Culture

Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups. You will need to be able to “Understand” the following: Culture consists of all the shared products of human groups. All cultures are made up of the same five basics components. (technology, symbols, language, values, and norms)  There are certain core values that the vast majority of Americans share

Culture Society and Culture are NOT interchangeable Society consists of people Culture consists of shared products of human groups. Material Culture: physical objects that a culture creates Nonmaterial Culture: Abstract human creations. Assignment: In pairs, come up with 5 examples of each type of culture. Write your responses.

Material Culture Automobiles Books Buildings Clothing

Nonmaterial (Symbolic) Culture Beliefs Family patterns Ideas Language Political and economic systems

The Five Components of Culture Norms Technology Values The Five Components of Culture Language Symbols

Norms Shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations. Groups use Norms to enforce cultural values Expectations for behavior, not actual behavior Some norms apply to everyone in society, others to select groups Assignment: In groups, come up with 5 examples of a norm. Write your responses on the board.

International Gestures Quiz Think you know what it means to give a high five in Honduras or a thumbs-up in Thailand? Test your body language IQ to find out if you’re culturally savvy. 1. How would you let a French person know he’s boring you to tears? a. pat your mouth and let out a giant yawn b. mime playing an imaginary flute c. push your nose with your middle and index fingers 2. Your Puerto Rican friend wiggles her nose at you. What’s she saying? a. “What’s going on?” b. “I smell a rat—literally.” c. “My nose itches!” 3. Which gesture is considered offensive in Egypt? a. using the right hand for eating b. showing someone the sole of your shoe c. walking hand in hand with someone A NSWERS: 1. b; 2. a; 3. b

Types of Norms Folkways Norms that describe socially acceptable behavior but do not have moral significance attached to them. Failure to follow results in minor punishment or reprimand Some non-conformity to Folkways is permitted because it does not endanger society. Mores Great moral significance is attached to them Societies establish punishments for violating in order to protect social well-being Serious mores are formalized as laws Taboos The most important norms Violation brings revulsion Assignment: Classify your examples as folkways, mores or taboos

Sanctions Expressions of approval or disapproval given to people upholding or violating norms May be positive or negative May be formal or informal Assignment: With a partner, come up with two examples of each kind of sanction

Group Assignment Your group should pick a situation, place, or event and identify the norms. Create a 1-2 minute skit which shows a violation of norms (both folkways and mores) and its consequences Perform the skit

Define Values

Robin Williams “Standards by which members of culture define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly”

Lesson 4: Value System One of the 5 components of culture is values. Values are defined as shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable. Values that are central to a culture are called core values.

With a partner, brainstorm a list of 10 things you regard as Core American values.

American Values: A Pictorial What values are reflected in these images?

New Values: Narcissism Narcissism: the feeling of extreme self-centeredness

Values: Assignment 1. In a written response, explain how YOLO is a reflection of a value system based in narcissism and self fulfillment. 2. When directed, discuss your responses in assigned groups.

How did Change in Pleasantville represent Culture Change How did Change in Pleasantville represent Culture Change? -List some examples

Do you agree or disagree? “The Principle means of social control is self-control. Self-control is learned through the internalization of norms. Internalization is the process by which norms becomes a part of an individual’s personality, making the individual automatically control to society’s expectations” Do you agree or disagree?

How was self- control reflected in this film?

How does the world define beauty? List several characteristics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp-axIL1dCI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2uhJDFeswE

What is Twilight Zone saying about Beauty?

What determines if something is beautiful or not What determines if something is beautiful or not? How is beauty expressed in Non-Western Cultures?

"I never really wanted to be beautiful”, she tells the doctor "I never really wanted to be beautiful”, she tells the doctor. “I just wanted people not to scream when they looked at me”… “I want to belong; I want to be like everybody else”.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”

What physical altercations can people make to their bodies in order to achieve beauty?

Throughout history, people in every culture have sought to change the natural appearance of their bodies Anthropologists believe body is both a physical and a symbolic artifact

Social Significance Power Communicating group membership Social Status Social identity Beliefs and Values

Size Ideals Cameroon & Nigeria Obesity shows certain characteristics abundance, erotic desirability, and fertility Nigeria: good health, prosperity and charm. Sobal and Stunkard (1989)

The Padaung women ( Kayan) Southeast Asia Begins as young girls until marriage Why? the rings protected women from becoming slaves by making them less attractive to other tribes. by exaggerating  sexual dimorphism. t has also been suggested that the coils give the women resemblance to dragon.

Lip Plates Young girls stretch their lips with round wooden or clay plates and wear them throughout their lives. Thought Size was a sign of social or economical importance in some tribes Every woman crafts her own plate and takes pride in including some ornamentation. female strength and self-esteem

The Kayapo People The Kayapo people of the Amazon, use scarification, ornaments for pierced lips, ears, and noses, body paint and different hair styles to distinguish social and age classes, as well as to adorn themselves for potential mates.

Papua New Guinea Scarification Initiation test their physical strength and self-discipline when healed, represent the teeth marks of a crocodile that has swallowed the initiates who are reborn as crocodile-men.

Femininity and Masculinity Every period of history held its own standards on what was and was not considered beautiful.

Cultural Ethnocentrism We tend to regard our own culture’s customs as highly “civilized” and others’ as “savage”.

what do you think the world would be like if nobody modified their bodies? Would there be an overall greater sense of self-esteem? Would cultures, religions, and tribes be any less rich in the way that they belong? Would everyone be a cookie cutter/just as similar as the next person? Why? Why not?

Cultural Variations: Subculture Subculture: Groups that share values, norms, and behaviors that are not shared by the entire population.

Cultural Variations: Counterculture Counterculture: Groups that reject the major values, norms, and behaviors that are practiced by the larger society

Response to Variation Ethnocentrism: the tendency to view one's own culture and group as superior to all other cultures and groups Cultural relativism: a belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards

How is this political cartoon a reflection of ethnocentrism?

Cultural Change How does globalization contribute to this trend? Cultural diffusion: the process of spreading cultural traits from one society to another Cultural leveling: the process through which cultures become more and more alike How does globalization contribute to this trend?

How would you describe America/ or American Culture?

Mass Media Communication- whether written, broadcast, or spoken- that reaches a large audience. This includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, magazines, and so forth.

Media reflects and creates the culture. Mediated Culture Media reflects and creates the culture.

Limited-effects theory Argues that because people generally choose what to watch or read based on what they already believe, media exerts a negligible influence.

Voting Well-informed people rely more on personal experience, prior knowledge, and their own reasoning. Media swayed less informed.

Problems with the perspective Ignores Media’s role in framing and limiting the discussion and debate of issues. Dominance of media was not as wide spread in the 1940 and 1950s.

Class- dominant theory Media reflects and projects the view of a minority elite, which controls it.

What problems can arise if media has the ability to restrict, or manipulate what people can see or hear?

Problems Advertising dollars are fund most media. Media avoids negative stories about corporations that finance large, advertising campaigns. This can also be seen with Political Elite.

Culturalist theory 1980s and 1990s Combines the two theories People interact with media to create their own meanings out of the images and messages they receive. This theory sees audience as playing an active rather than passive role in relations to mass media.

Cultural Lag The term cultural lag refers to the notion that culture takes time to catch up with technological innovations, and that social problems and conflicts are caused by this lag. Subsequently, cultural lag does not only apply to this idea only, but also relates to theory and explanation.

HER In the Movie Her, a man who develops a relationship with Samantha, an intelligent computer operating system personified through a female voice. 

How could this invention change culture? Having an operating system sophisticated enough to develop a relationship, may lead to how our culture defines relationships.

Could this change in culture have an impression on Norms/Mores/ Taboos we have today?

Norm something that is usual, typical, or standard. How we perceive computers.

Mores and Taboo the essential or characteristic customs and conventions of a community. prohibited or restricted by social custom. Marriage and unity to an inanimate object

How do you perceive Cultural Lag? Culture Shock may have a role in how quickly this sophisticated technology will be accepted into the communities personal lives. Because we value relationships and technology highly Cultural Lag may create a subculture/ or even counterculture of individuals that value this technology.