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Culture Ch. 3. Culture consists of material objects, patterns of thinking, feeling, language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors passed from one generation

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Ch. 2

CultureCh. 3

Culture consists of material objects, patterns of thinking, feeling, language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors passed from one generation to the next

Material CultureNonmaterial CulturesWhat is Culture?Three Dimensions of CultureNormative consists of the standards for appropriate behavior for a group; composed of norms, sanctions, and values.

Cognitive refers to the complex of ideas and knowledge; includes language, beliefs

Material - consists of the concrete, tangible aspects of a culture.3

Culture and SocietyA society is a group of people living within defined territorial borders who share a culture.

Culture provides the blueprints for guiding people in their relationships within a society.

4What is Normal, Natural, or Usual?LearnedCulture as Lens: through which we perceive and evaluate thingsProvides implicit instructions and a moral imperative that defines what we think is right and wrongCulture ShockEthnocentrismCulture and Taken-for-Granted OrientationsConsists of trying to appreciate other groups ways of like in the context in which they exist, w/out judging them as superior or inferior to our own.Understanding Cultures on Their Own Terms

Sick Cultures based on quality of life - Robert EdgertonPracticing Cultural RelativismGesturesConveying Messages without WordsGestures Meaning Differ Among CulturesCan Lead to MisunderstandingsComponents of Symbolic Culture

Components of Symbolic CultureThe creation and transmission of culture depends heavily on the capacity to develop symbols.

Symbols - things that stand for, or represent, something else. Can also include gestures (e.g., a hand wave).

Language a system of interrelated symbols through which a group of people are able to communicate and pass down information.8LanguageAllows Human Experience to be CumulativeProvides Social or Shared PastProvides Social or Shared FutureAllows Shared PerspectiveAllows Complex, Shared, Goal-Directed BehaviorComponents of Symbolic CultureLanguage Has Embedded Within It Ways of Looking at the WorldLanguage shapes our reality.

Our perception of reality is at the mercy of the words and grammatical rules of our language.

Studies demonstrate that language significantly shapes thought.

Language and Perception: Sapir-WhorfQuestions for ConsiderationHow does learning a new language shape ones view of the world?

What is meant by the statement that people are forever prisoners of their language?

What are some ways that you can apply the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?11Values Standards by which we define good/bad, desirableNorms - Expectations or rules for behaviorSanctions - Reaction to following or breaking norms; used to encourage conformity to normsPositive sanctionsNegative sanctionsFormal sanctions given only by officially designated persons (an A for academic performance; time in jail/prison for committing fraud)Informal sanctions can be applied by most members of society (thanking someone for helping you change a tire)Taboos Norms so strongly ingrained that eve the thought of them is greeted with revulsionValues, Norms, and SanctionsCultural DiversityBecause humans are basically the same biologically, cultural diversity must be explained by nongenetic factors.

Cultural diversity within societies is promoted by social categories, subcultures, and countercultures.

Social category a group of persons who share a social characteristic.13Subculture - A world within the dominant culture; a group that is part of the dominant culture but differs from it in some important respects.

By tradition, Americans like to see themselves as part of a large, single culture. Yet there are many subgroups with cultural uniqueness.

SubculturesCounterculturesCountercultures - Groups with norms and values at odds with the dominant culture; a subculture that is deliberately and consciously opposed to aspects of the dominant culture.

Openly defies norms, values, and/or beliefs of the dominant culture.

Rebelling against the dominant culture is central to their members. Examples: militia movement, skinheads, hippies

15Values in U.S. SocietyValues broad cultural principles that most people in a society consider desirable.

They do not specify precisely what to think, feel, or behave. Rather, they are ideas about what a group of people believe is good/bad, acceptable/unacceptable

They are important because they have a tremendous influence on social behavior.

Norms are based on a cultures values.

Handout: 15 US Values

Universal Human Activites?Although there are many differences between groups throughout the world, sociologists and anthropologists have identified many behaviors that are shared by all cultures.

Some Activities are Universal - Courtship, Marriage, Funerals, GamesAll cultures have families, schools, houses of worship, economies, governments, and systems of prestige.

Cultural UniversalsCultural Universals

18The New Technology - New ToolsCultural Lag and Cultural ChangeTechnology and Cultural LevelingTechnology in the Global Village

Questions for ConsiderationHow might functionalists and conflict theorists have different views of countercultures?

Which view do you prefer and why?

What can be done to minimize our tendencies of ethnocentrism?20Activity: Scavenger Hunt! !!