1. CULTURE
CHAPTER 3

2. SOCIETY People who interact in a defined territory And share a culture
Society & Culture-> Interdependent

3. Society

4. Entire way of life for a group of people
What is Culture?
Entire way of life for a group of people
Ways of thinking and acting
Material objects

5. Culture

6. Culture: Two Categories
1. Material Culture
Physical things created by members of society
2. Non-Material (Symbolic)Culture
Ideas created by members of society

7. Physical objects people create and give meaning
Material Culture
Physical objects people create and give meaning
Examples:
Homes
School buildings
Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques
Cell phones
Clothes
Cars
Computers
Books

8. Material Culture:

9. Material Culture

10. Non-Material Culture
Common elements:
Symbols
Language
Values
Norms

11. Symbols Humans create meaning
Meaning recognized by people who share a culture
Humans create meaning

12. Symbols

13. Cultural Transmission
Language
System of symbols:
People communicate
Language:
Key to accumulating knowledge
Cultural Transmission
Passing culture one generation to the next

14. Human Languages: A Variety of Symbols Here the single English word “Read” is written in twelve of the hundreds of languages.

15. Values Values Culturally defined standards
What is desirable, good, and beautiful
Broad guidelines for social living

16. Values

17. Key Values of U.S. Culture Robin Williams Jr. (1970) 10 values
1.Equal Opportunity
2. Individual Achievement & Personal Success
3. Material Comfort
4. Activity and Work
5. Practicality and Efficiency
6. Progress
7. Science
8. Democracy & Free Enterprise
9. Freedom
10. Group Superiority

18. Non-material / Symbolic Culture
We communicate through:
Signs
Gestures
Language

19. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The way people think is strongly affected by their native languages.
Controversial theory by linguist
Edward Sapir and his student
Benjamin Whorf

20. Does language shape reality?
See and understand world through language
Cannot think without language
Language connects symbols with emotions

21. 9/22 Language & Reality
Cartoon Introduction to linguistic relativity (6 min)

22. Does language determine thought?
English the word is camel.
Arabic, more than 400 words for the animal.
Eskimo language has many words involving snow. For example:
apun= “snow on the ground”,
qanikca= “hard snow on the ground”,
utak= “block of snow”

23. Language & Reality
English, time & objects counted & talked about in same way
Time is objectified
Hopi, concept of time as “becoming later”,
Not a physical quantity that you can “have”

24. Words Past and Present 60s & 70s Slang 40s Slang Skinny Take a powder
Can you dig it?
Spaz
Far out
Chill
Bread
A gas
Bug out
40s Slang
Take a powder
Fuddy-duddy
Gobbledygook
Eager beaver
Flip your wig
Lettuce
Pass the buck

25. Language and Emotions Language influences emotional experiences
Words such as anger or sadness

26. Connecting symbols with Emotions

27. One indication is language 7,000 languages
How Many Cultures?
One indication is language
7,000 languages

28. Beliefs=
Statements accepted as true

29. Norms Rules that guide behavior People respond with Sanctions: Rewards
Punishments
Sanctions encourage conformity to cultural norms

30. Norms

32. Laws Norms established by an “authority” Examples: Speed limits
Income Tax
Crime

33. Mores (“more rays”) or Taboos
Norms widely observed
Great moral significance
Religious dietary restrictions
Polygamy
Pedophilia
Incest
Cannibalism

34. Folkways Norms for routine or casual interaction Correct manners
Appropriate dress
Proper eating behavior

35. Sanctions Shame Guilt Painful sense that others disapprove
Negative judgment we make about ourselves

36. Ethnocentrism
People use their culture as standard to evaluate another group or individual
Viewing other cultures as abnormal
You may have experienced this yourself—if you’ve ever watched a program on television where they’re showing you some remote tribe of people, and their way of life seems so different you might say “Oh, that is so gross, I can’t believe those people eat that…” You’re assuming that your way of life is better than their way of life. Interestingly, if that tribe watched your daily life, they would question some of the things that you consider “normal.” *For an in class activity, ask your students to tell you some of the things that are part of their daily routine. You’ll probably get some responses like shaving, getting dressed, driving to work, going through the drive-thru, making coffee… things that seem very mundane to Americans. Ask them to try to explain the purpose of these activities to a Martian who is visiting earth. You could even “play” the Martian, and “badger” your students to try to explain why they do the things they do. It might get them to think more about how strange Americans would seem to an outside perspective. You can also discuss the “Nacirema” tribe, from pg. 97.

37. Researchers use cultural relativism
Understanding other cultures on their terms
Researchers use cultural relativism
Objectivity
You can think about the importance of cultural relativism when thinking about studying distant or remote cultures, or even when studying different cultures within the United States. For instance, New Yorkers tend to communicate differently than people from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you’re a researcher from New York, you have to consider these differences when you’re conducting research in Gatlinburg.

38. High Culture & Popular Culture
Cultural patterns of society’s elite
Popular Culture
Cultural patterns widespread among a society’s population

39. High Culture
Opera
Ballet
Art

40. Popular Culture

41. Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures
Dominant culture refers to the values, norms, and practices of the group within society that is most powerful in terms of wealth, prestige, status, and influence.
In the United States, the dominant culture is often referred to as “WASP” for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and the dominant culture also typically includes males rather than females. The dominant culture varies from society to society.

42. Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures
A subculture is a group within society that is differentiated by its distinctive values, norms, and lifestyle.
Subcultures tend to exist harmoniously within the larger society. They interact with the dominant group, but maintain their distinctive values, norms, and lifestyles. Subcultures include skateboarders, vegetarians, and college students. [ [

43. Dominant Culture, Subcultures, and Countercultures
A counterculture is a group within society that openly rejects and/or actively opposes society’s values and norms.
Countercultures tend to exist separately from the dominant culture in many ways. They generally openly reject society’s values, so it would be difficult for them to interact within that culture. Example include religious extremists and white supremacists. [ [

44. Applying Theory: Culture