Imagine you have just been told that you must evacuate your home immediately. List 10 items that you would take with you. List 10 items that you would take with you.
Culture An entire way of life/ shared products of human groups Society = interdependent people who share a common culture >> Societies produce culture
5 Universal Elements of Culture Symbols Language Values/Beliefs Norms Physical Objects/Technology These are present in every culture!!
Norms Norms = shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations 2 types of norms = Folkways = no great significance Mores – great moral significance Laws are used to enforce norms!
Norms Think about norms that exist in your life. Come up with and write down: - 3 norms that exist within your family - 3 norms that exist within the school/ your peer group - 3 norms that exist in society
What is important in studying different cultures?
Understanding diversity Ethnocentrism Judging another culture based on one’s own Viewing own culture as better Cultural relativism Judging culture by its own standards
Sociologists MUST strive to use cultural relativism….NOT be ethnocentric
Groups within cultures Counterculture = Rejects the values, norms, & practices of a larger society & replaces them Subculture = Unique values, norms, & behaviors – does not reject all ideas of the larger culture
Examples of Subcultures/Countercultures Some categories of subcultures: Religion, Music, Fashion, Youth, Examples of specific subcultures: Amish, Mormons, Hippies, Punk
Cultural Universals Common features found in all human cultures Ex. – cooking, eating, language, toolmaking, religion, body adornment, myths/folklore, sports, dancing, medicine, housing, etc.
3 LEVELS OF CULTURE
Cultural Trait Individual tool, act, or belief that is related to a particular situation or need
Cultural Complex Cluster of interrelated traits
Cultural Pattern Combination of a number of culture complexes into an interrelated whole