World Cultures Unit 1: What is a culture?

What is a Culture? Everyone is born into a culture Our culture defines everything about us Culture – all the things that make up a people’s entire way of life

Examples In Eastern Asian countries, it is considered rude to look directly at a person of authority. Instead, they bow their heads and stare at the floor.

Examples In the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, it is considered rude to show the sole of your shoe. Shoe throwing is also considered a great insult.

Examples In the Western World, this symbol means “Victory”. If you flip this hand gesture in Australia, it means “I don’t care for you” in other words...

Examples Thumbs up means everything is good in America. In Europe, it is the gesture for the number one while in the Middle East it is considered rude.

Examples In America when people greet, they shake hands. In Europe and parts of Asia, it is normal for two people to embrace and give kisses on the cheek.

Examples When two or more people are talking, the distance they stand from each other differs greatly by country.

Examples Are there any more you can think of?

Elements of Culture

Culture is: a BLUEPRINT for living or Learned behaviors that must be followed by people to survive, socially and physically, in their societies.

Do animals have culture? Most anthropologists say: “They do live in societies, but do not have culture. Culture is something that people have created; animals live by instinct – they only do what comes naturally.” Society – a group of animals or people who occupy a specific spot and rely on each other for survival.

Three Factors that Affect Culture Environment Climate, topography, natural resources Heritage Important people or events Values and Beliefs Cultural norms (folkways, mores, taboos)

Environment People are suited differently for various climates and geography An Inuit man from Alaska is going to dress differently and raise his family differently from a Nigerian man

Heritage A culture is often deeply rooted in its history Clashes between cultures may also be rooted in historical events Example: Problems in the Balkan and Israel go back hundreds of years

Beliefs and Values Values “Code of Ethics” What an individual or group considers to be important These are backed up through Norms

Beliefs and Values Norms Actions that are considered to be standard in a society “Normal” behaviors

Three Levels of Norms Folkways “Minor” Norms Informal, unwritten rules of behavior Generally not universal Ex: Fashion, etiquitte Mores “Major” Norms Written customs or rules believed to be necessary for the welfare of a society (laws) Many are universal Ex: Murder, theft, etc.

Three Levels of Norms Taboos Really bad stuff – a person instinctively knows better Universal taboos: Cannibalism, incest

Culture is: 1.Learned 2.Shared 3.Symbolic 4.Intertwined with Nature 5.All-Encompassing and Integrated 6.Used Actively

Culture is… Learned Newborns are the only people without culture, but they are quickly bombarded by it Culture is learned both consciously and unconsciously Conscious: The Pledge of Allegiance, religious beliefs, how to dress, etc… Unconscious: Proximity (how close you stand to other people), language The unconscious only becomes obvious when you leave your own culture

Culture is… Shared Any one of you could carry on a conversation with any other teenager in the US – your lives aren’t that different An American Catholic could follow a Mass in Italy or the Philippines The movement of ideas from one culture to another is called diffusion Diffusion happens when people migrate to a new place, when one society conquers another, or today through globalization – the world linking-up via high speed communication

Culture is… Symbolic We have symbols for everything Symbols are a way to represent something abstract with something concrete

Culture is… Nature controls culture Houses are constructed differently People worry about different things in Florida, Kansas, Bangladesh, and Buffalo Culture controls nature Every animal has to make babies, eat, poo, etc. Only people have rules concerning these

All-Encompassing and Integrated What does this mean? Everything we do is affected by culture, and a change in one aspect would affect every part of our lives Try to imagine if we: Stopped speaking English Stopped eating beef Started using the metric system Culture is…

Used Actively We are not mindless robots – we mold and shape culture Different aspects change as necessary

Culture is… Multi-leveled International: McDonald’s is an international company National: McDonald’s in India serves lamb, in Mexico: tacos, and in Germany: beer! Local/Subculture: Philadelphia - soda Pittsburgh – pop South - coke

Cultural Terms Ethnocentrism The belief that your culture is superior to all others Frame of Reference The way you see the world This is molded by experiences and culture Cultural Relativism The attempt to study another culture through the eyes of that culture This is something that we are going to practice this year!