Big 9 & Inquiry Specific Concepts

Community

a group of people who share a common interest, ecology, and locality, or a social system/structure

Ethnicity

a social group is connected by a shared understanding of cultural identity

Family

a term describing a range of meanings in terms of people's relatedness and connection; may refer to a domestic situation or household, or a wider kinship network

Ideology

a group of people's system of social and moral values; a commitment to central values

Kinship

the web/pattern of social relationships that connect people through descent, marriage, or other forms of social connection

Nation-State

a politically legitimate, bounded geographical area; a state is a political and geographical entity, and a nation is a cultural one, so the two coincide

Reproduction

the transmission of existing cultural values and norms and other societal aspects from generation to generation

Personhood

the culturally constructed concept of the individual human being- the "self"

Socialization

the process through which a person learns how to become an accepted member of society through agents such as family, peers, and media

Enculturation

transmission of one culture to another via the gradual acquisition of the characteristics and norms of the other culture

Acculturation

cultural change related to contact with another culture

Belief & Knowledge

a set of shared convictions, values and viewpoints regarded as “the truth” by members of a social group; supported by cultural experiences

Culture

an organized and shared system of symbols, ideas, belief, and materials that humans in a group create to provide structure for their physical and social lives

Change

alteration/modification of social or cultural elements in a society

Power

a person or group's capacity to influence, manipulate, or control others and others' resources

Symbolism

the study of the deeper meaning that people give to objects, actions, and processes that helps create a culture's sense of meaning

Materiality

the objects, resources, or belongings a person of group of people value that are involved in social relationships and practices that have cultural significance

Social Relations

The way that two or more people interact in a social setting or with a larger network

Identity

The personal view an individual holds about themselves, as well as the external view a group holds about the individual; can also refer to the shared perception of a group of people

Society

the ways that people organize and function in and as groups, which are sustained by social relationships

Race

socially constructed category of identification of people based on physical characteristics, ancestry, historical affiliation, or shared culture.

Commodification

The transformation of goods and services, as well as concepts that normally may not be considered goods, into a commodity, something of value.

Embodiment

The process by which people incorporate biologically the social and material world in which they live. A person knows, feels, and thinks about the social world through the body.

Habitus

Pierre Bourdieu holds that socialized norms guide people’s behavior and thinking. These become lasting tendencies to think, feel and act in certain ways in particular social situations.

Personhood

Culturally constructed concept of the individual human being, the “self”.

Subjectivity

An anthropologist’s perspective in writing and cultural interpretation of others is guided by their own background and experience.

The body (AOK)

The body as it differs across cultures may be viewed as an anthropological problem. Anthropologists investigate its use, value, and limits. It may be considered not just as a biological fact or a cultural construction, but also as an ontological problem that makes us rethink bodies in terms of space, time and matter.

The Other

Anthropologists use this term to describe the way people who are members of a particular social group perceive other people who are not members; may be negative.

The self

the socially constructed understanding of individual and cultural identity that, in people’s thinking, distinguishes them from “the Other”.

Authority

Power exercised with consent

Conflict (AOK)

Disagreements between individuals, groups, cultures or societies that may result from differences in interests, values or actions

Belonging (AOK)

Consensus

Cultural values and beliefs are learned and shared to a significant extent across a society with a general level of agreement about these values and beliefs

Govermentality

The way in which the state exercises control over the population

Hegemony

Cultural or political dominance of one social group over others; cultural processes through which the ruling classes maintain their power

Ideology

System of social and moral ideas of a group of people; a commitment to central values

Resistance

Social groups’ refusal to accept or attempts to modify change in its apparent forms

Social control

Any means used to maintain behavioral norms and regulate conflict

State

an organized political community living under a single system of government