Intro. to Culture Notes and Definitions

Ethnicity  The identification with others who have the same ancestral background A sense of peoplehood Considered part of one’s biological heritage

Heritage  Biological heritage: innate, born with it  Cultural heritage: what we’ve learned, grown up with “American”

Culture  Learned behaviors, traditions, and way of life created by a group of people Learned Shared Adaptive Changing

4 parts of Culture  Learned: not born a culture; made up of learned behaviors (brushing teeth)  Shared: culture binds people together as an identifiable group (music)

4 parts of Culture  Adaptive: it develops to accommodate environmental conditions and available resources (Eskimos)  Changing/Dynamic: constantly changing (technology/clothes)

Class Goal:  To help students value cultural differences while realizing that individuals across cultures have many similarities

Similarities:  All people have the same psychological and biological needs (Maslow’s Hierarchy) Can you list some shared needs?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  Level 1: physiological needs  Level 2: safety needs  Level 3: love and belongingness needs  Level 4: self-esteem needs  Level 5: self-actualization needs

Differences  How we go about meeting or fulfilling our needs is different  Depends on resources available, environment of region, and the groups relationship to dominant society

American Culture  Can you think of some examples of things that are part of/unique to American culture?

Ethnocentric  This term mean’s that one’s own culture traits are viewed as natural, correct, and/or superior to those of another culture whose traits are perceived as odd, amusing, inferior, even immoral.

Ethnocentric cont.  We view the world through a cultural lens.  What are your opinions of the following? Arranged marriages Eating dog or pork Women not shaving Wearing disks in one’s lips

Culture Notes – Day 2  How does an individual learn to become a functioning adult in his/her society? Enculturation – process of learning the characteristics of a given culture and becoming fluent in its language Socialization – learning to function as a member of society by learning social roles (mom, husband, student, child)

Remember We are not born a culture … we are encultured and socialized to a culture

Multicultural  An individual who can operate successfully in 2+ different cultures Mastered the knowledge and necessary skills to feel comfortable and communicate effectively

Cultural Relativism  An attempt to understand other cultures in their own terms; not judging on the basis of your own cultural beliefs How?  learn/know own culture  learn others culture  Experience another culture

How do we all live together?  Assimilation the process by which one individual gives up or forgets his/her own culture to become part of a different culture and is accepted by the dominant culture

How do we all live together?  Acculturation merging of cultures a s result of prolonged contact; adapting to or borrowing traits form another culture examples: Anglo Conformity Theory (WASP), Melting Pot Theory, Salad Bowl Theory

Living Together, or not  Cultural Pluralism Refusing or not being permitted into the dominant American culture  Ethnic Enclave an isolated area of a minority culture w/in a dominant culture Can you think of some examples?

Examples  Reservations  Chinatown  Little Italy  The Amish  Harlem  Barrios  San Francisco

Macro/Micro Culture  Macro : National culture that is shared by most of its citizens  Micro: traits not common to all “Americans” but common among other, smaller identifiable units of society (peer, gangs, occupations)