Aim: How much does culture define our lives? Do Now: You are visiting a friend’s family in Thailand. During dinner, they offer you some sautéed sago worms. Would you eat them? Why or why not? NY State Learning Standards 2 Common Core RS 2, 5 and LSS 1

I What is culture? Culture is the way of life of a group of people. It includes language, dress, beliefs & behavior. Questions to Consider: Can you belong to more than one culture? Can you change your culture?

II What culture or cultures do I belong to? Where do you live? What languages do you speak? How does your family make a living? What do you eat? Do you believe in a religion or philosophy? What do you wear? What symbols are important to you? What music do you listen to? Turn to the student next to you. Say hi! You will now interview each other by asking and answering at least four of the following questions.

III Cultural Terms A)Ethnicity: People with the same ethnicity share a common ancestry. They may also share a common culture, but not always. Consider this scenario: In 1825 your ancestors immigrated from Genoa, Italy to New York City. Today, no one in your family speaks Italian. On Sundays, you have a huge family dinner of Chinese take-out. What is your ethnicity? What is your culture?

B) Identity Your identity is how YOU choose to identify yourself to others. "The various media have portrayed me as an African-American, sometimes Asian," he said in the short statement. "In fact, I am both.... Truthfully, I feel very fortunate and equally proud to be both African-American and Asian.” – Tiger Woods, June 1995

C) Taboos Taboos are practices that are forbidden within a culture. Questions to Consider: 1.Would you marry your brother or sister? 2.Should a woman pay for the first date? 3.What is normal? What is abnormal?

Incestuous marriage (between close relations such as siblings) was very common in many ancient societies such as Egypt to preserve the royal blood line.

D) Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism is the belief that your culture is superior to another. Cultural relativism is the viewing of a culture through their perspective, rather than your own. Are you ethnocentric or culturally relativistic? 1.You visit France for the first time. Your parents order escargot as an appetizer. You look at the snails in garlic butter and lose your appetite. 2.You visit friends of your family who are Orthodox Jews with your boyfriend/girlfriend. In order to not offend anyone, you and your boyfriend/girlfriend do not hold hands or kiss in public. Is it ever okay to judge a culture if they are committing human rights violations?

E) Pluralism vs. Cultural Assimilation Pluralism: Smaller groups within a society maintain their cultural identities. Cultural Assimilation: Smaller groups within a society adapt to the larger culture.

Chinatown in Flushing, New York City An Example of Cultural Pluralism

Protest in NYC Concerning Cuts to Immigrant English Classes, 2010 An Example of Cultural Assimilation

F) Cultural Diffusion Cultural diffusion is the spread of culture from one place to another.

 Culture  Ethnicity  Identity  Taboo  Incest  Ethnocentrism  Cultural relativism  Cultural pluralism  Cultural assimilation  Cultural diffusion

How much does culture define your life?