Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program 11 Essentials of Sociology Sociology 9 th Edition 9 th Edition Chapter 2: Culture Chapter 2: Culture

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What is Culture? Components of Symbolic Culture Many Cultural Worlds: Subcultures and Countercultures Values in U.S. Society Technology in the Global Village Cultural Lag, Diffusion, and Labeling 22 Chapter Overview

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Culture is:  The language, beliefs, values, norms, and behaviors passed on from one generation to the next How is this accomplished? Material vs. Nonmaterial Cultures Cultural Lag: When nonmaterial culture lags behind material culture 33 What is Culture?

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. What is Normal, Natural, or Usual? We believe our ways are “Normal” Ethnocentrism-the belief that our culture is the “best” Culture Shock- coming into contact with a culture that is different from what we know 44 Ethnocentrism and Culture Shock

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Understanding a cultures practices from their perspective  i.e., Bull Fighting in Spain Richard Edgerton - “Sick Cultures” 55 Cultural Relativism

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Symbols Gestures Language Norms (Folkways, Mores, Taboos) Values 66 Components of Symbolic Culture

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Allows Human Experience to Be Cumulative Provides a Social or Shared Past Provides a Social or Shared Future Allows Shared Perspectives Allows Complex, Shared, Goal-Directed Behavior 77 Five Purposes of Language

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Instead of objects determining our language, our language determines the way we see objects  i.e. Eskimos and snow 88 Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Norms - Expectations or rules for behavior  Informal and Formal Norms  Norms will change as cultures change Sanctions - Reaction to following or breaking norms  Positive Sanctions  Negative Sanctions 99 Norms and Sanctions

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Folkways - Norms that are not strictly enforced Mores - Norms, when broken, go against a society’s basic core values Taboos - Norms, when broken, are considered repulsive  10 Folkways, Mores, and Taboos

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Subculture:  A world within the dominant culture  The norms and values do not clash with those of the dominant culture Countercultures:  A world within the dominant culture  The norms and values clash with those of the dominant culture  11 Subcultures and Countercultures

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Values in U.S. Society  12 Romantic LoveDemocracy Science and Technology ReligiosityFreedom Efficiency and Practicality EducationHumanitarianismActivity and Work Racism and Group Superiority Material ComfortIndividualism EqualityProgress Achievement and Success

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.  13 Value Clusters: Values that are similar to each other Value Contradictions: Values that contradict one another Value Clusters: Values that are similar to each other Value Contradictions: Values that contradict one another Value Clusters and Contradictions

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Leisure Self-fulfillment Physical Fitness Youthfulness Concern for the Environment  14 Emerging Values

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Sociologists use the term ideal culture to refer to the values, norms, and goals that a group considers ideal, worth aiming for (i.e Success). Sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow real culture.  15 Ideal vs. Real Culture

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Central to a group’s material culture is its technology. Technology can be equated with tools. New technology refers to an emerging technology that has a significant impact on social life.  Technology sets the framework for a group’s nonmaterial culture.  16 Technology in the Global Village

Culture Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Cultural Diffusion: The spreading of cultural characteristics from one culture to another Why is this happening so rapidly? Cultural Leveling: When cultures start to become similar to each other  17 Cultural Diffusion and Cultural Leveling