1. Do Now: Read and answer “The Mysterious Fall of the Nacirema”
Aim: What is culture?
Do Now: Read and answer “The Mysterious Fall of the Nacirema”

2. What is Culture? It is the way of life of a group of people.
What are the elements of culture?
Knowledge, values, customs, and physical objects that are shared by members of a society.

3. Material culture and nonmaterial culture
Material culture consists of tangible objects
Nonmaterial culture consists of concepts, values, beliefs, and norms

4. What is a society?
A group of people who live in a defined territory and participate in a common culture

5. What are subcultures and countercultures?
Social Category: groupings of people who share a social characteristic
Subculture: A culture that is part of the dominant culture but differs in significant ways.
Styles of dress, food, family or social structure, language, or music
Counterculture: A culture that opposes the dominant culture

6. Are the following subcultures or countercultures?

7. Hippies

8. Goths

9. Motorcycle Clubs

10. Punks

11. Trekkies

12. Civil War Re-enactors

13. How can sociologists study culture?
Ethnography – description of culture of a particular group compiled by researchers who spend prolonged periods of time living with the people they are studying.

14. What rules govern behavior?
Make a short list of manners or rules of etiquette.

15. Behavior
Norms: rules defining appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Norms are expected behavior
Folkways: norms that lack moral significance. violation of folkways do not bring serious consequences.
Mores: Norms that have moral dimensions and that should be followed by members of a society. Based on the word moral, thus they have great moral significance.
Taboos: The most serious mores. It is a norm that is so strong that its violation demands punishment by the group (or some think, the supernatural).
Law: Norms that are formally defined and enforced by officials. Some mores and taboos become laws.

16. Conclusion:
What is American culture? Can you identify certain key characteristics that are drastically different from other cultures?
If scientists from the future were to examine the ruins of America, how would they interpret our culture?