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

The values , beliefs, behavior, and material objects that, together, form a people’s way

of life.

Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Nonmaterial & Material Culture

Nonmaterial cultureThe intangible world of ideas created by members of a society.

Material cultureThe tangible things created by members of a society.


Culture Shock

DISORIENTATION DUE TO THE INABILITY TO MAKE SENSE OUT OF ONE’S SURROUNDINGS.


Judging Other CulturesETHNOCENTRISM

A BIASED “CULTURAL YARDSTICK”

JUDGING ANOTHER CULTURE USING THE STANDARDS OF YOUR OWN CULTURE.

CULTURAL RELATIVISMALTERNATIVE TO

ETHNOCENTRISMJUDGING A CULTURE

BY ITS OWN STANDARDS.


Coping with Culture Shock


Ethnocentrism


Discussion QuestionsCulture shock happens even in our own

communities as we confront people of other colors, cultures and class positions.

Give me an example of when you (or someone you know) have experienced culture shock.

Have you ever acted in an ethnocentric manner?


Culture & Human IntelligenceOur planet – 4.5 billion years oldLife appeared – 3.5 billion years ago~65 million years ago primates

appeared250,000 years ago – homo sapiens

(Latin – “thinking person”) appeared40,000 years ago – humans like us

roamed EarthHomo sapiens quickly developed

culture.12,000 years ago – first permanent

settlements & specialized occupations appeared in Middle East

SYMBOLSANYTHING THAT CARRIES A PARTICULAR

MEANING RECOGNIZED BY PEOPLE WHO SHARE CULTURE.

REALITY FOR HUMANS IS FOUND IN THE MEANING THINGS CARRY WITH THEM.THE BASIS OF CULTURE; MAKES LIFE

POSSIBLEPEOPLE MUST BE MINDFUL THAT MEANINGS

VARY FROM CULTURE TO CULTURE.WHY AMERICANS ARE AT TIMES CALLED

“UGLY”MEANINGS CAN EVEN VARY GREATLY

WITHIN THE SAME GROUPS OF PEOPLE.FUR COATS, CONFEDERATE FLAGS, ETC.


LANGUAGEA SYSTEM OF SYMBOLS

THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER.

NON-VERBAL LANGUAGEBEWARE OF USING

GESTURES Nodding

CULTURAL TRANSMISSIONThe process by which

one generation passes culture to the next. Speech, writing, etc.


Discussion Questions

What does mean?How do you know?Do you think it means the same thing across

the world?


SAPIR-WHORF THESISEdward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf

argued - People perceive the world through the cultural lens of language.

Argue that language shapes reality.Each language has words or

expressions not found in any other symbolic system.

Think about words that have negative connotations in our language.

Today, scholars argue against this thesis.

Ex. Children understand “family” before learning the word.


Discussion QuestionSome argue the Sapir-Whorf thesis implies that

people have the power to change reality by changing their symbols.

Ex. What happened when people in the US started using words like “African American” rather than “Negro”?


VALUES & BELIEFS

VALUESCULTURALLY DEFINED STANDARDS OF DESIRABILITY, GOODNESS, AND

BEAUTY, WHICH SERVE AS BROAD GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL LIVING.LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES VALUE SURVIVAL.HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES VALUE INDIVIDUALISM AND SELF-

EXPRESSION.VALUES SUPPORT BELIEFS

BELIEFSSPECIFIC STATEMENTS THAT PEOPLE HOLD TO BE TRUE.


Women are smarter than

men.Freedom

Robin Williams’ 10 Widespread Values That Are Central to Our American Way of Life1. Equal opportunity2. Achievement and success3. Material comfort4. Activity and work5. Practicality and efficiency6. Progress7. Science8. Democracy and free enterprise9. Freedom10. Racism and group superiorityAre some of these values inconsistent with one another?


NORMSRules and expectations by

which society guides the behavior of its members.

TYPESPROSCRIPTIVE

Should nots, prohibited Acts we should avoid.

PRESCRIPTIVE Shoulds, prescribed like medicine. Acts we should do.

Sometimes the norm is universal in a culture.Ex. Children should behave.

Sometimes the situation determines the norm.Ex. Applauding


NORMS: FURTHER BREAKDOWNMORES

Widely observed and have great moral significance.

Right vs. WrongTaboos – strictly forbidden mores

Ex. Incest

FOLKWAYSNorms for routine and causal

interaction.Right vs. Rude

Ex. Appropriate greetings, proper dress, etc.


Does this 1916 ad violate modern mores or folkways?


SOCIAL CONTROLVarious means by which

members of society encourage conformity to norms.

GUILTA negative judgment we

make about ourselves.SHAME

The painful sense that others disapprove of our actions.

SANCTIONSIncluding rewards and

punishment.Sociology, Eleventh Edition

IDEAL VS. REAL CULTUREIDEAL CULTURE

THE WAY THINGS SHOULD BE.

SOCIAL PATTERNS MANDATED BY VALUES AND NORMS.

REAL CULTURETHE WAY THINGS

ACTUALLY OCCUR IN EVERYDAY LIFE.

SOCIAL PATTERNS THAT ONLY APPROXIMATE CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS.


Cultural DiversityHigh culture

Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite.

Popular cultureCultural patterns that are

widespread among society’s population.


Cultural DiversitySubculture

Cultural patterns set apart some segment of society’s population.

CountercultureCultural patterns that

strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.

Discussion QuestionShould Hispanic children be taught in Spanish or English in US schools?

Surveys suggest that 80% of Hispanic parents favor English instruction.


Discussion QuestionIs African American vernacular English a

language or a dialect? Some claim it would be considered a language

if its speakers had more power. What do you think?

As linguist Max Weinreich says, “A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.” What does this statement mean?


MulticulturalismAn educational

program recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions. Eurocentrism – the

dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns.

Afrocentrism – the dominance of African cultural patterns.


INTERDEPENDENCECULTURAL INTEGRATION

The close relationships among various elements of a cultural system. EXAMPLE: COMPUTERS AND

CHANGES IN OUR LANGUAGE

CULTURAL LAGThe fact that some cultural

elements change more quickly than others, which may disrupt a cultural system. EXAMPLE: MEDICAL PROCEDURES

AND ETHICS


Discussion QuestionCultural lag involves folkways as well as mores.

Is it rude to interrupt a lunchtime chat in a restaurant to take a call on a cell phone? Other examples?


CULTURE CHANGES IN THREE WAYS INVENTION - creating new cultural elements.

Telephone or airplane DISCOVERY – recognizing and better understanding something

already in existence.X-rays or DNA

CULTURAL DIFFUSION – the spread of cultural traits from one society to another. Jazz music and much of the English language


Theoretical AnalysisStructural Functional

Explains culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs.

The stability of U.S. society rests on core values shared by most people.

Cultural Universals – traits that are part of every known culture and include: Family, Funeral Rites & Jokes

Critical evaluationIgnores cultural diversity and

downplays importance of change.


Theoretical AnalysisSocial-Conflict

Stresses the link between culture and inequality.

Cultural traits benefit some members at the expense of others.

Approach rooted in Karl Marx and materialism – society’s system of material production has a powerful effect on the rest of a culture.

Critical evaluationUnderstates the ways cultural

patterns integrate members into society.


Theoretical AnalysisSociobiology

A theoretical paradigm that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture.

Points out that the sexual "double standard" is found around the world. Why are men typically more

promiscuous? Why are women typically the one who

cares for the infant?Approach rooted in Charles Darwin and

evolution – living organisms change over long periods of time based on natural selection .

Critical evaluationMay be used to support racism or

sexism.Little evidence to support theory, people

learn behavior within a cultural system.Sociology, Eleventh Edition

Freedom vs. ConstraintCulture as constraint

We only know our world in terms of our culture.

Our culture creates alienation.

Culture as freedomCulture is changing and

offers a variety of opportunities.

We aren’t limited to biology.


Discussion QuestionIn 1997, two Iraqi brothers, ages 34 &

28, were charged under Nebraska law with the statutory rape of their wives, ages 13 & 14, whom they married according to Muslim law and the customs of their native southern Iraq.

Were the charges appropriate or ethnocentric?


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

Documents

Transcript of The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that, together, form a people’s way of life....