Unit 2. Culture Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation

CULTUREUnit 2

Culture

Culture is the knowledge, language, values, customs, and material objects that are passed from person to person and from one generation to the next in a human group or society.

General term for all symbolic and learned aspects of human society. Some believe that certain primates have

the capacity for culture

Gestures With Different Meanings in Other Societies

“He’s crazy”or

“You have a telephone

call”


“Hook ‘em Horns”

or“Your spouse is

unfaithful”


“Okay”Or

“I’ll kill you”

Importance of Culture for individuals Essential for our individual survival

and for our communication with other people

We rely on culture because we are not born with the information we need to survive Give some examples of how

transmission of culture helps us to survive

Importance of culture to society Culture is the common denominator

that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to the group

Please use your partner to decipher the meaning of this statement:

Rules

Societies need rules about civility and tolerance

We are not born knowing how to express kindness or hatred

Why is this statement false? Well, that’s just human nature”

Built on the assumption that what we do as human beings is determined by nature or instinct

Do Human Beings have Instincts? Reflexes and Drives Reflexes – involuntary response to

stimuli – sneeze Drives are unlearned biologically

determined impulses – sleep, food, water

Reflexes and drives do not determine how people will behave in human societies

Culture is our tool kit for survival

Does culture determine how we think and act?

What is the “tool kit” for survival?

Reflection

Two Types of Culture

Material CultureNon-Material Culture

The physical or tangible creations that members of a society make, use and share. Look around the room.

What judgments can you make about our society simply based on the material culture located here?

Examples of material culture that are important to you?

The abstract or intangible human creations of society that influence people’s behavior. Language, beliefs,

values, rules of behavior, family patterns and political systems. Beliefs are most

important – what are some beliefs our society holds?

Cultural Universals

Customs and practices that occur across all societies

Appearance – bodily adornment Activities – sports, dancing, games,

joking Social Institutions – family, law

religion Customary practices – cooking,

folklore, hospitality

Cultural UniversalsDay 2- Intro to Culture\Cultural Universals.doc

Customs and practices that occur across all societies

..\activities\Culture\Cultural+Universals.doc

Function of cultural universals Ensure the smooth and continual

operation of society A society must meet basic human

needs by providing food, shelter, and safety of its members

How do some of the cultural universals provide this stability?

Culture

Values

Symbols Language

Norms

Four Components of Culture

Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture.

Symbols may represent many things depending on culture or personal interpretation.

Examples: Objects (flag), gestures (peace), sounds (bell system), image (Ban. Republic vs. Wet Seal)

Symbols

SymbolsAny act or thing which represents something else.

Instructions:

Each group has been given an envelope containing different symbols.

On a blank piece of paper write down your initial reaction to each symbol as it is removed from the envelop. (this should be done individually and without speaking)

When all symbols have been examined share with your group and create a single consensus of what each symbol represents.

Were your reactions to the symbols the same or different?

Which symbols produced different responses?

Which symbols produced similar reactions?

What does this tell us about American Society?

Do we have a shared culture or is it relative to your upbringing or maybe region?

Questions

What does this Symbol Mean?

Native American Basket Ball team -

1909

Worn by early aviators as a sign of good luck - 1912

Iran – 1st Millennium BCE

Logo of the Indian State of Bahir

Pavement of Amiens Cathedral

Tomb from Medieval Bosnia

Holy Symbol in Jainism

Can we make assumptions about people by how they are dressed or what type of car they drive?

What do different possessions tell us about one another?

Do our choices reveal our social class?

What possessions signify wealth? Middle Class? Working Class? Who makes these decisions?

What is meant by Status Symbol?

Have you made any purchases to enhance your status?

Are we what we own?

What could be some problems with defining people based on Status Symbols?

Language

Defined as a set of symbols and/or sounds that express ideas and enable people to think and communicate.

On a piece of paper create two columns: label one Men and the other Woman.

List examples of slang for men and women.

On the back of this paper create a list of slang for different racial or ethnic groups

It’s ok if SOME of the examples are offensive – that’s the point! What can we learn from negative slang?

How powerful is language in your life?

Language and Gender

“If a woman is swept off a ship into the water, the cry is `Man overboard!' If she is killed by a hit-and-run driver, the charge is `manslaughter.' If she is injured on the job, the coverage is `workmen's compensation.'

But if she arrives at a threshold marked `Men Only,' she knows the admonition is not

intended to bar animals or plants or inanimate objects. It is meant for her.”

---Alma Graham

Language

Language is the most important set of symbols and allows for the most cultural transmission.

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (does language influence or determine our behavior?)

Can show intelligence within a field, racism, and gender bias

Language and Gender

Do “Prince” and “Princess”, “God” and “Goddess”, “King” and “Queen” have the same meaning but simply refer to different sexes?

Are “you’re such a man” and “you’re such a woman” equal compliments? Insults?

Annie Edson Taylor is often described as “the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel”, while Neil Armstrong is ``the first man to walk on the moon.” Does it matter?

Create your own politically correct bed time story.

Look at the traditional story through current issues and apply gender/racial neutral terms.

Was this easy? Difficult? Why don’t we do this with more things?

C:\Documents and Settings\rnulty\Desktop\Shortcut to Fairy Tale.lnk

sleeping beauty reading Fairty tale.docx

Photostory….

Language and Gender English can ignore women i.e. huMAN, MANkind. Can be positive when referring to Men.

Examples? When related to women, it can be negative or

convey weakness, inferiority or immaturity. Examples?

Language, race and ethnicity How can language reinforce perceptions about race

and ethnicity?

Language

Read the vignette from pgs. 83-84 about language.

Should those who are in the United States speak only English?

Language

ValuesCollective ideas about what is

right or wrong etc…

Values are collective ideas about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and desirable or undesirable in a particular culture. Usually come in pairs – generous & stingy

What are other examples?

Using the graphic organizer create your own definition of each of the Ten US Core Values. Read page 86 of your text. How does your definition of each value differ? Which Values are most important in the United States? Are there any value contradictions? Values and Beliefs pamphlet -

..\Beth Sociology\Unit 2- Culture and Social Interaction\ch 3 values and beliefs.doc

Values

Ideal Culture vs. Real Culture Ideal Culture refers to the values and

standards of behavior that people in a society profess to hold.

Real Culture refers to the values and standards of behavior that people actually follow.

With a partner create a list of examples of Ideal Culture and Real Culture in the United States?

Values

Values

Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, and beauty that serve as broad guidelines for social living.

Used to defend our behavior and the behavior of those around us Brave vs. coward; hard-working

vs. lazy

NormsEstablished rules of behavior and rules of conduct.

Norms are established rules of behavior or standards of conduct.

Folkways are everyday customs that may be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture. Examples?

Mores are strongly held norms that may not be violated without serious consequences within a particular culture. Examples?

Taboos are mores so strong that their violation is considered to be extremely offensive. Examples?

Norms

Norms Rules and expectations by which a society

guides the behavior of its members. Types of Norms

mores- must follow at risk of ridicule, loss of employment, or even imprisonment Can change over time (role of women, acceptance of infidelity, etc.)folkways- informal and do not have to follow completely (brush your teeth two times a day)

Norms

Prescriptive Norms Behavior that is acceptable (shake hands)

Proscriptive Norms Behavior that is unacceptable (spit in

class) Formal Norms

Laws enforced by positive and negative sanctions

Informal Norms Enforced through social interaction

Norms

Some norms contradict themselves Individualism vs. cooperation

Other norms are idealistic and not what we actually live by Speed limit, cursing, drinking,

cheating, lying, etc

NORMS

What are the norms associated with a conversation?

Norms

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but religiously follows the new.”

- Henry David Thoreau "To be nobody but yourself in a world

which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting.“

- e.e. cummings

Using your fairy tale, fable, or example of American folk tale create a list of Values, and Norms represented in the story.

Divide the Norms into lessons about Folkways, Mores and Taboos.

Be prepared to share with the class.

Not all stories will include each Norm, the idea is to see how children’s stories are used to transmit culture to future generations.

Activity

Mission: Break a Norm!

Social/Verbal Classroom Bathroom Hallway Elevator Cafeteria Office Park Home

Why might this map be

considered ethnocentric?

Describe experiences you have had with culture shock.

Multiculturalism

Your textbook defines multiculturalism as an educational program recognizing past and present cultural diversity in US society and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions.

Could there be other definitions?

Multiculturalism

What do Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and Ronald Takaki think about multicultural education?

How can that help us evaluate the Social Studies curriculum in Central Bucks School District?

C.B. Social Studies sequence

Grade Course

7 The Ancient World

8 US History to Reconstruction

9 US History- Reconstruction through WWII

10 Recent American History and American Political Systems

11 Modern World History

12 International Relations and Economics

Multiculturalism

Pretend you are at a school board meeting and someone has proposed that the Central Bucks School District make a greater effort to include multicultural education in the Social Studies curriculum.

It is now open for moderated discussion.

Multiculturalism

Our School District should make a greater effort to include multicultural education in the Social Studies curriculum.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Somewhat Agree

Multiculturalism

In a post 9/11 world, does multicultural education in the United States strengthen or weaken American democracy?

Culture at South

Does South have a distinct culture? Describe.

cb south culture.docx

Culture at CB South

List some of the different groups of people here at South…

Do you think that they are similar at West & East?

POPULAR CULTURE

WITHIN ONE CULTURE THERE EXISTS CULTURAL DIVERSITY

High CultureLow CultureSubcultureCounterculture

High Culture and Low Culture High Culture- cultural patterns that

distinguish a society’s elite. Beverly Hills, Weezer

Low Culture- cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population.

Examples? Is one better than the other?

Subculture and Counterculture

Subculture- cultural patterns that set apart some segment of a society’s population.

Amish, Irish, Italians, and Puerto Rican American’s

Counterculture- cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.

Examples?

Activity

Fold a blank piece of paper in half. Label the left side Column A and the right side

Column B As you listen to SONG A write down everything

you think and feel. What is the artist singing about, what is the

emotion of the song? Listen to SONG B and write down everything

you think and feel. What is the artist singing about, what is the

emotion of the song? Which song did you enjoy more?

Show and Tell

In your groups describe your selected item, not just its appearance, but WHAT IT MEANS.

Example: Starbucks triple vente skinny vanilla latte – yup, my order is

that obnoxious. Convenience – someone is always ready to make my coffee. Control – the baristas make coffee on demand. Name recognition – guaranteed similar drink at many

locations.

What values of American culture are present in this item?

What values of American Culture are present in your items?

Write down what you think are the core values of mainstream American life?

Where could we look to find them?

Patriotism:

Love for one’s country, to support, serve, and defend, to be inspired by, to change for the better and to care deeply for its citizens.

Is patriotism a core American value?

WHAT IS PATRIOTIC?

Neilson Ratings

SPEND 20 MINUTES PLAYING YOUR BOARD GAME.

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY

Write a paragraph that explains the extent to which the values of US culture are represented in the game you played.Use Robin Williams’ list on pp 70-71.

To what extent does your game teach the values of US culture?

Equal Opportunity

Achievement and Success

Material Comfort

Activity and Work

Practicality and Efficiency

Progress Science Democracy and

Free Enterprise Freedom Racism and

Group Superiority

Should any values be added or removed from the list?

Equal Opportunity


Material Comfort

Activity and Work




Group Superiority

Which of these values are inconsistent with others?

Equal Opportunity


Material Comfort

Activity and Work




Group Superiority

TELL USE ABOUT YOUR VIOLATION OF SOCIAL NORMS EXPERIENCE.

Breaking Norms!

(1) Break a social norm of dress/attire. (Caution: do not wear anything illegal, dangerous, or extremely disruptive.) Try dressing in female clothes if you are male. Wear formal attire to a casual get together. Wear a winter jacket in the summer. Wear sandals in the snow. Wear stripes with polka dots. Wear an unstylish or outdated outfit.

(2) Next, interact with others and observe their responses while wearing your norm-breaking outfit.

(3) Discussion Did you experience sanctions? Were there subtle

punishments for breaking social norms? How does conforming to and violating social norms fit into the lifelong process of socialization?

How does society maintain social control? Social Control- means by which

members of society encourage conformity to norms.

How does society maintain social control? Social Control- means by which

members of society encourage conformity to norms.

Common means: Sanctions Internalization

Sanctions

Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions Formal Sanction Informal Sanctions

Please identify examples of each.

Construct a chart that illustrates how sanctions are used at CB South

Positive Sanctions

Negative Sanctions

Formal Sanctions

Informal Sanctions

HOW EFFECTIVE ARE SANCTIONS?

For example, detentions.

Problems with sanctions

A positive sanction for one person acts as a negative sanction to another.

If someone only engages in behavior because of sanctions they will cease to engage in that behavior if the sanction is removed or does not increase.

If someone engages in behavior because of a sanction they are not engaging in the most desirable behavior.

ALL SANCTIONS ARE EXTERNAL.


THE MOST DESIRABLE RESULTS WILL COME FROM INTERNAL MOTIVATION.


THE MOST DESIRABLE RESULTS WILL COME FROM INTERNAL MOTIVATION.

APPLY THIS TO SCHOOL.

On the first day of this class why did you sit in a seat?

Internalization

Norms have become integrated into your personality. You no longer need sanctions to conform to many norms.

As a result, you may feel: Shame-painful sense that others disapprove

of our actions. Guilt- negative judgement we make of

ourselves. Pride- sense of gratification.

For most of you,

When you violated the conversation norm, the reaction of the person you were talking to was the negative sanction.

Your feeling of awkwardness was internalization.

MORE APPLICATION…

Choose one issue at CB South that is currently controlled through sanctions and develop a method to achieve desirable results without the use of formal reward or punishment.

CULTURAL CHANGE

CULTURAL CHANGE

How many women in the room would feel comfortable asking someone out on a date?

CULTURAL CHANGE


Who is responsible for paying for the first date? When does this change?

CULTURAL CHANGE


Who is responsible for paying for the first date? When does this change?

Do people really date anymore?

CULTURAL CHANGEWhy did these norms change?

Causes of Cultural Change

Invention- the process of creating new

cultural elements Discovery- recognizing and better

understanding something that

already exists Diffusion- spread of cultural

traits from one society to another

Cultural Change and Values

Since the US emphasizes values such as innovation, progress and science, our culture is more likely to change than others.

Invention

We will investigate how inventions have changed our cultural norms, values and/or beliefs.

Let’s use the Air Conditioner as an example.

As a result of the air conditioner…

Florida and Las Vegas could be developed.

The uniqueness of southern culture was diminished. For example, similar clothing can be sold across the US.

Federal Government employees could work beyond the 90 degree temperature/humidity index. Governmental growth?

Diminished importance of front porches.

Your turn…

1) http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm

2) Identify the inventions that you researched and explain how they work to your group.

3) Discuss how the norms, values, beliefs and/or language of society changed because of that invention.

4) Create a graphic organizer that illustrates that information.

5) Evaluate the positive and negative aspects of those changes in American culture.

http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm

http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm

In your notebook

Analyze culture from the structural-functional perspective and the social-conflict perspective.

In your notebook

Analyze culture from the structural-functional perspective and the social-conflict perspective.

Check your analysis on pp. 85-87

consider

To what extent does culture act as a freedom and to what extent does culture act as a constraint?

Come Up with Your Own…

With a partner, generate a list of the following components of culture Symbols Language Values Norms Components of Culture Graphic

Organizer -Day 3 - Symbols and Language\Culture_go.docx