Ethnocentrism and

cultural relativism
Sociology 111
Fall 2008
Alfred Schutz

 German philosopher
and sociologist
 Heavily influenced
branch of symbolic
interactionist sociology
called phenomenology
 Responsible for the core
concept of social
construction
“The world taken for granted”
 Assume that our culture is natural
 Deeply penetrates our identity
 Evaluate everything through the lens of our
culture
 Allows us to easily
function in daily life
Internalization

 Process of learning culture so well that it is

bound to your identity
 Internalized culture or “culture within”
Encountering other cultures

 Culture shock
 Immersion in an
unfamiliar environment
causes disorientation
 Radically different
cultures can challenge
or cause us to question
our basic assumptions
 Anomie
Ethnocentrism
 Ethnocentrism
 Viewing other cultures
through the lens of our
own
 Taking our own culture
as the “norm”
 Group solidarity & pride
in heritage
 Devaluing groups other
than own
Cultural Relativism

 Evaluating a culture
on its own terms
 Learning to “see” from
the perspective of
another in order to
understand a culture
 Refraining from
making judgments of
“right” and “wrong”
For consideration

 Is it possible to always practice cultural

relativism?
 Should we always practice cultural relativism?
 Are there practices that we as moral beings should
oppose, even as social scientists?
 Should scientific objectivity take precedence above
all?
 If a line is to be drawn, where should it be?