Part 5 Culture And Survival The Challenge of Communicating, Raising Children, and Staying Alive

Part Outline Chapter 14 The Characteristics of Culture Chapter 15 Language and Communication Chapter 16 Social Identity, Personality, and Gender Chapter 17 Patterns of Subsistence Chapter 18 Economic Systems

The Characteristics of Culture Chapter 14 The Characteristics of Culture

Chapter Outline What is culture? How is culture studied? Why do cultures exist?

Characteristics Of Culture Culture is shared. Culture is learned. Culture is based on symbols. Culture is integrated.

Culture Is Shared Culture cannot exist without society. There are no known human societies that do not exhibit culture. All is not uniform within a culture; There is some difference between men’s and women’s roles in any human society.

Culture Is Learned All culture is learned rather than biologically inherited. The process of transmitting culture from one generation to the next is called enculturation. Through enculturation individuals learn the socially appropriate way to satisfy biologically determined needs.

Culture Is Based on Symbols Culture is transmitted through ideas, emotions, and desires expressed in language. Through language, humans transmit culture from one generation to another. Language makes it possible to learn from cumulative, shared experience.

Culture Is Integrated All aspects of a culture function as an integrated whole. A change in one part of a culture usually will affect other parts. A degree of harmony is necessary in any properly functioning culture, but complete harmony is not required.

Ethnic Groups of the Russian Federation

Describing a Culture Without Bias Anthropologists must: Examine people’s notion of the way their society ought to function. Determine how people think they behave. Compare these with how people actually do behave.

The Barrel Model of Culture

Functions of Culture Provide for the production and distribution of goods and services necessary for life. Provide for biological continuity through the reproduction of its members. Enculturate new members so that they can become functioning adults.

Functions of Culture Maintain order among members, as well as between them and outsiders. Motivate members to survive and engage in those activities necessary for survival. Be able to change to remain adaptive under changed conditions.

Why Cultures Change Environment they must cope with has changed. Intrusion of outsiders. Values have changed.

Evaluating a Culture Cultures can be evaluated according to: Nutritional status Physical and mental health of population Incidence of violence, crime and delinquency Demographic structure Stability and tranquility of domestic life