CULTURE

Unit 2; Chapter 3Imagine Middle School at Broward

Mr. Yesner

BIG IDEA

• Culture refers to the many shared characteristics that define a group of people.

Eight Elements of Culture

Social Groups

LanguageReligionHistoryDaily Life

ArtsGovernment

Economy

• Families• Age• Sex• Occupation

Social Groups

Language

• Sharing the same form of communication (spoken and written)

• Dialect – local form of a language that has distinct vocabulary and pronunciation– Ex: Southern, New York, Boston

Religion

• Helps answer life’s basic questions and questions that cannot truly be answered– Ex: “What happens to people after they die?”– Ex: “What is the meaning of life?”

• Five major world religions– Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism

Language

• Common heritage through historical events– Wars, famous national heroes

• National holidays– Ex: Thanksgiving Day (United States)– Ex: Fourth of July (United States)– Ex: Cinco de Mayo (Mexico)– Ex: Heritage Day (South Africa)– Ex: Chinese New Year (China)

• Religious holidays– Ex: Christmas (Christianity)– Ex: Yom Kippur (Judaism)– Ex: Laylat al-Qadr (Islam)

ReligionHistory

Daily Life

• Food• Clothing• Shelter• Transportation

Arts

• Music• Paintings• Dance• Literature• Theatre

Government

Democracy

MonarchyDictatorship

• People set rules and expectations, so they can live together without conflict, or fighting.

• Anarchy – no government present

Economy

• How a culture uses its resources to produce materials

• How a culture trades with other cultures• Economic success is seen through a culture’s

quality of life