity
-- Generalized Reciprocity
-- Balanced Reciprocity
-- Negative Reciprocity
-- Redistribution
-- Leveling Mechanisms
-- Market Principle (supply,
demand, price variables; competition-profit motive-negative reciprocity;
practiced by most of the world, though it varies greatly)
o Industrialization &
Alienation
Terms:
Reciprocity – a sharing or exchange of goods & services
Generalized Reciprocity – reciprocity whereby return of goods & services are
not expected, at least in specific form, value or timeframe.
Balanced Reciprocity – expectations of the return of goods & services of
roughly equal value, often within a specified time period. (Sellers be
conscious)
Redistribution – redistribution of goods/services resulting from
accumulated surplus. Can be in the more
“generalized” form, or accumulated through expected or forced tribute.
Leveling Mechanisms – cultural mechanisms or values that attempt to strike
balances in economic & social equality.
Negative Reciprocity – Trying to get the most in the exchange while giving the
least (Buyers beware).
Market Principle – buying and selling of goods and services with prices set
by the dynamics of supply and demand.
Alienation (Marx) – alienated from control over the “means of production”
(controlling assets, raw materials, final product); pay, quality of work;
product knowledge (just do your specialization and collect your paycheck); 2) most jobs
alienate from home, family & neighborhood
Culture Groups by Economic Types
Subsistence
Economies
Hunter / Gatherers (Foragers) - hunting (including fishing) and
gathering of wild foods; long human history; different strategies for different
environments (whole variety of adaptations); low-tech and low impact on
environment; almost all egalitarian; little to no collection of wealth;
mobile small groups (bands) (20-50); traditionally animistic/shamanistic
religions; sharing-cooperation ethics; sexual division of labor;
they try not to exceed the carrying
capacity of the land (over-consume resources).
-- They have a whole variety of hunting/gathering tools & techniques
depending on the different Eco-Systems.
-- Still representing the foundations to basic human cultural strategies
(cooperative work, religion, art, family, etc.) (90% of human history is in H
& G)
Other typical Hunter/Gatherer cultural traits:
-- Flexibility in social and kinship relationships compared to other tribal
groups
-- Kindred; Bi-Lateral Kinship; Average group size 20-50
-- Egalitarian - social/political equality within the group
-- Religion: Animism; Ancestor spirits; Shamanism
Horticulturalists (tribal) - low-tech gardeners with a some
hunting/gathering on the side; shifting cultivation (land rotation) and
slash & burn cultivation; low-tech agriculture (machete,digging
stick,fire); getting fertility out of the Tropics
(not easy); Arborculture; pigs & chickens;
some collection of wealth; sedentary (non-mobile); traditionally
animatism beliefs; Big Men,chiefs,kinship elders are
political leaders; ceremonies centered around planting, harvest, rains, tribal
war, big givaways; they are found in the tropical
forest regions of the world.
Pastoralists - animal herders (cows,camels,goats,horses,etc)
- making use of low productive areas; mobile or semi-mobile (nomadic or
semi-nomadic-transhumant); goods consumed/sold are meats, animal fibers (ex.wools), dairy products, animal skins, utility crafts and
maybe some gardening on the side; low-tech; some collection of wealth;
rigid sexual divisions in culture as a whole > patriarchal; rugged,
proud, adaptive, sometimes warlike; stories of war and heros;
religion was traditionally animatistic, but now
mostly Muslim. Not equivalent in culture with Ranchers.
-- Not much in common with "Ranchers" other than a focus on, and
understanding of, domesticated animal breeding; ranchers tend to blend in more
with neighboring or dominant groups around them losing much of their
independence and core to their unique culture.
-- typically found in savannahs, grasslands, semi-arid
to arid landscapes; their animals eat the wild grasses/bushes and they eat the
animals and their dairy products.
-- Nomadic Pastoralists (roaming more mobile herders, usually in leaner
environs and smaller populations)
-- Semi-Nomadic Pastoralists (seasonal and/or regional herders; usually
larger groups in more fertile areas doing some agriculture on the side; some
folks in group stay at permanent home base while others herd = transhumance)
-- Other Typical Cultural Characteristics: (fiercely independent as a culture group;
pride in bravery and warfare; strongly male dominant, women with low status;
strict patrilineal kinship; Chiefly rule via kinship; religion – originally animatistic, but more commonly today Muslim.
Surplus
Economies
The rest of the world’s cultures are labeled as :
Intensive/Commercial Agriculture (large scale, technology based, surplus
oriented) = rural village based cultures in a state-level setting.
Industrial (primarily involved in manufacturing (mass production) of products
often with a smaller service sector; includes industrial based
agricultural/ranching (more machinery & technology employed); Post-Industrial (high-tech - especially tele-video
communications & computers, primarily service/information based jobs;
increase in international economics)
These surplus groups are practically worldwide, representing the vast
majority of the economies around the world.
Political Systems &
Cultures
n General categories of Political Organization
o Band – Tribe – Chiefdom – State
n States – both necessary and socially dysfunctional
n Traditional-Affectional & Instrumental forms of Rationalization
-- Answering the Unknown (Organizing
us; giving us social control/internalized sanctions;
giving us purpose & meaning & answers)
-- What are we after in studying Religion in Anthropology?
-- Religion as an Integral and Powerful institution
--
The Ritual and the Sacred
-- East vs. West religions/spiritual philosophies
-- Functions & possible
Dysfunctions of Religion for humans / human groups
-- Powerful force in culture change
– or – fundamentalism
-- Revitalization Movements
-- Secularism
-- Polytheism
-- Balancing of Forces (often in Dualities)
-- Animism (spirits, souls, interconnected web
of life, animal allies)
-- Shamanism (multifaceted practice) (healing;
trance)
-- Ancestor spirits
-- Animatism & Mana
(magic, sorcery, witchcraft, divination, prayermakers)
Terms:
Revitalization Movement - generally
conservative movements that attempt to revitalize or reinvigorate old or dying
cultural traditions or institutions.
Secularism – The declining influence of religion in everyday life or
culture.
Animism - a belief system whereby everything is spiritually alive in
nature; everything has an interconnection of souls, spirits or energy that may
interact with each other, or interdependent on each other.
Shamanism - an all-in-one spiritual practitioner in contact with the
spirit world, sometimes for interpretation of the spirits (ex. ancestor
spirits), but mostly for the sake of physical or psychological healing.
Animatism (Mana)
- A variation of animism whereby the power or energy that
exist in all living things can be harnessed and manipulated by certain
individuals (sorcerers, witches, prayer makers, diviners, warriors, athletes,
etc.). “Mana”
in Melanesia = certain people, plants, animals, or objects like stones or
shells, are specially imbued with (possessed with) a sacred force or power.
n Summation
of the History of Colonialism
o Who
are the major players?
o A
quest for new lands, luxury items, agricultural products, and Cheeeeap Labor
n Set
up Colonial or Puppet Governments and built the necessary infrastructure
n Set
up Economic structure for an export cash cropping/cash mineral economy
o moving
them away from local supply/demand/price & products to one set by foreign
colonialists > beginnings of economic dependency
n Resulting
cultural transitions and challenges for many tribal & traditional people
(new languages; new politics; formal
borders dividing culture or throwing them together; cultural loss and cultural lag)
n Neocolonialism
– political Independence, industrial revolution, developed 1st world
loans, foreign aid, and MNCs/TNCs, plus, former colonies mismanagement and
corruption with continued economic dependency
n Global
Inequality today
Population, Environment & Poverty
– 6.6 Billion Folks - Is that sustainable? exceeding the Carrying Capacity?
– Factors of side-effects associated with overpopulation
– plus, rapid Urbanization (infrastructure; social issues)
– Where is population a more
serious problem?
– Demographic Transition Theory (explains pop. explosion in recent centuries)
– Why do traditional cultures keep having so many babies?
-- Serious Environmental Issues
-- Developing & Developed
countries different by connected problems
-- Who’s consuming
all the resources?
-- Our
ability to handle long-term problems
--
Solutions
Human Cultures and the Future
– Culture Change in General
– Diffusion & Syncretism
& Acculturation
– Globalization (beginning with Colonialism)
– from Culture Groups to
Societies & Ethnicity
– Ethnic resurgence &
revitalization
– Pros & Cons of modern Globalization
– Cultural Loss & Cultural Lag
– small Voices or the Tribal Groups and the value of their diversity
– New Balancing Act: Modern societies and Traditional ways
Terms relating to Culture Change:
Diffusion – the sharing of material and nonmaterial culture from one
group to another. (ideas; religion; new
technologies; popular materials)
Syncretism – the blending of native and foreign traits as a result of
diffusion
forming a new cultural trait or institution (altering, or making their own
version of, foreign introduced material things, ideas, religion, sports, etc.).
Cultural Lag – the struggle and frustration of adapting to the changes
happening around a person or group. (individuals/groups adapting to
modern technology; science; new religious ideas) (typically
traditional cultures and older generations)
Cultural Loss - As new activities, strategies, or institutions come into
a society passively or forcibly, then some other activity, strategy, or
institutions has to be discarded, and over time possibly lost. (There’s
only so much time and energy in a day/week/year)
Cultural Revitalization - when culture
groups attempt to revitalize or reinvigorate old or dying cultural traditions
or institutions (ex. religion, language, ceremonies).
Aspects of Modernity:
Pros: more information-education and all its positive affects like
science with its emphasis on reasoning and logic; improved technology &
health care; more choices and freedoms in general; possible lowering of
inequality
Challenges: still big problems persist: poverty, inequality &
environment; too many choices?; too much individualism? frequent
cultural lag & increasing cultural loss; more personal stress,
frustration, and identity issues; less common threads/connections between
people/families; moral uncertainty; more impersonal
relations; more competitive and less cooperative