Introduction to Sociology SOC-101 Unit 3 - Culture

What Is Culture? Culture Society The values, beliefs, behavior, language and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next Society People interacting within a limited territory guided by their culture Neither society nor culture could exist without the other

What Is Culture? Two Types of Culture: Material Culture Tangible creations of a society There is nothing inherently “natural” about material culture Examples: art, jewelry, weapons, clothing Non-Material Culture Intangible creations of a society A group’s way of thinking Examples: religion, beliefs, values

What Is Culture? Culture is learned and is not “natural” We take our culture for granted It touches every aspect of our lives without us really realizing it Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. What is normal, natural, or usual? We believe our ways are “Normal”

What Is Culture? Ethnocentrism Culture Shock Cultural Relativism Using your own culture as a yardstick for judging other societies, usually in a negative way The belief that our culture is the “best” Culture Shock The personal disorientation that accompanies exposure to a different culture or way of life Cultural Relativism Understanding a culture’s practices from their perspective Not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms

What Is Culture? Richard Edgerton’s Sick Societies (1992) Evaluating cultures on their “quality of life” Characteristics of a “sick culture” A culture that fails to survive because its own beliefs or institutions are harmful Enough people are dissatisfied with their social institutions or cultural beliefs that a society is threatened A culture that continues unsafe practices that hurt its population either physically or mentally Examples: cultures that practice female circumcision, sell young girls into prostitution, accept wife beating http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/4011

Symbolic Culture

Components of Symbolic Culture Non-material culture because its central component is the symbols people use Symbols This is anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share a culture They are used to communicate with other people We are so dependent on them that we take them for granted Includes: gestures, languages, values, norms, sanctions

Components: Gestures and Language Using one’s body to communicate with others What a gesture means may vary depending on where you are in the world It is important to learn the proper gestures when visiting other countries The “OK” symbol has very different meaning in Italy Language A system of symbols that allows people to communicate abstract thoughts with one another Cultural Transmission: Language also ensures the continuity of culture

Components: Language Five purposes of language Allows human experience to be cumulative Allows us to move beyond our immediate experiences We would be limited to understanding only a short time period Provides a social or shared past We can easily communicate our past events with others with language Provides a social or shared future We can communicate our future plans with other easily with language Allows shared perspectives We can communicate abstract ideas Allows complex, shared, goal-directed behavior We can share a purpose for getting together

Components: Language Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Developed in the 1930s by anthropologists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf Language creates ways of thinking and perceiving People perceive the world only in terms of the symbols contained in their language Each language has its own distinct symbols that serve as building blocks of reality Instead of objects determining our language, our language determines the way we see objects Example: perception of such words as negro v. African-American and how Eskimos perceive snow

Values, Norms, and Sanctions

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness, and beauty that serve as a broad guideline for social living Beliefs are specific statements that people hold to be true Values are the broad principles while beliefs are the specifics Norms Socially defined rules of behavior Serve as guidelines for our behavior and our expectations of the behaviors of others Informal v. formal norms Norms will change as cultures change

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Reactions people get for either following or breaking norms Positive Sanction Approval for following a norm Negative Sanction Disapproval for breaking a norm Folkways Norms that are not strictly enforced We are expected to do them but there are no laws that require us to do them Examples include common courtesy and etiquette

Components: Values, Norms, Sanctions Mores Norms that have a moral basis Violation of mores may produce moral indignation, shock, and horror Taboo Norms that are so strongly ingrained that violation of them brings revulsion Examples: Incest and cannibalism Sanctions for violating them are severe Laws These are norms that are formalized and back by political authority

Subcultures and Countercultures

Subcultures and Countercultures The values and related behaviors of a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture Everybody is a member of numerous subcultures Examples: Ethnicity, religion, occupations, home region Counterculture Cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society Youth Counterculture Many societies link counterculture with youth Military Counterculture During the 1990s, there was a growth of militaristic groups that were highly suspicious of the federal government

Values in U.S. Society

Values in U.S. Society Sociologist Robin Williams’ values of American culture: Achievement and Success Individualism Activity and Work Efficiency and Practicality Science and Technology Progress Material Comfort Humanitarianism Freedom Democracy Equality Racism and Group Superiority

Values in U.S. Society Henslin (2011) added three additional American values: Education Religiosity Romantic Love Value Clusters Values together that together form a larger whole Example: hard work, education, and material comfort go together; you need the first two to get the second

Values in U.S. Society Value Contradictions Values that contradict one another To follow one means to come in conflict with another Racism contradicts freedom and democracy This can be a major force for social change A new group of values is emerging in American culture: Leisure Self-fulfillment Physical Fitness Youthfulness Concern for the Environment

Values in U.S. Society These new core values are met with strong resistance to more traditional members of society Culture Wars – Term used to describe the severe clash in values between the generations There is a big difference between our beliefs in how we should act and how we actually act Ideal Culture – Values and norms that describe the way we should behave Real Culture – The values and norms that people actually follow

Technology and Culture http://www.scandinaviandesign.com/news/DAC/400/CultureMuseum.jpg Technology and Culture

Technology and Culture Central to a group’s material culture is its technology Sets the framework for a groups non-material culture as well Technology Tools of a society and the skill and procedures necessary to make and use those tools New Technology Emerging technology that has a significant impact on social life Cultural Lag Not all parts of a culture changes at the same pace Some parts may change while others lag behind New elements of material culture (technology) change faster than non-material Sometimes, non-material culture never catches up

Technology and Culture Causes of cultural change: Invention – Creating new cultural elements Discovery – Recognizing and understanding something that already exists Diffusion – Spread of objects or ideas from one society to another Usually societies are eager to adopt more superior tools and weapons Cultural Leveling Process in which one culture becomes similar to another

Theoretical Analysis of Culture Functional Analysis Depicts culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs Cultural values give meaning to life and bind people together Cultural Universals These are traits that are part of every known culture Family, funeral rites, and jokes Social-Conflict Analysis Draws attention to the link between culture and inequality Any cultural trait benefits some members of society at the expense of others Materialism - A society’s system of material production has a strong effect on the rest of a culture Our competitive values are tied in with our society’s capitalist economy