Culture Chapter 3 Part 2 11/14/2018 VHS Sociology

The Soiling of Old Glory Stanley Forman 1976

The Soiling of Old Glory Stanley Forman 1976 “The Soiling of Old Glory is a Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph taken for the Boston Herald American in 1976 by Stanley Forman. The photograph depicts a white teenager, Joseph Rakes, trying to assault black lawyer and civil-rights activist Ted Landsmark with a flagpole bearing the American flag as Landsmark was on his way to a meeting in the courthouse. It was taken in Boston on April 5, 1976, during one in a series of protests against court-ordered desegregation busing. It ran on the front page of the Herald American the next day, and also appeared in several newspapers across the country. It won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Spot Photography.”

Elements of Culture Values and beliefs Values: Sometimes in Conflict People in the U.S believe in the equality of opportunity Look down on others because of race or gender Conflict between values reflects cultural diversity

Elements of Culture Values: A Global Perspective In general, the values that are important in higher income countries can differ from lower income countries Physical safety and economic safety may be a focus for desperately poorer people in lower in come countries Lower income may be more traditional: Emprises on family and religious beliefs Obedience to authority and conformity Society can be dominated by men Practices such as abortion and divorce can be forbidden High income countries may be more likely to value: Individualism and self expression Survival is not as important Women can hold higher standing and abortion and divorce is more widespread

Elements of Culture Norms – rules and expectations by which society guides the behavior of its members Ideal and Real Culture Values and Norms do not describe actual behavior but the way we should behave E.g. Most women and men agree on the importance of sexual faithfulness in marriage. In one study, about 25 percent of married men and 10 percent of married women reported having been sexually unfaithful to their spouses at some point in their marriage.

Elements of Culture Material Culture and Technology Artifacts- wide range of physical human creations Chinese eat with chopsticks rather than knives and forks Japanese put mats rather than rugs on the floor Indians prefer flowing robes to the close-fitting clothing common in the U.S Our society’s emphasis on individualism and independence goes a long way toward explaining our high regard for the automobile

Elements of Culture New Information Technology and Culture Technology- knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings The more complex a society’s technology, the more its members are able to shape the world for themselves Advanced technology has allowed us to crisscross the country with superhighways and to fill them with automobiles. At the same time cars release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that contributes to air pollution and global warming Value science and praise technology, tend to judge other cultures Technology is not equally distributed in the U.S. – computers, TVs, cell phones Some reject technology based on cultural principals

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World “Between 1820 (when the government began keeping track of immigration) and 2003, some 69 million people came to our shores. Our cultural mix continues to increase as almost 1 million more people arrive each year.”

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World High Culture and Popular Culture “Culture” is a way to describe certain art forms such as classical literature, music, dance, and painting People who go to the opera are described as “cultured” – the “finer things in life” High culture - cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite Popular culture – cultural patterns that are widespread among a society’s population violin and fiddle Joseph Hayden – Classical Composer

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World Subculture – cultural patterns that set apart some segment of society’s population “Chopper” motorcycles Polish Americans Surfers “Hip Hop” music Multiculturalism – is an education program promoting the quality of all the cultural traditions Critical of Eurocentrism – the dominance of European (especially English) cultural patterns English established the nation’s dominant language People of other backgrounds were advised to model themselves after “their betters”

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World “like the fifteenth-century Europeans who could not cease believing that the Earth was the center of the universe, many today find it difficult to cease viewing European culture as the center of the social universe” -Dr. Molefi Kete Asante

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World Counterculture – cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society 1960’s youth rejected mainstream culture as overly competitive, self centered, and materialistic “Hippies” embraced ideas of “being” over “doing” and personal growth or “expanded consciousness” Cultural Change Change in one part of a culture usually sparks changes in others Women more interested in making money More women in the workforce than their mothers or grandmothers Interest in having a family but may have impact of age of marriage and divorce

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World Causes of Cultural Change Invention – telephone, computer, and airplane Discovery – foods, women’s athletic ability, scientific advances Diffusion – the spread of cultural traits from one society to another Computers Music