Intro. To Culture Have you ever been told that you resemble your mom or dad? In what ways does your personality resemble your family members?

In what ways are you alike/different from your family?  Do you dislike the music your parents play?  Do you wear a style of dress because it is popular?

 Material Culture  Skyscrapers  Computers  Cell phones  Cars  TVs  Non-material Culture  Beliefs  Rules  Customs  Family system  Capitalist economy - Knowledge, language, values, customs, and physical objects passed down from generation to generation - Helps explain human social behavior -Culture is LEARNED; human cultural behavior must be LEARNED

 Group of people that live in a defined territory and participate in a common culture

 What makes up your cultural personality?  Nature  Genetic make-up (biology)

Nature/Biology  Reflex  Biologically inherited reaction to a physical stimuli  Pupils contract in bright light  Drives  Impulse to reduce discomfort  Hungry? - you eat; Tired? - you sleep  These do not control all human behavior

 What makes up your cultural personality?  Nurture  Environmental factors  Culture

WE ARE A PRODUCT OF OUR HEREDITY AND CULTURE!!! It’s Nature AND Nurture BABY!

Knowing your culture  The pen is mightier than…  Better safe than…  Don’t bite the hand that…  No news is…  A penny saved is a…  Children should be seen and not…  Better late…

Culture is learned through… SYMBOLS  Physical objects, sounds, smells, tastes, words  words are a symbol for an object  Applause  Concert in US = positive  Athlete in Latin America = negative  Language frees us of time and place  Allows future generations to access the same material  Cultural Transmission  Passing of culture from generation to generation

 Symbols that guide reality  The more important the idea/concept/physical object the more words we have to represent it  US: snow = few words Inuit (Eskimo): snow = more than twenty  Your perception of the world differs/alters as you learn new language List all the words you use for “clothes”? “food”?

 Accoutrement  Apparel  Costume  Dress  Duds  Ensemble  Frock  Garb  Garments  Gear  Hand me downs  Outfit  Rags  Regalia  Sunday Best  Threads  Wardrobe  Bite  Chow  Cooking  Cuisine  Diet  Eats  Entrée  Fare  Feast  Fuel  Groceries  Grub  Meal  Mess  Munchies  Nourishment  Ration  Slop  Snack  Sustenance

Body language and gestures are not always universal. Based on our reading of “What’s A-OK in the U.S.A is Lewd and Worthless Beyond” what happens when the gestures we use here in the United States don’t cross over our borders? Answer the following: 1.What is the gesture? 2.What does it mean here in the US? 3.What is its meaning in at least one other country mentioned in the article?

Components of  Norms  Rules defining behavior in a specific situation  Taught through the use of sanctions (rewards and punishments)  Standing in line for concert tickets  Applaud for a guest speaker  Laws against stealing  Unaware that we are guided by norms, until they are broken  Cutting in line for concert tickets  Values  Broad ideas about what most people in a society/group consider desirable  Do not dictate a specific behavior  Beliefs  Ideas about reality  Can be true or false  Germans believed if they put a poster of Hitler on their walls, it would prevent the walls from crumbling during bombing (false)  No intelligent life exists on Mars (true – based on scientific evidence)  Behavior is based at some level on our beliefs  Physical objects  Material culture  How we relate to physical objects

1.Norm 2.Physical Object 3.Language 4.Symbol 5.Value A.Broad ideas about what most people in a society consider desirable B.Rules defining a specific behavior C.Material Culture D.Sounds, smells, tastes, words E.Frees us from place and time

Types of  Folkways  Mores  Taboos  Laws

 Norms that lack moral significance  Not considered vital to group welfare  Disapproval for breaking a folkway is not costly  Sleeping on the floor vs. in a bed  Talking on a cell phone in the movies  Smoking in public places (folkway turned law as norms changed)

 Norms with GREAT moral significance  Vital to well being of society; therefore, conformity is a social requirement  Cheating on a test  Do not cry “fire” in a public place  Pay back borrowed money

Remember…  A folkway is more of a preference than a requirement  How does your family eat dinner? (At the table, in front of the tv, together, on-your- own, eat out, daily discussion)  What are the folkways of the cafeteria? AND  A more is more of a requirement than a preference

MORE  Most serious mores are TABOOS  Violation demands punishment by group  Not laws, but unacceptable  Many relate to sexual behaviors  Incest  Cannibalism

 Formally defined and enforced by officials  Consciously created and enforced  Guided by mores – as culture changes so do the laws (ie. smoking ban in public places)  Essential for society’s well being  Running a red light  Murder p.86 silly laws chart p84 pictures, what is being followed or broken?

 Rewards/Punishments that encourage people to follow norms  By a certain age we conform to norms, etc. without threat of sanctions  Believe specific behavior is appropriate  Avoid guilty feelings  Fear social disapproval

 Formal  Applied only by officials (judges, teachers)  Reward – Congressional Medal of Honor  Punishment – Hockey player’s loss of eligibility after hitting another player in the face (requiring more than 20 stitches)  Informal  Applied by most members of a group  Reward – thanking someone for their help  Punishment – staring at someone for talking while someone else is talking

Broad ideas about what most people in a society/group consider desirable Norms are based on them – even societies with different norms can have similar values! EXAMPLE: Norms: Free Speech Norms: Medical Care Free Enterprise Education Free Enterprise Education

Duggar Family (US) – 19 kids and counting! One Child Policy One Child Policy (China) (China) Values affect how family relationships are conducted, how people treat each other, how organizations are run, how people worship, etc!

Ideas about reality Can be TRUE or FALSE WWII Germans – Poster of Hitler on wall would prevent it from crumbling No intelligent life on Mars – Scientifically proven Behavior is based at some level on beliefs regardless of whether or not they are true!

Help us to assign cultural meaning to physical objects (material culture) Not defined by physical characteristics Rather defined by our beliefs, norms, & values -Out of service trolley: restaurant - More “secular” instruments in church - The CLAW

Have your group select a physical object (material culture) from the box. Explain its cultural significance. Over time, has its meaning changed? Explain

OPENING ACTIVITY Think of an example of real and ideal culture at Council Rock North. Should the aspect of ideal culture be abandoned? Why or why not?

Simply because we have cultural guidelines… Cultural guidelines publicly embraced by society – “how we should behave” High set of standards that most people aim for Help to detect deviant behavior – (Sanctions!) Society’s actual behavior! – “how we actually behave”

IDEAL vs. REAL EXAMPLES IDEAL CULTURE = HONESTY REAL CULTURE = student cheat on tests, people violate tax laws EXTREMES like murder, rape, etc. are part of NEITHER culture because they violate both!

Let’s Practice…  Cultural Components Worksheet

does change over time Grandparents may not have gone to college As teenagers, your parents did not or text friends (communication) Interracial dating (still not very common but much more widely practiced)

does change over time 3 REASONS 1) Discovery – process of finding something that already exists already exists EXAMPLE: Athletic ability of women – always existed but recently acknowledged existed but recently acknowledged 2) Invention – creation of something new EXAMPLE: Steam engine, cell phone, i-Pod 3) Diffusion – borrowing aspects from other cultures EXAMPLE: Food: tacos, pizza, hamburgers (McDonalds) (McDonalds) Piñatas - celebrations Piñatas - celebrations

 Once people learn a culture we become strongly committed to it, can’t think of/imagine any other way to live  When people judge others based on our own cultural standards = I can’t imagine my life without my trusty cell phone!

However, differences do exist in society because of various social categories Social categories – groups that share a social characteristic (age, gender, religion, etc.)

Subculture - Part of a larger culture/society but differs in an important respect an important respect EXAMPLES: Chinatown – Chinese immigrants pass down their native culture while also being affected by American culture …Youth…musicians…jocks and athletes…

 Counterculture  A subculture that is consciously opposed to certain central beliefs/attitudes of the larger culture  Motorcycle gangs, KKK, drug groups, goth, punk

Across ALL cultures there exists over ____ common cultural traits – Essential to the survival of cultures!!! Biological needs – Because food is necessary, cooking must be done cooking must be done Physical needs – Because protection is necessary for survival, shelter must be created Social Problems – Because new members must be taught culture, educational methods are used Social Problems – Because new members must be taught culture, educational methods are used

Not all cultural universals are carried out in the same way = Examples: US – Typical for women to raise children New Guinea – Men completely in charge Can you think of Cultural Particulars for… Cooking ? Marriage ? Sports ? Family ?