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Module 13: Gerhard Lenski
Vocabulary words for Gerhard Lenski module
17
Sociology
Undergraduate 4
08/14/2015

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Term
ecosystem
Definition
A self-sustaining community of plants and animals within a natural environment.
Term
agrarian society
Definition
A society whose mode of production is based on agriculture (crop growing) primarily through the use of human and animal energy.
Term
class system
Definition
A multi-dimensional phenomenon in which populations are ranked along various dimensions such as occupation, education, property, racial or ethnic status, age, and gender.
Term
deductive reasoning
Definition
The process of reasoning from general theory to specific hypotheses.
Term
inductive reasoning
Definition
The process of reasoning from specific observations to general statements.
Term
race
Definition
A socially defined category of people who share genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
Term
paradigm
Definition
A theoretical framework or worldview within which middle-range theories and generalizations regarding social reality are formulated and tested.
Term
cumulative change
Definition
A distinctive kind of change associated with systems composed of multiple, interrelated parts. Within these systems, some parts change while others remain unchanged.
Term
constitutional government
Definition
A government that is constrained by a written document that defines the organizational structure of that government and sets forth the authority and rules of conduct of the various offices within that structure.
Term
hunting and gathering society
Definition
A society whose subsistence is based primarily on hunting animals and gathering edible plants.
Term
cultural diffusion
Definition
The transmission of cultural elements between sociocultural systems.
Term
cultural lag
Definition
A dysfunction in the sociocultural system that results when a change occurs in one part of the system but another part of that system fails to adjust to the change. The failure often causes conflict until adjustment is made.
Term
cultural transmission
Definition
The socialization process whereby the norms and values of the group are internalized by individuals.
Term
ecological-evolutionary theory
Definition
Theories of sociocultural systems that stress their origin, maintenance, and change by focusing on the relationships of the system to their social and physical environments.
Term
technology
Definition
The application of logic, reason, and knowledge to the problems of exploiting raw materials from the environment.
Term
year dating conventions
Definition
Using the birth of Christ as a reference point, the dating system of B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Dommini or Medieval Latin for “in the year of the Lord”) have been used in the West since the Middle Ages. In deference to the non-Christian world many now use the designation B.C.E. (Before the Common Era or Before the Current Era) and C.E. (Common Era). B.C. dates = BCE dates; AD dates = CE dates.
Term
herding society
Definition
A society whose subsistence is based on domesticated animals.
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