It touches almost every aspect of who and what we are Culture It touches almost every aspect of who and what we are

Culture Orientation Have you ever experienced culture shock?

What is culture? Culture The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, even material objects that are passed from one generation to the next Who has traveled somewhere and seen different cultures based on this definition?

Material vs. Non-material Material culture: jewelry, art, buildings, weapons, utensils, machines, hairstyles, clothing Non-material culture: a group’s way of thinking (including beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world) and doing (it's common patterns of behavior, including language and other forms of interaction)

Material vs. Non-material How do the two distinguish culture, please provide me with a few examples!

Establishment of culture Culture comes to us at a very early age and acquire it without conscious It creates assumptions about social life in context to others’ cultures Creates the “way things ought to be” idea Examples might include hygiene, eye contact, personal space, etc.

Culture Shock Culture shock emerges when non-material culture fails one’s self Story example of the author being taller and pushing to buy tickets and felt bad about it

Ethnocentrism Tendency to use one’s own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of other individual or societies. It generally leads to a negative evaluation of their values, norms, and behaviors leading to discrimination On the positive side, it can create in-group loyalties

Cultural Shock Exercise Listen to the following excerpt on the arrival of the Hmong and answer the question for your consideration after

Cultural Relativism Culture is deeply rooted It is by definition: not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms Bullfighting in Spain example

Culture Diversity Exercise You are what you eat!

Symbolic Culture Symbols help us attach meaning ABC’s, 123’s Include gestures, values, norms, sanctions, folkways and more

Gestures Using your body to convey messages hand and body gestures have different meanings in different cultures By show of hands, how many of you are left-handed? What about the “A-OK” sign… what does that mean?

Language Symbols the can be combined in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought Language allows culture to exist! Consider the following…

Language (cont.) It allows human experience to be cumulative Builds on experiences and modify behaviors in light of past generations Without language we would not be any more advanced then by grunts and gestures

Norms and Values Values are ideas of what is desirable in life and by which people define what is good and bad They guide our choices The golden rule is universal What other values are universal?

Norms Norms are used to describe expectations that develop out of a groups’ norms Sanctions help show expressions of approval or disapproval for following or breaking norms Homework and MAT…

Sanctions Non-verbal sanctions Verbal sanctions Frowns, stares, raised fists, finger gestures Verbal sanctions Harsh words, censorship

Subcultures What condition is this doctor describing?? [It accompanies] diaphragmatic pleurisy, pneumonia, uremia, or alcoholism…Abdominal causes include disorders of the stomach, and esophagus, bowel diseases, pancreatitis, pregnancy, bladder irritation, hepatic metastases, or hepatitis. Thoracic and mediastinal lesions, or surgery may be responsible. Posterior fossa tumors or infarcts my stimulate centers of the medulla oblongata.

Subcultures Hiccups! Definition of subculture is the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture, a world within a world

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Subcultures A world within the larger world of the dominant culture What subcultures are there at Howard High School? What other subcultures are you aware of?

Counterculture Consider the following quote about sterilization

Counterculture A group whose values, beliefs, and related behaviors place its members in opposition to the broader culture

U.S. Values Sociologist Robin Williams identified in a study underlying core values 14 different values most Americans can agree with Which ones do you think are most important?

Thinking Critically Sociobiology Framework of thought that views human behavior as the result of natural selection and considers biological factors to be the fundamental cause of human behavior