1. 2:1 The Meaning of Culture Bell Ringer: Interpreting the visual pg
2:1 The Meaning of Culture Bell Ringer: Interpreting the visual pg. 26 EQ: What is the meaning of culture?

2. The San of South Africa Hunter gatherers Small groups Cooperation
Rock painters

3. Physical objects, beliefs, values, and behaviors shared by human groups

4. Material World Material Culture
Physical objects/tangible items that members of society make, use, and share
Raw Materials → Technology → Stuff
Azerbaijan

5. Material World Non-Material Culture
Abstract/intangible human creations of society that influence people’s behavior
Language, beliefs, values, rules of behavior, family patterns, political systems

6. What’s the Difference?
Society-interdependent group of people who share culture and unity
Culture-material/nonmaterial products those people create

7. 5 Components of Culture
People of a culture share a broad set of material and nonmaterial elements
5 components of Culture
Technology
Symbols
Language
Values
Norms

8. 5 Components of Culture 1. Technology
Manmade products (material culture) that make life easier
Rules of acceptable behavior when using material culture

9. Components of Culture 2. Symbols
Basis of human culture
Anything that represents something else
Has a recognized, shared meaning
Gestures, images, sounds, physical objects, events, etc.

10. Components of Culture 3. Language
Organization of written or spoken symbols into a standardized system that can express any idea

11. Components of Culture 4. Values
Shared beliefs about what is good/bad, right/wrong, desirable/undesirable
Determines character of people, kinds of material/non culture they create
Yanomamo

12. Components of Culture 5. Norms
Shared rules of conduct, expectations for behavior
Wide range of importance in norms: covering mouth to don’t kill
Some norms are selective: marriage, alcohol consumption, police

13. Norms Folkways v. Mores
Folkways-norms that describe socially acceptable behavior w/o great moral significance, do not endanger the well being or stability of society
Minor punishment for breaking a folkway norm

14. Norms Folkways v. Mores Mores-great moral significance
Violation of these norms endangers society’s well being and stability
Bernie Madoff, Edward Snowden

15. Laws
Established punishments for violating norms to protect the social well being
Written rules of conduct enacted and enforced by the government
Mores laws: murder, rape, theft, etc.
Folkway laws: parking tickets, jaywalking

16. Culture is Dynamic Continually changing
New material objects:
New expressions:

17. Levels of Culture
Culture Trait- individual tool, act or belief that is related to a particular situation or need: types of eating utensils/appropriate greetings
Culture Complexes- cluster of interrelated traits. Football (Complex) items needed to play, rules, business (traits)
Culture Patterns- combination of a number of culture complexes into an interrelated whole: American Athletic Pattern

18. Assignment
Using the diagram on pg. 27, create a visual for one of the following cultural patterns of our society:
Agriculture
Education
Family life
Manufacturing
Religion

19. 2:2 Cultural Variation
Bell Ringer: Interpreting the visual pg. 31

20. Cultural Universals
Features, common to all cultures, that fulfill basic human needs

21. 1940 George Murdock Identified 65 Cultural Universals
Nature of universal traits varies widely
Example-Family
Cultural Universal-purpose is to add new members of society and care for them until they can care for themselves, introduce children to components of culture
Cultural Variation-the composition of a family

22. 1930 Margaret Meade Study on Cultural variation
Purpose-determine whether differences in basic temperament is inherited or learned
Studied the cultural differences between the Arapesh and the Mundugumor
Conclusion: temperament is the result of culture rather than biology

23. Arapesh v. Mundugamor Extreme Cultrual Variations-Why? Arapesh
Hunters/gathers/mountains/scarce food
Mundugamor
Lots of food/river valleys/”easy” life

24. Ethnocentrism Viewing one’s own culture and group as superior
Having a negative response to cultural traits very different from our own
Positive-builds group unity
Negative-culture can stagnate because we exclude people, and influences that might be beneficial

25. Cultural Relativism
Belief that cultures should be judged by their own standards rather than by applying the standards of another culture
Understanding cultural practices from the points of view of the members of the society being studied
Example: Cows in India

26. 2:1 Activity Mancala Tournament
People of many races and ethnic groups often enjoy the same entertainments. For example, a board game called mancala is popular in many countries, including the U.S. Mancala is possible the oldest board game in the world. Egyptians played the counting and strategy game before 1400 B.C. Like being a sports star in the U.S., being a “Mancala” star carries much cultural significance in other societies.

27. Subculture
Group whose values, norms and behaviors are not shared by entire population
Example: Chinatown
Same: education, democracy, role in economy
Different: living/shopping patterns, language, food, etc.

28. Functional Subcultures
Subcultures by profession, age, gender, religion, ethnicity don’t threaten the stability of society and prevent society from becoming stagnat

29. Counterculture Challenge the values of the alrger society
Reflects major values, norms and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns
Examples: mafia, cults, 60s hippies