CULTURAL VARIATION 2-2

FOCUS QUESTION LIST ANY FOREIGN PRACTICES THAT DIFFER GREATLY FROM AMERICAN CULTURAL PRACTICES

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS WHAT ARE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS AND WHY DO THEY EXIST? WHAT DO THE TERMS ETHNOCENTRISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM MEAN? WHAT FACTORS ACCOUNT FOR VARIATIONS AMONG AND WITHIN CULTURES?

WHAT ARE CULTURAL UNIVERSALS? CULTURAL UNIVERSALS – GENERAL FEATURES COMMON TO ALL CULTURES, SUCH AS COOKING, DANCING, ATHLETIC SPORTS, FUNERAL CEREMONIES, AND MEDICINE ALL SOCIETIES HAVE DEVELOPED CERTAIN COMMON PRACTICES AND BELIEFS CULTURAL UNIVERSALS CHANGE OVER TIME AND FROM SOCIETY TO ANOTHER

WHY DO THEY EXIST?? BECAUSE SOME NEEDS ARE SO BASIC THAT ALL SOCIETIES MUST DEVELOP CERTAIN FEATURES TO ENSURE THEIR FULFILLMENT

ETHNO – WHAT?? ETHNOCENTRISM – TENDENCY TO VIEW ONE’S OWN CULTURE AND GROUP AS SUPERIOR TO OTHER DIFFERENT CULTURES

CULTURAL RELATIVISM CULTURAL RELATIVISM – BELIEF THAT A CULTURE SHOULD BE JUDGED BY ITS OWN STANDARDS RATHER THAN BY THOSE OF ANOTHER CULTURE XENOCENTRISM IS AN EXTENSION OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM; IT IS THE BELIEF THAT THE PRODUCTS, STYLES, OR IDEAS OF ONE’S SOCIETY ARE INFERIOR TO THOSE THAT ORIGINATE ELSEWHERE

ACTIVITY #1 CREATE A DRAWING OR ONE PANEL CARTOON THAT ILLUSTRATES THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM

VARIATIONS BETWEEN CULTURES SUBCULTURE – GROUP WITHIN A SOCIETY WHICH SHARES VALUES, NORMS, AND BEHAVIORS THAT ARE NOT SHARED BY THE ENTIRE POPULATION COUNTERCULTURE – SUBCULTURE WHICH REJECTS THE MAJOR VALUES, NORMS, AND PRACTICES OF THE LARGER SOCIETY AND REPLACES THEM WITH A NEW SET OF CULTURAL VALUES

SUBCULTURES THE CULTURES OF GROUPS WHOSE VALUES AND NORMS OF BEHAVIOR DIFFER FROM THE DOMINANT CULTURE MEMBERS OF SUBCULTURES INTERACT FREQUENTLY AND SHARE A COMMON WORLD VIEW SUBCULTURES SHARE SOME ELEMENTS OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE AND COEXIST WITH IT.

COUNTERCULTURES SUBCULTURES CREATED AGAINST THE VALUES OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE MEMBERS REJECT DOMINANT VALUES AND DEVELOP PRACTICES THAT DEFY NORMS AND VALUES OF THE DOMINANT GROUP NONCONFORMITY IS AN INDICATOR OF COUNTERCULTURE

ACTIVITY #2 LISTEN TO THESE SONGS THAT DEMONSTRATE ASPECTS OF SUBCULTURE AND DISCUSS HOW THE MUSIC/LYRICS REPRESENT THE SUBCULTURE’S ACTIONS, BELIEFS, NORMS, VALUES “EAT IT” – WEIRD AL “TACO GRANDE” – WEIRD AL “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY” – QUEEN “MY IMMORTAL” – EVANESCENCE “MY MOM STILL CLEANS MY ROOM” – MXPX “TUBTHUMPING” – CHUMBWUMBA “VIVA LA VIDA” – WEIRD AL