Transcript Culture

SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 2
Cultural Diversity and Conformity
Revised July 2015
The Meaning of Culture
• Section 1 (pgs. 2329)
• Culture is made up
of all the shared
products of human
groups.
1. Where does the word culture
come from? What does it mean?
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The term culture originated
from two Latin words: colere
and cultus.
The verb colere means “to till
the land,” and the participle
cultus means “planted” or
“cultivated.”
In a way, culture is similar to a
society’s “harvest”—or all that
a people cares for, practices,
and produces.
Culture is a key focus of
sociology because it is the
feature that distinguishes one
human group from another.
2. What do most
sociologists believe about
human behavior?
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Many believe that humans are not
controlled by natural instincts.
Because humans are not locked into a
set of predetermined behaviors, they
are able to adapt to and change their
environment.
These methods of adapting form the
foundation of culture.
3. What is the meaning of the
term culture?
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Culture is the
shared products of
human groups.
These products
include physical
objects and the
beliefs, values, and
behaviors shared
by a group.
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4. What is the difference between
material culture and nonmaterial
culture?
Material culture are objects
that people create.
 Examples of material
culture include cars, books,
buildings, clothing,
computers, and cooking
utensils.
Nonmaterial culture are
abstract human creations.
 Examples of nonmaterial
culture include beliefs,
family patterns, ideas,
language, political and
economic systems, rules,
skills, and work practice.
5. What is the difference between
culture and society?
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In everyday speech,
people tend to use the
terms interchangeably.
However, sociologists
distinguish between the
two.
A society is a group of
interdependent people who
have organized in such a
way as to share a common
culture and feeling of
unity.
Culture consists of the
material and nonmaterial
products that people
create.
– The way of life of a group.
6. How do you acquire your culture?
► Culture
is both learned and shared.
►It does not mean that everyone in the U.S. dresses the
same way or belongs to the same church or listens to
the same type of music.
► It
does mean that most people in the U.S. choose
from among the same broad set of material and
nonmaterial elements culture.
►For example, many languages are spoken in the U.S.;
however, English is the most shared language.
7. What are the five components of
culture?
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Technology
Symbols
Language
Values
Norms
8. Describe how technology is a
component of culture.
Technology is the creation of
objects and rules.
– These objects often make life
easier.
For example, an
understanding of how silicon
chips work or a knowledge of
computer language are all
skills related to the computer.
Sociologists are not only
interested in skills but also in
the rules of acceptable
behavior when using material
culture.
– “Hacking” would be considered an
unacceptable behavior.
9. Describe how symbols are a
component of culture.
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It is through symbols that we create
our culture and communicate it to
group members and future
generations.
A symbol is anything that represents
something else.
In other words, a symbol has a shared
meaning attached to it.
Any word, gesture, image, sound,
physical object, event, or element of
the natural world.
A church service, a class ring, the word
hello, the Lincoln Memorial, and a
handshake are examples of common
symbols in the U.S.
10. Describe how language is a component
of culture.
• Language is one of the most
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obvious aspects of any
culture.
Language is very simply an
organization of written or
spoken symbols into a
standardized system.
Have you ever visited a
foreign country and been
unable to speak the
language?
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If so, you will realize how
important the use of
language is in daily life.
11. Describe how values are a
component of culture.
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Values are shared beliefs
about what is good or
bad, right or wrong,
desirable or undesirable.
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Language allows us to
communicate our values
to future generations.
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The types of values held
by a group help to
determine the character
of its people.
 Respect for one’s elders is
an important value in
many cultures.
12. Describe how norms are a
component of culture.
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All groups create
norms to enforce
their cultural values
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Norms are shared rules of
conduct that tell people how
to act in specific situations.
It is important to keep
in mind the norms are
expectations for
behavior, not actual
behavior.
13. Describe and give
examples of folkways.
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Norms that describe socially acceptable behavior but do not have great
moral significance attached to them.
 In essence, they outline the common customs of everyday life.
Examples of folkways include: not standing for the National Anthem at a
sporting event, talking out-loud during a church service, picking your nose in
public or cutting in line at the grocery store.
 Failure to abide by such rules usually results in a reprimand or a minor
punishment.
Some degree of nonconformity to folkways is permitted because it does not
endanger the well-being or stability of society.
14. Describe and give examples of
mores.
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Mores have great moral significance
attached to them.
This relation exists because the
violation of such rules endangers
society’s well-being and stability.
For example, dishonesty, fraud, arson
and murder all greatly threaten
society.
These are deviances from cultural
mores.
Societies have established
punishments for violating mores in
order to protect the social well-being.
15. DESCRIBE AND GIVE EXAMPLES OF
LAWS.
• Societies have established
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punishments for violating mores
in order to protect the social
well-being.
These serious mores are
formalized as laws—written
rules of conduct enacted and
enforced by the government.
Most laws enforce mores
essential to social stability, such
as those against arson, murder,
rape, and theft.
However, laws may also enforce
less severe folkways, such as not
parking in spaces reserved for
drivers with disabilities.
16. Exploring Cultural Diversity—Why did
the Chevy Nova not sell in Spanish-speaking
countries?
• The diversity of world
languages has created
some funny mistakes
as the economy has
become more global.
• In the 1970s, General
Motors executives
wondered why their
Chevy Nova cars were
not selling well in
Spanish-speaking
countries.
• Management learned
that no va in Spanish
means “it won’t go.”
17. How does the environment create
cultural diversity?
 Yanomamo
 San
 Farmers on the border between Brazil
and Venezuela.
 Studied by anthropologist Napoleon
Chagnon, who called them Fierce
People.
 Warfare and feats of male strength
play an important role in daily life.
 30% of male deaths are the result of
wounds received in warfare
 Farming villages can usually support
500-1000 people, but the Yanomamo
rarely have villages larger than 200
people.
 Conflicts within the village usually
cause groups to split off and form new
settlements.
 Most instances of warfare occur
between split villages.
 Hunter-gatherers in South Africa
(Kalahari desert)
 Way of life is based on
cooperation
 San groups have their own
territories, and they take great
care not to trespass on the lands
of others.
 Within groups, all members—
except for the very young, the very
old, and the sick—take part in the
search for food.
 The group shares the game it has
hunted with all its members.
18. Why is culture considered
“dynamic?”
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Culture is continually changing.
New material objects are constantly being introduced, as
are new words, expressions, and ideas.
If cultures are so vast and complicated and are
constantly changing, how do sociologists study them?
Sociologists examine a culture by breaking it down into
levels and studying each level separately.
The features of a culture can be divided into three levels
of complexity: traits, complexes, and patterns.
19. Describe and give examples of cultural
traits.
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A cultural trait is the simplest level of culture.
It is the individual tool, act, or belief that is related to a particular
situation or need.
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Using knives, forks, and spoons when eating is a culture trait.
Another trait is the specific greeting used when meeting people, like “hi”.
In the game of football, the helmet, shoulder pads, and rules are all
cultural traits.
20. Describe and give examples of
culture complexes.
• Individual culture traits combine to
form the next level—culture
complexes.
• A culture complex is a cluster of
interrelated traits.
• The game of baseball is a culture
complex that involves a variety of
traits.
– Material traits include shoes
(cleats), baseball, bat, cap, and
the dugout for the players.
– Hitting, catching, throwing,
running the bases and the
belief that certain rules should
be followed are specific beliefs
related to the game.
21. Describe and give examples of culture
patterns.
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Culture complexes combine to form larger levels called
culture patterns.
A culture pattern is the combination of a number of culture
complexes into an interrelated whole.
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For example, the separate complexes of baseball, basketball, football,
soccer, swimming, tennis, and track combine to form the American
athletic pattern.
Other patterns relate to such aspects of society as agriculture,
education, family life, manufacturing, and religion.
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These patterns form important components of a society’s culture.
SOCIOLOGY
Chapter 2
Cultural Variation
Section 2 (pgs. 30-39)
1. How do languages differ
across the globe?
If you count only the languages
that have more than 2 million
speakers, there are more than
220 different languages in the
world today.
– If you include all the local
languages, the number is
enormous
 In addition, because there may be
dialects of the same basic
language, even people who speak
the same language may have
difficulty understanding one
another.
– For example, in the English
language, British English,
American English, Canadian
English, and Australian English
are just a few of the possible
variations.
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2. Describe what George
Murdock’s research found.
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Murdock was a famous anthropologist in the 1940s.
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He examined hundreds of different cultures in an attempt to
determine what general traits are common to all cultures.
Murdock used his research to compile a list of more than
65 cultural universals.
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Cultural universals are traits common to all cultures.
These needs are so basic that all societies must develop
certain features to ensure their fulfillment.
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Body adornment, cooking, dancing, family, feasting, forms of greeting,
funeral ceremonies, gift giving, housing, language, medicine, music, myths
and folklore, religion, sports, and tool making.
3.
Who
was
Margaret
Mead?
Famous anthropologist
Held various positions
at the American
Museum of National
History in New York
City.
Made numerous field
trips to the South
Seas, where she
observed primitive
societies.
In addition to writing
several books in
anthropology, Mead
became a well-known
celebrity.
She spoke out on
women’s rights and
world hunger.
4. Describe what Margaret Mead’s
research found. What did she
conclude about temperament?
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In the 1930s she conducted a now-classic study
of cultural variation.
Her purpose in the study was to determine
whether differences in basic temperament—the
fundamental emotional disposition of a person—
result mainly from inherited characteristics or
from cultural influences.
She lived among the people of New Guinea and
participated in their activities.
Two of the societies she examined were the
Arapesh and Mundugumor, who lived only
about 100 miles apart.
Her conclusion is that temperament is mainly the
result of culture rather than biology.
Australia
5. Describe the Arapesh.
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Contented, gentle, nonaggressive, receptive, trusting, and warm
people.
Their society is based on complete cooperation.
They live in close-knit villages consisting of clans—families with a
common ancestor.
The women bring in firewood and water, prepare daily meals and carry
goods from place to place.
The men clear and fence the land, build and repair the houses, carry
heavier loads, hunt, plant and care for certain crops, and cook and
carve ceremonial food.
Both men and women take care of the children.
The children grow up in a very loving and friendly social environment.
Children are discouraged from displaying any aggression toward
others.
6. Describe the Mundugumor.
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Very aggressive, competitive, jealous, and violent.
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They delight in showing off and fighting.
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Until the government banned such activities, they were headhunters.
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There is open hostility among all members of the same sex.
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They must reside, scattered throughout the bush.
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There is great hostility between father and sons, brothers, mothers and
daughters, and sisters.
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The only ties between members of the same sex are through members of the
opposite sex.
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These occur through a form of social organization called the rope. (fatherdaughters-his daughter’s son, etc.)
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When a person dies, his property is passed down the rope.
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Wealth and power for males come mainly from having a large number of wives.
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Child-rearing involves the infant being carried in a rigid basket, with little
contact with the mother.
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Children are not picked up or comforted.
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Children receive slaps and other physical punishments for breaking rules.
7. What is ethnocentrism?
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It is not unusual for people to have a negative
response to cultural traits that differ drastically
from their own.
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People in all societies are, at times, ethnocentric.
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This tendency to view one’s own culture and group as
superior is called ethnocentrism.
The belief that the characteristics of one’s group or
society are right and good helps to build group unity.
However, when ethnocentrism becomes extreme,
groups and societies run the risk of excluding new
influences that might prove beneficial, thus
stagnating the development of culture.
8. WHAT IS MEANT BY CULTURAL
RELATIVISM?
 Social scientists attempt to keep
an open mind toward cultural
variations.
 They must adopt an attitude in
which cultures are judged by their
own standards rather than by
applying the standards of another
culture.
 Bizarre foods to us?
 In other words, researchers who
practices from the points of view
of the members of the society
being studied.
 Cultural relativism helps
sociologists and anthropologists
understand practices that seem
strange or different from those of
their own culture.
9. How might cultural relativism help
you explain this image?
• Cultural relativism helps
explain that the family
wearing black are dressed
differently from typical
beachgoers
• The family is Amish and
has different cultural
beliefs about proper
dress for the beach.
10. Who developed the idea of a
subculture? What is a subculture?
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Edwin Sutherland developed the idea of
subcultures in the 1920s, through his work on
crime and juvenile delinquency.
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Subcultures are groups who share values,
norms and behaviors that are not shared by
the entire population.
 Examples include, San Francisco’s Chinatown,
Little Havana in Miami and the Navajo of the
Southwest.
 Other examples include, the military, the police,
lawyers, physicians, teachers, and religious
leaders.
 Subcultures also develop around age groups.
 Youth subcultures include music choice, hair and
dress styles,
11. What is cultural discontinuity?
• When members of a subculture find their beliefs, values, or
practices at odds with those of the larger or predominant
culture.
• Because public schools promote and value the culture traits of
the predominant culture.
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Spanish-speaking at home vs. English-speaking at school.
12. What is the difference between
a subculture and a
counterculture?
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In most instances, subcultures do not present a
threat to society.
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However, countercultures consciously intend to
challenge the values of the larger society.
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Most subcultures do not reject all of the values and
practices of the larger society and do not present a
threat to society.
Examples include, anarchists, organized crime
families, and the hippie movement of the 1960s.
These groups reject the major values, norms,
and practices of the larger society and replace
them with a new set of cultural patterns.
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Mafia—involved with the drug trade & gambling.