Sociology Midterm

Victoria Thai

February 27, 2015

1.

Society is the self- contained and organized group of people who interact under shared political authority within a well-defined geographic area. It consists of persistent patterns of relationships and social networks, within which people operate; therefore, it is our social environment. In order to have a functional society, there are several fundamental sociological concepts that are necessary. In order to form the basis of society, there have to be cultures, subcultures, norms, sanctions, statuses, and roles. However, different societies can share the same culture.

Culture is society’s way of life including all of its material and nonmaterial products which are passed from generation to generation. Culture consists of everything we do in order to survive and thrive. Since we need it to interact and survive, humans preserve and pass culture along to others. People learn language, knowledge, rules for behavior, and how to construct material creations and pass them on to their children in order to survive. If we were not taught how to speak, dress, or live, we would have to learn it all on our own, which would be very difficult since humans do not have those instincts like some animals do. Since there are many different societies and different cultures, there are also subcultures.

Subculture is a group that shares in the overall culture of a society but also has its own distinctive values, norms, and life style. Members of a subculture participate in the dominant culture while engaging in unique and distinctive forms of behavior. An example of a subculture that I am a part of is the Asian-American subculture. I am still part of the American culture where I share the same values, norms, and lifestyle, but I also have some different traditions. I celebrate the same holidays that we celebrate in our culture like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, but I also celebrate Chinese New Year. Subcultures are especially important to my...