1. Culture, Socialization and Social interaction

2. What is culture?
Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of - generally unspoken and unwritten - rules for working together.

7. Norms and Values
All societies have ways to encourage and enforce appropriate behavior, and discourage and punish inappropriate behavior
Collective idea of what is good and desirable, and what is not

8. Values
Cultural values: collective conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper—or bad, undesirable, and improper
Example – Independence.
Americans strongly believe in the concept of individualism.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

9. Norms Norms: established standards of behavior maintained by a society
To be significant, must be widely shared and understood
Example – how to behave in a movie theater (norm of silence)
But, its ok to be noisy in a funny movie.

10. Norms
Types of Norms
Formal norms: generally written; specify strict punishments
Law: governmental social control
Parking at HCC
Informal norms: generally understood but not precisely recorded
How to dress? What is appropriate dress code?

11. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

12. Mores: norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society
Example – respect for human life
Folkways: norms governing everyday behavior
Example – walking up – on a down escalator

13. Norms Norms and Sanctions
Sanctions: penalties and rewards for conduct concerning social norm
Positive sanctions: pay raises, medals, words of gratitude
Negative sanctions: fines, threats, imprisonment, and stares of contempt

15. How powerful are norms?
Breaching experiments by Harold Garfinkel

16. Elements of Culture Important component of cultural capital
The term cultural capital refers to non-financial social assets that promote social mobility beyond economic means. Examples can include education, intellect, style of speech, dress, or physical appearance

17. Role of Language: One of the major elements of culture
Facilitates day-to-day exchanges
Includes both the written and spoken word and nonverbal communication

18. Language: Written and Spoken
Language: abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture
Examples – English – “my” teacher
Korean language – “our” teacher
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Language precedes thought
Language is not a given
Language is culturally determined
Language may color how we see the world

19. Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf (1930)
In the 1930s, two anthropologists, became intrigued when they noticed that the Hopi Indians of the southwestern United States had no words to distinguish among the past, the present, and the future.
English, in contrast as well as French, Spanish, Swahili, and other languages distinguishes carefully among these three time frames.
Language not only expresses our thoughts and perceptions but also shapes the way we think and perceive. When we learn a language, we learn not only words but also ways of thinking and perceiving

20. How language shapes social reality
Cancer or Loo Doo na’dziihii -a sore that does not go away
Menopause

21. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication: use of gestures, facial expressions, and other visual images to communicate
Learned
Differs by culture
Symbols: gestures, objects, and words that form basis of human communication

22. Nonverbal Communication and Culture

23. Cultural Variation Cultures adapt to meet specific circumstances
level of technology, population, geography
Groups within a single nation develop cultural patterns that differ from those of the dominant society

24. Subcultures
Subculture: segment of society that shares distinctive pattern of mores, folkways, and values that differs from larger society
A subculture may develop an argot, a specialized language that distinguishes a subculture from the wider society

25. Sub culture & counter-culture

27. Countercultures
Counterculture: subculture that conspicuously and deliberately opposes certain aspects of the larger culture
Typically thrive among the young
Counterterrorism experts concerned about growth of ultraconservative militia groups

28. Culture Shock
Occurs when someone feels disoriented, uncertain, out of place, or fearful when immersed in an unfamiliar culture
People tend to take for granted cultural practices of their society

29. Theoretical perspectives
Functionalism
Conflict theorist
Symbolic interactionist

30. Sociological Perspectives on Culture
Functionalists maintain that social stability requires a consensus and the support of society’s members; strong central values and common norms provide that support
Conflict theorists argue that common culture serves to maintain the privileges of certain groups

31. Sociological Perspectives on Culture
Dominant ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that help maintain powerful interests
Social interests
Economic interests
Political interests

32. Conflict perspective: dominant ideology has major social significance – core values of material sucess

33. Cultural change Innovations Discoveries Inventions
Diffusion and globalization

34. Class Discussion
Research about a country you know very little about and find out about something very different (than your culture) about that country’s culture.
I what way is it different from your culture?