1. CULTURE
A DESIGN FOR LIVING

2. WHAT IS CULTURE? A complex whole consisting of objects, values,
& other characteristics that
people acquire & relate
to as members of society
Primary groups: close, personal relationship (informal)
Secondary groups: temporary relationship based on interests (formal)

3. CULTURE Consists of abstract things & human-made objects
Material culture – physical objects made by people (archaeologists study this)
Nonmaterial culture – knowledge, beliefs, norms & values, signs & language (sociologists study this)
Preindustrial vs. Industrial Civilizations: little contact with other civilizations vs. development of cities (more contact)

5. Breakdown of culture VALUES NORMS
Socially shared ideas about what is important to a society/group (i.e. Informal Social Control)
Ex: parents value mass education
Ex of ISC: in your group text, you accidentally leave out a friend. Now that friend doesn’t speak to you.
NORMS
The valued rules of how people should behave according to their society
Ex: parents send you to school

6. FILING CABINET OF CULTURE
Values are the two drawers
Norms are the hanging folders
The papers in the folders are all the different norms found in a given society

7. NORMS
Norms change over time (i.e., racial segregation non-existent now)
We are constantly & without notice, conforming to norms

9. TWO TYPES OF NORMS
FOLKWAYS – “weak” norms that specify proper behavior
Not a big deal if violated, just considered rude
MORES – “strong” norms that specify normal behavior & constitutes demands
Violators punished through law enforcement

12. HOW IS THIS ENFORCED?
Enforced through sanctions – rewards/punishments for conforming to norms
Generally happy to conform if you believe in the values of it (values overpower our behavior)

15. VALUES AND PEOPLE
We have 15 different basic values, and all are related to one another = cultural integration

16. SUBCULTURES Cultures within larger cultures
Ethnic group: shares distinct values, language, and behavioral patterns that distinguish it’s culture from others
Deviant subcultures – values unacceptable to the dominant culture
Countercultures – unacceptable values, but not illegal or criminal

18. WE ALL HAVE NEEDS
Cultural Universals – all sharing the same basic cultural needs
Western
Confucian
Japanese
Islamic
Culture then broken down into civilizations: 8 domains in the world   
Hindu
Slavic-Orthodox
Latin American
African

19. CULTURAL UNIVERSALS

20. STEREOTYPES Oversimplified generalizations about groups of people
Based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Can be positive, but mostly negative
VIDEO

21. ETHNOCENTRISM and CULTURAL RELATIVISM
US not a “melting pot” b/c minorities forced to adopt white European male subculture - Ethnocentrism
To alleviate this, we learn cultural relativism = belief that a culture must be understood in it’s own terms (This is why you’re taking this class!)
Most central function of culture – ensure social order & stability

22. VIDEO: UNDERSTANDING & APPRECIATING CULTURAL RELATIVISM

23. ADDITIONAL ASPECTS OF CULTURE
Education
Architecture
Law
Government
Cuisine
Values
Agriculture
Technology
Work ethic
Economy
Music/Dance Sports
Etiquette
Sport Grooming Religion
Courtship Recreation
Medicine
Dress
Gestures
Language
Gender roles
Holidays

24. LANGUAGE AND GESTURES Verbal/non-verbal ways people communicate
VIDEO 
Verbal/non-verbal ways people communicate
Gestures: body movements and hand signals with specific meanings
Strong connections to identity through language and even accent
Accents are regional variations in languages
Ex: The New York accent vs. the Boston Accent • Can be nationalistic
Ex: French people speak French

25. GOVERNMENT Series of rules & beliefs towards leadership
which governs people of a society
Laws – Systems of enforced rules
Different societies have different views about how the country should be governed and the traditions attached to it

26. ECONOMY
Different ways a culture regulates & controls exchange of goods and services
Ex. Traditional barter based economy vs. money based economy

27. EDUCATION
Methods in which a culture prepares its members to participate in society by teaching them necessary skills.
Series of formal & informal lessons teaching necessary skills & knowledge
Sometimes left up to families to provide

28. AGRICULTURE
Farming practices a culture uses in order to feed members of its society
Ex: Western use of machinery and traditional family farms
CUISINE
Different foods a cultural group eats, often with national connections to regional variations
Ex: Korean Kimchi

29. DANCE AND MUSIC
Cultures differ in connections to which music they listen to and how connected it is to dance
Ex: Dancing is a very large part of South American Culture
Ex: The connection between
Country Music and rural areas
of North America

30. FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS
A day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person from a culture
Connected to religious or national origins

31. ETIQUETTE Expected behaviors for someone living within the culture
Behaviors are actions and the reasons for doing them
Ex: Giving a bus seat to an elderly person out of respect
Ex: Table Manners: US, chew
with mouth closed.
In China, the louder the better

32. ARCHITECTURE
A particular way in which a society designs their buildings. Can be cultural expression or practicality
Ex: Japanese “efficient” architecture vs. American “space” architecture for hotels

33. WORK ETHIC
Societies differ on the value of how hard individuals within the society should be working.
Some societies value a “hard day’s work”  individuals living to work or working to live?
Ex: Spanish siesta
mid-day breaks vs.
Japanese Dawn to Dusk
work ethics

34. GENDER ROLES COURTSHIP
Perceived set of standards & actions for a male and a female within society
Ex: Male Machismo in Latin America Courtship
COURTSHIP
Methods in which a member of a culture goes about in finding a mate
Ex: Practice of arranged marriages in India

35. MEDICINE Methods different cultures use to heal their sick & wounded.
Some cultures rely on modern technology & medicines to heal, while others use traditional methods (prayer and rituals)
Ex: Jehovah’s Witnesses refusal to accept blood transfusions because of religious beliefs

36. TECHNOLOGY
Societies differ in how much they embrace new technologies or if they hold on to traditional methods.
Some view foreign technologies as a burden & prefer a more simple life, while others embrace it as a helpful tool
Ex: The Amish rejection of most modern technologies

37. friends
MMMM…Tacos

38. HOW DO OTHERS IN THE WORLD DISTINGUISH AMERICANS?

39. 70 COUNTRIES IMITATE AMERICAN ACCENTS