Chapter 3 Cultural Crossroads

Overview What is Culture? Components of Culture Variations in Culture Exercise Variations in Culture Cultural Change

What is Culture? Culture is internalized The entire way of life of a group of people or society Language, ideas, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and objects Passed from one generation to the next Fundamental feature of who we are Why we think and act the way we do Culture is internalized Lens through which we view the world Effects tend to remain imperceptible to us

YouTube Clip “Borat” movie trailer

PRACTICING CULTURAL RELATIVISM Each cultural group as relative to others Seeing differences and distinctions rather than: right and wrong normal and abnormal good and bad better and worse

Suspending ETHNO*CENTRISM: Use of one’s own culture as a standard to evaluate others, usually leading to a negative judgment

“Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner Understanding the Nacirema culture Who are they? See article on Everyday Sociology Blog A study of culturally-prescribed rituals Highly-developed techniques to care for the body All members conform to some degree with these practices They pass these practices along to their children

Who are the Nacirema? North American people Live in a specific geographic territory They suffer from a negative self-image They dislike the appearance of unaltered body They have an aversion to natural bodily functions Ritual and ceremonial activities Transform health and appearance Native cultural aesthetics dictate certain practices They are obsessed with magic

Every household has one or more shrines devoted to the body ritual Each has a charm-box or chest built into the wall with a small holy-water font below Other elements Members visit medicine men, holy-mouth men and other specialized practitioners To procure potions and implements to use in rituals Very afflicted people visit certain temples Where more radical procedures are performed

So … Who are the Nacirema? How might an understanding of the Nacirema culture help us to better understand ourselves?

Hint: N A C I R E M A = A M E R I C A N practice culture shock To understand the Nacirema you must think sociologically: practice culture shock suspend ethnocentrism practice cultural relativism N A C I R E M A = A M E R I C A N

Components of Culture: Material Culture Physical objects belonging to a culture To which we give meaning Art, artifacts, architecture, clothing, utensils, tools, machines, technologies, etc.

Components of Culture: Non-Material or Symbolic Culture Symbols Signs Gestures Language Symbols allow for abstract concepts Ideas, beliefs, values, norms, rules Social systems, patterns, ways of thinking

“Hand Gestures Across Cultures” YouTube Clip “Hand Gestures Across Cultures”

LANGUAGE A human universal A system of communication Do animals have language? A system of communication Vocal sounds and written symbols The basis of culture Knowledge and experience is cumulative Shared and exchanged

Language and Perception The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis — Ways of looking at the world are embedded in language Language allows us to “see” things Example of the Inuit or Eskimo Language structures thought

Language and Social Reality Example of language and culture of high school girls From the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” Basis for the movie “Mean Girls”

Mean Girls

Can you solve this riddle? A man and his son are involved in a serious car accident. The man is pronounced dead at the scene, but his son is rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. A famous surgeon on staff at the hospital is summoned from a golf game to save the boy's life. Arriving at the hospital, the surgeon takes one look at the boy and says, “Oh my God, I can't operate, get someone else. That's my son!" WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

Symbolic Culture: VALUES AND NORMS What a group values and honors Standards and ideas about good or bad, right or wrong, normal or abnormal Norms — Rules and guidelines for acceptable and appropriate behavior Based on a group’s values We conform so readily that we are not usually aware

Types of Norms Folkways — Mores — Customs and practices that ensure smooth interaction Loosely enforced Mores — Norms that are key to core values Serious and formal repercussions Taboos — Deeply engrained mores The thought of violating evokes horror or revulsion

SANCTIONS and SOCIAL CONTROL Positive or negative reactions to people Reward conformity Punish violation Social Control — Means to insure that people behave in acceptable and expected ways Formal – through outside authorities Informal – through internalization Social Control — > “Self Control”

Social Control Positive Sanctions Negative Sanctions

Moral Holidays

VARIATIONS IN CULTURE: Subcultures and Countercultures A group within dominant culture Large or small Each has distinctive values, norms and lifestyle

VARIATIONS IN CULTURE: Subcultures and Countercultures Openly rejects or opposes society’s values and norms May actively challenge dominant culture

CULTURAL GROUP MEMBERSHIP In-Class Exercise CULTURAL GROUP MEMBERSHIP

VARIATIONS IN CULTURE: “Ideal” Versus “Real” Culture Ideal culture: what a group aspires to Values, norms and behaviors that should be followed Real culture: what a group actually does Values, norms and behaviors that are practiced in reality Contradictions

VARIATIONS IN CULTURE: Culture Wars Controversies within mainstream society Which values and norms to follow Often described as clashes between: right and left conservatives and liberals Resistance to those who want to change values Struggle over values can lead to social change

Culture Wars

Values, Norms and Laws in Flux: The Case of Marijuana 1770: George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grow hemp Used to make paper for the Declaration of Independence 1937: “Reefer Madness” leads to the outlaw of marijuana use in U.S. 2002: Some states decriminalize, allow for medical use

CULTURAL CHANGE Cultural Diffusion The dissemination of beliefs and practices from one group to another Material Symbolic Exposure to new cultural elements may lead to adoption

CULTURAL LEVELING Result of widespread cultural diffusion Cultures may eventually resemble one another Loss of distinctiveness Cultural diffusion tends to come from the West Process is not necessarily one-way

CULTURAL IMPERIALISM The imposition of one culture’s beliefs, practices and artifacts on another culture Through mass media and consumer goods “Invading” and taking over another country No longer necessary to send military May not be welcomed Could threaten local, traditional cultures

More about cultural change Later in the semester …