CULTURECULTURECULTURE

Summarized byJOSEPHINE P. MANAPSAL MP, RP

Culture is the values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life.

What is Culture?

Culture refers to the beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that, together, form a people's way of life.

Culture determines how we view the world around us

Culture includes the traditions we inherit and pass on to the next generation

Culture: totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects, and behavior

Culture

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Culture refers to the total lifestyle of a people, including all of their ideas, values, knowledge, behaviors, and material objects that they share

Culture shapes and guides people’s perception of reality

What is culture?

Food we eatClothing Music Games we playHow to express emotionsWhat is good or bad What is high or low culture (if any)

Culture determines…

High Culture Low Culture

Culture and appearance

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Culture and Society• Society: the structure of relationships within

which culture is created and shared through regularized patterns of social interaction– Society provides the context within which our

relationships with the external world develop– How we structure society constrains the kind

of culture we construct– Cultural preferences vary across societies

Society refers to a group of people who are relatively self-sufficient and who share a common territory and culture

Members of the society preserve and transmit it from one generation to the next (through literature, art, video recording and other means of expression)

Society vs. Culture

Culture refers to that people’s traditions, customs, and behaviors. It includes ideas, values, and artifacts

Sharing a similar culture helps to define the society to which we belong

Society vs. Culture

The concept of culture (a shared way of life) must be distinguished from those of nation (a political entity) or society (the organized interaction of people in a nation or within some other boundary).

Many modern societies are multicultural---their people follow various ways of life that blend and sometimes clash.

On this planet our race, homo sapiens evolved 250,000 years ago give or take a few thousand. But the first cities appeared about 12,00 years ago. Think about that. For 95% of human life there were no cities. What kind of culture was there then?

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Culture and Society

Culture is a universal feature of human social lifeCulture is cumulativeCulture is learnedCulture is shared

Characteristics of Culture

Material and Nonmaterial CultureMaterial Culture includes all those things that

humans make or adapt from the raw stuff of nature: houses, computers, jewelry, oil paintings, etc (Stick from the forest might be a part of material culture)

Nonmaterial culture is a group's way of thinking (including its beliefs, values) and doing (its common pattern of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction) (Poem about stick)

DiffusionIs the process by which a cultural item is spread

from group to group or society to societyDiffusion can occur through a variety of means,

among them exploration, military conquest, missionary work, influence of mass media, and tourism

Diffusion may take place over long distanceThe use of smoking tobacco began when Indian

tribes in the Caribbean invented the habit of smoking the tobacco plant

Over the periods of hundred of years, tobacco traveled through Central America and across the North America

Diffusion is not always easySocieties resist ideas which seem too foreign (or

threatening to their own beliefs)Each culture tends to be selective in what it absorbs

(food vs. beliefs)Europe accepted silk, magnetic compass, chess,

and gunpowder from Chinese but rejected the teaching of philosophy

Culture and taken-for-granted orientations in lifeOur speech, our gestures, our beliefs, our

customs are usually taken-for-grantedWe assume that they are “normal” or “natural”,

and almost always we follow them without questions

Culture provides implicit instructions that tell us what we ought to do in various situations. It provides a basis for our decision making.

Non-material culture – intangible human creationsMaterial culture – tangible creations of a societyShapes what we doHelps form our personalitiesInforms our definition of what is

‘normal ‘

Types of Culture

● High culture refers to cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite.

● Popular culture designates cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population. - High culture is not inherently superior to popular culture.

What’ll You Have? Popular Beverages Across the United States. What people consume is one mark of their status as a “highbrow” or “lowbrow.

- The New “Culture of Victimization.” Americans may be becoming increasingly unwilling to accept personal responsibility for their failings and misfortunes

● Subcultures are cultural patterns that distinguish some segment of a society’s population. They involve not only difference but also hierarchy

● Counterculture refers to cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society. Countercultures reject many of the standards of a dominant culture

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Types of Cultures

When a society is made up of multiple cultures that society has to deal with and somehow reconcile cultural differences and conflicts.

In addition to the types of cultural variations we’ve talked about, there are other sources of cultural variations. Most notable are differences based on

Race National/Ethnic Origin Religion

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Multiple Cultures –One Society

● We will deal with this issue more extensively in the unit on Race and Ethnicity.

● The most common, and oldest ways of dealing with multiple cultures is probably forcing assimilation and/or wiping out minority cultures.

● More recently, we have witnessed the development of pluralistic cultures in which the different cultures tolerate each other.

● Multi-Culturalism is a more recent development that recognizes the cultural diversity of the United States and promotes the equality of all cultural traditions.

- The United States is the most multicultural of all industrial countries. By contrast, Japan is the most monocultural of all industrial nations

- Multiculturalism stands in opposition to Eurocentrism, the dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns.

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Ways of dealing with multiple cultures

● Language Diversity across the United States. The 2000 U.S. Census reports that 18 percent of people over the age of five speak a language other than English in their home

● Some call for Afrocentrism, the dominance of African cultural patterns in people’s lives.

● Supporters of multiculturalism argue that it helps us come to terms with our diverse present and strengthens the academic achievement of African- American children.

● Opponents of Multiculturalism argue that it encourages divisiveness rather than unity.

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Cultural Diversity in the US

Culture ShockPersonal

disorientation when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life.

It is the inability to read meanings in a new surroundings.

Cultural Shock“Culture becomes the lens through which we

perceive and evaluate what is going around us”We have expectations of “the way people ought

to be” Cultural shock- is the disorientation that people

experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their taken-for-granted assumptions about life

Segments of the populations of Australia, Asia, and Africa consume protein-rich insects. In the photograph, a woman enjoys a dry-roasted insect

An American tourist who goes out to dinner in Seoul, Korea and learns that a local specialty is dog meat might well experience cultural shock

SymbolsLanguageValues and BeliefsNormsIdeal and Real Culture

Components of Culture

What do symbols mean

Symbols:

A symbol is anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture (a flag, a word, a flashing red light, a raised fist, an animal etc).

* non-verbal gestures can be very “symbolic” and diverse.

-Diverse meanings can be given to different variations of the same object, for example, the winking of an eye.

Components of culture

LanguageA system of symbols that allows people to

communicate with one another.

Function of language:-Enhances communication (“lets make sure we’re on the same page”)

-Ensures continuity of culture (story telling)

-Identifies societies or groups (group specific words)

-Determines how a person is perceived by others (proper grammar vs slang)

Components of culture (contd’)

Sapir-Whorf HypothesisSince people can conceptualize the world only

through language, language precedes thought Word symbols and grammar organize the world of us

and determines our behaviorLanguage does more than describe reality, it shapes

the reality of a culture

ExamplesThe Solomon Islanders have 9 distinct words for

“coconut”, each specifying an important stage of growth

They have only one word for all meals of the dayThe Aleuts (northern Canada) have 33 words for

“snow” (texture, temperature, weight, color, load0carrying capacity, etc)

ExamplesThe Hanunoo people of the Philippines have

different names for 92 varieties of riceAmericans use a single word “rice”Hanunoo would be incapable of seeing the

distinction b/w a Ford and a Toyota

Values and Beliefs-VALUES are culturally defined standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty and that serve as broad guidelines for social living.

BELIEFS are specific statements that people hold to be true (e.g. The possibility that the US will one day have a female president - based on the shared value of equal opportunity)

Components of culture (contd’)

Beauty – what are our values in America

“Peek-a-boo”

Are these beautiful people by America’s standards??

Is this beauty?

American Beauty – what do we value as beauty today

- Norms are the agreed-upon expectations and rules by which a culture guides the behavior of its members in any given situation.

TYPES

PROSCRIPTIVEShould nots, prohibited

PRESCRIPTIVEShoulds, prescribed like medicine

Components of culture (contd’)

There are four basic types of norms that sociologists commonly refer to: folkways, mores, taboos, and laws.

Folkways, sometimes known as “conventions” or “customs,” are standards of behavior that are socially approved but not morally significant. For example, belching loudly after eating dinner at someone else's home breaks an American folkway.

Mores are norms of morality. Breaking mores, like attending church in the nude, will offend most people of a culture.

Certain behaviors are considered Taboo, meaning a culture absolutely forbids them, like incest in U.S. culture.

Finally, Laws are a formal body of rules enacted by the state and backed by the power of the state. Virtually all taboos, like child abuse, are enacted into law, although not all mores are.

For example, wearing a bikini to church may be offensive, but it is not against the law.

Types of Norms

Folkways are often referred to as "customs." They are standards of behavior that are socially

approved but not morally significant. They are norms for everyday behavior that people follow

for the sake of tradition or convenience. Breaking a folkway does not usually have serious consequences.

Cultural forms of dress or food habits are examples of folkways. In America, if someone belched loudly while eating at the dinner table with other people, he or she would be breaking a folkway. It is culturally appropriate to not belch at the dinner table, however if this folkway is broken, there are no moral or legal consequences.

Folkways

Mores are strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior.

Mores are norms based on definitions of right and wrong. Unlike folkways, mores are morally significant. People

feel strongly about them and violating them typically results in disapproval.

Religious doctrines are an example of mores. For instance, if someone were to attend church in the nude, he or she would offend most people of that culture and would be morally shunned.

Also, parents who believe in the more that only married people should live together will disapprove of their daughter living with her boyfriend. They may consider the daughter’s actions a violation of their moral guidelines.

Mores

Types of Norms (according to their relative importance to society)Mores are norms deemed highly necessary to the

welfare of a society, often because they embody the most cherished principles of people

Each society demands obedience to its mores (violation can lead to severe penalties

Examples: murder, child abuse

Sociologists Ian Robertson illustrated the difference between Folkways and Mores: “A man who walks down a street wearing nothing on the upper half of his body is violating a folkway; a man is wearing nothing on the lower half of his body is violating one of mores (requirement that people cover their genitals and buttocks in public “(1987)

Types of Norms (according to their relative importance to society)Taboos are norms that are so deeply held that even

the thought of violating them upset peopleIn the U.S. There is a taboo against eating human

flesh

SanctionsSanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct

concerning a social normConformity to a norm can lead to positive sanctions

such as pay raise, a medal, a word of gratitude, or a pat on a back

Norms and Sanctions

NORMSSANCTIONS

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Formal

Salary bonus Fine

Medal Jail sentence

Diploma Execution

Testimonial dinner Expulsion

Informal

Smile Frown

Compliment Humiliation

Cheers Ostracism

Valuesare collective concepts of what is considered good,

desirable, and proper-or bad, undesirable, and improper- in a culture

Values indicate what people find important and morally right (or wrong)

Values influence people's behavior and serve as criteria for evaluation the actions of others

A taboo is a norm that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme disgust.

Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society.

For instance, in some Muslim cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig is considered unclean.

At the more extreme end, incest and cannibalism are taboos in most countries.

Taboos

Laws are a formal body of rules enacted by the state and backed by the power of the state.

Virtually all Taboos, like child abuse, are enacted into law, some Mores are, but not all. Folkways are never laws.

For example, wearing a bikini to church may be offensive, but it is not against the law.

Many laws (unlike mores) do not have a moral evaluation connected to them. Not stopping completely at a stop sign is against the law, but you will not be judged “immoral” for doing it.

Definition - A body of rules of conduct of binding legal force and effect, prescribed, recognized, and enforced by a controlling authority.

LAWS

Various means by which members of society encourage conformity to norms

GUILT A negative judgment we make about ourselves i.e.

“internal compass” SHAME

The painful sense that others disapprove of our actions i.e. must value their opinion to feel shame

SOCIAL CONTROL

High culture Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite

Popular culture Cultural patterns that are widespread among society’s

populationSubculture

Cultural patterns set apart some segment of society’s population

Counterculture Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely

accepted within a society

Cultural Diversity

High Culture

Museum, art gallery, opera, etc

Pop Culture

The latest trend

Sub Culture

Rave Parties

Scooter Club

Old car Club

Gangs

Counter Culture

Attitudes toward Cultural VariationEthnocentrism is a tendency to evaluate and

judge the customs and traditions of others according to one’s own cultural tastes, beliefs, and standards

We learn that the ways of our own group are good, right, proper, and superior to other ways

Example of ethnocentrism

Subservience to Males? Moral Depravity?

Ethnocentrism Has both positive and negative consequencesOn the positive side, it creates in-group loyaltyOn the negative side, ethnocentrism can lead to

harmful discrimination against people whose ways differ from ours

“Body Ritual of Nacirema”“Pathological horror and fascination with the

mouth…”“Holy-mouth-man” and rituals with mouthWomen bake their head in small ovensLatipso ceremonies

Attitudes toward Cultural Variation

Cultural relativism is a tendency to understand and evaluate a culture in the context of its own special circumstances

None of us can be entirely successful at practicing cultural relativism

We cannot help viewing a contrasting way of life through the lens that our own culture provides

Cultural Relativism and PracticeChinese immigrant was convicted in a New York court of

bludgeoning his wife to death with a hammerHe was sentenced to only 5 years of probationThe judge took into consideration the cultural

considerationsThe deceased women confessed extramarital affairTestimony of an expert in Chinese culture revealed that

husbands in China exact severe punishment on their wives

In posttrial hearings, the judge declared that the defendant “took all his culture with him to the U.S. and therefore was not fully responsible for his violent act///”

XenocentrismReverse to ethnocentrismXenocentrism is the belief that the products,

styles, or ideas of one’s society is inferior to those that originate elsewhere

People in the U.S. assume that French fashion or Japanese electronic devices are superior to our own

People in Saudi Arabia may prefer to buy Pepsi Cola and other food products that originate in the United States

XenocentrismPeople are charmed by the lure of goods from

exotic places?Such fascination with British china or Danish

glassware can be damaging to the U.S. competitors

Some companies have responded by crating products that sound European like Haagen-Dazs ice cream (made in Teaneck, New Jersey)

EthnocentrismThe practice of judging another culture by the

standards of one’s own culture

Cultural relativismThe practice of judging a culture by its own

standards

Summary

● Counterculture refers to cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society. Countercultures reject many of the standards of a dominant culture.

● Cultural relativism views the behavior of a people from the perspective of their own culture. There are distinctive subcultures within cultures and even organizations within a culture

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Cultural Relativity

● If Cultures goes through these different phases , then they have to change

● As cultures change, they strive to maintain cultural integration, the close relationship among various elements of a cultural system.- William Ogburn’s concept of cultural lag refers to the

fact that cultural elements change at different rates, which may disrupt a cultural system.

- Three phenomena promote cultural change-Inventions, the process of creating new cultural

elements.-Discovery, recognizing and understanding an idea

not fully understood before.-Diffusion, the spread of cultural traits from one

cultural system to another 68

Cultural Change

-This takes place in 3 ways:INVENTION - creating new cultural elements

Telephone or airplane

DISCOVERY – recognizing and understanding something already in existenceX-rays or DNA

DIFFUSION – the spread of cultural traits from one society to anotherJazz music or much of the English language

CULTURAL CHANGES

●Ethnocentrism is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture.

● Sociologists tend to discourage this practice, instead they advocate cultural relativism, the practice of judging a culture by its own standards.

● Some evidence suggests that a global culture may be emerging.

- Three key factors are promoting this trend:-Global economy: the flow of goods.-Global communications: the flow of information.- Global migration: the flow of people.

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Ethnocentrism, Cultural relativity and Globalization

Global culture is much more advanced in some parts of the world than in others

• Many people cannot afford to participate in the material aspects of a global culture

• Different people attribute different meanings to various aspects of the global culture

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Limitations of the Global Theory

● New and emerging communications, computer, and other technologies. Don’t forget bio tech - It provides a set of concepts that both material and non material culture need to adapt to. -It can span the globe, but not all cultures will accept or adopt to these technologies and the changes they cause/impose at the same rate.- East and West have different bases and adopt at different rates

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Is Technology promoting a global culture?

Today’s children are bombarded with virtual culture, images that spring from the minds of contemporary culture-makers and that reach them via a screen. Some of these cultural icons embody values that shape our way of life. But few of them have any historical reality and almost all have come into being to make money.

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Virtual Culture