Exercises:

1. Find Russian equivalents for:

in terms of the total context; in total cultural setting; to place one’s own culture patterns at the centre of things; nation-states; to discourage smb. from doing smth. ; to label; to be a fact of life; private property; to become/be conscious of phenomenon of ethnocentrism; to be not worthy of serious consideration; the important point is (that); positively; negatively; to be engendered; the records of past wars; through disruption of the social order; to be opposed to conflict; evolutionary and functionalist models.

2. Find English equivalents for:

в общем контексте; расовое превосходство; первоклассный щит (заслон) против чего-либо; в общем культурном контексте; быть тесно связанным с … ; превосходить; универсальная человеческая тенденция; конкурировать/состязаться с кем-то за что-то; отбивать охоту у кого-то делать что-то; гражданский; стимул; поддержание общественного порядка; чувство собственности; предвзятость/предубеждение; важным моментом является то, что; быть очевидным; процесс взросления; наклеивать ярлыки; содействовать социальным изменениям; мешать (препятствовать); стимул для взаимодействия с … ; нарушение общественного порядка; быть настроенным (склонным) к мирным социальным переменам; отказаться/отделаться от чего-либо; в позитивном/негативном смысле.

3. Answer the questions:

1. What do the concepts of subculture and contraculture indicate?

2. What idea does the concept of cultural relativity extend?

3. In what context can specific cultural patterns be properly interpreted? Give an example.

4. What concept is closely related to the concept of cultural relativity?

5. How is the term ethnocentrism formed and what tendency does it refer to?

6. Define the phenomenon of ethnocentrism? What is ethnocentrism?

7. What do most religions teach?

8. When do people start learning ethnocentrism?

9. How do parents behave when faced with their children’s possessiveness?

10. Is the learning of ethnocentrism unintended?

11. What does history teach us?

12. How should ethnocentrism (as a feature of culture) be evaluated?

13. What positive and negative functions does ethnocentrism fulfill in the society?

14. Does ethnocentrism promote understanding and cooperation between different groups? Why is there little incentive to interact with other groups?

15. What attitudes are likely to be engendered and what can ethnocentrism promote?

16. Why can we say that ethnocentrism is a vehicle for the promotion of social change and how does it manage to do it?

17. What are most social scientists biased towards?

18. What models do sociologists operate from?

1. Translate into Russian and paraphrase the following sentences taken from the text:

1. When all 4000 human societies are brought into the picture, almost every belief or trait one can think of is found to exist somewhere in the world.

2. Whether one is evaluating shelter among the Eskimos, the functions of the Red Guard in China, the use of open fireplaces in England, or the role of guerilla organization in the Arab East, the principle of cultural relativity should be remembered.

3. White attitudes of racial superiority now are matched by the defiant “black is beautiful”; haute cuisine must compete with soul food; and blacks and whites compete for credit for each new popular music style.

4. Nation-states are notoriously ethnocentric (chauvinistic), and most religions seem to teach that theirs is “the chosen people”.

5. Parents, unless they are quite crude, outwardly discourage their children from verbalizing such beliefs. But, in private, they may reassure their offsping that his possessions are indeed very nice.

6. Once one becomes conscious of the phenomenon of ethnocentrism, the temptation is strong to evaluate it in moral terms, to label it with epithets such as bigoted, chauvinistic, and so on, and to imply that one who has not discovered and compensated for his ethnocentric biases is not worthy of serious consideration.

7. Believing that one’s own ways are the best encourages a “we” feeling with one’s associates and strengthens the idea that loyalty to comrades and the preservation of the basis for one’s superiority are important values.

8. In fact, attitudes of suspicion, disdain, and hostility are likely to be engendered.