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

3. WHAT IS SOCIETY?
Consists of people interacting with one another as residents of the same area
Not the same as culture

4. 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)

5. Breakdown of culture
VALUES
Socially shared ideas about what is important to a society/group
Ex: parents value mass education
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

8. 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

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

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

11. SUBCULTURES Cultures within larger cultures
Deviant subcultures – values unacceptable to the dominant culture
Countercultures – unacceptable values, but not illegal or criminal
US not a “melting pot” b/c minorities forced to adopt white European male subculture - Ethnocentrism

12. 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

13. 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