Culture
Unit 2
Culture
Socially transmitted customs, values, knowledge, material objects and behaviour.
Helps to define the group or society to which we belong.
Helps to explain human social behaviour.
Society A specific territory inhabited by people who
share a common culture
Read Page 82 cultural etiquette
Norms
Rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
Formal normswritten down
Informal normsgenerally understood but not precisely recorded
Activity: Signs (desktop)Then: Activity: Urinal study
Urinal Study
Norms
Urinal Study
Door1 2 3
Which urinal do you use?
Urinal Study
Door1 2 3
x
Now which urinal do you use?
Urinal Study
Door1 2 3
xx
Now what do you do?
Urinal Study
Door1 2 3
xx x
While you are using the urinal what do you do?
Norms
Norms are unwritten rules of behaviour.
Activity:
1. Think of a social situation.
2. List the unwritten rules of behaviour (norms).
3. What would happen if you violate any of these rules?
Norms
Norms are also classified by their relative importance to society
Mores
norms that have a moral dimension
Folkway
norms that shape our daily behaviour
Mores or Folkways?
Norm against cursing aloud in a place of worship
Eating 3 meals a day Incest Waking up the escalator when moving up Correct manners Sleeping in a bed Coming to school in your underwear
Sanctions:
Positive Sanctions:
FORMAL Salary bonus Medal
INFORMAL Smile Compliment
Negative Sanctions:
FORMAL Demotion Jail Sentence
INFORMAL Frown Humiliation
A penalty or reward for behaviour concerning a social norm
Law
Norms which are designed, maintained and enforced by the political authority of a society.
1. Speeding 2. Cheating on Income Tax 3. Murder
Cultural Values
Collective ideas of what is considered good, desirable, and proper – or bad, undesirable, and improper – in a culture.
Values influence people’s behaviour and serve as criteria for evaluating the actions of others.
Basic values: achievement, efficiency, material comfort, nationalism, equality…
Values Activity
1. On a piece of paper, list 10 things that you value.
2. Put these values in order of importance. 1 being most important, 10 being least important to you.
3. List your 10 values (1 being most important to you) on the white board.
Culture Shock
The feeling of surprise and disorientation that people experience when they encounter cultural practices that are different from their own
Exit Slip:
Think of a time when you experienced culture
shock. Explain why you felt this way.
Beliefs and Material Culture
Beliefs Ideas about the nature of reality. People base their behaviour on what they believe, regardless of how true or false the beliefs are
Material Culture The concrete tangible objects of a cultureNon-material culture
Ideas, knowledge and beliefs that influence people’s behaviour
Activity
Analyze a sport or hobby in terms of its materialand nonmaterial aspects
Sport: soccerMaterial: soccer ball, net, cleats, jersey, fans…Non material: competition, exercise, team spirit…
Graphic Organizer…Culture Write a definition in the pie-piece-shaped space for each component
of culture.
Norms:
Values:
Material Objects:
Beliefs:
Write a personal example of each in the outer circle.
Cultural Universals General cultural traits that exist in all cultures Not always carried out in the same way
1. Economy (trade, tools, technology, jobs, business, clothing)2. Institutions (family, government, education)3. Arts (art, literature, dance, theatre, music, crafts)4. Language (words, expressions, pronunciations, alphabet)5. Environment (communities, geography, habitat, wildlife, climate)6. Recreation (games, toys arts, holidays, festivals)7. Beliefs (values, traditions, ethnicity, customs, religion, morals)
Page 102 textbook
Cultural Universals Project
15 marks
Written or presented
Due:
Knowing Your Culture
1. Better safe than…2. It is always darkest before the…3. Don’t bite the hand that…4. No news is …5. A penny saved is a …6. Children should be seen and not…7. Better late than…
Proverbs:brief sayings that express commonly held ideas and beliefs.
Ethnocentrism
The belief that one’s own culture is superior to all others and therefore the most “civilized” way to live
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Ethnocentrism?
Article: “The Dirty English”
Cultural Relativism
An approach that denies that any one way of living is superior to others
All cultures are equal.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Cultural Relativism?
Page 80 Textbook
Taboo
A norm so strong that the violation demands punishment by the group
Eg. In India, followers of Hinduism have a taboo forbidding the killings of cows. Other taboos are related to sexual behaviours.
Unit 2 Test: 25 marks Long answer, short answer and multiple choice
Vocabulary:Culture
Society
Norms
Folkways
Mores
Taboo
Law
Sanctions (Formal and Informal)
Culture shock
Values
Beliefs
Material Culture
Non material Culture
Cultural Universals
Ethnocentrism
Cultural Relativism
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