C ULTURE Basics, Symbolic Culture, Values, Norms, Mores and Sanctions

A SSIGNMENT Definitions- culture, material culture, nonmaterial culture, culture shock, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, symbol, gesture, language, values, norms, folkways, mores, sanctions, taboos Locate in the chapter the following- eight basics about all culture, how does language allow culture to exist, explain the differences between mores, folkways, norms, values

W HAT IS CULTURE ? Material Culture- things that can be seen or felt. Examples: buildings, art, machines, hairstyle, clothes Non-material culture- a groups way of thinking, beliefs, values, language, gestures Culture is neither right or wrong

H OW CULTURE CHANGES Two ways: 1. Internally through invention and adaptation 2. Externally through borrowing Does culture invent more than it borrows or does it borrow more than it invents?

B ASIC I DEAS OF C ULTURE Culture shock- the disorientation people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture and can no longer depend on their assumptions about life All culture is learned- culture is within us. We take culture for granted, we assume that our culture is normal behavior A consequence of the culture within us is ethnocentrism - the belief that one culture is superior to another

C ULTURE B ASICS A. There is nothing natural about culture B. Culture is the lens which we see the world and obtain our perception of reality C. Culture provides the instruction for dealing with various situations D. Culture provides the right/wrong way of doing things E. Contact with other cultures challenges our basic assumptions about life F. Culture is universal A society cannot exist without developing shared ways of dealing with the challenges of life G. All people are ethnocentric

C ULTURAL R ELATIVISM Culture Relativism- to understand culture on its own terms Seeing how these elements fit together without judging them as superior or inferior to one’s own way of life

D ECIDE IF THE STATEMENT IS AN EXAMPLE OF ETHNOCENTRISM OR CULTURAL RELATIVISM 1. The British drive on the wrong side of the road. 2. The Chinese characters for China mean “center of the universe”. 3. Frenchmen use forks with their left hands. 4.Americans believe democracy is the only form of government.

5. In some cultures it is a delicacy to eat dog. 6. Milk is the only drink to serve children. 7. It is rude to haggle over the price of an item. 8. Looking directly at a person means that you respect that person. 9. It is wrong to show up late for an appointment 10. Women in India wear red on their wedding day. Make each ethnocentric statement into a cultural relativism statement.

A NCESTRY IN THE U.S.

C ULTURE A REAS OF THE U.S.

S YMBOLIC C ULTURE Symbol- something people attach meaning and that they use to communicate Gesture- using the body to communicate with others, a way to convey a message without words. Certain gestures accepted in some cultures are inappropriate or unintelligible in other cultures. Gestures are learned, specific to a culture. There are some gestures that represent fundamental emotions- sadness, anger, fear, joy- inborn, do not vary from culture to culture

L ANGUAGE Symbols that can be put together in infinite ways for the purpose of communication, creates language

L ANGUAGE ALLOWS HUMAN EXPERIENCE TO BE CUMULATIVE  Symbols that can be put together in infinite ways for the purpose of communication, creates language  Language allows culture to develop HOW? 1. allows us to communicate events 2. Pass ideas, knowledge, and attitudes from generation to generation  allows us to modify behavior with what previous generations have learned.

L ANGUAGE 3. provides a social or shared past and future 4. allows for shared perspectives talking allows people to reach a shared understanding When people do not share a language it invites miscommunication and suspicion 5. allows people to set a purpose, place events in sequence, etc

V ALUES AND N ORMS

V ALUES, N ORMS AND S ANCTIONS All cultures have values, ideas about what is important in life. Values tell us what is good, bad, beautiful, ugly Norms describe expectations, rules of behavior that develop out of values Sanctions refer to reactions people receive from following or breaking the norms Positive Sanction- approval for following norms Negative Sanction- disapproval for breaking the norm Moral Holidays- specified time when people can break the cultural norms- Mardi Gras for example

F OLKWAYS AND M ORES Norms that are not strictly enforced are called folkways Norms that we think of as essential to our core values are called mores A norm that is so strongly ingrained in our culture to break it is greeted with revulsion is called a taboo

A MERICAN V ALUES The U.S. is made up of many different groups- we are a pluralistic society. Numerous religious, ethnic and specific interest groups make up our society.

A MERICAN V ALUES Salad Bowl Theory- immigrants keep their own basic beliefs and ways of life while adapting to the general characteristics of the culture Melting Pot Theory- immigrants groups blend into the culture adding items to the culture but not keeping strong ties to their cultural ties and background

A MERICAN V ALUES Sociologist Robin Williams (1965) identified fifteen traits of American Culture 1) Achievement and Success 2) Individualism 3) Activity and Work 4) Efficiency and Partiality 5) Science and Technology 6) Progress 7) Material Comfort 8) Humanitarianism 9) Freedom 10) Democracy 11) Equality 12) Racism and Group Superiority 13) Education 14) Religiosity 15) Romantic Love

V ALUE C LUSTERS, C ONTRADICTIONS AND S OCIAL C HANGE Values are not independent units, some cluster together to form part of a larger whole. Some values contradict each other. Value contradictions can be powerful forces for social change.

E MERGING V ALUES Leisure - reflected in a huge recreation industry Self-fulfillment- the “self help” movement Physical Fitness- organic foods, obsessive concern weight weight and diet Youthfulness - attributed to the baby boomers. Reflected in increase of plastic surgery Concern for the environment -despite a history of exploitation of the environment, today Americans have a concern and commitment for the environment.

V ALUES, C ULTURAL C HANGE AND G LOBALIZATION OF C ULTURE

C ONCEPTS AND D EFINITIONS Culture war, cultural lag, cultural diffusion, cultural leveling, ideal vs. real culture Provide an example of a culture war. Provide an example of cultural lag. How does technology change culture? Is cultural leveling and the loss of cultural diversity a good or bad thing?

R EVIEW Culture is learned and universal Two parts of culture-material and non material Cultural views can be ethnocentric, culture can also be viewed through a lens of cultural relativism Language and gestures are two symbols of nonmaterial culture Language allows us to share our perceptions, future and past Language shapes our perception of objects and events

C ULTURE W ARS Cultural change is met with strong resistance. People hold their core values dear and see the changes as a threat to their way of life. This creates what is known as a “ culture war ”

I DEAL VS. R EAL What we see as ideal sometimes is in conflict with reality. Norms, values and goals that a group considers worth aspiring to is “ideal culture”. What we actually do is known as “real culture”

T ECHNOLOGY IN THE G LOBAL W ORLD Culture also has a material side- its things, houses, clothes toys and technology Central to a groups culture is technology or tools. includes the skills and procedures used to make these tools invisible factor in cultural change sets the framework for a groups nonmaterial culture if technology changes it changes the way people think and relate to each other

C ULTURAL L AG AND C ULTURAL C HANGE Cultural Lag occurs when not all parts of culture change at the same pace. A groups material culture usually changes first, with the non-material culture playing catch-up

C ULTURAL D IFFUSION AND C ULTURAL L EVELING For most of human history people lived in relative isolation. Cultures developed unique characteristics that responded to the situations they faced. These characteristics changed little over time Cultures have usually had at least some contact with other groups. During contact people learn from each other and adopt parts of each others way of life. cultural diffusion- the spread of cultural characteristics from one group to another

C ULTURAL D IFFUSION AND C ULTURAL L EVELING Changes in communication, travel have sped up the process of cultural diffusion. Much of the world, for better or worse has adopted Western culture in place of their own culture Travel and communication unite us in a way that there is almost no part of the world not effected by this. The result of these new technologies is a process called cultural leveling Cultural leveling is the process by which cultures become similar to one another.

S UBCULTURE AND C OUNTERCULTURE

W ORLD WITHIN A WORLD Subculture- the values and other related behaviors, for example language, that distinguish its members from the larger culture. Many subcultures exist within a culture. Their experiences have led them to have a distinctive way of looking at life or some part of it Ethnic, religious and occupational groups form many different subcultures within our own

C OUNTERCULTURE Values and norms of most subcultures blend with society. In a subculture values and norms place these groups at odds with general society Members of a mainstream culture will often isolate, attack or ridicule the counterculture