Chapter Three

Culture

What is Culture? The values, beliefs, behavior, and material objects that form a

people’s way of life.

Non Material culture -the nonphysical ideas that people have about their culture, including beliefs, values, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions.

Material culture – tangible things created by members of a society.Only humans rely on culture rather than instinct to ensure survival.

The Components of CultureAlthough cultures vary, they all have five common components:

(1) Symbols(2) Language(3) Values(4) Beliefs(5) Norms

Components of CultureSymbols

Symbols – anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture.

Not understanding the symbols of a culture leaves a person feeling lost and isolated.Symbolic meaning may also vary within a single society.

Example: Tattoos

Components of CultureLanguage

Language – a system of symbols that allows people to communicate with one another.

Language allows for the continuity of culture.Cultural transmission – the process by which one generation passes culture to the next.Every society transmits culture through speech.

The Sapir-Whorf ThesisLanguages are not just different sets of labels for the same reality.All languages fuse symbols with distinctive emotions.The Sapir-Whorf Thesis – people perceive the world through the cultural lens of language.

Global Map 3-1Language in Global Perspective

Global Map 3-1Language in Global Perspective

Global Map 3-1Language in Global Perspective

Components of CultureValues and Beliefs

Values – culturally defined standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty and that serve as broad guidelines for social living.Beliefs – specific statements that people hold to be true.

Values are abstract standards of goodness.Beliefs are particular matters that individuals consider true or false.

Key Values of United States CultureEqual OpportunityAchievement and SuccessMaterial ComfortActivity and WorkPracticality and Efficiency

ProgressScienceDemocracy and Free EnterpriseFreedomRacism and Group Superiority

Components of CultureNorms

Norms – rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members.

Most important norms in a culture apply everywhere and at all times.

Mores – norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance.

Folkways – norms for routine, casual interaction.

Material CultureMaterial culture – artifacts

Every culture includes a wide range of tangible human creations.A society’s artifacts reflect underlying culture.Material culture also reflects a society’s technology – knowledge that people use to make a way of life in their surroundings.

Figure 3-1Recorded Immigration to the United States

Cultural Diversity: Many Ways of Life in One World

Cultural diversity can involve social class.Many cultural patterns are readily accessible to only some members of a society.High culture – cultural patterns that distinguish a society’s elite.Popular culture – cultural patterns that are widespread.

National Map 3-1What’ll Ya Have?Popular Beverages across the United States

National Map 3-1 (continued)What’ll Ya Have?Popular Beverages across the United States

SubculturesSubculture – cultural patterns that set apart some segment of society’s population.Almost everyone participates in many subcultures without having much commitment to any of them.What we view as the dominant culture – a set of patterns favored by powerful segments of the population.

MulticulturalismMulticulturalism – an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of the United States and promoting the equality of all cultural traditions.Eurocentrism – the dominance of European cultural patterns.Afrocentrism – the dominance of African cultural patterns.

National Map 3-2Language Diversity across the United States

CountercultureCounterculture – cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society.In many cultures, counterculture is linked with youth.This is the outright rejection of conventional ideas.

Cultural ChangeChange in one dimension of culture usually sparks change in another.Cultural integration – the close relationships among various elements of a cultural system.

Some elements of culture change faster than others – cultural lag.

Cultural change may be spurred by invention, discovery, or diffusion.

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism – the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture.A particular culture is the basis for everyone’s reality.

Cultural Relativism – the practice of evaluating a culture by its own standards.It requires understanding unfamiliar values and norms.

Theoretical Analysis of CultureThe structural–functional paradigm depicts culture as a complex strategy for meeting human needs.The social–conflict paradigm suggests that many cultural traits function to the advantage of some and the disadvantage of others.Sociobiology explores ways in which human biology affects how we create culture.

Culture and Human FreedomHumans cannot live without culture.Culture is largely a matter of habit, and limits our choices.Our society’s emphasis on competitive achievement isolates us from one another.Learning about cultural diversity prepares us to use the freedom it offers.