8/21 (Thursday) TOTD: How would you describe American culture? Agenda: Culture Notes Ch.3 Lost Boys Facts Essay assignment Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Culture The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that together form a people’s way of life Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis All rights reserved.

Terminology Nonmaterial culture Material culture The intangible world of ideas created by members of a society Material culture The tangible things created by members of a society Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Terminology Culture shock Ethnocentrism Cultural relativism Disorientation due to the inability to make sense out of one’s surroundings Domestic and foreign travel Ethnocentrism A biased “cultural yardstick” Cultural relativism More accurate understanding Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Symbols Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture Societies create new symbols all the time. Reality for humans is found in the meaning things carry with them. The basis of culture; makes life possible Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Symbols People must be mindful that meanings vary from culture to culture. Meanings can even vary greatly within the same groups of people. Fur coats, Confederate flags, etc. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

8/22 TOTD: What is the difference b/w material culture & non-material culture? Give an example of both for the USA. Agenda: Turn in your Common Sense essay Lost Boys Culture Notes Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Language A system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another Cultural transmission The process by which one generation passes culture to the next Sapir-Whorf thesis People perceive the world through the cultural lens of language. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

8/25 Monday TOTD: Do you think that a person who speaks Cherokee, an American Indian language, experiences the world differently from other Americans who think in English or Spanish? Explain your answer. Agenda: CH 3 Notes Culture Review Culture Assignment

http://www. huffingtonpost http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/the-global-guide-to-hand-_n_4956860.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTE0G9amZNk#t=13

Values and Beliefs Values Beliefs Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, and beauty, which serve as broad guidelines for social living. Values support beliefs. Beliefs Specific statements that people hold to be true. Particular matters that individuals consider to be true or false.

Are some of these values inconsistent with one another? Sociologist Robin Williams’ Ten Values That Are Central to American Life Equal opportunity Achievement and success Material comfort Activity and work Practicality and efficiency Progress Science Democracy and free enterprise Freedom Racism and group superiority Are some of these values inconsistent with one another?

Values Sometimes Conflict Williams's list includes examples of value clusters. Sometimes one key cultural value contradicts another. (Ex: people in US may believe in equality but also may degrade others b/c of their sex or race) Value conflict causes strain. Values change over time. A Global Perspective Cultures have their own values. Lower-income nations have cultures that value survival. Higher-income countries have cultures that value individualism and self-expression.

Norms: Types Mores and Folkways Rules and expectations by which society guides its members’ behavior (Ex: applauding after a musical performance; not applauding after a classroom lecture) Types Proscriptive Should-nots, prohibited Prescriptive Shoulds, prescribed like medicine Mores and Folkways Mores (pronounced "more-rays") Norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance (tell us what is right vs wrong) Folkways Norms for routine and causal interaction (tell us what is right vs rude) .

8/28 *thursday For 8/27 write: NO TOTD. Today’s is: Thinking about the article yesterday, do you think your generation values the “right” things? Explain. Agenda: TOTD Culture Notes: Finish Culture Review Sheet Culture Mini- Project

Cultural Diversity High culture–Cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite. Popular culture–Cultural patterns that are widespread among society’s population. Subculture–Cultural patterns set apart some segment of society’s population. (surfers, athletes, computer nerds, wilderness campers, emo…) Counterculture–Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.(hippies in the 1960s, doomday-preppers,) Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Whenever someone believes that their own culture is superior over another culture or the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture Cultural relativism The practice of judging a culture by its own standards

Xenocentrism- This means to think that another culture is better than your own. For example, you might think that the math skills of students in Singapore are better than those of American students or food in France is better than your Spanish cuisine. This can create distress among a society when its individuals do not feel that their own culture is up-to-par. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Culture Collage Project Fun online collage makers: glogster.com postermywall.com collage.com Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Social Control How we evaluate our own behavior: Guilt Shame Attempts by members of society to regulate/encourage conformity to norms How we evaluate our own behavior: Guilt A negative judgment we make about ourselves Shame The painful sense that others disapprove of our actions

Ideal Versus Real Culture Ideal culture The way things should be Social patterns mandated by values and norms Real culture They way things actually occur in everyday life Social patterns that only approximate cultural expectations “Do as I say, not as I do” Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Material Culture and Technology Culture includes a wide range of physical human creations or artifacts. A society's artifacts partly reflect underlying cultural values. In addition to reflecting values, material culture also reflects a society's technology or knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings.

Multiculturalism An 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

Interdependence Culture integration Culture lag The close relationships among various elements of a cultural system Example: Computers and changes in our language Culture lag The fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others, which might disrupt a cultural system Example: Medical procedures and ethics

Culture Changes in Three Ways Invention–Creating new cultural elements Telephone or airplane Discovery–Recognizing and better understanding of something already in existence X-rays or DNA Diffusion–The spread of cultural traits from one society to another Jazz music or much of the English language Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

Is There a Global Culture? The Basic Thesis The flow of goods–Material product trading has never been as important. The flow of information–Few, if any, places are left where worldwide communication isn’t possible. The flow of people–Knowledge means people learn about places where they feel life might be better. Limitations to the thesis All the flows have been uneven. Assumes affordability of goods People don’t attach the same meaning to material goods. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis .

Theoretical Analysis of Culture Structural-functional Culture is a complex strategy for meeting human needs. Cultural universals–Traits that are part of every known culture; includes family, funeral rites, and jokes Critical evaluation Ignores cultural diversity and downplays importance of change Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis .

Inequality and Culture Social-conflict 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 evaluation Understates the ways cultural patterns integrate members into society Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis .

Evolution and Culture Sociobiology Critical evaluation A theoretical paradigm that explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture. Approach rooted in Charles Darwin and evolution; living organisms change over long periods of time based on natural selection. Critical evaluation Might be used to support racism or sexism Little evidence to support theory; people learn behavior within a cultural system Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis .

Culture and Human Freedom Culture as constraint We only know our world in terms of our culture. Culture as freedom Culture is changing and offers a variety of opportunities. Sociologists share the goal of learning more about cultural diversity. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis

8/29 Friday TOTD: What is the term for the cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society? Agenda: TOTD Culture Chapter 3 Research/Online study

9/4 Thursday NO TOTD today! Agenda: Review—follow the directions below! Get your laptops out, go to kahoot.it and put in this code: 66377 Test: Culture

Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.