Glossary

A short glossary of terms used across this chapter, restated here in plain language.

Cultural Evolutionism is the theory, borrowed loosely from the idea of biological evolution, that cultures too change gradually through variation and a kind of selection over time, rather than staying fixed.

The Estates System was the ranking system of feudal Europe, which divided society into three formally recognised estates -- the nobility, the clergy, and a broad 'third estate' made up mainly of professional and middle-class people, each of which elected its own representatives, while peasants and labourers were excluded from having any vote at all.

The Great Tradition refers to the cultural traditions that are written down and are widely accepted among a society's educated, literate elite, in contrast with the Little Tradition, which refers to cultural traditions that remain oral and operate mainly at the level of the village or the local community.

Self Image describes how a person comes to see themselves, shaped in large part by how they are seen and treated by others around them.

Social Roles are the particular rights and responsibilities that attach to a given social position or status -- being a parent, a student, or a priest's daughter, for instance, each carries its own expected duties and entitlements. …