Free HSC Society and Culture Flashcard Review

The persistence of social, cultural, or institutional patterns and practices over time, where aspects of society remain relatively stable despite external pressures or change.

The transformation of social, cultural, or institutional patterns over time, resulting from technological, economic, political, environmental, or cultural factors.

They operate simultaneously; societies adopt new practices (change) while maintaining underlying values or structures (continuity). Change is often evolutionary rather than revolutionary, with old and new coexisting.

A group of people living together within a defined territory, sharing common institutions, norms, and values; the organised system of human relationships and interactions governed by laws and cultural practices.

The shared beliefs, values, customs, practices, language, and material objects that characterise a group or society, transmitted across generations and shaping individual behaviour and identity.

Individual human beings with agency, identity, and social roles shaped by their culture, society, and personal experiences; the subjects through whom social and cultural patterns are enacted.

The natural and built surroundings in which societies operate, including climate, geography, resources, and infrastructure; it shapes social practices and is reciprocally shaped by human activity.

The temporal dimension enabling analysis of change and continuity; societies exist within historical periods, and understanding context requires awareness of past influences and future implications.

The capacity to influence, control, or direct the behaviour of individuals or groups; distributed unequally in society through institutions (political, economic, social) and expressed through authority and decision-making.

Legitimate power recognised by society as rightfully exercised by institutions or individuals; confers the right to make decisions binding on others, derived from law, tradition, expertise, or democratic consent.

Socially constructed roles, behaviours, and identities associated with sex; shapes experiences, opportunities, and power relations in society; varies across cultures and historical periods.

Tools, systems, and knowledge developed to solve problems and achieve goals; drives change by altering communication, work, consumption, and social relationships; shapes how societies function and evolve.

The process of increased interconnection between societies through trade, communication, migration, and cultural exchange; results in both cultural convergence and resistance, affecting local and global identity.

The process of adopting modern practices, technologies, and institutions based on industrialisation and scientific rationality; typically involves shift from traditional to contemporary social structures.

The process by which societies adopt Western (European/North American) values, institutions, technologies, and practices; often linked to colonialism and globalisation; can involve cultural loss and identity conflict.

Analysis focused on individuals and small-group interactions; examines personal agency, interpersonal relationships, and how individual choices and behaviours reflect broader social patterns.

Analysis focused on institutions and organisations (schools, families, workplaces, local communities); examines how these structures organise society and mediate between individual and macro levels.

Analysis focused on large-scale societal structures (economy, political systems, culture, institutions); examines patterns across entire societies and how global forces shape social systems.

Aspects of society affecting change, including demographic shifts, class structure, family patterns, community formation, and social movements; shape values, opportunities, and lived experiences.

Shared beliefs, values, language, and practices that influence behaviour and identity; cultural shifts in religion, education, and artistic expression drive or resist social change.