Transcript Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity
Chapter 2
Section 1
The Meaning of
Culture
The Meaning of Culture

What is Culture?
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The Components of Culture

Examining Culture
What is Culture?
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Culture: consists
of all the shared
products of human
groups.
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Physical objects
Beliefs
Values
Behaviors
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Material Culture:
the physical
objects that people
create and use.
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Examples:
automobiles,
books, buildings,
clothing,
computers, cooking
utensils.
What is Culture cont.
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Non-material
culture: abstract
human creations.
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Examples: beliefs,
family patterns,
ideas, languages,
rules, skills, work
practices, political
and economic
systems.

Society: a group
of interdependent
people who have
organized in such
a way as to share
a common culture
and feeling of
unity.
The Components of Culture
Culture is both learned and shared
 Specific examples of the material
and nonmaterial elements of culture
vary society but all cultures have
certain basic components.
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Ex. Technology, symbols, languages,
values, norms.
Technology
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Culture consists of
not only physical
objects but also
the rules for using
those objects.
The relationship
between the
objects and the
rules is known as
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Technology
You need basic
skills to know how
to use money.
Sociologists look at
the rules that
accompany this
such as “spending”.
Symbols
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The use of
symbols is the
basis of human
culture.
We use symbols to
create our culture
and communicate
with others.
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Words, gestures,
images, sounds,
physical objects,
event or element
of the natural
world serves as a
symbol.
Give examples of
each.
Language

Language: is the
organization of
written or spoken
symbols into a
standardized
system.

When organized
according to
accepted rules of
grammar, words
can be used to
express any idea.
Values
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Language and
symbols are
important because
they allow us to
communicate our
values.
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Values are shared
beliefs about what is
good or bad, right or
wrong, desirable or
undesirable.
The types of values
held by a group help to
determine the
character of its people
and its culture.
Yanomano Tribe
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Norms
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Norms are used to
enforce their
cultural vales.
Norms are shared
rules of conduct
that tell people
how to act in
specific situations.
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Remember norms
are expected
behavior not
actual behavior.
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Example: cover
your mouth when
you yawn, do not
kill a human being.
Name any others
Norms
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Folkways: are
norms that
describe socially
acceptable
behavior but do
not have great
moral significance
attached to them.
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They outline the
common customs
of everyday life.
Some degree of
nonconformity to
folkways is
permitted because
it does not
endanger the well
being of society.
Norms
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Mores: have great
moral significance
attracted to them
because the
violation of these
rules endangers
society’s well
being.
Murder, fraud
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Laws: written
rules of conduct
enacted and
enforced by the
government.
Enforce both
folkways and
mores.
Examining Culture
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Sociologists must
keep up with all
the changing
behaviors, ideas,
and objects in
society.
They break them
into groups and
study them each.
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Traits
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Complexes
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Patterns
Culture Traits
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Definition: an individual tool, act, or
belief that is related to a particular
situation.
Ball
 Goal posts
 Pads
 cleates
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Culture Complexes
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Definition: a cluster of interrelated
traits.
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Cleats, ball, goal posts, pads make up
football
Culture Patterns
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Definition: the combination of a
number of culture complexes into an
interrelated whole.
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There are separate complexes for
baseball, basketball, football, soccer,
swimming, tennis, and track and
combine all of them into an American
athletic pattern.