Culture, ethnocentrism vs. relativism and cultural aspect and social change
The term “culture” mainly refers to the shared beliefs, values, notions, norms, gender roles, material objects and common perceptions acquired by a group of individuals. The culture forms the identity of the group and in the broadest sense; it is a “way of life.” A person learns the culture of the group from the previous generation. The individual also develops similar beliefs, attitudes, symbols and communication styles. A culture is only a distinctive feature of human beings.
Ethnocentrism is a common terminology in the social sciences, particularly applicable in Anthropology. Ethnocentrism is a tendency that is prevalent across all cultures. Individuals tend to prioritize their viewpoint of their culture as valid and tend to consider other cultures as somewhat low in position in comparison to their culture. For instance, the Western people are more likely to consider their culture as superior and developed in comparison to African or Asian cultures. On the other hand cultural relativism is in complete contrast to ethnocentrism. The cultural relativists consider culture as a “form of expression” and they are open to different worldviews (Rapport, 2014). They understand the significance of understanding other cultures and are likely to adopt those values and beliefs in legitimate cases.
Cultural aspects mainly refer to the elements that shape a particular culture. In general, eight aspects of culture are considered that represents the entire culture. These are art, music, food, language, religion, clothing, daily life and government. These are also considered as non-biological aspects and form a vital part of any given culture. Using these aspects, a society understands itself and therefore, it characterises the entire society.
Social change can be defined as ways in which social and cultural interactions change over time. A social change has a profound or significant impact on the society. A single change might have long-term consequences. For instance, social movements involving the LGBTQ rights, women rights or any other civil rights have transformed the entire fabric of societies (Doetsch-Kidder, 2012). As a result of these social changes, cultural norms, institutional norms as well as other elements has transformed drastically. These social transformations have proved the influence of collective power and collective action. Moreover, constructive changes within a society are the result of social change.
References
Doetsch-Kidder, S. (2012). Social change and intersectional activism: The spirit of social movement. Springer.
Rapport, N. (2014). Social and cultural anthropology: The key concepts. Routledge.