Culture Modules 10, 11 &12

What is culture? Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of - generally unspoken and unwritten - rules for working together.

Norms and Values All societies have ways to encourage and enforce appropriate behavior, and discourage and punish inappropriate behavior Collective idea of what is good and desirable, and what is not

Norms Norms: established standards of behavior maintained by a society To be significant, must be widely shared and understood Example – how to behave in a movie theater (norm of silence) But, its ok to be noisy in a funny movie. Persistent social norm in contemporary society: heterosexuality We learn to accept norms – (2009) A national survey of mothers of 3-6 year-olds found that 1 in 5 mothers teaches their children that homosexuality was wrong.

Norms Types of Norms Formal norms: generally written; specify strict punishments Law: governmental social control Parking at HCC Informal norms: generally understood but not precisely recorded How to dress? What is appropriate dress code?

Norms Acceptance of Norms People do not follow norms in all situations Behavior that appears to violate society’s norms may represent adherence to a particular group’s norms Example – Teenage drinking WellsFargo – Corporate culture

Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society Example – child abuse Folkways: norms governing everyday behavior Example – walking up – on a down escalator

Norms Norms and Sanctions Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norm Positive sanctions: pay raises, medals, words of gratitude Negative sanctions: fines, threats, imprisonment, and stares of contempt

How powerful are norms? Breaching experiments by Harold Garfinkel

Values

Values

Values Cultural values: collective conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper—or bad, undesirable, and improper Example – democracy, respecting parents Influence people’s behavior Criteria for evaluating actions of others Values may change, but most remain relatively stable during any one person’s lifetime Example – institution of marriage

Role of language Facilitates day-to-day exchanges Includes both the written and spoken word and nonverbal communication

Language: Written and Spoken Language: abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture Examples – English language – words dealing with war Tibetan language – words related to peace Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Language precedes thought Language is not a given Language is culturally determined Language may color how we see the world

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf (1930) In the 1930s, two anthropologists, became intrigued when they noticed that the Hopi Indians of the southwestern United States had no words to distinguish among the past, the present, and the future. English, in contrast as well as French, Spanish, Swahili, and other languages distinguishes carefully among these three time frames. Language not only expresses our thoughts and perceptions but also shapes the way we think and perceive. When we learn a language, we learn not only words but also ways of thinking and perceiving

How language shapes social reality Cancer or Loo Doo na’dziihii -a sore that does not go away Menopause Gender-related language – “policeman”

Elements of Culture Role of Language One of the major elements of culture Important component of cultural capital The term cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means. Examples can include education, intellect, style of speech, dress, or physical appearance Example – “The Blind Side”

Cultural capital - is the accumulation of knowledge, behaviors and skills that one can tap into to demonstrate one's cultural competence, and thus one's social status or standing in society

Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication: use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate Learned Differs by culture Symbols: gestures, objects, and words that form basis of human communication

Nonverbal Communication and Culture

Norms may be violated because they conflict with other norms Example – privacy and “doing the right thing” WikiLeaks?? Acceptance of norms is subject to change Example – inter-racial marriages Sudden change can upset an entire population and change norms – 911 and norms about privacy

Global Culture War Culture war: polarization of society over controversial cultural elements In 1990s, referred to political debates over abortion, religious expression, gun control, and sexual orientation After U.S. established military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, foreign opinion of U.S. became quite negative

Sociological Perspectives on Culture Functionalists maintain that social stability requires a consensus and the support of society’s members; strong central values and common norms provide that support Conflict theorists argue that common culture serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups

Sociological Perspectives on Culture Dominant ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that help maintain powerful interests Social interests Economic interests Political interests

Conflict perspective: dominant ideology has major social significance

Cultural universals Cultural universals •George Murdock –Family •Basic human survival (food and shelter) and  shared human experiences, such as… –Birth, death, illness –Care of children/ elderly •Other cultural universals ‐Language ‐Personal Names  ‐Humor

Ethnocentrism & Cultural relativism What do we eat ? What  do we eat? Cultural relativism •Assessing a culture from its own standard  rather than viewing it through the lens of ones  own  culture. •Xeno‐centrism –a  belief that another culture  is superior to one’s own.

Cultural Variation Cultures adapt to meet specific circumstances Climate, level of technology, population, geography Groups within a single nation develop cultural patterns that differ from those of the dominant society

Subcultures Subculture: segment of society that shares distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from larger society A subculture may develop an argot, a specialized language that distinguishes a subculture from the wider society

Countercultures Counterculture: subculture that conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture Typically thrive among the young Counterterrorism experts concerned about growth of ultraconservative militia groups

Culture Shock Occurs when someone feels disoriented, uncertain, out of place, or fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture People tend to take for granted cultural practices of their society